Baltimore City Maryland Fell’s Point Fun Festival
Fell’s Point keeps its cobblestones, its brick rowhouses and its working harbor, and for one weekend each autumn the neighbourhood turns Broadway Square and Thames Street into a street party that has been running since 1967. The Fell’s Point Fun Festival fills about six city blocks in a T-shape along the waterfront, with live music, local vendors, regional food and drink, and family-friendly activities. More than two hundred vendors sell art and crafts, and the whole gathering is free to enter, with drink tickets sold separately for beverages.
What sets this festival apart is where it came from. It began as a fundraiser and a protest, organised by neighbours who wanted to stop a planned federal highway from demolishing much of Fell’s Point. The highway was never built, the neighbourhood survived, and the festival stayed.
About
The Fell’s Point Fun Festival is a free, open-air street festival in the Fell’s Point neighbourhood of Baltimore, Maryland. Its published name is “Fell’s Point Fun Festival”, and listing layers also shorten it to “Fells Point Fun Fest” and to the initials “FPFF”. The sheet title is printed exactly in a preservation-society layer and a city-events layer.
The festival takes place on Broadway Square and along Thames Street, covering about six city blocks in a T-shape along the waterfront. Baltimore City is an independent city, not part of Baltimore County. It separated from Baltimore County in 1851 and stands as a county-equivalent in its own right, so the county-seat idea does not apply here at all.
The organiser is The Society for the Preservation of Federal Hill and Fell’s Point, Inc., known as the Preservation Society. The society was founded in 1967, the same year as the first festival, and it still runs the event. A marketing layer records that Fells Group was retained in 2019 to manage brand, creative production and communications, a separate role.
For a useful comparison, see the Baltimore City Maryland Baltimore Book Festival for another county festival.
The 2026 edition is the sixtieth annual, held Friday 2 to Sunday 4 October 2026. The 2025 edition, the fifty-ninth annual, ran 10 to 12 October 2025. The 2021 edition took place 2 to 3 October 2021 after a hiatus, and the first festival was held on Sunday 8 October 1967, drawing about twenty-five thousand attendees according to a newspaper-archive layer. An events layer records that the festival has been held every year except 2020.
Admission is free. A city-events layer bills the gathering as a free event at Broadway Square, and visitors pay nothing to walk in. Drink tickets are sold for beverages, and those are element charges, not gate admission. The official festival website is recorded as existing in the layers read.
Quick Facts
| Detail | Fact |
| Festival | Fell’s Point Fun Festival |
| Host city | Baltimore, Maryland |
| Neighbourhood | Fell’s Point |
| Venue | Broadway Square and Thames Street |
| Organiser | The Society for the Preservation of Federal Hill and Fell’s Point, Inc. |
| First held | Sunday 8 October 1967 |
| Latest edition | Friday 2 to Sunday 4 October 2026 |
| Admission | Free to enter; drink tickets sold for beverages |
| Usual timing | Early October |
| Vendors | More than two hundred art and craft sellers |
History
The Fell’s Point Fun Festival began in 1967 as a fundraiser and a protest. A planned federal highway was meant to link Interstates 83 and 95 straight through the neighbourhood, and the road would have demolished much of Fell’s Point. Residents organised against it, and the first festival, held on Sunday 8 October 1967, raised money and attention for the fight. About twenty-five thousand people came to that first gathering, a remarkable turnout for a neighbourhood event in its first year.
The Society for the Preservation of Federal Hill and Fell’s Point, Inc. was founded the same year, and the festival and the society have been tied together ever since. The campaign against the highway succeeded, and the effort to save the neighbourhood led to Fell’s Point being added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1969.
Over the decades the gathering grew from a neighbourhood fundraiser into a large street festival, while keeping its setting on Broadway Square and Thames Street. Early festivals featured carnival rides, including a ferris wheel and a merry-go-round,. The modern festival centres on live music, local vendors, regional food and drink, and family-friendly activities.
The festival has been held every year except 2020, according to an events layer. The 2021 edition, held 2 to 3 October 2021, followed a hiatus, and the gathering returned to its early-October rhythm. In 2019, Fells Group was retained to manage brand, creative production and communications, bringing professional marketing support to an event still run by the Preservation Society.
