This year, Baltimore City will feature two vibrant light shows in celebration of the Fourth of July: a traditional fireworks display at the Inner Harbor and an innovative drone show at West Covington Park, located in south Baltimore.
On Wednesday, Baltimore’s Board of Estimates—responsible for the city’s finances—approved a no-bid professional services contract with Advanced Entertainment Technologies, also known as Image Engineering, for the provision of drones and fireworks for these events. The total cost of this contract amounts to $184,817.
Although a memo from the Mayor’s Office of Arts, Culture and Entertainment (MOACE) did not specify the starting times for the shows, last year’s fireworks display at the Inner Harbor commenced at approximately 9:30 p.m. on July 4.
This marks the inaugural year for the Fourth of July drone show at West Covington Park, a scenic 12.2-acre waterfront space situated at 101 West Cromwell St. In 2025, a drone show was hosted at Middle Branch Park, located at 3301 Waterview Avenue, as part of the Cherry Hill Arts & Music Waterfront Festival.
During the Board of Estimates meeting, four out of five members voted in favor of the contract with Image Engineering, while Comptroller Bill Henry chose to abstain from the vote.
Henry clarified that although he supports fireworks, his office did not receive the contract in advance, which hindered proper review. He expressed concerns about setting a precedent by approving contracts without prior inspection by the Comptroller’s Office.
“I’m pleased that the city is facilitating entertainment,” said Henry, but he stressed that “it would be inappropriate for us to approve…items as a board that are not actually reviewed” beforehand.
Linzy Jackson, III, the director of MOACE, explained that they were waiting for the vendor to sign the contract, which only recently occurred. He emphasized that he wanted to ensure there was a signed agreement before submitting it for review by the Comptroller’s Office, which caused some delay.
Jackson further informed the board that negotiations with the vendor began two months ago, but questions from the city’s Office of Risk Management regarding specific items in the contract had prolonged the process.
According to the memo included in the board’s agenda, the decision not to solicit competitive bids for the light show contract was based on the belief that “it was not practical.”
The Mayor’s Office of Arts, Culture and Entertainment, established within the past year, is tasked with organizing some festivals and civic events that were previously managed by the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts, which has since been rebranded as Create Baltimore.
The change aims to provide the Mayor’s Office with more direct oversight over arts and culture-related events, ensuring smoother execution following the request for resignation of former CEO Donna Drew Sawyer by Mayor Brandon Scott.
Timing also played a crucial role in the awarding of the fireworks contract, which was designated as valid from July 4, 2026, to July 4, 2026.
“MOACE has been in the process of transitioning activities since its recent formation and plans to solicit bids for this activity shortly,” noted the memo from MOACE. “It is certified that the above procurement is of such a nature that obtaining competitive bids at this time is not practical.”
