By Megan Sayles
AFRO News
msayles@afro.com
Artscape will no longer close out the Summer festival season in Baltimore City. During the roll-out of the 2025 Baltimore City festival schedule on Dec. 9, Mayor Brandon M. Scott announced that the city’s premier arts and culture event will kick off on Memorial Day Weekend, May 24 and May 25.
Following Artscape, AFRAM, one of the largest African-American festivals on the East Coast, will take place on June 21 and June 22. The Baltimore Caribbean Festival will be held on July 12 and July 13, and Charm City Live is slotted for Sept. 20.
(Credit: AFRO Photo/Megan Sayles)
“In Baltimore, the summer is a time to connect and celebrate with one another and spend time with our loved ones and friends,” said Scott during the announcement at Baltimore City Hall. “We have one of the best lineups of accessible festivals and concert series all year round, but Summer is always the highlight for us.”
Unlike past years, Artscape will notably be one day shorter, with programming exclusively happening on Saturday and Sunday. As a result of Scott’s decision to terminate the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts’ contract (BOPA) in October, the City will now produce the festival.
The decision to move Artscape to May was made because of past weather conditions, like extreme heat and storms, that cancelled festival programming. In August 2024, headline musical performances on Friday and Saturday were rained out. The location of the 2025 festival will be announced in the ensuing months.
Scott said he was not concerned about the reduction in planning time for the festival.
“Artscape, Baltimore’s most beloved arts festival, returns with this fresh new date after facing the challenges of inclement weather— some storms, heat and all the things that we have experienced over the last 20 years,” said Scott. “We are moving the festival to May in hopes of getting ahead of those disruptions and obviously the heat that comes to Baltimore later in the Summer.”
During the festival schedule announcement, Scott also issued an executive order to create the Baltimore Advisory Committee on Caribbean Affairs. The body will advise the Mayor’s office, Baltimore City Council and all city agencies on the needs of the local Caribbean community.
The 2025 Baltimore Caribbean Festival and Parade, officially known as the Baltimore Washington One Carnival, will mark the first time that the city produces the two-day celebration. For the past 32 years, it was led by founder Elaine Simon alongside advisory committees.
With the city as its producer, Scott intends to cement the event in city festival lineups for years to come, particularly as D.C. has been unable to hold its own version of the festival since 2011.
“We know they are part of our festival now because they don’t have one anymore,” said Scott. “For us, it’s about making sure that history, culture and legacy continues, and there is no better way to do that than to bring it under the city.”
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