When Mayor Brandon Scott on Monday announced the dates that four of Baltimore’s major festivals will be held in 2025, he asked that other community groups not plan festivals and other outdoor events at the same time.
That was disappointing news for organizers of the Sowebo Arts and Music Festival, which typically takes place on the Memorial Day Weekend — the same weekend that Scott wants to hold Artscape next year, May 24 and 25.
The mayor said Artscape is moving from August to May to avoid the inhospitable weather that has plagued the festival for the past two years. He asked other groups not to apply for city event permits on the same dates as the four city-produced festivals – Artscape, Afram (June 21 and 22), the Baltimore Caribbean Festival (July 11 to 13), and Charm City Live (September 20) — because resources and personnel are limited.
“Don’t plan anything on any of the days that we have just laid out,” he warned other groups. “Those permits will not be approved. We have to plan around those large-scale events…We want to make the event planning process as smooth as possible.”
But on Tuesday, the Mayor’s Office clarified that the City will process a permit application so organizers of the Sowebo festival can hold their event on Memorial Day Weekend along with Artscape. A representative issued a statement saying the mayor’s office will work with organizers of “legacy events” that want to hold events that might coincide with the four city-produced festivals.
“Yes, we will support them through the permit process,” the Mayor’s representative said. “We are actively working with the planners for all legacy events – including the Sowebo Arts and Music Festival, who we have been in contact with – that conflict with the City’s major festivals to ensure that we are able to provide the support they require to make their events successful.”
The promise came after a longtime community leader in Southwest Baltimore, Kim Lane, wrote to the mayor and other city officials, pointing out that the Sowebo festival is traditionally held on the Memorial Day Weekend. This year it was held on Sunday, May 26, in the Hollins Market area.
“I hope that perhaps this was an oversight,” Lane’s letter began. “Artscape is now scheduled the same weekend as the Sowebo festival. This art festival is a 40 year old festival that averages 3,000 to 5,000 visitors. These community traditions are very important for economic development and community stability.”
After learning that the Mayor’s Office would process a permit application for the Sowebo festival, Lane was upbeat.
“The Mayor’s office is working with Sowebo to allow their festival to go through” on Memorial Day weekend, she said in an email message. “So it looks like it will be a weekend full of art!”
The mayor’s decision to move Artscape to May has received mostly positive feedback on social media.
One of the few criticisms came from a Bolton Hill resident who complained that traffic restrictions on a holiday may prevent him from inviting guests from outside the neighborhood to a birthday party he’s planning that weekend. Artscape’s footprint has traditionally been near Bolton Hill and Mount Vernon.
“Memorial Day weekend?” he wrote on Facebook. “It seems strange to want to double up like that. Now we can’t invite people over for a cookout because of the parking restrictions.”
A commenter from Mount Vernon was encouraged.
“[C]ould be a very good change,” he wrote. “[A]necdotally, it seems like Artscape gets washed out half of the time in mid summer. [M]aybe spring will be more accommodating.”
“An extremely smart move,” another commenter said. “No deathly heat, less possibility of rain since it isn’t hurricane season.”
“Good call on moving Artscape,” agreed the Mid-Atlantic Severe Weather Alert, in a Facebook post. “Between [100-degree] days and violent storms on the previously notorious dates, us weather folks have been saying to do this for years.”
Artscape’s move to May is for 2025 only at this point, and city officials will see how it goes before making decisions for 2026 and beyond, the mayor’s representative said in an email message.
“We decided to move Artscape 2025 to Memorial Day Weekend based on feedback from residents around heat and storms impacting the event in previous years,” he said. “We’re going to do everything in our power to make sure that this event is a success in 2025 and continue to listen to our residents to evaluate future Artscape dates moving forward.”
Just putting it out there but the International Poe Fest and the Fell’s Pt Fun Festival are on the same weekend too. First weekend in October.