Artscape Is This Weekend

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Art festival takeover! Hundreds of thousands of people will flood the streets of Baltimore this weekend for Artscape. It's the largest free event of its kind in the US.

Ava-joye Burnett was able to experience this first-hand.

The festival is massive. Everywhere you looked, there were people. The event even brought some big names to Baltimore.

The sounds of internationally-renowned rapper Wyclef Jean kicked off Artscape 2016---the country's largest free art festival---right here in Baltimore. From the music to sculptures, there are hundreds of artists thinking outside the box.

One piece of art will only be finished after total strangers help the artist paint it.

"So eventually it becomes a collage of 62 different individuals making a single piece of art," said artist Scott Frias.

Artscape spans 16 blocks throughout the city and thousands of people are expected to show up over the next three days. Organizers are expecting 350,000 people.

"It was a fun thing for me and my son to do. We hang out a lot and it's a lot of people," said Damon Manning. "It's a good environment."

"Having something like Artscape, which is free and open to all kinds of people, all different stages of life, it gives a good chance for people to get together and kind of have a positive setting to be around," said Morgan Carroll.

This is the 35th year for Artscape in Baltimore. With all this foot traffic, organizers say upward of $25 million could come into the city---but it's more than just the money.

"People really want these events and they really want the community to come together and they usually come with great attitudes," said Tracy Baskerville, Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts.

The festival continues throughout the weekend. The theme this year is "Space."