Baltimore Pride will return to Mount Vernon and Druid Hill Park in July

Many people complained about the venue shift, the arrangement of crowded beer gardens as opposed to the open-air drinking environments of years past, and the fact that having both events in the same space made them feel too similar.

Some said the usual family-friendly vibe of the Sunday festival in the park had been lost.

Today, the GLCCB has a new executive director, Joel Tinsley-Hall, and a new volunteer Pride 2015 coordinator, Paul Liller. At a meeting last month, the two outlined an ambitious plan to better organize Pride 2015 -- which is being billed as the event's 40th anniversary.

They spoke with members of the community about their issues with Pride 2014, and promised to address them. They also heard from several people who expressed dismay that past Prides in Baltimore have been held on the same weekend as Father's Day and the annual Philadelphia Trans-Health Conference.

Pride in Baltimore has traditionally been held in June, but Tinsley-Hall and Liller both said they would be reviewing that in light of the concerns -- balancing their decision against other conflicts as well. (One being Capital Pride in Washington, another being Artscape.)

The block party returning to Mount Vernon likely will not mean a return to open-air drinking. GLCCB leaders have said the beer gardens were a requirement introduced by city officials and would likely remain a feature of Pride moving forward.

They also said, however, that they would attempt to make the drinking areas more convenient, spacious and comfortable for those who want to grab a drink.

Additional details about Pride will be shared during monthly GLCCB events leading up to this summer.

The GLCCB said information about volunteering, applying to be a vendor and sponsorships will be posted to its website at BaltimorePride.org in coming days.