LADEW GARDEN FESTIVAL
May 3–4
If you’ve got a green thumb, love gardening, or have never been to Ladew Topiary Gardens in Monkton, Maryland, here’s a perfect opportunity. Vendors from across the Eastern Seaboard offer hard-to-find perennials, specialty annuals, unique small trees, unusual exotics, container plants and an expanded collection of specialty indoor plants. Tickets are limited and must be purchased in advance. LadewGardens.com
LEWES BRITISH MOTORCAR SHOW (AND MORE)
May 4
Classic (and soon-to-be classic) shiny and stylish British automobiles—120 in all—will be on display during Delaware’s annual British invasion at the Lewes Ferry terminal. The British Motorcar Show happens on the Saturday of a very busy weekend in Lewes. Also taking place will be the Spring Merchants’ Sidewalk Sale in the Historic Lewes Commercial District, a Kentucky Derby Day Watch Party, a farmer’s market and more. LewesChamber.com
SOLOMONS MARITIME FESTIVAL
May 4
This free festival at the Calvert Marine Museum in Solomons, Maryland, features vintage and classic boats along with antique marine outboard and inboard engines. Chesapeake Bay retrievers will demonstrate their skills, as will traditional boat-building craftspeople. Model boats will sail across the boat basin, and kids will get a chance to build their own toy boats. CalvertMarineMuseum.com
BALTIMORE KINETIC SCULPTURE RACE
May 4
You say you’ve got a human-powered sculpture that can tackle hard ground, water and mud, but you don’t know what to do with it? The folks at Baltimore, Maryland’s American Visionary Art Museum might have an idea. Check out their annual Kinetic Sculpture Race. All sorts of contraptions powered by all sorts of people will compete in this eight-hour race. If you don’t happen to have a mechanical all-terrain piece of art, you can still watch the fun along the route. KineticBaltimore.com, avam.org
PREAKNESS WEEKEND
May 17–18
The Preakness, Thoroughbred horse racing’s second jewel in the Triple Crown takes place at Baltimore’s Pimlico Race Course, on Saturday. The weekend’s excitement begins on Friday with the 100th running of the Black Eyed-Susan race for 3-year-old fillies. Preakness.com
LOCAL COLORS FESTIVAL
May 18
More than 50 nationalities will be represented during Roanoke, Virginia’s annual multicultural festival. Performances, cuisine, artisan booths, and educational and cultural displays from around the globe will be found at Downtown Roanoke’s Elmwood Park. And the international beer truck will be back! LocalColors.org
UNITED STATES NAVAL ACADEMY COMMISSIONING WEEK
May 17–25
The highlight of the Naval Academy's Commissioning Week events is the Blue Angels practice show and official demonstration. This year's Flight Demonstration is at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, weather permitting. On Friday, graduation day, the Blue Angels will do a flyover at 10 a.m. above the graduation and commissioning ceremony at the Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. VisitAnnapolis.org
LADYBUG MUSIC FESTIVAL
May 31
Billboard magazine has called the Ladybug Music Festival the nation’s biggest celebration of women in music. Market Street in Downtown Wilmington will be rockin’ with female-identifying fronted bands and solo acts during this free event. TheLadybugFestival.com
ANNAPOLIS PRIDE PARADE & FESTIVAL
June 1
Celebrate love, equality and diversity as adults, children and pets from every walk of life dress in their rainbow finest and line the sidewalks of West Street to witness a dazzling parade of floats, dancing spirit dragons, musicians, motorcycles and more. AnnapolisPride.org
BLACKBEARD PIRATE FESTIVAL
June 1–2
Join Blackbeard the pirate and his pals as 18th-century Hampton, Virginia’s waterfront is overrun by dozens of pirate reenactors. This annual way-back festival features live music, fireworks, craft vendors and a boatload of fun. Hampton.gov/2008/Blackbeard-Pirate-Festival
END HUNGER DRAGONBOAT FESTIVAL
June 8
“Here there be dragons.” Join the folks at End Hunger in Calvert County’s North Beach, Maryland, and cheer on your favorite dragon boat team. Boat races begin at 9 a.m., with the final beginning at 1 p.m. Proceeds from the event go to feed and support families in Calvert County. EndHungerCalvert.org
POLO IN THE PARK
June 8, 15, 22, 29 and July 13, 20, 27
The best party in Leesburg, Virginia, (they say) is on Saturday nights at Morven Park. Polo in the Park features two US Polo Association matches along with plenty of tailgating. Is FOMO creeping in? Could this be the best party? Be there and make it so. MorvenPark.org
MARYLAND FLEET WEEK & FLYOVER BALTIMORE
June 12–18
Join the fun as Maryland Fleet Week returns to Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, Fells Point, North Locust Point and Martin State Airport in Baltimore County. United States and international naval ships, US Coast Guard vessels and more begin arriving June 12. Flyovers of modern and historic military aircraft will take flight on Saturday and Sunday above the Inner Harbor. The week will be filled with ship tours, educational activities and entertainment. MdFleetWeek.com
CLIFFORD BROWN JAZZ FESTIVAL
June 19–22
Wilmington’s Rodney Square is the place to be for this tribute to the city’s own Clifford Brown. World-class musicians join the celebration of Brown’s trumpet mastery. CliffordBrownJazzFest.org
ANNAPOLIS JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION
June 21–22
This annual event commemorates the emancipation of the last enslaved Africans in the US. On June 19, 1865, Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation. The festival begins with a parade beginning at the Kunte Kinte–Alex Haley Memorial, site of the first slaves brought to Annapolis, and heads up Main Street and West Street, ending at Bates Athletic Complex for a family-friendly festival of food, art, history, live music and culture. VisitAnnapolis.org
LADYBUG MUSIC FESTIVAL
June 29
If you missed the fun in Wilmington, Delaware on May 31, or if you just want to hear more from female-identifying fronted bands and solo acts, head for Old Ellicott City, Maryland, for an encore of the nation’s biggest celebration of women in music. TheLadybugFestival.com
NEW CASTLE COUNTY OLD-FASHIONED ICE CREAM FESTIVAL
June 29
Bring your sweet tooth to the annual Ice Cream Festival at Wilmington, Delaware’s Rockwood Park. This tasty and entertaining day out features a live music stage, plenty of food vendors, a beer and wine garden, local craftspeople and scoops of ice cream for all of us kids. Newcastlede.gov/1103/Ice-Cream-Festival-at-Rockwood-Park
SALEM FAIR
July 3–14
The heart of the Roanoke Valley comes alive every July with the largest fair in Virginia. Held on the grounds of the Salem Civic Center Complex, the event offers everybody’s fair favorites: more than 40 rides, plenty of “fair food,” a stunt show, barnyard animals doing silly things and so much more. SalemFair.com
SHARKFEST!
July 13
You’ve seen the movies, and now you can take a selfie with the life-size jaws of a Megalodon shark. Sharkfest! at Calvert Marine Museum in Solomons, Maryland, features live sharks, evidence of prehistoric sharks, and fun activities for the kids. Advance ticket purchase recommended. CalvertMarineMuseum.com
INSECTIVAL
July 20
Insectival—yes, a festival for lovers of insects! Fly, crawl or hop to the Annmarie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center in Solomons, Maryland, for fun and games, an insect-inspired costume contest, a butterfly tent and the Danger Zone, where you can learn all about parasitic insects. Advanced ticket purchase required. AnnmarieGarden.org
