Senior Friendly Spring Activities in Maryland 2019

By Anna Hazard

Introduction

Here are a selection of spring themed activities, events, and festivities that will be taking place throughout Baltimore and the general Maryland region that are family and senior friendly. The spotlight is on easily accessible activities that become more readily available around this time of year such as those that have a particular focus on flowers, vegetation, seasonal produce, animals, and spring holidays or other outdoor events that take advantage of the mild seasonal weather.
 
While some locations remain available throughout the year and many events repeat annually, there are a fair few one time occurrences or areas that are only open for public touring during a very limited time. As always, for those seniors with more severe forms of limited mobility or health issues, prospective venue locations should be checked out in advance to be certain they will provide the needed level of accessibility.

Spring Events

Spring Garden Touring

• Touring through a large, professionally maintained garden is a popular spring activity that mirrors the fall foliage tours available a few months prior. While many garden areas remain open and available throughout the entire year, guided tours focused on new spring growth tend to not be available until the end of March or beginning of April at the earliest. Many gardens also remain entirely closed to the public during the winter months or are only available during certain days as a part of a specific tour. While most of these gardens are handicapped accessible with paved or packed down trails suitable for wheelchairs, scooters, or other mobility aids, each specific venue should be checked in advance for their mobility requirements for any seniors with more severe health or mobility limitations.
• Anne Arundel : |  Homestead Gardens (Year Round) | Historic London Town & Gardens (Year Round) | William Paca House & Garden (March 23 - December) |
• Baltimore: Rawlings Conservatory & Botanic Gardens (Year Round) | Sherwood Gardens (Year Round) | Ladew Topiary Gardens (April 1 - Oct 31) |
• Frederick: Lilypons Water Garden (Year Round) | Catoctin Wildlife Preserve (March 23) | Beyond the Garden Gates (Frederick, May 18 - 19) |
• Montgomery: McCrillis House & Gardens (Year Round) | Brookside Gardens (Year Round) | Soleado Lavendar Farm (Montgomery, May - July) | Chevy Chase Garden Tour (May 18) |
• Other: Ann Marie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center (Calvert, Year Round) |  Sotterly Plantation (St. Mary's, Year Round, Guided Tours May - October) | Maryland House & Garden Pilgrimmage (Various, April 27 - May 19) |  Havre de Grace Secret Garden Tour (Harford, May 18 - 19) 

Spring Garden & Flower Festivals

• Nothing is more indicative of spring than the resurgence of flowers, herbs, and other vegetation after the hibernation of the cold, winter months. Thus there are a wide selection of garden and flower focused festivals to enjoy throughout the Baltimore and extended Maryland region around this time of year. Most of these festivals are free to attend with a wide variety of flowers, herbs, and other plants available for purchase at their locations. As these types of festivals take place outdoors, you'll want to keep an eye out on the weather for spring showers as well as checking the venue in advance for mobility requirements for those seniors with more severe mobility or health problems.
• Anne Arundel: Spring Herb Gala (April 27) | May Day in Annapolis (May 1)
• Baltimore: Ladew Garden Festival (May 2) | FlowerMart ( May 3-4) | Wildlife Week (May 3 - 11) | Cylburn Market Day (May 11) | Charles Village Festival & Garden Walk (June 1 -2)
• Frederick: Beyond the Garden Gates (May 18 - 19) | Maryland Lavendar Festival (June 15 - 16)
• Prince George's: Greenbelt Green Man Festival (May 11 - 12) | Smile Herb Festival (May 18)
• Other: National Cherry Blossom Festival (DC, March 20 - April 14) |  St. Paul's Flower Fair (Dorchester, May 2) |  Garden Mart (Harford, May 18 - 19)

