Maryland Fun Blog!

A good friend of mine and past client,(Hello, Carrie in Westminster) swears by this sale every year. She sends out a mass email to friends and family to tell everyone of the great deals and she wakes up at the crack of dawn on a Saturday morning to get the best pickings. This sale is known to be large and full of cheap deals for the kids. The Kids Nearly New Sale is this Saturday October 4th from 8am until Noon, rain or shine, in the huge main exhibition hall at the Howard County Fairgrounds.Get there early as the best deals go fast! Click on the link below for all the details.  Happy Shopping!

http://www.kidsnearlynewsale.com/

I wish I would have written this blog entry much earlier in the season, but time just slips away. I can not believe October is almost over! It flew by fast for me. Anyways, as October winds down to the end, you might still need to go scramble and get your front porch pumpkin. Here are some central Maryland pumpkin patches to check out this weekend or maybe even during this last week. If you are like us you have not picked your perfect pumpkin yet and will scramble out tomorrow(weather permitting) and sort through your choices.Most of these "pumpkin patches" offer so much more than just giant pumpkins, so I will include links if possible for you to get all the scoop on admissions, addresses and times.

Let me try to attempt this alphabetically, by county!

Anne Arundel County:

Dick and Jane's Farm in Harwood Maryland, easy to find location right on Route 2 in Southern AA county, you can't miss it.They are just 12 miles south of Annapolis. This cute pumpkin patch/produce stand offers everything from hay rides to jams and jellies. Check it out at http://dickandjanesfarm.com/

Green Street Gardens, in Lothian Maryland. Not just a pumpkin patch,that's for sure! Even if you do not get to Green Street for the Fall, this wonderful farm and nursery is open year round. They have a gift shop selling speciality gifts, Vera Bradley stuff, Crocs, those type of things.If you do travel to Lothian for the Fall, check out the website and give them a call to see if there are any special events.It does look like Sunday the 26th is the last day for the corn maze.Look at this corn maze on their website, it's so cool!

http://www.greenstreetgardens.com/happening.html

Not exactly a farm or a pick your own pumpkins place,but certainly a wonderful place to visit is good old Homestead Gardens in Davidsonville! They should still have some Fall activities going on and it's just a pretty site to see. I will be talking about them next month after we get a chance to go there and see their Christmas displays,which are mind blowing every year!

http://www.homesteadgardens.com/events/events-at-homestead-gardens/2008-fall-festival.html

Not so South in Anne Arundel there's Pumphrey's Home Grown Vegetables
8220 Veterans Highway (formerly Rt 3 North)
Millersville, MD 21108
Phone: 410-987-4290
Open: July - Nov daily 9 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Fruit, cider, complete selection of vegetables, also pick your own.
Fall: pick your own pumpkins (October), corn maze and farm animals, school tours by appointment for Halloween season. I can't seem to find a website for these guys,but this should get you started if Millersville is a good location for your trip.

Baltimore County:

Huber's Farm, located in Bradshaw, Maryland, it's only about 16 miles from downtown Baltimore. I have never been there but from the looks of the website, they seem to offer all the fun Fall stuff! If you go today, they have a haunted hayride in the evening which looks pretty cool. This place sounds ideal with hayrides, corn mazes, pumpkin picking and even refreshments!

http://www.hubersfarm.com/new_about.htm

North Run Farm in Stevenson, looks like a winner to me! Corn mazes, hayrides, pick your own pumpkins, a corn sand box(how fun!) last year they had 5 miles of trails through 10 acres of farm land. They even give a discount for Military personnel. Make sure you check out their "Election 2008" corn maze picture on the provided link.This farm is located less than 15 minutes from Baltimore City.

http://www.northrunfarm.com/index.html

Spring Meadows Farm looks like a great choice if you're close to North West Baltimore County. They are located in Upperco, Maryland. Pick a pumpkin, enjoy a pony ride and more.They even have a free Farm zoo, but bring quarters so you can use the feed machine to feed the farm critters.

http://www.springmeadowfarms.com/hayride.htm

Webers Farm

 Close to home, this is a cute farm that Paul and I visit with the baby from time to time. We have not been there in the Fall season yet. They have cute farm animals in which you can visit up close and personal. The problem is I just saw on their website an alert saying the barnyard activities are closed today. Maybe call a head before you go.Located in Carney, Maryland it's worth checking out sometime soon!

http://www.webersfarm.com/

 Carroll County:

Baughers "Celebrating over 100 years in Carroll County" This is a great farm with so much to offer like an orchard, a bakery, even their own restaurant if you need some home style cooking! Their website so kind, it even gives out some dessert recipes. They recommend you call before you come because it's all weather permitting,needless to say,today would not be a good.We have our fingers crossed for tomorrow!

