BALTIMORE — A new Baltimore pop-up bar is celebrating the cherry-blossom season - and showcasing buildings available for lease downtown.
"It's going to be fun, it's going to be delicious, it's going to be spring-y," said Anna Platis, a local theatre artist who designed a giant cherry blossom tree that will serve as the pop-up's centerpiece. "It's Baltimore, so we've always gotta be a little quirky, a little different."
The 20-foot tree, made from items like cardboard tubes and coffee grounds, sets the tone for the creative, seasonal event. The Cherry Blossom Bar will be held for three weekends starting Friday, at 1 East Baltimore Street, which has been vacant for almost 10 years.
Platis noted:
"That's the whole point of the project, is to sort of activate vacant spaces downtown. That's a really great example of this big, beautiful space that has so much potential it could literally be anything... It's really exciting to kind of show the potential of things that can happen downtown, of things that we can do."
And who can resist the magic of cherry blossom trees?
"They're so beautiful," Platis said. "The sort of chocolatey-brown color with the pink, they just always look like a big dessert, you know?"
Downtown Partnership is organizing the event, and local bartender Mike Cohn will bring special drinks like cherry blossom ale, Japanese whiskey, and local spirits.
Special nights will include a Resident Night, on April 6, when downtown residents get a free drink, and Cosplay Night, on April 13, when attendees who dress in costume get a free drink.
The bar will be open from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on March 31, April 1, April 6, April 7, April 8, April 13, April 14, and April 15.
Claudia Freeland Jolin, Vice President of Economic Development at Downtown Partnership, said in a statement: "Cherry blossom trees are dotted throughout the downtown core, and by partnering with local artists and businesses, we’re marking the season of blooms with an immersive, vibrant experience in an eligible, gorgeous building in the heart of downtown."
