Hampdenfest is my favorite annual Baltimore shindig. It’s community-minded. It’s big without being overwhelming. And its late-summer date means festival-goers are less prone to getting scorched in the sun. That’s why it is such a shame that Hampdenfest’s 2014 event has been abruptly canceled.
As reported in the Baltimore Sun, organizers said that this year’s Sailabration (which also happens to be the bicentennial of the Star Spangled Banner) falls on the second Saturday in September, the traditional date of Hampdenfest. The city doesn’t have the resources to support both events. Steve Baker, the owner of Wholly Terra, told the Sun that those resources include things like stages, barricades, and generators.
Organizers said that rather than change the date and put on a “ramshackle festival,” they’ve decided to simply cancel it and begin planning for 2015.
NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!