http://www.baughers.com/

Harford County:

Applewood Farm sounds just delightful! Unfortunately, they closed today due to this nasty wet weather, but maybe tomorrow will work...This place looks like it worth the drive, they say it's about 50 minutes North of Baltimore. Look at whats included in the cost of admission:Hayrides,Petting Zoo,Corn Maze,Kiddie Maze,Lawn Bowling,Picture Boards,Spooky Spot,Witches Wicket,Pumpkin People,Model Trains,Apple Pedal Tracks,Applewood Play Ground with all that I want to get up there soon! They also have an adorable train ride which costs just a few dollars extra.

http://www.applewoodfarm.org/

Howard County:

Clarks Elioak Farm, what a great place for grown ups and kids a like! We went here a few ago and it was so fun! They have a hayride, petting farm and much more. They also have restored many of the fairy tale creations from the old Enchanted Forest in Ellicott City.It's worth the trip and offers some great spots to picnic.They located in Ellicott City right off of Route 108

http://www.clarklandfarm.com/

Sharps at Waterford, located in beautiful Brookville, Maryland,the Sharps have been farming Maryland for 105 years! They have pumpkin picking, nature trails, corn mazes and more. And what's really nice is the complimentary hayrides to the pumpkin patch!

http://www.sharpfarm.com/index.html

 Larriland Farm,in Woodbine Maryland is a super place to take the little ones! they have all the fun stuff like the hayrides,straw mazes,pumpkin patches. They also have a "Boo Barn" not the scary gory stuff though, just the perfect Halloween fun for 4 to 9 year olds, this barn should not create nightmares, just giggles.

 http://www.pickyourown.com/index.html

It's going to be a nice Fall weekend with a few great Maryland festivals to enjoy! Coming up this weekend we've got:

West River Heritage Day and Oyster Festival

Sunday October 19, 2008

12:30 to 5 p.m. At the Captain Salem Avery House Museum in Shady Side, MD. Enjoy great food, entertainment, tours, crafts, and children’s activities. We are really hoping to make it out to this one!www.averyhouse.org

While you're over on the Eastern Shore why not go to:

Chestertown Wildlife Exhibition & Sale

October 17 - 18

Chestertown’s historic district. Wildlife enthusiasts will enjoy handcrafted decoys, paintings, photos, crafts, food, and live music. www.chestertownwildlife.org

Now For East Baltimore County in case you can't drive across the bridge this weekend:

THE FAMILY FALL FESTIVAL at Veterans  in  Dundalk Maryland Saturday the 18th, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be music, crafts, a moon bounce, games, freebies, a scarecrow-stuffing station and more. Dog costume contest and parade is from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and the Children’s Trick or Treat Costume Parade and Raffle will run from 1 to 2 p.m. Wear a costume. Info: 410-282-0261. I am really hoping to take Oz to this festival in costume after his nap! It will be his first time celebrating Halloween, he was just too young last year! We hope to see everyone there. We'll be the proud Mommy and Daddy walking around with the funny little 19 month old boy in a monkey costume!

Another AA County Idea! Halloween Happening Haunted Barn and Hayrides
Date: 10/17/2008 - 10/26/2008; Fri-Sat, 7-10pm; Sun, 7-9pm
Anne Arundel County Fairgrounds, 1450 Generals Hwy., Crownsville, Anne Arundel County
410-923-3400
www.aacountyfair.org
Haunted house and hayride fundraiser scaring up your evening of fun; food available.

It's funny, I absolutely love Halloween, the decorations, the costumes, the pumpkins, the candy, but I am a major wimp when it comes to haunted houses! If you like to be scared out of your wits and enjoy the thrills of the costumed zombies jumping out at you, check out this posting.

I have discovered East Baltimore county likes to celebrate Halloween to the fullest. We have a neighbor down the road who filled her yard with Halloween inflatables around mid-September,you get the idea. Why not plan a haunted house hop across the East side? Warning these are not for little ones and if you click on some of these links,they have loud creepy music (just a pre-warning in case you do this while you are at work)

Fort Howard Haunted Dungeons, located Fort Howard Park, 9500 North Point Rd, Edgemere, MD 21219. Priced at $12 an adult, $6 a child, This weekend evening event starts at dusk and closes up when the park reaches capacity.It is the 25th anniversary for this scary event!It will be held Oct. 17,18,24,25,26,31 and November 1st. I hate to say it but I can not find an appropriate weblink to post here. You can try calling 410-887-7529 for more information.

