Baltimore By Baltimore, a waterfront "music and makers" festival, is coming back for its second year to bring the city's creative scene to the Inner Harbor.
The hope is "to showcase Baltimoreans and for the Inner Harbor to better reflect Baltimore back at itself," said Leanna Wetmore, events and program director for Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore.
"The Inner Harbor for a few years has just been in kind of slow decline, with pavilions being pretty empty, and we really want to help revive that, as there is a new owner of Harborplace and new energy, and it's really important that we help support our creative community and really intentionally invite them back to the Inner Harbor and create events that really represent an authentic Baltimore."
Baltimore By Baltimore is a series of six events that will happen from noon to 8 p.m. on the first Saturday of each month, starting June 3, in the Harbor Ampitheater, which is at the corner of Pratt and Light streets. Each event will have its own producer who chooses which entertainers will perform.
The June 3 event will showcase "The Evolution of Baltimore Club Music" and is being produced by Larry "Waddup" Caudle.
Wetmore noted: "This is Baltimore's very own genre, and it'll have a lot of sort of old-school folks like Paula Campbell and Tim Trees, and some new school/middle school like Rye Rye and there'll be all kinds of fun dancing and really great food, vegan food, barbecue, juices, there's a bar - something for everyone. It'll be really fun."
Each producer will represent their own culture, from club to Latin heritage to jazz. Wetmore said last year's festival was "a great turnout." Other future Baltimore By Baltimore events include The Black Baltimore Renaissance, which will showcase the many young people who are starting non-profits, businesses and creative ventures.
Wetmore said Baltimore By Baltimore "is the first time that I feel like there has been a big event at the Inner Harbor that really focuses on the creative community. I think Light City did a great job of that, and we are kind of doing a slice of that."
"It gives us an opportunity to sort of flip the script and shift that narrative we see on the news sometimes - 'oh, there's lot of youth at the Inner Harbor who are causing trouble' - and I think the majority of the youth at the Inner Harbor are not," she said.
