Festival on the Hill is Bolton Hill’s premier block party held every autumn for more than 65 years. Come on out for food, drink, music, vendors, and if you’re a kid, the Kid Zone. Open to all. This year’s Festival on the Hill will take place on Saturday, October 7, 2023.
Food and drink. Local restaurants Brass Tap, CookHouse, and the Tilted Row plan to provide food or drinks. Festival favorites chili, tacos in a bag, hot dogs, and brownies to be provided by churches and schools. Booths run by volunteers with oysters, shrimp, soup, jerk chicken, soda, beer, and wine will round out the possibilities.
Activities. An assortment of entertainment will be available and various vendors will be on hand.
- Art show and exhibits
- Auction
- Basketball hoop
- Hook or by Crook book sale
- Chess
- Crafts
- 50/50 Raffle
- Juniquities
- Kid Zone
- Pet Parade
- Music performers
- Taro cards
Greater neighborhood. Many neighborhoods and local organizations comprise the greater Bolton Hill community and have been or plan to be on hand.
- Abba Haven Community
- Baltimore Fire Department
- Baltimore Recreation & Parks
- Baltimore Community Meditation Center
- Baltimore Family Alliance
- Baltimore Furniture Bank
- Baltimore Heritage
- Baltimore Music Box
- Bolton Hill Community Association
- Bolton Hill Garden Club
- Bolton Hill Nursery
- Brown Memorial Tutoring Program
- Daughters of the British Empire
- Greenmount School
- Intersection of Change
- Kappa Alpha Psi
- Madison Park
- Marble Hill
- Maryland Children’s Chorus
- Memorial Episcopal Church
- MICA
- Midtown Academy PTO
- Midtown Community Benefits District
- No Boundaries Coalition
- Odessa Sister City Committee
- P.S. 103: Justice Thurgood Marshall Center
- Samaritan Community
- Mount Royal Elementary-Intermediate School 66
- Unity Hall
Sponsors wanted!
Volunteer opportunities:
- Set up and take down
- Kid Zone
- Books
- Juniquities
- Oysters and shrimp
- Wine
- Lemon sticks
Festival on the Hill 2023 planning group:
- Nathan Arnold
- Jake Boone
- Yoni Doron
- Doug Kelso
- Chris Kingsley
- Avendui Lacovara
- Kristine Smets
- Yulia Suslova
- Lee Tawney
- Louie Wilder
For volunteering, sponsorship, or general questions, contact festival@boltonhillmd.org. Donations always welcome as well! Go here to donate by selecting “Festival on the Hill.”
History. Festival on the Hill’s origins began as a church bazaar organized by Memorial Episcopal Church on the 1300 block of Bolton Street in 1955. In 1969, Rev. Barney Farnham came up with the concept of sharing proceeds from the festival with the community. Until 2013, members of the church parish and neighbors ran the event. Then, the Bolton Hill Nursery ran the festival for several years before the Bolton Hill Community Association started leading it in 2019.
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