It’s time for a rite of autumn, the annual Tug of War in Annapolis. Here are some secrets to know about the event, which is set for Saturday.

The best celebration is on the Eastport side, where eight bands play all day. It’s a doozy of a way to spend a fall afternoon near the water.

The Annapolis side is often short of “tuggers” and is the easiest place to drop into one of the 33 spots on each side of the 1,600-foot rope that crosses Spa Creek.

Frivolity surrounding the tug changes every year from noon to 5 p.m., but the formal declaration of “war” was delivered Monday night to the City Council. The Maritime Republic of Eastport renames the creek the Gulf of Eastport and secedes from the city.

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By the end, no one is sure what the “war” is about, and they are reunited through the shared love of a good party.

The tug started during a 1997 maintenance project on the Spa Creek Bridge — or the Sixth Street Bridge, depending on which side you choose — that “cut off” Eastport from downtown. It’s since become an Annapolis tradition. All funds raised go to Annapolis-area charities.

The Eastport team stages on Second Street while Annapolis tugs from Susan Campbell Park. Individual teams sign up to tug in several heats, but drop-in spots are available for a fee.

Here are some other great things to do in the coming week.

Halloween concert

9 p.m. Thursday

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You can count on costumes and candy every Halloween, but new this year is a Candlelight concert outside the Annapolis Waterfront Hotel.

The Listeso String Quartet will play Halloween Classics in two shows on Halloween, from Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” to a Medley from “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” As of Wednesday, there were still tickets available for the 9 p.m. shows. $36-$56.

Two-weekend jazz

Friday-Sunday, Nov. 9-11.

The Annapolis Jazz & Roots Festival returns with two weekends of music, kicking off Friday night at the Peerless Rens Club in Eastport.

Quebecoise vocalist Lynn Veronneau and UK guitarist Ken Avis perform jazz with a French twist at 6 and 8 p.m. Tickets are $25, plus taxes and fees.

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Fran Vielma & the Venezuelan Jazz Collective play “Afro-Diasporic Music Traditions in Jazz” in the second show, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday at the Eastport-Annapolis Neck Library. The concert is free.

The Alfred Yun Trio wraps up the opening weekend with “The Magic of Monk” from 4-6 p.m. Sunday at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. $20 plus taxes and fees in advance, $25 at the door.

Reservations are required for both ticketed shows.

Alex Kovling, principal horn of the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra, will perform the solo during the performances of Óscar Navarro’s "Connection" on Nov. 1 and 2, 2024 in Annapolis.
“With nerves of steel and an unshakable calm, our Principal Horn Alex Kovling approaches even the most daunting musical challenges with grace and confidence,” ASO Artistic Director José-Luis Novo said. (Courtesy photo)

Hair-raising music

7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday

Just days before Election Day, the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra will play a musical response to despotism by Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich.

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“Symphony No. 10 in E minor, Op. 93″ is considered a description of Communist dictator Joseph Stalin’s reign in the Soviet Union when as many as 9 million were killed as enemies within the state.

“The second movement is four minutes of hair-raising symphonic music symbolizing the oppression of Stalin’s brutal regime that will keep you on the edge of your seat,” Artistic Director José-Luis Novo said in a statement.

Other pieces planned for the second of this season’s Masterworks Series are the first performance of Óscar Navarro’s “Connection” in Annapolis, featuring a solo by principal horn Alex Kovling, and Adolphus Hailstork’s “Three Spirituals for Orchestra.”

The concert at Maryland Hall is repeated at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. A free lecture on the program precedes both performances. Tickets are $39.75 to $100.75, with discounts available.

First one

11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday

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The holidays are filled with holiday markets. But there’s a certain validity to the first one of the season being held at the First Sunday Festival in November.

Fifty artists, craftsmen, musicians, and more will be on the first block of West Street in the First Sunday Arts Holiday Market. Performances include the Ballet Theatre of Maryland from 11 to 1 p.m. Free admission.

Irish veterans

7:30 p.m. Monday

Gaelic Storm, the Irish band that’s been touring for 20 years, brings its new album “Go Climb a Tree” to Rams Head on Stage. $45 plus taxes and fees.

Night art

Through Nov. 23

Works from 63 artists exploring the beauty that takes place after the sun sets are on display in the new Maryland Federation of Art exhibit, After Dark. The paintings are on display through Nov. 23. Free.