One of Artscape's most popular new offerings this year will contain not a single piece of artwork to admire or buy, nary a concoction of fried dough dusted with powdered sugar, and will offer absolutely zero potential for people-watching.
But the new air-conditioned Guest Services Tent stationed in front of the Lyric Opera House will provide festival-goers a commodity that's even more coveted — a way to save time.
The tent will contain the festival box office, which will provide advance tickets for the most in-demand, indoor performances scheduled for that day.
For instance, visitors can stop off at the tent on Saturday and collect tickets for the free Baltimore Symphony Orchestra concert, while on Sunday, they can get passes for Graham II, the junior troupe of the famed Martha Graham Dance Company.
"Last year, the dance performances were so popular," says Kathy Hornig, festivals director for the Baltimore Office of Promotion & the Arts, which runs the free weekend arts festival. "People stood in line for hours, only to be turned away when we reached capacity. We don't want our guests to spend the weekend waiting in line. We want them to see the shows and enjoy Artscape."
The Charm City Circulator has added a dedicated Artscape route to shuttle guests from one end of the festival to the other every 15 minutes, with a stop right outside the tent. The box office will have on hand only tickets for those shows for which the demand is expected to exceed the supply. Up to four reserved seats can be picked up the morning of the performance.
"Any time I go to an outdoor festival with my family, I try to analyze what makes it a great day," says Hornig, who is the mother of an 11-year-old son. "I try to make sure we do those same things at Artscape."