Agent Transcript
How We Picked Events for September 24 - September 30, 2026
Here's the synopsis: what each agent championed, where they clashed, and what didn't make the cut.
Maya, Jordan, Chris, Tanya, Marcus, Devin, Yvonne — 7 agents, 3 rounds
See the final picks: Read the newsletter issue →
The Week at a Glance
The big debates: Nightmare vs. Comic-Con for the standout, and The Oktoberfest pile — how many print. 7 agents, 3 rounds, and some strong opinions.
Where They Disagreed
Nightmare vs. Comic-Con for the standout
Nightmare on 22nd Street is genuinely bring-anyone: zero cost, zero ticket, zero commitment... That's the standout by the room's own stated bar.
Resolution: By Round 3, Marcus conceded the standout to Nightmare on convergence grounds; the
The Oktoberfest pile — how many print
Jordan, you're right — Guinness is the free sibling I missed. I skipped straight past it in Round 1... because 'cost: varies' made me stop reading (my own documented blind spot from the 9/03 issue).
Kim's Convenience closing
I own the theater lane's clock and I put a wrong closing date into the record — noting it plainly rather than quietly fixing it.
Swim Across America — reader event or entrant list
The moderator is right and I was wrong... **Rescoring STRONG_PICK 89 → CONDITIONAL 38**.
Resolution: Printed as informational only, not a Get Moving anchor.
Monday and Tuesday, the thinnest nights
Monday and Tuesday, the thinnest nights
Resolution: Neither night drops below two entries once the moderator's own Monday/Tuesday adds
Which one or two entries carry Welcome Week
My vote is Strangers to Friends as the lead — it's the only entry in the whole batch where the name of the event is the meets-people mechanism, not an inference from venue type.
Resolution: Named once as an umbrella, capped at two to three entries, not scattered across five.
What Didn't Make the Cut
Final Scores
| Event | Score | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Kim's Convenience (closing) | 100 | Last Chance and Limited Seats |
| Black Butterfly Farm Pop-Up Jazz Jam (MYC) | 100 | Mark Your Calendar |
| Poe Festival at Lexington Market (MYC) | 100 | Mark Your Calendar |
| Bmore Flea × Broadway Market Night Market (MYC) | 100 | Mark Your Calendar |
| A Nightmare on 22nd Street | 100 | OUT — owner exclusion (10/31 event) |
| GEDCO Stadium Place Community Festival | 100 | Free and Cheap |
| Bmore Flea (Saturday) | 100 | Free and Cheap |
| Musicians of the Baltimore Symphony | 100 | Top Picks |
| Oktoberfest at Sapwood | 100 | Free and Cheap |
| Strangers to Friends Game Night & Potluck | 100 | Worth It Solo |
| Pigtown Festival | 95 | Top Picks (standout) |
| Baltimore Rhythm Festival | 95 | The Week Out |
| Our Town, Colonial Players | 95 | held — closes 10/3, next issue's Last Chance |
| Baltimore Comic-Con | 95 | The Week Out |
| Fell's Point Fun Festival (MYC) | 95 | Mark Your Calendar |
| Bread and Puppet | 90 | Last Chance and Limited Seats |
| Wednesday Contra Dance | 90 | Worth the Trip |
| Baltimore Drum Circle | 90 | Free and Cheap |
| Community Fall Yoga | 90 | Get Moving |
| Ana Vidovic, An die Musik | 75 | Worth the Trip |
| Gala with Samara Joy, BSO | 75 | Last Chance and Limited Seats |
| Thar Be Brews @ Heavy Seas | 75 | Worth It Solo |
| Trifecta Food Truck & Music Festival | 65 | not featured — price conflict |
| Little Shop of Horrors 40th | 60 | cut at 5a — no GA price |
| PIG w/ Cyanotic, Metro Baltimore | 60 | After Dark |
| Swim Across America | 0 | not featured — R4 |
| UNION Oktoberfest & Toilet Bowl Race | 60 | not printed — repeat cap |
| BOOM SELECTA: A Reggae Bashment Party | 60 | After Dark (lead) — owner request after drafting |
| Mobtown Glow Party | 75 | After Dark |
| Yoga on the Lawn, Cylburn | 75 | Get Moving (lead) |
| Javier Nero 18-piece Jazz Orchestra | 75 | Culture Corner (lead) |
| Rosebud Baker, The Port | 75 | Worth It Solo |
| Book Conversation: History by a Hair, Lewis Museum | 0 | Culture Corner — moderator add once 5a landed time and price |
| Captain's Quarters, The Port | 0 | Free and Cheap — Monday coverage |
| September Mindfulness Nature Walk | 0 | Get Moving — moderator add for Monday |
| Cylburn lecture: Baltimore's Urban Deer | 0 | Worth the Trip — Tuesday coverage |
| Ravens vs. Titans (MYC) | 75 | Mark Your Calendar (first) — owner kept it |
| All Things Go | 100 | cut at 5a — 2026 details unverifiable |
| Guinness Open Gate Oktoberfest | 100 | Free and Cheap — owner confirmed free general admission after 5a |
| Baltimore Lithuanian Festival | 100 | cut at 5a — admission unverifiable |
| Michael Franti Trio, Rams Head On Stage | 60 | cut at 5a — no price |
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