Next Travel up to the corner of Wise Ave and Merritt Blvd to see Gray Charles Haunted House on the left hand side. I don't know any more scoop next except it's another Dundalk haunted house on weekend evenings. I can not find any information on the web for it. The good news is there is yet another haunting right across the street so the creepy crawl can continue right into Kim's Krypt! This place looks awfully scary! They just did a front page article on this house of horrors in the East County Times. This lady Kim, eats and breathes Halloween. It's located in the Merritt Park shopping center next to Maxway and is run completely by volunteers. This attraction is open now every Friday, Saturday and Sunday until November 2nd from 7 pm until 10:30 pm. Go to http://www.kimskrypt.com for all the gory details!

Now, if you can keep going and are still aching for some more scares head out to Essex and all the way down Riverside Drive, you'll find Cox's Point Haunted Mansion. Maryland's Oldest Haunted Attraction since 1968,over 20 live actors and actresses await your arrival!
Help them celebrate their 40th anniversary of scaring East Baltimore county!

http://www.coxspoint.com/

It's another busy weekend throughout Maryland, here is just a sampling of some fun ideas for beautiful upcoming weekend!

In Anne Arundel county, you might want to try the the huge US Sailboat Show. It's running today through Monday the 13th and is a sight to be seen! Go to http://www.usboat.com/us_sailboat_show.php for all the details on directions,parking and admission fees.

One of my favorite fall festivals is happening this weekend up in Thurmont,an absolutely beautiful, cozy town to visit if you have never been up there. It's the 45th annual Catoctin Colorfest, an arts and crafts festival with free admission!   This event hosts over 350 vendors in the gorgeous Catoctin mountain scenery. They time it perfectly so you can enjoy the colorful Fall foliage while browsing through the local arts.Check out the official website to get all details on parking and such.

http://www.colorfest.org/ 

I am late getting to this one but if you can swing it, Lexington Market, downtown is having their annual chocolate festival today and tomorrow.Every kind of chocolate you can imagine under one roof and you can watch cooking demos,enjoy live music and more! Check out the website for more scoop!

http://www.lexingtonmarket.com/annual.html

Are you ready for Halloween? Get into the spirit by taking the crew to Maryland's Oldest Haunted Attraction, the Cox's Point Haunted Mansion. The haunted mansion is held open every Friday,Saturday and Sunday night through the month of October. Located in Essex ,Maryland it's worth a shot to see if they can scare you this weekend. Go to http://www.coxspoint.com/

They do recommend this haunted house for older kids, about 13 or older, it is scary. Please read the through the website before you take your little ones there.

I should have added this earlier in the week, but things get hectic and well, sometimes the blog does not get all the attention it needs.

So just a few more things to add to the event choices this weekend!

A Michael Phelps Celebration!

Today at 3:00 pm in Towson, the Parade of Gold, honoring our Maryland Olympic heros. Parking will be free in Towson today from 1-6 pm. This parade starts at the intersection of York road and Burke Ave.

If you really want to celebrate in style get down to Fort Mchenry right after the Towson parade to the Star Spangled Salute to Michael Phelps. Entertainment and Festival begins at 3:00 pm.  The official program begins at 7:00 pm, they are encouraging the public to go early and stay late! You can pay for parking in advance or take a FREE shuttle bus to avoid the parking lot wars. Please visit the official website for all the exact details on both events!!! http://baltimore.org/phelps

Looking for something a little more low key and easy to take the little ones to? Check out the Howard County Conservatory Fall Festival in Woodstock MD, one mile from the neighborhood where I grew up, this 232 acre farm is beautiful. This relaxing event features, craft vendors, animals, music and more! They also offer trail hikes throughout the farmland. Go to http://www.hcconservancy.org/ for details and directions, it's easy, it's right on Rt.99 near Waverly Woods!

Attention all dog lovers! Pets on Wheels is holding their third annual Dog-A-Thon this Saturday Oct. 4th at Oregon Ridge Park from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. It's a fund raiser which you can walk to raise money for Pets on Wheels. Fun activities like a doggie costume contest,kissing booth, an agility demo and more. It is also a perfect opportunity to get your pet's nails clipped for just $8 or have them micro chipped for only $30! For more information go to http://www.petsonwheels.org/dog-a-thon2008.htm

More Fun Fall Festival Ideas!

 Please, if you are reading this blog, feel free to write in and tell me about your Maryland events or festivals,whatever you've got going on! I would be delighted to post about your event. This blog is starting to get more hits than ever these days so it is a great opportunity for you to advertise your function for free!