Easton's Waterfowl Festival runs Nov. 13–15, 2026, its 55th year. Admission is $25 for all three days. Downtown becomes a pedestrian mall. The draw is wildlife art, decoys, conservation, and about 20,000 visitors — dogs included — not a gallery walk under another name.

New this year: Voices of the Chesapeake at the Avalon Theatre, with calling demonstrations, live raptors, and talks on hunting, carving, and habitat. That puts the Avalon back at the center of the county's largest cultural weekend, not only the film-and-music calendar. Plein Air in July is the painters. Waterfowl in November is the Shore's older art form: birds, guns, and the marsh as subject, not backdrop.

Hotels book early. For residents, the civic question matches First Friday: whether the people who hang the work and staff the booths can afford the town that hosts them. The Patriot will list venues as the festival posts them. Bring walking shoes. Leave the car outside the cone.