Cancel

    Open app

    Search

    Light City Festival

    3.2 (28 reviews)

    Light City Festival Photos

    LIGHT CITY FESTIVAL ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Live music
    Good for groups
    Good for kids
    Good for dancing

    You might also consider

    Recommended Reviews - Light City Festival

    Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
    Yelp app icon
    Browse more easily on the app
    Review Feed Illustration

    Reviews With Photos

    Stilt fairies
    Sari Marissa G.

    We absolutely LOVED this festival! I mean, what's not to love? It's filled with incredible, uber creative displays of colorful lights, there's a DJ, musicians, street performers such as stilt walkers, jugglers and magicians...and it's free! We had a blast here running and dancing through all of the exhibits, each one more intricate and interesting than the last. Hard to choose a favorite, but the animatronic peacock was up there. The rainbow colored floating origami boats was a close second. Most of them do change every year however, so a new favorite is around the corner no matter how many times you've visited. I think the way to do it, especially if you're driving a ways to get here is by coming before it gets dark, perhaps late afternoon. Explore the harbor a bit, ride the carousel at sunset and roll down Federal Hill. By the time you're done that, it will be dark and the lights will be ready! You can catch some of the performers and some of the more family-friendly exhibits in the light however. There's a complete schedule available on their site. It does get more crowded the later it gets so I would definitely say get there earlier to be able to roam freely and grab your pics without swarms if people in the background. We found starting at the ferris to make the most sense so you wind up near more of the restaurants and bars afterwards. There are maps available at the festival! Grab one. There's also an app you can download to help you navigate better. We didn't find it necessary. Sit down dining options directly on the harbor are slim pickings on festival day if you don't book something in advance, but not impossible. After searching unsuccessfully for an open table, we ended up at Phillips which definitely wouldn't have been my first choice, but because of the large deck area in addition to inside, they were able to accommodate us immediately as a walk up. Perhaps try there if you're stuck? There was live music and the ever so famous "Crush" drinks I've always enjoyed in the area. It wound up being really fun, actually! I wouldn't be opposed to going again during the festival only. We found metered parking no issue coming earlier, but there are paid lots all around. An awesome unique FREE way to spend the evening... with the kiddos or not. Oh, and don't forget a jacket! It's chilly on the after at night!

    Aveeda G.

    I'm sad to say I was a bit disappointed at Light City Festival. I missed 2016's inaugural festival, and was so excited to finally get a chance to visit this year. We went on the final day and as expected, there were a million people at the harbor. This may have affected my experience a bit not letting me see the displays as a whole as I probably should have. It was a beautiful night though, and we knew what we were getting into, so I can't really complain too much about the crowd size. There were a few displays that I loved for the sheer beauty of the visuals: -The House of Cards display (a large display of custom playing cards made of 128 light boxes) which was a street off of the Inner Harbor. Beautiful and probably the biggest display there in size - got some great pictures of this. - The Shabamanetica by Eric Dyer (two Price is Right looking wheels with multiple planes that the you spin projecting motion collages). It was really interesting to see how quickly these collages moved in comparison to a much slower moving wheel. Really intriguing. -Drift by Stephanie Imbeau which was a display of three sailboats on the water each with a heaping pile of brightly lit, colorful, unique umbrellas The rest of the displays were just okay to me. Nothing that really wowed me, though again, perhaps in a less crowded setting would have been a bit more meaningful and I could have looked at them as an entire picture. Maybe in the future the displays can be grouped a bit closer or maybe have even more to showcase. If this was my first and only Light City Festival, I wouldn't be terribly unhappy.

    Bhavika P.

    Great festival with creativeness all around the inner harbor. It looked very beautiful. If you are looking for some food while enjoying the event it really depends on which end of festival you start from. I started from the end and couldn't find much food options besides the restaurants but by the time I reached the front of it there were a few food and alcohol stalls. While it was a great event, the crowd was overwhelming so if you are going with kids you want to make sure you are holding them tight!!!

