Flower Mart Returns In-Person To Mount Vernon, Signaling Spring In Baltimore
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A sure sign that Spring has sprung in Baltimore is when Flower Mart returns. The tradition kicked off Friday.
"I love flowers and plants of all kinds and it's back!" Beverly Wise of Baltimore County said. "So, here I am."
Dating back to 1911, the two-day event is the oldest free public festival in Baltimore, the city said. It was originally held to get people to buy flowers and plant them in the city.
Flower Mart is open Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Mount Vernon Place, the home of Baltimore's Washington Monument.
The festival boasts 45 vendors, including 12 greenhouses and 15 craft vendors.
"It's a tradition in the city," Tom Albright of Albright Farms said. "So, it's always good and flowers bring joy to people so that's what we try to do."
This is the second time Albright farms in Monkton has set up a tent at the festival.
"We have a lot of very knowledgeable people in Baltimore that are very familiar with flowers," Albright said. "So, this is something they like to do and they've been coming here for years and years and years."
The festival was canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic, and it was held virtually last year. So this year, festival-goers are savoring every bit of the experience.
"Enjoy every single vendor, every single stall, smell every single flower to make sure that we are being reminded of what we are as a city as we come out of this pandemic," Mayor Brandon Scott said. "That's what Flower Mart signals to us."
