“Never to suffer would never to have been blessed.” — Edgar Allan Poe

The International Edgar Allan Poe Festival & Awards returns to Baltimore the weekend of October 4-6, 2024! We’re celebrating a Diamond Anniversary: 75 years honoring Poe’s legacy at the Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum in Baltimore.

Attendees will see the return of in-person stage and vendors at Poe House. Admission to festival grounds is FREE. Additional ticketed events will take place all weekend, proceeds to benefit The Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum in Baltimore. There are many ways to celebrate Poe during festival weekend! VIP Pre-sales are open NOW and close May 31!

Donate a PAVER FOR POE in the new walkway at “Poe Park”, get first access to VIP Death Weekend Bus Tour tickets or Black Cat Ball tickets at the 2024 International Edgar Allan Poe Festival in October! Tour tickets usually sell out a month before the festival, and this is the only way to reserve this year’s tickets before they go on sale to the general public in June.

PLUS, by donating a PAVER FOR POE by May 31, you will be able to see your paver in the new “Poe Park” walkway at the festival in October this year! Personalize a 4″x8″ paver (includes 3 lines of text) or an 8″ x 8″ paver (6 lines of text) and then visit your very own piece of Poe’s legacy at Poe Fest International in October.

The “Poe Park” walkway is not only a central feature of the festival grounds, but a permanent fixture and lasting tribute to Edgar Allan Poe’s legacy in Baltimore. Visitors from around the world will see this beautiful gift just steps away from Poe’s chamber door. Paver donations support operations and programming at The Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum in Baltimore.

Choose a Pavers for Poe Fest Int’l package:

  • 4″ x 8″ personalized, engraved paver
  • A seat on the VIP Death Weekend Bus Tour (option to purchase one companion ticket at checkout)
  • Long-sleeve 2024 Poe Fest International T-shirt for pickup at the festival

–OR–

  • 8″ x 8″ personalized, engraved paver
  • Black Cat Ball & 75th Anniversary Diamond Gala Ticket
  • Option to include companion ticket at discount rate!

Pavers are guaranteed to be installed in time for the 7th Annual Poe Fest International, October 4 – 6, 2024.

DONATE NOW!

Click through the carousel or download PDF versions here:

Year-in-Review

10th Anniversary Yearbook

Proud-yet-humbled to look back at what turned out to be a transformative year for Poe Baltimore and The Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum. We hope you enjoy this glance back at an extraordinary year, as well as a yearbook commemorating a decade of celebrating Edgar Allan Poe’s legacy in Baltimore & beyond. Thank you, Poe Nation, and we look forward to more in the years to come!

 

DONATE TO SUPPORT POE BALTIMORE



We at Poe Baltimore wish to thank all of you, Poe Nation, for your support and shared love of poetry, literature, and history. As we continue our 10-year retrospective of programming highlights in the Poe Baltimore yearbook, it’s clear that all we have accomplished–and all that we dream to do–only happens with the continued support of our patrons, donors, volunteers, and friends. However you contribute to our mission, past, present or future, Poe Baltimore is thankful for YOU.

Happy recognition of the 10th anniversary of our organization’s founding will roll into a jubilant year of commemoration, as 2024 marks the 75th Anniversary of the Poe House & Museum in Baltimore. We look forward to sharing some of the hidden history of Poe House, from its savior from demolition in 1949, to the future of the museum as we look ahead to transformation and expansion. And don’t forget, 2024 is also the 175th Anniversary of Edgar Allan Poe’s mysterious death in Baltimore, coinciding with the International Edgar Allan Poe Festival & Awards.

Get a sneak peek at the coming year’s programming when you donate for Giving Tuesday: ALL purchases and donations in the Poe House online gift shop through December will include a QR code link to a special festival preview and ticket opportunity!

Yours in Poe,

Enrica Jang
Director, Poe Baltimore

P.S. Deadline to complete Poe-inspired works for the 2024 Saturday ‘Visiter’ Awards is December 31! Like or subscribe to our Facebook and YouTube channel to be notified for the return of our LIVE Q&A and Info sessions.

It’s official: 2023 was the absolute biggest and best Poe Fest International on record! Double the vendors, double the events and tours, nearly 3000 attendees estimated over two days, our biggest crowd yet. All proceeds support the Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum in Baltimore. On the 10th aniversary of Poe Baltimore’s stewardship of the museum, thank you to everyone who made this month the biggest POE-tober since our founding.

