One year after its star-studded 40th anniversary celebration, Baltimore is gearing up for another installment of the African American festival, better known as AFRAM, but details about the event remain sketchy.
The 2017 AFRAM Festival will be held on August 12 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Druid Hill Park in Northwest Baltimore. Now under the control of new Mayor Catherine Pugh, the event has been shortened from two days to one, and falls a full month later than its usual July date.
The change from a two-day event to one is a sign of the apparent downsizing of the event. August is also a considerable amount of time later than the usual July date.
No information was available regarding the musical artists set to appear at this year’s event, according to Myra Blanchard, the city’s marketing development director. Information on attractions, vendors, and festival events was also not available.
Last year, thousands of attendees flocked to Camden Yards to hear performances from artists which included Common and Angie Stone. That lineup was announced in March 2016, months before the event itself.
Past installments of the festival were organized by greiBO Entertainment under contract to the city; former Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake set a budget for last year’s event of $535,000. The contract with greiBO was not renewed this year, placing the event solely under city control.
