BALTIMORE — Baltimore city is gearing up for next summer with major events already on the calendar for 2024.
"It helps drive the creative economy, we're putting local artists to work, local musicians to work,” said Tonya Miller Hall, Baltimore City Senior Advisor for Arts and Culture.
Artscape, which has grown to the nation's largest free outdoor festival, is returning the weekend of August 2. It's the first time since before the pandemic that it will run in the summer.
“We’re moving back into the summer, so the mayor doesn’t want to hear any complaints about it being hot. It’s going to be hot. It probably will rain a little bit too. It’s Baltimore in the summertime,” said Mayor Scott.
Also on the books is AFRAM which is scheduled for June 22 and 23. Charm City Live will be held on September 21.
"We’re always going to highlight and celebrate all of our big festivals, but are neighborhood based festivals are equally as important," Mayor Scott said.
To ease planning efforts between city run and other community events, the city is rolling out a new public events calendar. Hampdenfest, which was slated for the same weekend as Artscape, was canceled this past September. Organizers blamed the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts for what they said was poor scheduling.
BOPA is also undergoing leadership changes headed into the new year, with a permanent CEO not yet announced. The mayor's office says a lot of progress has been made and feels confident moving forward.
"I don't stand on people that I don't have confidence in. We know that they have new leadership and have been making great strides and we are going to continue to work in partnership,” said Mayor Scott.
The city says these events are a huge economic driver and while many details are still under wraps, there's a lot to look forward to.
"We're still under development, still putting some logistical plans together, not ready to announce the big plans but they'll soon come,” said Hall.