Couldn’t join us this year? You can still see all the Poe things! Official photos from the street festival and The Black Cat Ball have posted, and for Halloween we will stream The Best of Poe Fest, a compilation of the best events and stage moments from festival weekend. The video also includes the WINNERS of the 2023 Saturday Visiter Awards. Happy Halloween, Poe Nation!

Still want more? Check out festival gear in the Poe House Gift Shop, also featuring a first look at commemoratives for the upcoming 75th Anniversary of Poe House!

Yours in Poe,

Enrica Jang

Director, Poe Baltimore

P.S. Deadline for Maryland High School students to enter the YOUNG Saturday Visiter Awards is November 17!

Baltimore, MD, July 31, 2023  – Today, Poe Baltimore, with the support of La Cite Development, announced that they have received a major investment from Wells Fargo Bank to support the Annual International Edgar Allan Poe Festival & Awards taking place October 7 & 8, 2023.  The commitment of $300,000 over a three-year period will provide for the Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum’s largest program, keeping the festival a free community event and premier tourist destination for Poe-lovers from all over the world.

“Wells Fargo’s investment to the International Edgar Allan Poe Festival helps to support and maintain an important institution that not only continues Poe’s legacy, it also promotes the significance of education, the arts, and literature. This is a great opportunity for Well Fargo to contribute to the preservation of a literacy heritage for future generations to appreciate and celebrate,” said Wells Fargo Vice President and Senior Social Impact and Sustainability Specialist, Traci N. Horne. “We believe this is an opportunity for Wells Fargo to help bring excitement and legendary entertainment to a city we have supported over the years. Baltimore has been a city where Wells Fargo has been a pillar for many local nonprofit organizations and now the International Edgar Allan Poe Festival can be a part of our legacy that reflects positive impact for our communities.”

The funds for the festival will assist Poe Baltimore in expanding educational components and providing the festival with additional ways in which to partner with the community to promote art, culture, and literacy.

“We are extremely honored to work with the City of Baltimore, Poe Baltimore, and our local partners to help implement our shared vision of making communities stronger and more prosperous,” said Dan Bythewood, La Cité Development’s President. “Equally so, we are thrilled to have worked closely with Wells Fargo in securing this substantial commitment and look forward to continuing our efforts to building a broader, more inclusive neighborhood.”

 

Enrica Jang, Executive Director for Poe Baltimore, the nonprofit that maintains and interprets The Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum, says this level of funding from Wells Fargo is transformative: “We are extremely grateful for Wells Fargo’s investment in our vision to highlight Baltimore history, gothic literature and art, as well as educational programming.”

 

The 6th Annual International Edgar Allan Poe Festival is set to take place this Fall, October 7 & 8, 2023. For information about the festival, visit https://poefestinternational.org.

***

Poe Baltimore is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization created to fund, maintain and interpret The Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum, and to celebrate the legacy of one of Baltimore’s most famous residents.  The organization is dedicated to maintaining the museum as a vibrant experience for the thousands of visitors who come from around the world each year, and as part of a broader mission of city-wide events and educational opportunities celebrating Poe’s legacy in Baltimore and beyond.

Poe Fest Int’l Tickets On Sale July 1!

We’ve been a little quiet the last two months, preparing for a very, very big announcement about the future of The Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum. Final details remain a tantalizing distance away, but I can assure you we are looking forward to a very exciting festival season and anouncements in the coming weeks. Click to watch our sizzle reel!

For now, only three days left to see your Paver for Poe Fest at the festival in October as pre-sales for the International Edgar Allan Poe Festival & Awards are happening now thru Friday. 2022 festival merch is on sale now as we get ready to stock the store with all new 2023 festival gear! And this year’s exhibit at Westminster Hall is 2-for-1 and includes a PREVIEW WEEK: tickets for the Poe in Comics & Poe Death Exhibits are available now. See it for half off before the festival begins.

Festival weekend event tickets, Black Cat Ball, and Poe House tours go on sale to the public when the clock strikeds midnight July 1. But all you really have to do is SAVE THE DATE: Poe Fest International is for everyone, October 7-8, and General Admission is FREE! Click to read this month’s newsletter. 

