The Preakness Is Where?

The Best Things to Do in Baltimore This Weekend...

Author

Eating Baltimore
May 14, 2026

Hey Baltimore—

The Preakness is this weekend and this one might feel a little different. The race has moved to Laurel Park while Pimilco undergoes major renovations.

What you might not know is Saturday marks Laurel Park’s first & last Preakness. It’s being converted to a full time horse training facility next year. Here’s more info you can rattle off at your Preakness watch party…

🏠 For Sale: This 3-bed, 4-bath Ruxton home at 1216 Berwick Rd brings 3,504 sq ft of stone-and-shingle charm, soaring ceilings, custom millwork, and private outdoor space. Priced at $1,348,000.

(Note: If this one has you suddenly “just browsing,” our real estate guru Susan Carroll can help with buying, selling, or decoding the market without making your head spin. Click here to connect with Susan and learn more.)

🍝 Menu Item: The Feast of the Seven Fishes at Rocco’s Towson is basically the ocean’s greatest hits: mussels, lobster tail, calamari, clams, shrimp, crab, and octopus over linguine in a light marinara.

🎟️ Hot Ticket: Fest Of Spring: Wine, Food & Music Festival takes over Carroll Park in Baltimore on Saturday, June 13th from 1–9 PM with wine tastings, local and international food, live performances, and a cause-driven mission supporting autism awareness.

Here’s what we’ve got this weekend:

  • Flower Fest at the Union Collective…

  • Mobtown Retro Market…

  • And the Filipino Festival Returns…

Scroll on, make plans, and eat well, Charm City.

P.S. Want your business in front of 8,000+ locals? Advertising with Eating Baltimore means growing your business and supporting a feel-good, homegrown newsletter that’s all about building community in the Baltimore area. Click here to partner with us!

Things To Do In Baltimore & Surrounding Areas This Weekend

Friday, May 15th

MICA ArtWalk 2026 (Free)
📅 Friday, May 15 | 5:30 PM
📍 Maryland Institute College of Art, 1300 W Mount Royal Avenue, Baltimore
MICA opens its massive ArtWalk showcase across campus with work from graduating artists, collectors, and curious Baltimore art lovers. It’s one of those “bring a date, pretend you know color theory” kind of nights.

🎵 All Your Friends: The Indie Dance Party ($)
📅 Friday, May 15 | 9 PM
📍 Baltimore Soundstage, 124 Market Pl, Baltimore
A full-on indie dance party for anyone who still has emotional attachment to Bloc Party, Crystal Castles, and a suspiciously scratched iPod. Grab tickets and give your knees one more night of 2000s glory.

Saturday, May 16th

Community Flea Market (Free)
📅 Saturday, May 16 | 9 AM
📍 Roland Water Tower, Baltimore
The community flea market returns near the Roland Water Tower with a family-friendly morning of browsing, bargain hunting, and “wait, I actually need that” finds. Attendance is free, with vendor spaces available separately.

Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Celebration ($)
📅 Saturday, May 16 | 10 AM
📍 The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore, 1 Safari Place, Baltimore
Celebrate AAPI Heritage Month at the Maryland Zoo with entertainment, community vendors, cultural activities, and hands-on fun. Zoo admission applies, so make a day of it and say hello to the animals while you’re there.

Preakness Pool Party ($)
📅 Saturday, May 16 | 12 PM
📍 Raw & Refined, 2723 Lighthouse Pt E, Baltimore
Raw & Refined brings back its annual Preakness Pool Party with pool access, horse races, cornhole, beer pong, and drink specials. Tickets are $25 for this 21+ waterfront hang.

Good Boy Bagels Turns 2!! (Free)
📅 Saturday, May 16 | 12 PM
📍 Good Boy Bagels, 834 S Conkling St, Baltimore
Good Boy Bagels is celebrating two years with free snowballs, pup cups, dog bowties, pop-up plants, and special discounts. Bring your appetite, your dog, or at least your dog-like enthusiasm for carbs.

Flower Fest at the Union Collective! (Free)
📅 Saturday, May 16 | 12 PM
📍 Baltimore Spirits Company, 1700 W 41st St STE 430, Baltimore
Union Collective is going full bloom with flower beers, flower cocktails, flower coffee, and plenty of flowery vendors. It’s basically spring in a glass, plus shopping.

Spring Fling by Federal Hill Prep (Free)
📅 Saturday, May 16 | 12 PM
📍 Federal Hill Preparatory School, 1040 William St, Baltimore
Federal Hill Prep’s annual Spring Fling brings the neighborhood together for games, kid-friendly fun, and community festival vibes. A solid Saturday stop if you’re looking for something easy, local, and family-friendly.

MOBTOWN RETRO MARKET (Free)
📅 Saturday, May 16 | 1 PM
📍 Mobtown Brewing Company, 4015 Foster Avenue, Suite 400, Baltimore
Mobtown Brewing Company is throwing it back with a retro market full of vintage clothing, vinyl, comics, and other old-school treasures. Free to attend, dangerous for anyone who “just wants to look.”

🎵 AfroPreak ($)
📅 Saturday, May 16 | 2 PM
📍 POWER PLANT LIVE!, 34 Market Place, Baltimore
AfroPreak takes over Power Plant Live for a high-energy Preakness weekend party hosted by Jazzy Summer Nights. Expect a big crowd, big sound, and a Saturday that will not be ending early.

Sunday, May 17th

Baltimore Vintage Expo — 10 Year Anniversary Edition ($)
📅 Sunday, May 17 | 9 AM
📍 UNION Craft Brewing, 1762 Union Ave, Baltimore
The Baltimore Vintage Expo celebrates 10 years with a curated one-day market packed with vintage clothing, goods, and collector-worthy finds. Go early if you’re serious — the best pieces never wait around.

