As the organizers of Hampdenfest we're very disappointed to have to announce that there will be no Hampdenfest 2023. Our application was declined, with Baltimore city asking us to change the date. We have spent hours working on this, but unfortunately there is no viable second date available for us this year.
When Artscape announced that they were moving to September, it immediately sent up red flags for us as festival organizers. September is historically a very busy neighborhood festival season. On top of that, with an extra holiday falling on a weekend, it rendered several weekends unusable right off the bat.
Our target date was always September 23. So after BOPA appeared to have a couple of misfires in its early planning stages of Artscape, we decided instead of cancelling our festival earlier, we'd wait and see if Artscape was actually going to happen. As we considered moving forward with the planning, several city officials signaled their encouragement for our festival to take place on our intended date, so we proceeded. We figured, if Artscape did happen, maybe we could still pull off a smaller, more stripped down version of Hampdenfest.
Unfortunately, Baltimore City said they don't have the resources to pull off Artscape and other events like ours.
We completely appreciate that city services are stressed. Putting on a festival is a constant nail-biting endeavor. We don't want to add to everyone's stress, as well as our own stress as organizers, by fighting an uphill battle.
We understand this may disappoint many, and it also, regrettably, has a direct negative impact on many local small businesses. So just to reiterate, we have worked through all the possible alternatives - and none of them will work for us. Unlike Artscape, we have been in communication and coordination this year (as in previous years) with other area festivals to not overbook them.
Finally, at this point we'd like to remind everyone that while sponsored by the Hampden Village Merchants Association and the Hampden Community Council, Hampdenfest is organized and operated exclusively by volunteers and supported by local small businesses. We are not funded or run in any way by local government or grants.
We thank you all for your interest in Hampdenfest. And we're very sorry.
When Artscape announced that they were moving to September, it immediately sent up red flags for us as festival organizers. September is historically a very busy neighborhood festival season. On top of that, with an extra holiday falling on a weekend, it rendered several weekends unusable right off the bat.
Our target date was always September 23. So after BOPA appeared to have a couple of misfires in its early planning stages of Artscape, we decided instead of cancelling our festival earlier, we'd wait and see if Artscape was actually going to happen. As we considered moving forward with the planning, several city officials signaled their encouragement for our festival to take place on our intended date, so we proceeded. We figured, if Artscape did happen, maybe we could still pull off a smaller, more stripped down version of Hampdenfest.
Unfortunately, Baltimore City said they don't have the resources to pull off Artscape and other events like ours.
We completely appreciate that city services are stressed. Putting on a festival is a constant nail-biting endeavor. We don't want to add to everyone's stress, as well as our own stress as organizers, by fighting an uphill battle.
We understand this may disappoint many, and it also, regrettably, has a direct negative impact on many local small businesses. So just to reiterate, we have worked through all the possible alternatives - and none of them will work for us. Unlike Artscape, we have been in communication and coordination this year (as in previous years) with other area festivals to not overbook them.
Finally, at this point we'd like to remind everyone that while sponsored by the Hampden Village Merchants Association and the Hampden Community Council, Hampdenfest is organized and operated exclusively by volunteers and supported by local small businesses. We are not funded or run in any way by local government or grants.
We thank you all for your interest in Hampdenfest. And we're very sorry.