Frederick’s In the Street festival a success

By Jiselle Lopez,

Music booms within the center of downtown. People are scattered everywhere, already feeling immersed by the culture Frederick has to offer. Kids are weaving in and out of the crowds with their paint-covered faces. Hood students walk along Market Street eating pretzels and sitting with friends. People are line dancing at intersections to Salsa music.

Frederick’s annual “In The Street” festival was an inviting atmosphere on Saturday, September 13, that attracted all kinds of people.

“I think that sometimes students don’t really take advantage of downtown and [the festival] is something that forces people to recognize it,” said senior Josh Kling.

Children, parents, students, businesses, organizations; everyone in the community was welcomed. Walking through Market Street, it is impossible to ignore the many organizations and businesses connecting with their local and loyal customers who walked up to their tables.

This year’s In the Street festival consisted of three main events making for an all-day celebration for everyone in the Frederick Community.

“Since I went to High School here in Frederick, it’s a traditional thing and it’s really fun” said senior Raymond Rivera, “It [allows] students to see that Hood has a great and active community.”

Starting at 8:45 a.m. on Market Street was the “Market Street Mile,” where members of the community were encouraged to register and run along Market Street.

At 11 a.m. the In the Street portion begins where Market Street is divided into blocks based on different events and activities. Participants were able to attend the following blocks from the intersection of 7th street on; The Wedding event block, Public Safety block, Kids block, Going Green block, Health & Fitness block, History block, Art block and Sports block. Each block was labeled with purple, orange, blue, green, yellow or red flags to specify what events where happening within each block.

“[In the Street] shows the Frederick community to the students that aren’t from around this area,” said senior Tom Marino.

This year Market Street’s intersection areas were filled with overflowing crowds to hear the enormous set list of performers throughout the day. Musical performances started as early as 11 a.m. and ended as late as 9 p.m. The entertainment then continued to Carroll Creek Amphitheater for this year’s “Up the Creek Party,” once the In the Street portion was over. For just 5 dollars anyone 21 or older was able to attend performances by Right Foot Red and Jah Works courtesy of KEY103 and Flying Dog Brewery.

Frederick’s In the Street has been around for over 25 years and never fails to excite local members of its community.

“Kids and student’s like to go stand to stand and enjoy the food,” said Rivera after talking to a local family about the fair.

Renee Green and her family come to In the Street every year. It has been passed on and shared through generations of her family. Every year she comes prepared with jackets and takes her kids to the face-painting table before leaving. On Saturday she and her family had been there from about 10:30 a.m. to at least 3:30 p.m.

The celebration offers people opportunities to delve into a variety of groups spreading the word about their beliefs. Hood Junior, Erin Murray looks forward to the diversity of Frederick’s In the Street celebration.

“It’s so close that everyone can come and do something safe and fun,” said Murray.

One organization willing to wave their colors high was The Frederick Center, whose catchphrase is “For diversity in a changing world.” Two people sat at their table at all times, with volunteers working two-hour shifts throughout the day.

“We’re trying to get recognition in the Frederick community, [we’ve been] picking up information in terms of how to add services to our website,” the volunteers said.

The organization’s mission is to “support and educate people on the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) community and its allies.” They were able to register their table and spread the word as people walked by on Market Street.

Overall the fear of rain did not deter the Frederick community from coming out and enjoying the cultural emersion of downtown. People of all ages were in attendance, walking around with both family and friends. It is safe to say, rain or shine, the 2014 annual celebration for Frederick In the Street has been a success.