    Mary Kate E.

    I thought the concept was great, but I think I found myself lurking in the wrong places trying to find where all the lights were. I know they were surrounding the Inner Harbor, however, after much searching and people pushing - I found myself not finding what I wanted to see. Much of the stuff I saw on the website and on social media was left unfound to my disappointment. What I did see was incredible. I loved seeing the musical artists and all the different light feature exhibitions. It really brought out the crowds from all over, and it gave some life to Baltimore that night I was there. I think it would be great to have this again next year. If they do, I will return and be a bit more prepared with what I want to see.

    Zinnia X.

    Light City Festival is the first international light festival in the US. There were numerous creative light installations all around the inner harbor area, and a ton of people came out to enjoy the music and lights. It was really great to see all the creativity! UberBOAT was offering free boat rides!

    Ryan D.

    One word: Amazing! Baltimore really needed this! Mad props to the organizers & promoters that made it possible. Believe it or not, I had more fun at this festival than I did at Artscape. There were several flaws I noticed that could've been implemented better, but I won't mention them because I don't want to deter visitors. After all this was the first year of the festival. Flaws are inevitable. No worries! I do want to point out 3 things to make better efficiency: 1) Move the acts, performers, music artists and entertainers closer to each other. Things were scattered so far apart from each other that I got confused and wasn't sure if I was at the right stage or not. The app was great, but the GPS function seemed broken. 2) Organize the event before daylight savings time (March 13). A light festival like this would actually work better when it gets dark earlier outside. 3) Move Club Light City to the Auditorium stage in the middle of the Harbor. It was too overcrowded for that tiny stage sandwiched in between the science exhibit and drink vendor. Overall I had a great time at this event and will be back next year, and the year after that, and the year after, and another year after, and ummm......... how about another year after that? Your event definitely has a lot of potential and I can see it getting better with time. See you in 2017

    A band hypes up the crowd during Light City Festival 2018.
    Avionna Desh S.

    I was not impressed with this year's Light City Festival. Prior years seems to have been well thought out and logistically sound. I'm unsure why it was thought spreading out the festival across a city was a good idea but it wasn't. Even with all the traffic controllers, traffic at the Inner Harbor was a nightmare. Finding and paying to park once for a festival is enough.

    The Peacock
    Valarie J.

    Spread the word. Baltimore is BACK!! Big than ever. Lights Lights Lights Where do I start? Had so much fun with my granddaughter at Mini Light City (area for children). At Sea Muse the children are able to make their own light stick then take a pic to show moving waves. Near Pier 5 is the Voyage (small colorful lighted boats). The light house turned into a globe the Lightwave beacon. The" Wow it's total awesome" feature is the Peacock. With all the colors pulsating up the feathers makes it seem real (yes, an over 6ft peacock does come to life). Taking a walk under the Pixel Promenade near the National Aquamarine. Then there is the Dear Baltimore bike riders though out the tour. Diamonds lights are so huge and great opportunity for pic. They call it the Blue Hour but when I saw it was all red. Still awesome. A must see. The Baltimore Visit Center is the Community beacon with it's blue wave lighting. Not too far is Club Light City with music guest DJ Quicksilva to DJ Jazzy Jeff. There is so much music spead out. They even have a place where you can leave your on mark on Light City the Lumen. An artist of the day will display their art work and they give you the opportunity to "enhance" their final masterpiece. The Pool turned me back into my childhood fast. The colorful circles you step on changes colors. My granddaughter did not want to leave. Who knew walking and stepping could be so much fun. So now that you burned up all your calories its time to fuel up. Parts and labor to Bar of Light City you will find just about anything beer, wine and food. Light City ends 4/3/16. Hoping this becomes an yearly event. This is one festival you can attend each night and will see something different. I have been two night so far and looking forward to attending again this weekend. So much to do whether you are with family, friends or that special someone. Come one Come all. You don't want to miss this. Yes, Baltimore is back.

