The Hard Rock Cafe at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor will shut off the lights on its iconic guitar and other neon signage for one hour Saturday as it participates in the World Wildlife Fund’s annual Earth Hour movement.
“It’s bringing in our motto ‘Save The Planet,’” said David Thomas, Baltimore Managing Partner for Hard Rock Cafe. “It’s one of our missions, mottos and values, and has been since we started. The Earth Hour is a moment of unity that brings us together.”
Started in 2007, Earth Hour encourages individuals, businesses, and other participants to switch off their lights for an hour as a show of support for environmental protection.
This year, in addition to the lights out demonstration, the World Wildlife Fund is calling on participants to do something positive for the planet. The organization has some suggestions on their website, such as creating a zero-waste meal or writing letters to local legislators urging them to support policies for the reduction of plastic pollution.
Typically held on the last Saturday of March, Earth Hour will instead be held on March 23 this year to accommodate the Easter holiday, said World Wildlife Fund public relations representative Tara Doyle. The hour-long event will take place from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Seminole Gaming and Hard Rock International, which was acquired by the Seminole Tribe of Florida in March 2007, have participated in the Earth Hour since 2019. Over the past five years, they have conserved more than 14,000 kilowatt hours as part of the initiative. Hard Rock recorded its highest participation in Earth Hour in 2023, with 135 of its cafes, casinos, and hotels taking part in the event, the company reported.
“We’re participating by going dark. Turning off all the neons, the guitar on the outside building, to show our commitment to being part of a cleaner, more eco-friendly world,” Thomas said.
While lights on Hard Rock Cafe’s exterior will be off for that hour, interior lighting and other electricity will remain on because the restaurant will be in the middle of dinner service.
“At that point, especially on that evening, we’ll have our full capacity restaurant, so we have to be careful for our guests,” Thomas said.
While Thomas said he hasn’t heard any comments from customers during previous Earth Hours, some of the cafe’s neighboring businesses have shown interest in the demonstration.
“I have noticed our neighbors say things…. We let them know that we partake and encourage them to see if they want to,” he said.
Doyle, of the World Wildlife Fund, said she hadn’t heard of any other Baltimore-area businesses participating in this year’s Earth Hour, but she hopes more will join this year.
“Anyone is welcome to take part in the event, and we often find out about new participants the day of,” she said.
Several U.S. landmarks will be participating, including the Empire State Building in New York City, the Space Needle in Seattle, and Niagara Falls, Doyle said.
