By John C. Lynch
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
With the earlier sunsets and the cold of the coming winter settling in, the Light City festival provided the warm, glowing heartbeat of the city.
“We aren’t from Baltimore,” said John Lucas, who brought his family to the festival. “We are from Pennsylvania. We make the trip down here because we just really love the Inner Harbor. The boats. The lights. The water. The vibe. It’s like the city is alive.”
The crisp, low 40-degree weather did not keep the Lucas family and others from attending the first day of the fourth annual Light City festival. It is being held through Nov. 10 in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.
The light festival shifted from April to November to take advantage of the early darkness. Festival-goers say that this year seems a little sparse with people.
Kevin Easton and Erin Mathews have attended the Light City festival all four years and have noticed that the crowd is smaller this year.
“I think it is because the festival is in November rather than in April,” Mathews said. “It’s definitely changed. Probably because of the cold and April is also when the Cherry Blossoms are in bloom. People are in town for that.”
Their favorite art installation this year is the DiscoBug, a 1969 VW Beetle fully covered in disco ball mirror squares. Spectators can interact with the exhibit by spinning the car on a rotating platform. Inside the car, bugs dance on a small dance floor under a disco ball.
Global Air Media held a show the first two nights of the festival featuring synchronized drones. They lit up in a variety of colors huddled in air above the harbor, reflecting against the darkness of the water. Images significant to Baltimore residents appeared across the sky. Blue Angel jets spun in circles as if doing tricks in the air. An image of the U.S.S. Constellation sailed straight towards the crowd.
“My favorite part of the drone light show was the blue crab,” said Lisa Trotta, shivering in the cold next to her husband Andrew. “We are from Baltimore so the blue crab is close to our hearts.”
The blue drone slowly descended from the air as it fell out of formation, grouping to form the American flag. It crashed along the docks and water of the harbor. Once the flag was formed, a few holes were missing, indicating that this was a tough night to stay aloft.
Andrew Trotta thought that drone light technology is an interesting and different experience, commenting on the unique patterns that can be made. Unfortunately, the windy night provided difficulty for the drones.
“I saw that they lost a drone from the formation and it went down,” Andrew Trotta said. “I thought that was pretty cool.”
The Canopy, an art installation that features stationary bikes, helps the festival attendees warm up during the chilly night. When a person starts pedaling, a fabric inflatable canopy is illuminated and morphs to create a shelter. It sparks conversations about renewable sources of power while warming the patron up with some movement.
“I like the exhibit and the bikes. My 4-year-old daughter especially loves it,” said Lucas, as he looked over at his daughter pedaling hard to activate the lights.
“It’s great as long as somebody else does the biking,” Lucas said.
If you go
The festival is free and open to the public.
Directions – Inner Harbor, Baltimore. The festival takes place along the waterfront, from the Maryland Science Center to Pier 5.
Parking – PMI garages are located at 815 E. Pratt St. and 720 Aliceanna St. The City of Baltimore has parking locations at 751 E. Lombard St. and 100 S. Gay St.
Days and hours of operation – Friday, Nov. 1 through Sunday, Nov. 10, 2019. The works of light are will be fully illuminated every night starting around 6 p.m. Festival hours are 5 to 10 p.m.
Contact – Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts organizes the festival. For general inquiries call their phone number at 410-752-8632 or email promotionandarts@gmail.com.
Lodging – Brilliant Baltimore offers packages including hotels, parking and official goodies for the festival. Learn more at baltimore.org.
Food and other facilities – Food stalls, tents and trucks line the Inner Harbor’s waterfront. There is also an outdoor ice-skating rink.
Souvenirs – Light-up goodies and books are for sale in stalls and tents along the waterfront.
Tours – Light City Festival Cruises include tours aboard the Spirit of Baltimore and the Inner Harbor Spirit. Experience the light city festival on the water on a three hour and three-course dinner cruise. Click here to book.
Special upcoming events – A colorful performance of fireworks will be held on Sunday, Nov. 10 at 9:45 p.m. to celebrate the official close of Light City 2019.