Wine tastings, hayrides, and pumpkin painting are returning to the grounds of the Shrine of St. Anthony in Ellicott City next month, as organizers gear up for the seventh annual Wine at the Shrine festival on Saturday, October 10. The fall fundraiser runs from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. and blends a craft beverage tasting with farm tours, food trucks, live music, and children's activities across the shrine's sprawling grounds.
According to WMAR 2 News Baltimore, last year's event drew roughly 700 people, and organizers are hoping to build on that turnout this fall. Tickets and full event details are available at wineattheshrine.org, per the station's report. This year's vendor lineup includes Six Wicket Vineyards, Elk Run Winery, Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard, and Manor Hill Brewing, with mocktail options supplied by Stursi, according to Ticket Tailor.
Beyond the main afternoon festival, organizers have also built out a companion evening program called Sunset at the Shrine, hosted inside the historic Carrollton Hall on the property. That gathering pairs charcuterie from the Franciscan Center's Dignity Plates Catering with sommelier-led wine tastings, as detailed by the Franciscan Voice.
A Working Farm Behind the Festival
The festival's proceeds support Little Portion Farm, a three-acre working farm on the shrine grounds that grows more than 40 varieties of fruits and vegetables for donation using chemical-free, hand-scale, no-till practices. The farm's produce donations have topped 140,000 pounds since 2019, the WMAR report notes. Little Portion Farm is a ministry of the Franciscan Friars Conventual, and its first seeds were planted in 2019.
Volunteer turnout at the farm has also swelled, growing from just 62 unique volunteers in its 2019 inaugural season to more than 1,200 unique volunteers in 2024, per The St. Anthony Companion. Those volunteers help plant, care for, and harvest the crops.
Feeding Baltimore, One Meal at a Time
Little Portion Farm's donated produce goes to partners including the Franciscan Center of Baltimore, located on West 23rd Street in Lower Charles Village. The center serves between 400 and 600 scratch-made meals daily to economically disadvantaged city residents, according to the Franciscan Center of Baltimore. Founded in 1968 by the Franciscan Sisters of Baltimore, the center pairs its food programs with broader emergency outreach services.
The center also runs the Dignity Plates Culinary Training Academy, a free 13-week workforce development program that combines culinary instruction with financial literacy training while students help prepare scratch meals for the dining hall, as reported by CBS News Baltimore. The program has graduated dozens of students into local food service careers, per the same report.
The stakes behind that food assistance are significant. Data from the Maryland Food Bank shows Black residents facing food insecurity at nearly triple the rate of white residents — 30% compared to 11%, according to the Maryland Food Bank. Overall food insecurity rates in Baltimore City have hovered around 15.5% over the past five years, the food bank's data indicates.
History Woven Into the Grounds
History Woven Into the Grounds The shrine's grounds include walking trails, prayer gardens, and a Lourdes Grotto. The chapel is part of the shrine. The Shrine of St. Anthony is an Archdiocese of Baltimore shrine.
Carrollton Hall is a historic house on the shrine property, according to The St. Anthony Companion. The mansion is part of the property's history.
For families attending this fall, the day's offerings extend well beyond the tasting tent. Farm tours, hayrides across the scenic grounds, inflatables, and pumpkin painting for children round out an event organizers describe as both a community gathering and a direct line of support to hungry Baltimore residents.
