Baltimore will be switching up its New Year’s Eve celebration at the Inner Harbor this year by introducing a “custom designed drone show” to go along with a traditional fireworks display.
The Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts (BOPA), which is co-producing the New Year’s Eve festivities with the City of Baltimore, announced Friday that Image Engineering, a global events company that specializes in laser entertainment and is based in Curtis Bay, will coordinate the drone portion of the event.
“As we bid farewell to the old year and welcome in the new, the skies over Baltimore will be illuminated like never before with a custom-designed drone show paired with traditional fireworks at midnight,” BOPA said in its announcement. “Mayor Brandon M. Scott will lead the countdown.”
A “drone show” or “drone light show” is an aerial display that uses a fleet of synchronized drones, each fitted with LED (Light Emitting Diode) lights, to create patterns, shapes and animations in the air. The lights can spell out words or create images that tell a story, and they can be tailored to suit a wide range of locations and events.
As the technology has emerged, more and more organizations and municipalities have begun putting on drone shows as new forms of promotion, education or entertainment. Other municipalities that have mounted drone shows include Salt Lake City, Utah; Boulder, Colorado; and North Lake Tahoe, La Jolla and Ocean Beach, California.
Todd Yuhanick, interim CEO of BOPA, expressed interest in making drone technology part of the city’s New Year’s Eve celebrations after he and Mayor Scott witnessed a drone show above the Mount Royal cultural district during the opening night of Artscape 2023 in September. That show was produced by the University of Maryland Medical Center to celebrate its 200th anniversary.
“The Mayor and I were watching it together and I said, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice to do this instead of fireworks on New Year’s Eve?’ and he said ‘I love the idea,’ ” Yuhanick recalled afterwards.
One advantage of the drone shows, animal lovers say, is that they aren’t noisy and don’t traumatize wildlife or scare pets the way fireworks can. Because they don’t require gunpowder or chemicals, they don’t contribute to air pollution and leave no toxic chemical fog, and they’re unlikely to spark fires.
BOPA noted in its announcement that the addition of drone technology to the Inner Harbor celebration aligns with Baltimore’s recent designation as a federal tech hub, showing how technology can be leveraged in creative ways across sectors — from healthcare to arts and culture.
Before the light display at midnight, music will fill the Inner Harbor Amphitheater starting at 8 p.m. with a set by Baltimore-based party performer DJ Curtis of C. James Experience. At 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. will be performances by the local hip hop band Soul Cannon, featuring Eze Jackson, Matt Frazão, Jon Birkholz,and Charles Wilson, in collaboration with the entertainment company, Media Minds.
Elsewhere along the waterfront on New Year’s Eve, the National Aquarium will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The American Visionary Arts Museum will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Port Discovery will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is hosting its “all-ages” Noontime New Year’s Event at 12 p.m. The Maryland Science Center will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on both New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
Also on New Year’s Eve, hours of the Inner Harbor Ice Rink will be extended until midnight, with help from the Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore. Phillips Seafood’s Inner Harbor location on Pier 4 will be open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. City Cruises will operate its signature New Year’s Eve Brunch Cruise at noon and its Dinner Cruise at 9 p.m., and Watermark Tours, Charters and Cruises at 555 Light Street is hosting its annual New Year’s Eve Baltimore Yacht Party from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Harborplace will be open at Pratt and Light streets, with stores, restaurants and pop-ups throughout the two pavilions. One of the largest tenants is the Made In Baltimore Holiday Store, which showcases unique and handmade gifts crafted by Baltimore artisans and will be open through January 2024 in the Light Street Pavilion. The stores at Harborplace typically close at 9 p.m. but some may have extended hours on New Year’s Eve, possibly until midnight.
The Inner Harbor celebration is sponsored by Visit Baltimore, which is also providing promotional and production support; Pier Six Pavilion, which is providing its space as a launch point for the drone show; and Vane Brothers, which is providing a barge for the fireworks free of charge. WJZ-TV CBS is the media partner for the event. Updates from BOPA will be available on social media (@promoandarts).