    Kevin N.

    I went on the first three nights in 2017. The first night was the best despite the rain since the lack of crowds meant have us an opportunity to enjoy everything. The other nights though were just too crowded. Some people complain that things were too spread out but i had no issue with it. It definitely helped control the crowd a little.

    Lauren S.

    This was a really great week long festival! There were some super cool light installations. The music was great and there was a lot to do and see. I especially liked how there was an app so you could see what shows and exhibits were going on. I do think that the food and drink lines could have been run more efficiently. All in all, a pretty fun event for the whole family!

    See all

    7 years ago

    Helpful 6
    Thanks 0
    Love this 7
    Oh no 0

    9 years ago

    Helpful 4
    Thanks 0
    Love this 3
    Oh no 0

    7 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    8 years ago

    Helpful 22
    Thanks 0
    Love this 16
    Oh no 0

    9 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    9 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    10 years ago

    Helpful 13
    Thanks 0
    Love this 6
    Oh no 0

    10 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0

    8 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    10 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    8 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    9 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    9 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    9 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of SP F.
    0
    79
    6

    9 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    10 years ago

    Helpful 5
    Thanks 0
    Love this 5
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Cindy J.
    21
    109
    123

    8 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    9 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    10 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    10 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    8 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of A. M.
    0
    24
    9

    8 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Wendy M.
    64
    17
    55

    9 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    8 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    8 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    9 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    10 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    Ask the Community - Light City Festival

    Review Highlights - Light City Festival

    Believe it or not, I had more fun at this festival than I did at Artscape.

    Mentioned in 2 reviews

    Read more highlights

    You might also consider

    Verify this business for free

    People searched for Music Venues 189 times last month within 15 miles of this business.

    Verify this business

    The Pretzel Twist

    The Pretzel Twist

    4.9(8 reviews)
    1.2 miFells Point
    $

    What do you do when it's late, you've been bar hopping around Fells and you're jonesing for some…read moresomething sweet, salty and satisfying? You go to the Pretzel Twist. I love a good hot dog, I don't care why they're made of, you can never make me hate hot dogs. And when I want a good hot dog that I know is gonna be amazing every time, I'm gonna get the pretzel dog. So here I was on a Saturday night and I smell that delicious pretzel dough, I hadn't eaten like all day so I got 3 pretzel dogs. I was full after 2 and just stashed the 3rd in my coat pocket because it was wrapped in foil and who's gonna know ?? Right, right. So I probably went to like 3 more bars after that. Got home, crashed. Woke up and was like "why is there a hot dog in my pocket?" And did I eat it? Yes I did and it was still delicious. Truly an ode to yet another fun night in fells. Not to mention the service is always friendly and fast. It's so convenient and it's right in the heart of the little square area. So it's always there if you need a little pick me up while hitting the bars or checking out some of the local shops, or even just sitting by the water and enjoying the weather. It's simple and it's yummy.

    No trip to Baltimore for me is complete without at least two bites of a pretzel dog from The…read morePretzel Twist. Doughy, salty magic meets (meats?) HOT DOG sold to you from friendly faces in the shack. What more could you want? I also want to try their lemonade and sweet pretzels on my next trip. But truly you're here for the DAWGS. Glizzy goodness with a view of the harbor for the low low price of $6. I am lucky to have friends who live in Fells Point, and getting to know this neighborhood has been a joy. Grab your treat, enjoy the views, take walk! Dreamy day in Fells.

    Photos
    The Pretzel Twist - Pretzel Dog

    Pretzel Dog

    The Pretzel Twist
    The Pretzel Twist - Best hot dog stand in Baltimore! The owners are super personable. I've been coming here since 2021 and they never disappoint.

    See all

    Best hot dog stand in Baltimore! The owners are super personable. I've been coming here since 2021 and they never disappoint.

    Light City Festival - musicvenues - Updated May 2026

    Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...