What to Expect
Arrive at Broadway Square and the first thing you meet is the crowd and the sound. Live music plays across the festival footprint, local vendors line the streets, and the smell of regional food drifts from the stalls. More than two hundred vendors sell art and crafts, so the shopping is a large part of the day.
The layout follows the neighbourhood itself. Broadway Square anchors the gathering, and Thames Street carries it toward the waterfront in a T-shape of about six city blocks. Walking the full footprint takes you from the square, past the stalls and the stages, and down to the water.
Family-friendly activities run through the festival, and children are part of the crowd rather than an afterthought. The early festivals had carnival rides, including a ferris wheel and a merry-go-round, and the modern programme keeps plenty for younger visitors alongside the music and the food.
Food and drink are central. Regional food and drink are sold throughout the festival, and drink tickets are available for beverages. There is no charge to walk in, so visitors can browse the stalls, listen to the music and take in the neighbourhood without paying anything.
The festival is a street event, so expect crowds, especially on Saturday, and expect to spend much of the day on foot. The cobblestones and the narrow streets of Fell’s Point are part of the charm, and they are also part of the challenge, so comfortable shoes matter.
Planning Your Visit
The festival runs in early October, and the 2026 edition fell on Friday 2 to Sunday 4 October. Early October in Baltimore is usually mild, but the festival is outdoors, so check the forecast before you go and dress for a day on your feet. Layers help, since the temperature can shift between the sunny square and the breezy waterfront.
Getting there is part of the plan. Fell’s Point is a historic neighbourhood with narrow streets, and the festival closes Broadway Square and Thames Street to traffic, so driving into the heart of the event is not an option. Arriving early in the day makes the walk easier and the square less crowded.
There is no charge to enter, which makes planning simpler. Drink tickets are sold for beverages, so bring a way to pay for food, drink and anything you buy from the vendors. More than two hundred art and craft sellers take part, and many are small local makers, so carrying cash as well as a card is a sensible precaution.
Pick a meeting point when you arrive, because the crowds make it easy to lose track of each other.
Give yourself a full day if you can. The festival covers about six city blocks, and the stalls alone take time to browse. A shorter visit still works, but the neighbourhood rewards a slower pace.
A Sample Itinerary
Start on Saturday morning at Broadway Square, when the stalls are opening and the square is still easy to walk. Spend the first hour browsing the art and craft vendors, since more than two hundred of them take part and the range runs from handmade jewellery to paintings and pottery.
Move down Thames Street toward the waterfront for the middle of the day. This is the time for food, with regional dishes from the stalls and a drink ticket for a beverage. Find a spot near the water to eat, and take in the harbor view that gives the festival its setting.
Spend the afternoon following the music. Live music plays across the festival footprint, and the stages are spread out, so walk between them and stop where the sound draws you in. If you are with children, fold in the family-friendly activities during this part of the day.
In the late afternoon, circle back to Broadway Square for a last look at the stalls you passed in the morning. Finish with a final walk along Thames Street as the evening light comes over the water.
How It Compares
Baltimore has more than one festival with a long history, and the Fell’s Point Fun Festival is easy to confuse with them if you only know the names. The Flower Mart in Mount Vernon is a different, older Baltimore festival, held in another neighbourhood with its own traditions.
The Edgar Allan Poe Festival is a different event altogether, built around the writer’s connection to Baltimore rather than around a neighbourhood street party.
Within Fell’s Point itself, the festival stands alone as the neighbourhood’s big annual gathering. Its origin as a protest against a highway gives it a story that most street festivals do not have, and its setting on Broadway Square and Thames Street, in a T-shape of about six city blocks along the harbor, is unlike the open-field layout of a county fair.
The sixtieth annual edition in 2026 places it among the longest-running festivals in the city, and its free entry sets it apart from ticketed events.
