Schedule:

October 7, 2023

Main Stage:

11:00 AM: Festival Open w/ Dan Meyer Choir and Empressa Ensemble

Our festival open will feature a special welcome to attendees for the 6th annual International Edgar Allan Poe Festival, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony to reconize our newest festival sponsors, Wells Fargo.

Chris Rhiel, Master of Ceremonies

Chris Riehl is a Baltimore tour guide, emcee, and entertainer. As the owner of Rent-A-Tour (www.rentatour.com) since 2007 he has had the privilege of showcasing Charm City for thousands of visitors from around the world. He has emceed events like the Maryland Tourism Coalition Awards Banquet, hosted video productions for the Baltimore Tourism Association and the Greater Baltimore History Alliance, and performed for Silhouette Stages and the Baltimore Orioles. He has personally led dozens of tours for Poe Baltimore, both in person and virtually and is excited to be a part of Poe Fest International 2023!

Dan Meyer Choir

The Dan Meyer Choir is Baltimore’s most original community choir, presenting locally sourced choral music celebrating the history and traditions of Baltimore. Every October the Dan Meyer Choir performs it’s Baltimorgue concert. Baltimorgue is a collection of choral stories about folks who have died in Baltimore over the centuries. Changing from year to year, Baltimorgue has become a Halloween tradition since 2009.

Empressa Ensemble

The Empressa Ensemble will present music and poetry related to Edgar Allan Poe. Hear some of Poe's most iconic poems set to exquisite and haunting music! Explore 19th-century marriage anxiety in humorous song! Delve into the dark as Halloween takes over the stage!  Elissa Edwards is a critically acclaimed singer, specializing in vocal chamber music. Her seductive soprano voice has been featured in recordings and concert appearances on both sides of the Atlantic.

12:30 PM: The Ultra Kings

The Ultra Kings are a Roots Rock and Roll/ Rockabilly band based out of the Lehigh Valley area in Pennsylvania, established in 2000. Rick Kuebler plays lead guitar and lead vocals, Carl Ehst provides the back beat on drums and backup vocals; the band is rounded off with Rich Freese on the stand-up bass and backup vocals.

1:30 PM: Ballet Embody

Maryland's premiere dance project dedicated to representing narratives  and original ideas through the tangible and visible art form of dance.  Founded in 2019, Ballet Embody perform both classical and contemporary ballet with the intention of  entertaining, educating, and inspiring audiences in the Greater Baltimore region. Ballet dancers will interpret Edgar Allan Poe stories. PLUS: did you see  Austrian singers Teya and Salena's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023? Did you know there's a dance? Ballet Embody will teach YOU the moves from the "Who the Hell Is Edgar?" music video.

2:30 PM: Ursula Ricks

The "Queen of Baltimore Soul." From her website: "For 32 years, Ursula Ricks has been holdin' court with her unique, spellbinding vocals, unique for it's range, energy, and depth her vocal grabs you by your heart and shake's loose what you don't need, leaving you with a well being in your soul that compels you to discover the Ursula Ricks beyond the entertainer.  And if you do so, you'll find just that.....Ursula Ricks, unapologetic, opinionated, big-hearted, and most importantly, authentic."

4:00 PM: Costume Contest POErade

As though stepping out of the very pages of a Poe story, you have doned your most haunting attire and now it's time to POErade. The costume parade will begin at the main stage then move through festival grounds as we close Day 1 of Poe Fest International!

Sign up to enter! Contestants meet behind the Main Stage for check-in and pre-judging at 2:45. Meet the judges:

Woman of Wonders has been cosplaying since 2009. She enjoys cosplaying as female protagonists like Wonder Woman (Amor), Aveline de Grandpre (Assassins Creed), and Metroid’s Samus (Gravity Suit). But what she loves most about cosplay is building the costumes and sharing her process. Her costume commissions with Woman of Wonders (WOW) Custom Designs have assembled over 60 costumes for herself, family, friends and referred clients. In 2022, she and her husband combined their talents to form Pics and Patterns, LLC, a photography and costume making service.

Bishop Cosplay has been cosplaying since 2009. He has cosplayed many unique characters such as Bishop from The X-men (thus his moniker), Superman and recently Dr. Voodoo. He enjoys cosplay because it enables him to breathe life into characters that don’t always get the same amount of attention that many mainstream ones get. He also specializes in photography, especially cosplay photography. His work has been featured at the Reginald Lewis Museum in Baltimore, Star Wars Insider Magazine and recently he became the first Black cosplayer and photographer to have his work of other cosplayers published internationally in Men’s Health Magazine.

October 8, 2023

Main Stage:

11:00 AM: Wordsmith

Wordsmith will take the audience through a days’ worth of blue-collar trials and triumphs common to all walks of life. Storytelling will be on full display as he weaves tales of living life check to check, the joy of promotions, displaying brilliance, losing faith, filling voids and keeping promises. Wordsmith is a songwriter, performer, entrepreneur and philanthropist from Baltimore, MD. In 2009 he opened his independent label NU Revolution Entertainment followed by his nonprofit, Rise with a Purpose, Inc. in 2020.

12:00 PM: Kristin Ostling

Kristin Ostling has been a featured soloist with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and has enjoyed chamber music roles with a roster that includes Pinchas Zukerman, Ralph Kirschbaum, and The Baltimore Symphony’s concertmaster, Jonathan Carney. In addition to playing the traditional classical repertoire, Kristin is also one of a growing number of cellists exploring the genre of rock cello. She was a member of the heavy metal cello band Primitivity, and is an honorary member of The Sofa Kings of Pittsburgh. She can also be heard on the rock album “Southern Barber Supply” by the Cashmere Jungle Lords.

1:00 PM: The Coldharts

A selection of songs from the touring musical 'Edgar Allan & Eddie Poe,' inspired by the youth and writing of Edgar Allan Poe. Katie Hartman as Eddie Poe & Nick Ryan as Edgar Allan. The Coldharts is a touring theater company based in Brooklyn, NY creating minimalist musicals inspired by the American Gothic. 2019 Saturday 'Visiter' Awards Nominee

1:45 PM: Poe's Magic Theatre feat. Vince Wilson

Poe’s Magic Theater’s Vince Wilson is a Master Hypnotist, skilled mentalist and illusionist with over two decades of experience and a lifetime of interest in magic, myth and history. He specializes in hypnosis, mentalism and storytelling magic.

2:30 PM: Poehemia

Celtic Rock and loads mair! Poehemia has been shaped by the hard rocking traditions of Baltimore and the thriving music scene in Glasgow. Since 2012 Poehemia has performed hundreds of high-energy electric and acoustic shows at pubs, wineries, breweries, festivals, and special events throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.

3:30 PM: The Baltimore City Pipe Band

Returning for a fourth year, The Baltimore City Pipe Band will honor Poe’s Death Weekend and close the festival. The bagpipe and drum corps is a non-competing band made of private individuals dedicated to the enjoyment and preservation of Scottish Bagpipe music. The band performs at a variety of events to include parades, dances, charitable and social functions, and community festivals in Baltimore and throughout Maryland.

Date:
October 7-8, 2023

Location:
Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum,
203 North Amity Street,
Baltimore, MD 21203.

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