ENTERTAINMENT

Baltimore Festival returns next week

Jeff Barron
Reporter

BALTIMORE – Baltimore Festival Association President Cindi Thompson said she was determined to bring the festival back this year after a one-year absence.

“It was just perseverance and stubbornness that brought it back,” she said. “We worked, worked and worked untold hours to get this together.”

The festival will run Aug. 6 to 8 at Johnson Park and feature rides, food and musical entertainment, among other things. Hillbilly Deluxe, After Midnight, and Crossroad Station are the featured musical acts. The festival also will have a car show.

Thompson said this year’s festival might not be as big as previous ones, but it will include a parade at 10:30 a.m. Aug. 8 despite road construction near the parade route.

“I believe in the festival,” Thompson said. “I’ve given up a lot of time volunteering. This is for the kids.”

Thompson said numerous challenges that could not be overcome scratched last year’s festival, but she didn’t get into the specifics.

But last year, in an open letter to the public, she cited a village decision regarding the use of Johnson Park, saying “because of the lack of time and funding necessary to make changes to the grounds, we made the heartbreaking decision to cancel this year.”

Thompson said people are still asking whether there will be a festival, partly because the event’s website is not working correctly. But there is a Facebook page dedicated to it.

She said during a festival association meeting after last year’s cancellation that she asked whether anyone wanted to help her revive the event, and several people did. But she said it wasn’t easy, as some families were involved in sports and other activities, which made finding volunteers difficult.

“I’m just hoping it pays off,” Thompson said. “We’re not looking to make any money with this.”

While there is a $3 parking fee, there is no charge to attend the festival.

“We don’t want to do that,” Thompson said. “We don’t want to charge a fee.”

For complete information on the festival, including the event schedule, visit its Facebook page by searching for “The Baltimore Festival.”

Thompson is available at 740-808-2481 and at holbrook1@hotmail.com.

jbarron@lancastereaglegazette.com

740-681-4340

Twitter: @JeffDBarron