It may be 100 degrees outside, but some city officials are looking ahead to Christmas – Christmas Village at the Inner Harbor to be specific.
Baltimore’s Board of Estimates this month approved a license agreement renewal that allows German American Marketing Inc. to produce its popular German-style holiday market, called Christmas Village in Baltimore, on the west shore of the Inner Harbor.
Inspired by Nuremberg’s 16th century Christkindlesmarkt, Christmas Village has been a holiday tradition in Baltimore since 2013. It features more than 60 local and international vendors; a traditional German mulled wine tower; a carousel; Ferris Wheel; heated tent, beer garden; wine tastings; live performances and family-friendly activities.
The current license started in 2019, when the Board of Estimates approved an agreement that gave German American Marketing the right that year to use a portion of West Shore Park, the city-owned property between the Baltimore Visitor Center at 401 Light Street and the Maryland Science Center. The 2019 agreement gave the organizers an option to renew the license five times.
The market wasn’t held in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it returned in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. On June 4, the Board of Estimates approved the fifth renewal of the license, for a period that starts Nov. 10 and ends on Dec. 31.
According to a memo to the board from the city’s Real Estate department, the dates of this year’s event will be Nov. 22 and 23 for a Preview Weekend and then from Nov. 27 to December 24. The memo states that German American Marketing is exercising “its fifth and final renewal option, with no further renewal options remaining.”
The license agreement requires German American Marketing to pay the city $41,500.00, including $14,000 for an electrical services fee, $15,000 for a security deposit and $12,500 for a license fee, and to complete “breakdown and clean-up after the Event” no later than Dec. 31.
More information about Christmas Village in Baltimore is available at www.baltimore-christmas.com and on Facebook, TikTok and Instagram, @bmorechristmas.