Checklist
- Wear comfortable shoes for cobblestones and a full day on foot
- Check the early-October forecast and dress in layers
- Arrive early, since the streets close to traffic and the square fills up
- Bring cash as well as a card for the vendors and the food stalls
- Pick a meeting point on arrival, because the T-shaped layout and the crowds make it easy to lose each other
- Plan for drink tickets if you want beverages, since they are sold separately
- Set aside time for the art and craft vendors, with more than two hundred of them taking part
- Walk down Thames Street to the waterfront for the harbor view
- Keep an eye on children near the busiest parts of the square
- Leave time to explore the side streets of Fell’s Point beyond the festival footprint
Beyond the Festival
Fell’s Point itself is worth a longer stay. The neighbourhood’s brick rowhouses, cobblestone streets and waterfront date back centuries, and the festival sits inside that history rather than apart from it. The campaign that saved the neighbourhood from the highway also led to Fell’s Point being added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1969.
Baltimore’s harbor is close by, and the waterfront that frames the festival is part of a much larger harborfront. Visitors who stay on after the festival can walk the harbor and see the working waterfront that has shaped Fell’s Point for generations.
The festival’s own story also points outward. The Flower Mart in Mount Vernon, a different and older Baltimore festival, shows another side of the city’s festival tradition, and the Edgar Allan Poe Festival shows how Baltimore celebrates its literary history.
Why It Matters
The Fell’s Point Fun Festival matters because it is a festival that saved its own setting. It began in 1967 as a fundraiser and a protest against a planned federal highway that would have demolished much of Fell’s Point, and the neighbourhood that the festival defended is the neighbourhood where the festival still takes place.
It also matters as a piece of Baltimore’s civic history. The Preservation Society, founded in the same year as the first festival, went on to see Fell’s Point added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1969.
For visitors, it matters as a free, open gathering in a historic neighbourhood. There is no charge to walk in, the music and the vendors are spread across Broadway Square and Thames Street, and the harbor is always nearby.
Frequently Asked Questions
How did a protest against a highway become a street festival?
The first festival was held on Sunday 8 October 1967 as a fundraiser and a protest against a planned federal highway linking Interstates 83 and 95, which would have demolished much of Fell’s Point. About twenty-five thousand people came. The highway was never built, the neighbourhood was saved, and the festival stayed, growing into the sixtieth annual edition in October 2026.
What should first-time visitors look for along Thames Street?
Thames Street runs from Broadway Square toward the waterfront in a T-shape of about six city blocks, lined with vendors, food stalls and music. Walk it all the way to the water for the harbor view, and look for the art and craft sellers, since more than two hundred vendors take part across the festival.
Are drinks included with entry to the festival?
Entry is free, and there is no charge to walk in. Drink tickets are sold separately for beverages, so drinks are an element charge rather than part of admission. Food and anything bought from the vendors are also paid for separately.
Which other Baltimore festivals should visitors not confuse with this one?
The Flower Mart in Mount Vernon is a different, older Baltimore festival in another neighbourhood, and the Edgar Allan Poe Festival is a different event built around the writer’s connection to Baltimore.
What to Expect From the Next Baltimore City Maryland Fell’s Point Fun Festival
How often is Baltimore City Maryland Fell’s Point Fun Festival held?
The gathering returns each autumn, in early October, and an events layer records that it has been held every year except 2020. The 2021 edition followed a hiatus, and the fifty-ninth annual edition ran 10 to 12 October 2025, followed by the sixtieth annual edition Friday 2 to Sunday 4 October 2026.
When is the next Baltimore City Maryland Fell’s Point Fun Festival?
The layers read name no date past the October 2026 weekend, so a following edition cannot be dated here. The pattern of the record points to early October, but no date has been published in the layers read.
Will the dates change?
The festival has kept an early-October rhythm across its recent editions, with the 2025 edition on 10 to 12 October and the 2026 edition on Friday 2 to Sunday 4 October. The exact weekend shifts a little from year to year, as the 2025 and 2026 dates show, so visitors should confirm the dates for the next edition before making plans.
The Fell’s Point Fun Festival began as a neighbourhood standing up for itself, and it has kept that spirit for sixty annual editions. Broadway Square and Thames Street still fill with music, vendors and food each October, and the streets the first festival was held to protect are still there to walk. Come for the party, and stay for the neighbourhood that saved itself.
