It’s the most wonderful time of the year*!
(*Unless you own a car in Hampden and are hoping to park it south of 38th Street.)
Love it or hate it, one of Baltimore’s brightest annual traditions is back. Long before Light City or Inviting Light, a vernacular spectacular has drawn untold thousands of curious visitors to an otherwise sleepy block of rowhouses. Since 1947, residents of the 700 block of W. 34th Street have been decking their halls, porches, gardens, brick, and formstone with a blinding array of Christmas, Hanukkah, and assorted other non-denominational-Winter-Solstice-celebration lights. (As well as inspiring one of the single funniest “only in North Baltimore” Wikipedia entry subsections about the NIMBY bah-humbuggery/Hanuk-kvetching.)
Because this is Hampden, those decorations are typically kitschy and/or artistic—and always over-the-top. From Natty Boh men to snow men, from Disney princesses to the Three Kings, Hampden goes all-out, often welcoming the public into interactive installations. Where else can you find pink flamingos in a nativity scene?
On December 13th, we sent photographer KT Kanazawich to check it out and report back on one of the block parties featuring carolers from the Living Water Youth Group out of Lancaster, a special Santa appearance, hot cocoa courtesy of Falkenhan’s Hardware, and plenty of other wholesome holiday weirdness.