Spring Festivals

• Here are a selection of other more general themed spring festivals & events that are not solely focused on food, music, or the flowers, gardens, and the other vegetation available during this time of year (although they are still often a good sized component). Outdoor art festivals, events based on animals (such as horse racing), and kite festivities are particularly popular during these spring months. While most of these festivals take place outdoors to take advantage of the mild spring weather, there are a handful that also have indoor components for those seniors who wish to avoid extended exposure to the elements. Most festival venues should be handicapped accessible, but as always, they should be checked in advanced for those with more severe forms of mobility or health issues (especially as some popular festivals can become packed and thus harder to maneuver through).
• Anne Arundel: Annapolis Book Festival (April 4 - 5) | First Sunday Arts Festival (1st Sunday May - November) | Made in Maryland Fest (May 5) | AACAR Spring Fest (May 19)
• Baltimore: Big Baltimore Kite Fest (March 30) | John Hopkins University Spring Fair (April 26 - 28) | Towson Town Gardens Day & Spring Festival (May 4 & 5) | Preakness (May 16 - 18) | Arbutus Arts Festival May 19) | Annual Sowebo Arts and Music Festival (May 26) |
• Carroll: Sykesville Art & Wine Festival (May 5) | Secret Garden Caribbean Music, Arts & Wine Festival (May 12)
• Howard : SpringFest (April 27) | | Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival (Howard, May 4 - 5) |
• Harford: Bel Air Annual Kite Festival (April 13) | Havre de Grave Wildlife Art Festival (May 4 - 5)
• Kent: Dogwood Festival (May 18) | Chestertown Colonial Tea Party Festival (May 24 - 26)
• Montgomery: Bethesda Fine Arts Festival (May 11 - 12) | Taste of Wheaton (May 30 - June 2)
• Prince George's: Savor Bowie Food, Wine, & Music Festival (April 13 - 14) | Montpelier Festival of Herbs Teas & the Arts (Prince George's, April 27) | Adelphi Strawberry Festival (June 2)
• Worcester: SpringFest (May 2 - 5) | Ocean City Spring Fest (Worcester, May 2 - 5) |
• Other: Blossom Kite Festival (DC, March 30) | Eastern Shore Sea Glass & Coastal Arts Festival (Talbot, April 6 - 7) |  Rose Hill Spring Festival (Frederick, April 27 - 28) |  Historic St. Mary's May Day (St. Mary's, May 4) | Stars & Stripes Festival (Calvert, May 25 - 27) 

Spring Food Festivals

• Here are a selection of food based festivals that can be found scattered around the Maryland state region during the spring months. For many of these festivals, the main theme is a particular spring-based produce such as strawberries or seafood that come into season during this time of year. Food festivals tend to have a plentiful supply of shaded & seating areas available for their attendees and thus tend to be particularly suitable for those with more limited mobility. As always, the festival venue should be checked in advance to make certain that it will provide a suitable experience for those with health issues.
• Anne Arundel: Benson-Hammond House Strawberry Festival (May 8) | Maryland Food Truck Festival (June 15)
• Baltimore: Baltimore Wine & Food Festival (May 11) | Maryland Crab Fest (June 22)
• Carroll : Taste of Carroll (Carroll, April 29) | St. Mary's Strawberry Festival (June 1) | Messiah's Strawberry Festival (June 15)
• Somerset :  Somerset Strawberry Festival (May 12) | Soft Shell Spring Fair (Sommerset, May 26)
• Other:  Ridgely Lions Strawberry Festival (Caroline, May 26) | Beer, Bacon, Music (Washington, June 1) |  St. Luke's Strawberry Festival (Talbot, June 1) | Sandy Spring Strawberry Festival (Montgomery, June 1 - 2)| St. Mary's County Crab Festival (St Mary's, June 8)

Spring Music Concerts & Festivals

• The milder weather also marks the start of outdoor concerts and music festivals around the Baltimore and greater Maryland region during the spring months. Depending upon the exact festival, concerts can focus on a certain type of music (Bluegrass, Jazz, Classical etc) or have a more wider array of musical talents and genres. While the festivals & some concerts have free entry, many concerts may require purchasing tickets in advance. Venues should be checked in advance for accessibility, especially for those events that may become overly crowded.
• Baltimore: Charm City Bluegrass Festival (April 26 - 27) | Spring Bluegrass (Baltimore, April 7 - May 5)
• DC: | Broccoli City Festival (DC, April 25 - 27) | DC Jazz Festival (June 7 - 16)
• Other: DelFest (Alleghany, May 23-26) | Hometown Holidays Music Fest (Montgomery, May 25 - 27) |  MusicFest (Cecil, June 1) | Tides & Tunes Concert Series (Anne Arundel, June 13th - August 15th) 

Spring Exhibitions

• Here are a selection of spring exhibitions and outdoor shows taking place around Maryland that take advantage of the season's mild weather. The focus tends to be on kite expos, races and other automobile or vehicle-based displays, as well as a selection of outdoor art exhibits and presentations. Most venues should be easy to access even for those with more limited mobility with a variety of both paid and free events. As these exhibitions tend to lack any indoor components, care will need to be taken when it comes for preparing for the weather (or any weather related cancellations).
• Frederick: | British Car Show (June 2) | Barnstormers Tour & Plein Air Paint Out (June 8)
• Worcester: Maryland International Kite Expo (April 26 - 28) | Cruisin' Ocean City (May 16 - 19)
• Other: Baltimore Kinetic Sculpture Race (Baltimore, May 4) |  Battle by the Bay Truck Pull (St. Mary's, May 25)  | Paint Annapolis Art Week & Plein Air (Anne Arundel, June 1 - 8) | Paint It! Ellicott City (Howard, June 27 - July 1) | Plein Air Easton (Talbot. July 14 - 21)

