Festival Program and Events

Our festival opens with a special welcome to attendees for the 7th Annual International Edgar Allan Poe Festival, featuring a thrilling tribute for the 75th Anniversary of the Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum and the 175th Anniversary of Poe's Death in Baltimore. 

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!

Chad The Bird

Chad the Bird reports his findings on humanity every week on the social medias and live in your face cuz you're worth it. He has a weekly birdcast and cohosts a monthly horror stream on Youtube called Streaming N' Screaming over on Horror101 with Dr. AC. So far top hits of humanity include: Mozzarella sticks, science and pinball.

Dance Baltimore

Dance Baltimore is an arts service organization for the city's professional dance community. Classes and workshops are also offered to the general public in the metropolitan area.

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. 

Live Radio Drama by players from the National Edgar Allan Poe Theatre present Poe's "The Imp of The Perverse," a one-man show adaptation of the story, and a peep into the philosophic and psychic mind of Edgar Allan Poe.  Does it represent YOU!?! Followed by "Magic of Words," a sneak preview of the latest show from The National Edgar Allan Poe Theatre – a performance of mentalism and magic based around some of Poe’s best-known works.

Gallagher's Frolics are four players of Traditional Irish Music in and around Baltimore, Maryland. Formed in 2023 to provide live music for the Irish Dance group Tir Na nOg at the Southern Maryland Celtic Festival, they present an eclectic mix of energetic tunes and moving, richly layered songs straight from the Poe family's Irish roots. "Kiss me, I WAS Irish!"

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. 

As though stepping out of the very pages of a Poe story, you have donned 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. Sign up to enter! Contestants meet behind the Main Stage for check-in and pre-judging at 2:00. 

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. We are very proud to welcome "the Queen of Baltimore Soul"  back  to close Day 1 of the festival!

The Empressa Ensemble (f. 2015) performs music from the 17th–19th centuries in historic venues and museums, bringing modern audiences into the spirit of the musical and social world of past eras. The group specializes in original editions and historical performance practices such as ornamentation and expressive gesture. "We are passionate about enhancing the intimacy, beauty and significance of historical performance through chamber music."

Throw The Stray Cats in a wood chipper with the cast of The Munsters and you get  Mr. Fang & the Dark Tones, an all original Horror Punk, Rockabilly, Graveyard Goth Rock Band. Their songs reflect all that is cool and spooky in this world with songs titles such as "Evil, Movie Monster, Haunted Hearse. Green Woman From Outer Space and Mr Fang!". These high energy Rock-N-Roll Monsters are sure to captivate your audience and bring them a super spooktacular show experience from beyond the grave!

Direct from  Sydney, Australia, you've seen Hannah Raven on the big and little screen, including in the feature film "Zoe Misplaced" and the TikTok series "Greystanes," in which she plays the villain Margarette.  A two-time Saturday ‘Visiter’ Awards winner (2019 and 2022,) she was cast as Ligeia in “A Midnight Visit,” the largest Edgar Allan Poe immersive experience in the world; she is the creative director of Raven Productions Australia. Hannah will perform an excerpt from their award-winning burlesque show, Poe's “The Grotesque and Arabesque."

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.

Direct from Richmond, VA, with their terrifying, undulating swells of reverb-drenched, fuzzed-out, Psych-Surf-A-Go Go music and awful jokes. Feel your mind swell with horror and wonder with

the pulsating pounding of primeval drums, the thundering doom of malevolent bass, the shrieking wails of Banshee keys, and the plaintive moans of blasphemous guitars. Bryan Halstead, Dave Wiskman, Greg Hopper and Jason Brown perform spooky tunes!

A tradition hailing from our very first 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.