Light City Baltimore Shines Brighter In Its Second Year

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Nine nights of lights and entertainment came to an end on Saturday, but left Charm City with another successful Light City Baltimore.

Officials say there is a 17 percent increase is what's being estimated right now, comparing this year to the inaugural Light City last year. The festival left a lot of attendees and organizers happy.

For nine nights, it was a light show entertaining thousands of people in Baltimore.

"The art installations, the concerts, the performances. It was just an amazing celebration for Baltimore," said Kathy Hornig, festivals director for the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts.

And as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end.

Estimates show that roughly 470,000 people attended the 2017 Baltimore Light City festival during its nine night run. That's a 17 percent increase from the previous year.

"But you know, it's so much more than about the numbers," said Hornig. "It's about folks like yourself coming down to the Inner Harbor, having a great time, and hopefully you'll do that throughout the spring and summer."

Hotel Monaco Baltimore general manager Shahram Khan says they offered deals to attract Light City attendees, and it was a win for the hotel.

"It's important when you have a lot of people coming over, looking at the city, experiencing Baltimore," said Khan. "Plus, it generates a lot of tax revenue for the city as well."

It's a show with a winning record for the city and people coming from near and far.

Light City Baltimore shines a glowing light on a city that has so much to offer.

"The overall take aways is just, how the light art brings people together in such a creative and positive fashion to see their city transformed, the vibe is just amazing," said Hornig.

A company has been commissioned to complete an economic impact study for Light City. Those results should be available within three weeks.

The Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts will meet later this week with the city and Light City sponsors to discuss next year's event. It's said those dates will come soon.

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