Thanks to this wonderful not for profit I can learn about the history and heritage of this fine…read morecity I love! Today I learned about Parks Sausage Company which was the first African American owned company to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Parks Sausage Company, was headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. Parks Sausage was successful because of its founder, Henry Parks. Parks started the company in 1951 with only two employees. Under his supervision, the company grew into a multimillion dollar business with almost 300 employees. Parks trained black and white workers. In his factory, he helped advance racial integration in the workplace. As an African American businessman, Parks knew he would be under increased scrutiny. Inside his factory he kept close watch over the sausage recipe that he had created. Parks would taste his sausage mixture everyday himself and he could tell if the mixture is off by a tiny fraction. Parks wanted to create and maintain a quality product so he introduced sell-by dates to his meat products. In addition, he invited federal inspectors to tour his plant at a time when only state inspectors were required. He did this for two reasons. First, to show how good his products were. Second, to show the community-at-large that African American owned businesses could maintain the same strict standards as white businesses. Baltimoreans didn't just love Parks Sausage, they loved Henry Parks. In 1963, city residents showed their love for Parks by electing him to the Baltimore City Council for two consecutive terms. During his time on the council, Parks pushed for laws that opened public accommodations to African Americans. He also worked to help ease bail requirements. Parks was a lifetime member of the NAACP.  On a local and national level, Henry Parks was recognized for his role as a pioneering African American entrepreneur and civil rights advocate. In 1982, Parks was given the honor of being designated a Distinguished American by the United States Congress. Today, employees at the Parks Sausage Plant, now re-named the Dietz & Watson Plant, no longer make Parks sausage.  But that does not mean that Henry Park's impact as a pioneer in the sausage industry has been forgotten. Everyday, as employees enter and exit work they drive along Henry Parks Jr. Drive and are reminded of Baltimore's original sausage king. NOTE: I want to acknowledge the not for profit Baltimore Heritage Organization for the information I learned about Parks Sausage and Henry Parks who was an important figure in the business community and in history.

Such a cool organization! We booked their tour of Westminster Burial Grounds which explores the…read moregrounds and the catacombs underneath. Our tour guide was amazing! I feel terrible I do not remember her name (she did our tour on 4/26/25). She gave so much information and was happy to answer questions. We learned a lot and enjoyed the tour very much. I see they have other tours including upcoming boat tours, so I will definitely be booking more tours with them!

Zachary Greene reached out to me via linked in to find ways to promote Bite of Baltimore in a…read moredifferent way. I figured the best way to help him was to get first hand experience of the tour, so I booked a Friday afternoon tour for my team. Can I just say what an awesome time we had? We are all fairly local folks but we learned so much and ate amazing food. I appreciate the level of service Zachary provided including helping to fit this in my budget. All communication was prompt and easy to understand. The payment process was simple. Instructions for where to meet and questions about food allergies or other issues were appreciated. Even in the rain, this was just so much fun. We started at the Maryland Center for History and Culture. As a museum junkie, I loved that we started with a quick tour through Baltimore history! And we got to pop into the Jim Henson exhibit. They have the Labyrinth Dress!! After that we started walking. Did you know the Ouija board was created in Baltimore?? I did not. We walked into the Enoch Pratt Library and poked our head into the Peabody. And we did a quick tour of the Washington Monument. I did not know you could go inside it for free. The food part was even better! Started at Tio Pepe's which was delicious and such a cool building. After more walking we stopped that Helmund for more food. Our final stop was at Topside for a cocktail and dessert. Zero complaints. I've been telling folks about this experience because it was so much fun. I look forward to doing the other tours.

Fantastic tour- highly recommend. First, we had a last minute cancellation with someone in our…read moreparty who was sick and they were super nice and gracious in refunding for the price of her ticket- we appreciated that so much. Second- Donna Ann was fantastic- LOVED her- her energy and sense of humor were infectious. The tour was a nice mix of food and history and a great way to spend an afternoon if you're in Baltimore! You definitely won't need to eat dinner after going on this tour - it's a good amount of food.

I went on the fantastic Inner Harbor walking tour. The group tour wasn't being offered then but I…read morecontacted Graham and he was more than happy to take us on the tour at the time of our choosing. Graham is very knowledgeable and able to weave together many different strands of history as he takes you on a journey into Baltimore's past, present, and future. From the great railroad strike of 1877 to more recent instances of workers banding together to improve their lot and attempts by the powers that be to limit free speech, the "people's history" focus of the tour made it an early afternoon well spent. Howard Zinn would be proud! Plus, Graham knows all sorts of interesting and useful tidbits, e.g. the local NFL team's connection to Edgar Allan Poe and where to eat some of the city's best steamed crabs. This tour is definitely recommended if you want an introduction to the real Baltimore.

