Festival Program and Events

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.

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. 

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.

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."

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.