Yours in Poe,
Enrica Jang
Director, Poe Baltimore

A WellSPRING at Poe

Wherever you are, Poe Nation, you too are more than likely experiencing some kind of maddening weather. Warmer temperatures in Baltimore = a rising pollen count + an uptick in visitors darkening Poe’s chamber door at Amity Street. The season has officially begun!

Festival weekend dates have been announced and pre-sales for the International Edgar Allan Poe Festival & Awards are happening now thru June 30. We are also very pleased to announce our 2023 Saturday ‘Visiter’ Awards Guest of Honor, Rodney Barnes, and our distinguished panel of Judges from Poe Places and Maryland Arts organizations. In May, look for changing hours (now open Wednesdays in May.) If you plan to stop by, be sure to pick up NEW “Legend of the Poe Toaster” Mystery Mugs in the Poe House gift shop! Read this month’s newsletter for all this and more details.

Yours in Poe,
Enrica Jang
Director, Poe Baltimore

The 2022 International Edgar Allan Poe Festival & Awards is less than a month away! This FREE community event is two days of Poe-themed programs, including performances, books, music and art. The stage program and vendor list has posted! Special tours and exhibits at The Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum and Westminster Hall & Burying Ground will also continue even beyond festival weekend.

There’s a lot to remember. Know Before You Poe! Read the latest newsletter to check out our list of 10 Things everyone should know about Poe Fest International, then watch our Facebook & YouTube channel every Thursday this month for more information about Poe Festival events!

Yours in Poe,
Enrica Jang
Director, Poe Baltimore

The International Edgar Allan Poe Festival & Awards returns for a fifth year in Baltimore, October 8 & 9th, 2022. This is a FREE community event, but VIP Death Weekend Bus Tours and tickets for The Black Cat Ball are ON SALE now. This year’s party is Gothic Wedding themed; VIP ticket-holders pledge to love and honor a partner, friend, or even yourself for your eternal afterlives in a special ceremony in the Westminster Hall Catacombs.

Tickets are also available for the Edgar & Virginia Poe Death Exhibit. Death tableau and memento mori (some items made from human hair!) will be part of this haunting exhibit at Westminster Hall. Don’t want to wait? Enjoy a special preview of the exhibit at our final session in the Virginia Poe Bicentennial Discussion Series on July 19 as we present MOURNING, The Strange Afterlives of Edgar and Virginia Poe. You may also join us for a Gothic Tea Party & Summer Reception at Westminster Hall as we celebrate Virginia Poe’s 200th birthday, August 13.

Need we remind you that tickets for these special events fly away fast as wings of ravens? Read our newsletter so you don’t miss any-Poe-thing!

Yours in Poe,
Enrica Jang
Director, Poe Baltimore

The angels, whispering to one another

Can find, among their burning terms of love

None so devotional as that of ‘Mother.’

Despite being orphaned at a young age, Edgar Allan Poe had real reason to believe the angels: it was the women he knew as ‘mother’—his aunt, Maria Clemm, his foster mother, Frances Allan, even his grandmother, Elizabeth Cairnes Poe—whose devotion made his life (both literal and literary) possible. As we continue this most poetical year of events and exhibits to commemorate the 200th birthday of Edgar Allan Poe’s wife and muse, Virginia Poe, in May we celebrate all thing Mother, spread the love, and recognize the other women in the Poe family.

On Mother’s Day, May 8th, we’ll PREVIEW our program MOTHER: Hidden Her-stories of the Women in the Poe Family, including a Revolutionary War Patriot and how a mother’s love changed literary history. Watch at 7PM, Sunday May 8th.

Looking for a unique Mother’s Day gift? Reserve tickets for the LIVE recording of the Virginia Poe Bicentennial Discussion Series, May 10th, or our Gothic Tea Party for Virginia Poe’s Birthday, August 13th, at Westminster Hall & Burying Grounds. You might also consider purchasing a PAVER FOR POE FEST and inscribe your devotion on a special paver at The Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum. Packages include VIP Death Weekend bus tour tickets at this year’s International Edgar Allan Poe Festival & Awards.

Click to read our newsletter to find out more. 

Yours in Poe,
Enrica Jang
Director, Poe Baltimore

P.S. Would you like to express your devotion to a “mom” in your life? Leave a message for mom here and we might play it when our preview streams on Mother’s Day: https://www.speakpipe.com/VirginiaPoe