We've gone on two tours with Graham in Baltimore and thoroughly enjoyed them both. These events…read moreare sort of like walking tours with a performance art aspect (or vice versa). In the two tours we took, our group was led on a walk through neighborhoods around the city, with Graham pointing out often-overlooked features of the urban environment. The major focus is on the confusing and contradictory way the city encourages or discourages pedestrians from using public space, as well as pointing out some of the spontaneous and creative ways people end up using public areas in manners that weren't necessarily intended. It's sort of like a guided walking history tour, except the focus is shifted away from the usual landmarks and historical events and instead toward more mundane things such as traffic bollards, median strips, weird easements, abandoned or dysfunctional infrastructure, etc. (This is much more fun than it probably sounds--his enthusiasm for these topics is quite contagious.) Graham injects a lot of humor into his descriptions and interpretations of these features, and at several points he encourages participants to interact with them in creative ways as "radical pedestrians". It's clear he does a lot of research about the areas involved in the tours, giving background and history where relevant. He is also full of insights about the design of features meant for people on the street and how things can go wrong--unintended consequences, conflict in sharing space with cars, issues when the intended use is ambiguous or confusing, etc. I would recommend these tours for anyone with an interest in urban planning, activism, or performance art--or just a desire to see some of the everyday things we take for granted in a new light. On a personal note, one of the tours we went on happened to be the day of the first major Freddie Gray protest in Baltimore and quite coincidentally came to its conclusion putting us in the middle of a large crowd of people marching downtown. As residents of Baltimore, over the next week we watched as the city dealt with protests and unrest, a curfew, and heavy presence of the police and national guard. It was fascinating (and at times horrifying) to watch these events unfold, and we found ourselves constantly analysing them in terms of topics we had discussed on the tour--people using and "misusing" public space, attempted restrictions on where and when people were allowed to be in public, problems caused by failures of the city's infrastructure, massive ambiguity and confusion about whether it was okay to gather or protest in usually-unrestricted spaces, etc. The usual rules for what it was deemed acceptable and legal to do in public were stood on their head. Our tour couldn't have been better timed for helping us see the issues we had discussed in action during the events that followed.

This is just a wonderful way to spend an hour in Fells Point. If you believe in ghosts, you'll…read morehave fun. If you don't believe in ghosts, you'll have fun. Rob does a tremendous job regaling his visitors with tales of the more mysterious and sordid history of Fells Point, all while sprinkling in so many humorous lines that keep it all light and fun despite the "dark" history he describes. And if you're not too ambulatory or have been enjoying the countless bars in the area, don't fret, it's not a lot of walking at all. Really glad we spent such a delightful hour with this engaging, professional guide who has his great delivery down pat. Thanks for the fun hour, Rob!

Our ghost tour guide gave the BEST tour imaginable! Spooky…read morestories with emotional twists and turns were enhanced by our tour guide!

This was so much fun. Robin was awesome. You'll never look at Baltimore the same. All those…read morescary British soldier ghosts and that darn Fell family. Also we can't forget Edgar Allan Poe and Billie Holliday still haunt us. Robin knew so much history and answered all our questions. He made our trip really memorable. We loved every second of this tour!

Ashley was a great story teller. The kids and I really enjoyed the tour and the kids especially…read moreloved the EMP reader trying to find ghosts.

We took a food tour of Little Italy/Jonestown in Baltimore. Mary Margaret was a great tour guide…read moreand very knowledgeable about the area. We had a small group of four and visited Attman's, Isabella's brick oven, La Tavola, and Osteria Da Amedeo. Food tours are great way of seeing what local life is like and skipping to the front of the line to taste a variety of dishes. We saw historic sites like the Lloyd street synagogue, Corned beef row, the Carroll Mansion, Reginald F. Lewis museum, and birthplace of the Star spangled banner flag. It was about a 3.5 hour walking tour and there were intermittent breaks to eat in restaurants. Before this tour I had no idea there was a 'Little Italy' or a 'Corned beef row' and how much history these places had from the restaurants started by immigrants in the 1800s. It also makes a difference having an enthusiastic group and getting to know everyone. This tour is highly recommended.

Our guide, Mary Margaret, did a great job of introducing our group of 12 to Fells Point. We stopped…read moreat 4 places for delicious treats, some unique to Baltimore, like tater tots topped with crab and cheese. The tour was from 3p (get there at 2:45p) to 6:30p with ample time to enjoy the food and her commentary. She knows all about the area, its history, current state, and the bars and restaurants. Made me want to come back! Our guide spoke clearly, answered many questions, kept us together, and showed care and attention to the group and to the owners we encountered. Very nice experience! Do be sure to wear reasonable shoes, though, because you'll be walked on some rough surfaces. Enjoy!

I wish I could remember the name of the captain and co-captain. I took entirely too long to write…read morethis review, sorry guys. Went for a sunset cruise for a friend's birthday on 6/29 and it was so nice. The ride is roughly 1.5hrs and you essentially loop the Potomac at Georgetown. It's BYOB, music and food so I'm just rating the views and service. There was a bathroom on board but I didn't use it. The captain was very kind and didn't bother us much outside of giving us the safety precautions and telling us to have a good time. I would definitely do this again.

Only reason they get 2 stars is due to the friendly bar tenders. Bar tenders were great but drink…read morevariety was lacking. The biggest complaint our party had was for the DJ that didn't cater to any of the passengers request. For a 2 hr ride he played a mix of jungle techno only. Everyone had to endure the music only he wanted to play and that no one was vibing to. We were a group of 14, basically the whole boat and not once did he play music to cater to their passengers to have great time from the beginning. No one danced! I was expecting a party on the boat! As we were 5 mins from docking back, he decided to switch it up a little and played 1 of the requested songs but still fused in jungle techno.. A good Dj reads the room.