Filipino Festival ($)
📅 Sunday, May 17 | 10 AM
📍 POWER PLANT LIVE!, 34 Market Place, Baltimore
Power Plant Live hosts an all-ages Filipino Festival on Sunday morning during Preakness weekend. Expect a lively downtown gathering celebrating Filipino culture, food, and community.

GOLDEN GIRLS TRIVIA! (Free)
📅 Sunday, May 17 | 1 PM
📍 Nepenthe Brewing Co., 3626 Falls Road, Baltimore
Thank you for being a friend — and for knowing way too much about St. Olaf. Nepenthe is hosting Golden Girls Trivia, so gather your besties and prepare for cheesecake-level competition.

The Birdland Crab Feast With Mike Bordick ($)
📅 Sunday, May 17 | 1:30 PM
📍 Jimmy's Famous Seafood, 6526 Holabird Ave, Baltimore
Jimmy’s Famous Seafood hosts a Birdland Crab Feast with former Orioles shortstop Mike Bordick. Come hungry for crabs, baseball stories, and peak Baltimore Sunday energy.

🎵 An Evening With David Byrne — Who Is the Sky Tour ($)
📅 Sunday, May 17 | 8 PM
📍 Hippodrome Theatre at the France-Merrick Performing Arts Center, 12 N Eutaw Street, Baltimore
David Byrne brings the Who Is the Sky Tour to the Hippodrome for a Sunday night that should be anything but ordinary. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster if you want to end the weekend with a legend.

Headlines in the Community

Faidley’s long-awaited Catonsville sibling is finally cracking open: The Fishmonger’s Daughter has started its reservation-only soft launch at 720 Frederick Road after a six-year, $10 million renovation. Read more…

Baltimore Peninsula is loading up for a busy retail year, with seven new businesses on deck by autumn — including Urbano, Live-K Karaoke, Slurp Noodle Bar, Shinkansen Sushi, Blü Cā, Inspire Nail Bar, and Everbrook Academy. Read more…

Owings Mills has a new reason to detour from the fast-casual usuals: Chevere Bites is serving Venezuelan arepas, tequeños, cachapa brava, Frescolita, and a signature green sauce worth building a lunch plan around. Read more…

Pigtown’s Wico Street Beer Co. will close at the end of May, giving locals just a few more weekends to raise a glass at the four-year-old Wicomico Street brewery. Read more…

Maryland Poet Laureate Lady Brion Gill is launching the inaugural Revolutionary Writers Poetry Festival May 15-17, bringing spoken-word workshops, panels, slams, open mics, and a Baltimore poetry documentary premiere to The Voxel and Baltimore Unity Hall. Read more…

Artscape’s 2026 menu is getting clearer: Memorial Day weekend will bring nearly 100 Artists’ Market vendors, a Devin Allen-curated Scout Art Fair, local food vendors, and headliners The Roots and Stephanie Mills to Downtown Baltimore. Read more…

Baltimore’s new Art After Dark initiative is swapping graffiti-heavy walls for sanctioned murals, starting on the JFX with five artists and a Baltimore-themed oriole-and-raven piece that feels very on brand. Read more…

Federal Hill’s sweet tooth gets one last lap: Dulceology is closing its South Charles Street storefront after six years, with a farewell weekend stocked for maximum alfajor emotion. Read more…

The B&O Railroad Museum’s Restore Baltimore program just landed a $500,000 boost to keep turning hands-on rail, restoration, and trade training into real career ladders. Read more…

Real Estate Corner: Brought to You By Susan Carroll, eXp Realty 

Each week we’ll showcase a few standout listings from around the Baltimore area—sometimes it’s a great starter home, sometimes a smart investment, and sometimes just one we can all daydream about.

If any of these spark your interest, or you’re curious about the market in general, our partner Susan Carroll is here to help with buying, selling, or answering your real estate questions.

Special Event: Curious about urban homesteading in Baltimore? Susan is hosting an “Urban Homestead Discovery Walk” at her 202 S. Athol Ave listing, where guests can explore creative gardening spaces, sustainable living ideas, and the unique character of the property. Walks take place Friday, May 22 from 6:30–7:30 PM and Saturday, May 23 from 11 AM–12 PM.

Pet Of The Week

Have a furry, feathered, or scaly friend you’re proud of? Send a photo and a few fun facts, and we might feature them in an upcoming issue. It’s a fun way to share smiles with the community and discover local pet resources along the way.

This week’s reader submission is: Luna

“This is my beautiful black lab/Shepherd mix, Luna. She is an angel baby and we love her very much. Luna loves to sunbathe; she is a big time snuggle bug & loves her toys. She is a black lab, shepard mix & LOVES people and playing with other pups! She also LOVES pup cups, bones, french fries & pizza crust! She is two, turning three this May!” 

Luna, ready for the sun!

Date Spot Of The Week

Costas Inn (Dundalk)

📍 4100 North Point Blvd, Baltimore

Costas Inn has been doing the Baltimore crab house thing since 1971 — steamed crabs, jumbo lump crab cakes, pit beef, and 15 big screens if you want dinner with a little Ravens/Orioles chaos in the background.

What to order: You can’t really go wrong. Steamed crabs if you want the full experience. The 8 oz. Maryland jumbo lump crab cake never disappoints. Or split a crab cake and add pit beef if you’re trying to cover both Costas classics.

The vibe: Old-school Baltimore seafood spot — casual, busy, crab mallets on the table, zero need to overthink the outfit.

Thanks for reading Eating Baltimore today. Share it with someone who is making the trip to Laurel for the Preakness.

Have a great weekend!

Matt | Eating Baltimore

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