Add the Baltimore Book Festival and Light City to the list of annual events that have been postponed for 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Free Fall Baltimore and Baltimore’s Open Studio Tour will become virtual events this year.
The book festival has been postponed until 2021 and Light City has been postponed until 2022.
A decision has not yet been made about the annual Inner Harbor Fireworks show on New Year’s Eve.
The Baltimore Office of Promotion & the Arts announced the changes today.
BOPA previously had turned the annual Artscape weekend into a virtual event spread throughout the summer. it also canceled the Fourth of July fireworks at the Inner Harbor.
“Sadly, we have had to postpone our large-scale public events through the end of 2020,” said BOPA CEO Donna Drew Sawyer in a statement. “The current health crisis has had a profound effect on the many wonderful aspects of the work BOPA does.”
While large-scale events are no longer possible in 2020, directors say, BOPA will offer virtual options for other fall programs.
In October, BOPA will present a hybrid of virtual and small in-person events for Free Fall Baltimore 2020, the annual citywide celebration featuring free cultural events during National Arts and Humanities Month.
Also in October, the 32nd annual Baltimore Open Studio Tour, which invites the public into Baltimore-based artists’ workspaces to view or purchase original works of art, will occur virtually throughout the month with studio visits occurring live on BOPA’s social media.
Applications for Free Fall Baltimore and Baltimore’s Open Studio Tour will be available soon., organizers say.
For more information on the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts, call 410-752-8632 or visit www.promotionandarts.org.
