School has started. Pumpkin spice lattes are plentiful. The weather is (occasionally) dipping below 80 degrees. Signs of fall, finally.
You may even see them online, with TikTok algorithms increasingly prioritizing baking advice, sweater ads and back-to-school content. Here’s how to celebrate fall at Maryland events — while perhaps making your mark on social media.
Ren Fest + Chappell Roan
The Maryland Renaissance Festival — “Renn Fest,” as its loyal attendees call it — is a statewide tradition. For years, it has attracted locals to Crownsville, just north of Annapolis and best known as the site of a huge, old psychiatric hospital. Festivalgoers don their best silver armor and elf ears and tear into turkey legs.
This year the festival is attracting a whole new audience: Gen Zers who love 26-year-old singer Chappell Roan. Her aesthetic leans campy and theatrical, making her a kindred spirit of the crowd at Renn Fest.
Whether during a sword-fighting Vixens en Garde dance or professional circus performer Jacques Ze Whipper’s whips, the festival’s performers have taken to singing Roan’s songs throughout the day.
These homages to the “Midwestern Princess” have made their mark online, with attendees posting videos following the same script.
The festival runs most weekends of September and October at 1821 Crownsville Road in Annapolis. General admission tickets are $26.
Corn + Taylor Swift
With the launch of her Eras Tour last year, Taylor Swift took over the world and social media. Now she is conquering a cornfield in Maryland.
The Maryland Corn Maze is located on the largest farm parcel left in Anne Arundel County. This year, the labyrinth is called “Everything Taylor” and features a larger-than-life guitar, music notes and friendship bracelets cut into the field.
Getting lost in Taylor Swift for the price of $17.95 may not be everyone’s cup of tea. Luckily, the event has a slew of other fun activities, like a petting farm, pumpkin patch and hayrides.
The maze is open most weekends and select weekdays through November at 389 Gambrills Road in Gambrills.
Baltimore + Pickles
It was the summer of the pickle, articles in Forbes, The New York Times and many other publications noted, and why not carry that over into fall?
Viral pickling TikTok videos caused shortages of cucumbers across the world, and brands released pickle-themed products, including a limited-edition pickle-flavored Goldfish cracker.
Maryland is ready for the pickle trend. On Sept. 21, Power Plant Live! in Baltimore hosts a giant pickle celebration, called “The Big Dill World’s Largest Pickle Party,” from noon to 7 p.m. A standard pass costs about $25.
And from 2 to 5 p.m. on Oct. 13, Charm City Meadworks, at 400 E. Biddle St. in Baltimore, is hosting a pickle party. Participants can sample homemade pickles and participate in a pickle eating contest.
Briny veggies plus mead, a sweet and heavy winelike beverage? Why not?
Parks + Opera
Maybe fermented foods and pop stars aren’t your vibe. Perhaps you are looking for something more sophisticated to fill your fall.
Over the next several weekends, Opera Baltimore is hosting a free series called “Fall for Opera,” and it’s tailor-made for Instagram clout-chasing.
The series is described as “designed for everyone, young and seasoned listeners, offering many their very first taste of the magic of opera.”
The locations vary weekend to weekend, from Mount Vernon Place to Patterson Park.
Books + Witches
Fall means school, apples and cinnamon. It also kicks off spooky season.
Book fairs may not always lend themselves to selfies and TikToks, but this one is different. Attaboy Barrel House in Frederick, usually a wedding venue, will convert itself into a coven in late October.
The book fair will feature an aura photographer, witchy merch, food trucks and Alice Markham-Cantor, author of “The Once and Future Witch Hunt.”
Costumes are encouraged!
The event is free and takes place from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 24 at the Curious Iguana, 12 N. Market St. in Frederick.