Spring Boat Shows & Cruises

• After winter's cold weather tending to shut down or otherwise hamper most water based activities, cruises, boat shows, and other maritime festivities begin revving up again with the coming of warmer temperatures in the spring. Take advantage of the better weather for a more pleasant experience on-board the cruises that available all year long (and before the hot summer weather causes crowds to fill up the reservations in advance) or enjoy a selection of spring maritime festivals. Most of the larger cruises should be handicapped accessible although all venues should be checked in advance for those with more severe health or mobility issues.
• Baltimore: Spirit of Baltimore Cruises | Baltimore Cruises on the Bay (Inner Harbor & Annapolis) | Baltimore Water Taxi | Urban Pirates (April) | Bay Bridge Boat Show (April 12 - 14) |
• Other: Solomons Maritime Festival (Calvert, May 4) | Chesapeake Bay Antique and Classic Boat Festival (Talbot, June 14 - 15) 

Easter Events

• Easter is one of the most well known and popular of all spring holidays with secular activities & festivities that can be enjoyed even if one doesn't belong to its original celebrating religion. Here are a selection of Easter-based events that can be found around Maryland. The focus here are on activities beyond the standard easter egg hunt for the kids that can be participated in by seniors and the entire family. This includes Easter themed meals, festivals, garden affairs, and bunny photo opportunities that can be enjoyed indoors or outdoors, depending upon the exact event in question.
• Easter Bunny Garden Visit (Anne Arundel, March 24 - 25) | Easter Egg Festival (St. Mary's, April 6) | Chesapeake Beach Easter Party (Calvert, April 7) | Breakfast with the Easter Bunny (Cecil, April 13 - 22) | Bunnyland (Montgomery, April 13 - 22) |  Mount Airy Golden Egg Hunt (Carroll/Frederick, April 17 - 20) | Bunny Bonanzoo (Baltimore, April 19 - 21) | Easter Egg Roll (Frederick, April 20) | Carroll County Market Easter Show (Carroll, April 20)

Spring Farmer's Markets

• While there are a scattering of Farmer's Markets throughout the Maryland region that remain open throughout the whole year, the majority can be found re-opening during the spring months once in-season produce become more plentiful. Farmer's Markets are a good sensory outing that can provide fresh, healthy, and nutritious produce (from the common vegetables & fruits that come to mind as well as more esoteric flowers, herbs, or other farm produce) for the whole family and is especially beneficial for those seniors who may not possess the proper mobility to indulge in pick-your-own produce events on nearby farms.
• Baltimore : 32nd Street Farmer's Market | Baltimore Farmer's Market |  Druid Hill Farmer's Market | Fell's Point Farmer's Market  Govan's Farmer's Market | Hampden Farmer's Market | Catonsville Farmer's Market | Kenilworth Farmer's Market
• Carroll : Carroll County Farner's Market | Hampstead Farmer's Market | Mount Airy Main Street Farmer's Market
• Frederick : Frederick City Market | Middletown Farmer's Market | NCI Farmer's Market
• Harford: Harford County Farmer's Markets | Havre de Grace Farmer's Market
• Howard: Ellicot City Old Town Market | Howard County Farmer's Market | Maple Lawn Farmer's Market
• Montgomery: Central Farm Markets | Farm Women's Market | Dawson's Market | Montgomery Village Farmer's Market | Olney Farmer & Artist Market | Potomac Village Farmer's Market | Shady Grove Farmer's Market | Takoma Park Farmer's Market
• Prince George : Farmer's Market at Maryland | Greenbelt Farner's Market | Hollywood Farmer's Market | Hyattsville Farmer's Market
• Other: Crofton Farmer's Market (Anne Arundel) | Mountain Fresh Farmer's Market (Garrett) | Kent Island Farmer's Market (Queen Anne) | Historic City Farmer's Market (Washington)

Spring Fruit, Produce, & Berry Picking

• For those seniors who have good enough fitness and mobility to be able to easily travel through cultivated fields, indulging in a pick-your-own produce outing can be a fun & healthy way to enjoy the fresh spring air, get a bit of exercise & sensory input, as well as act as a good source for more nutritious & flavorful local grown produce. Many pick-your-own farms tend to reopen for business in the spring to allow the procurement of early season produce such as strawberries (most commonly the earliest to reach maturity in the spring), raspberries, and blackberries. The milder weather & less crowds as compared to the summer, also make spring pick-your-own events a wise choice (although the summer months will bring a wider variety of produce to chose from). Most pick-your-own farms will also include their own private farmer's markets that sell their produce for those not inclined to pick directly from the fields themselves.
• Baltimore: Shaw Orchard | Weber's PeachBerry Farm | Baugher's
• Frederick: Catoctin Mountain Orchard  | Glade Link Farms  | Maynes Tree Farm
• Howard: Gorman Farms | Larriland Farm
• Other: Swann Farms (Calvert) | Jones Family Farm (Harford) | Butler's Orchard (Montgomery) | Shlagel Farms (Charles)