Festival of Trees at the Timonium Fairgrounds: A Thanksgiving Weekend Family Outing

In a lot of Baltimore-area households, the long weekend after Thanksgiving has a fixed routine: leftovers on Friday, and at some point over the weekend, a trip to Timonium for the Festival of Trees. The event fills the exhibition buildings at the Maryland State Fairgrounds with decorated Christmas trees, wreaths, gingerbread houses, holiday shopping, live entertainment and activities for children, and it raises money for Kennedy Krieger Institute, the Baltimore hospital and research center that cares for children with disorders of the brain, spinal cord and musculoskeletal system.

It is also one of the busiest family events in the region, held on a weekend when many households are hosting relatives who flew into BWI a few days earlier. This guide covers how to plan the outing: when to go, what the crowds and parking are like, and how to handle the trip when your group includes grandparents, small children or out-of-town guests who don't know the area.

What to Expect at the Festival

The festival is spread across the fairgrounds' indoor exhibition halls, so most of the visit is spent walking and browsing under one roof. Decorated trees and wreaths are the centerpiece, many of them designed by local families, schools and businesses, and visitors often spend as much time reading the stories behind the trees as looking at the decorations. There are holiday vendors, a gingerbread display, stage performances and children's activities. Families with young children usually plan for two to three hours, and many visitors return year after year.

Dates, hours, ticketing and any special sessions are set by Kennedy Krieger each year. The festival has traditionally been held over Thanksgiving weekend, but check the official Festival of Trees website for this season's schedule, ticket options and rules on strollers and bags before you plan the day.

Picking the Best Time to Go

Like most Thanksgiving weekend events, the Festival of Trees is busiest in the late morning and early afternoon on Friday and Saturday, when families who have the day off arrive together. A few patterns help:

• Arrive at opening. The first hour is generally the calmest, with shorter lines at the entrance and more room in front of the trees.
• Consider a later afternoon visit. Some families come after lunch and leave around dinnertime, once the morning crowd has thinned.
• Sunday is often lighter, although many visitors also spend it traveling home, which adds traffic on I-83 and around BWI.
• Check for special sessions. Some years have offered special hours or ticketed events; the official site lists them.

Parking and Traffic Around the Fairgrounds

The fairgrounds sit along York Road in Timonium, just off I-83, and the event uses the fairgrounds' own lots. On peak days those lots fill and traffic backs up on York Road and the Timonium Road and Padonia Road exits. Expect a slow approach in the hour before and after midday, and a walk from wherever you end up parking to the exhibition halls.

That walk is the part that's hardest on older relatives and on parents managing a stroller in November weather. A drop-off at the entrance avoids it altogether. If you book a chauffeur for the trip, the driver drops your group as close to the entrance as event traffic allows, then waits nearby or returns at the time you set. Our Towson and Timonium event guide covers how the area handles traffic for other big events at the fairgrounds.

Planning Around Visiting Relatives

Thanksgiving weekend is when out-of-town family is in town, and the Festival of Trees is a natural outing for them. A few things to think about when you're hosting:

• One vehicle, one group. Rather than splitting the family across two or three cars, a single larger vehicle keeps everyone together. A GMC Yukon XL seats five and a Lincoln Navigator seats six, while a Mercedes Sprinter carries up to thirteen passengers, enough for grandparents, parents and cousins in one trip. See our Sprinter Shuttle page for details.
• Pick up guests where they're staying. If relatives are at a hotel near BWI or in Towson, the vehicle can collect them on the way.
• Combine with an airport run. Relatives flying home on Sunday can go straight from the festival to BWI with their bags in the vehicle, which saves a trip back to the house. Airport drop-offs work well when there's a comfortable buffer before the flight.

Visiting With Young Children

Children love the trees, the gingerbread and the entertainment, but the event can be crowded at child height. A few practical tips from families who go every year:

• Check the official site's stroller policy before you go. On busy days a carrier can be easier than a stroller in tight aisles.
• Pick a meeting spot when you arrive in case anyone gets separated.
• Bring a snack and water; lines for food can be long at peak times.
• Plan to leave before children are completely worn out. The last half hour is rarely the best one.

If you're traveling with infants or toddlers, we provide car seats on request. Tell us each child's age and size when you book and the seats will be installed before pickup. Our car seat service page explains how it works.

What to Bring

A little preparation makes the visit smoother, especially with a large group:

• Your tickets or confirmation, on your phone or printed, plus a backup on a second phone.
• A way to pay vendors. The holiday shops are part of the fun, so bring a card and some cash.
• A reusable shopping bag for ornaments, gingerbread and gifts. If you expect to buy a lot, mention it when you book so the vehicle has room.
• Light layers. The halls warm up quickly with the crowds, even when it's cold outside.
• A charged phone with your chauffeur's contact saved, so pickup at the end of the visit is a quick call rather than a search through the parking lot.

Weather and the Trip Home

Late November weather in Baltimore County ranges from crisp and sunny to cold rain, and the occasional early snow. The festival is indoors, but the walk from the lots isn't, and neither is the wait at the curb afterward. Dress children in layers that come off easily inside, where the halls can be warm with the crowds.

After the visit, many families head on to dinner in Towson or Hunt Valley, or go home to the leftovers. If you're adding stops, mention them in your booking so the schedule works for everyone.

Booking a Ride for the Festival

Thanksgiving weekend is one of the busiest stretches of the year for us, with airport runs, family gatherings and holiday events all happening at once, so it's worth booking early, especially for larger vehicles. Sedan and SUV reservations can be cancelled free of charge up to 3 hours before pickup, and Sprinter and special-event bookings up to 12 hours before, so you can reserve now and adjust later if plans change.

You can request your festival ride online with your pickup addresses, group size and the time you'd like to arrive, or call 877-609-1919 any hour of the day. If relatives are flying in for the holiday, we can schedule their BWI pickups at the same time.