Downtown Hagerstown in 2024: New facilities, new activities, and the return of HAGERFEST
Many of those new projects in downtown Hagerstown will be completed soon, and that could make for an especially festive summer this year.
That's Brittany Arizmendi's plan, anyway.
Arizmendi is Hagerstown's community engagement officer, and the city's Main Street program falls under her umbrella. She's been coordinating activities and rallying downtown business and property owners since joining the city's staff in 2022. This year, she's planning to take advantage of new facilities and new businesses to make the city center the place to be.
And she's bringing back HAGERFEST, the street festival that drew crowds downtown for years beginning in the mid-1980s. Only this time, it will be along the redefined Cultural Trail rather than in the city streets.
"We anticipate probably from end of April through the summer to be very busy with grand openings and ribbon cuttings," she said during a recent interview with The Herald-Mail.
Perhaps the most anticipated is the opening of the newly named Meritus Park, the multi-use stadium under construction at Summit Avenue and Baltimore Street. It will be the home of Hagerstown's new professional baseball team, the Flying Boxcars, and the team's home opener has been tentatively scheduled for May 3 — "which is exciting," Arizmendi said.
Renovations to the Updegraff building on West Washington Street, with 21 apartments, a bagel shop and an Irish pub, are also nearly complete — also exciting, Arizmendi said.
"That space is kind of the hub, I think in the downtown area, where we haven't seen it activated as much," she said.
Hub City Brewery, Church Street Distillery and Slate Hill Winery, being developed on the former site of the city's Farmer's Market, plan to at least partly open by early summer, too, she said.
Welcome back, HAGERFEST
"You look at that at one end of the Cultural Trail, and then the ballpark is about three-fourths of the way through the Cultural Trail. So the goal is with all of that hopefully being opened by mid-summer, in September we're going to have an arts and music festival called HAGERFEST."
She wants to resurrect the annual festival, she said, "but make it look a little different."
The plan is to have it span the Cultural Trail and coincide with Fall Fest at City Park, which usually coincides with the Bester Community of Hope's South End block party.
"We are hoping that because Fall Fest and the block party already get great attendance that those people will flow into the downtown through the Cultural Trail and vice versa," Arizmendi said.
Plans are still fluid, but Arizmendi said she's hoping to have a few stages along the trail — and also partner with Hub City Vinyl, which recently opened downtown Hagerstown's newest performance venue with musicians performing every weekend.
"We're really going to try to get local musicians and artists, and then have artisans along the trail selling their items," she said. Planners are considering putting some food trucks at Hatters Plaza — on the Cultural Trail next to the Updegraff Building — she said.
The Flying Boxcars' schedule could change the date for next year, she said, because she'd like to include Meritus Park in next year's plan.
For this year, however, she had to plan around the completion of downtown projects and opted not to try to involve the stadium — just in case the Boxcars make it to the playoffs and have a game the same weekend.
In the meantime, there are plenty of activities planned to whet your appetite:
The St. Patrick's Day Street Festival on March 17, which kicks off with a "Run Fest" followed by the street festival from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Taste of Downtown, March 17-23, which coincides with Maryland Restaurant Week. Pick up a passport at City Hall and get a stamp from the 19 participating establishments for a chance to win a $100 Downtown Giftcard
The monthly Decades Music Series begins April 26 with music from the '50s and '60s from 6 to 8 p.m. in University Plaza
Handmade Hagerstown Spring Market, an outdoor market featuring local vendors, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 27 at University Plaza
The Midweek Music and Market events begin in July at University Plaza along with Storytime in the Plaza
Arizmendi said she's sensing a different vibe concerning downtown Hagerstown.
"I feel like when I first started almost two years ago, it was a lot of negativity and a lot of 'why are we spending taxpayer dollars?'" she said. "But especially within I would say the last six to nine months I've really noticed a change. And I think that's because people are starting to see the physical structures go up.
"So hopefully we can build off of that and build on the positivity and what is coming and just getting people the help and the services they need. And it takes a whole community to do that. So I think everyone's playing their part. And that's what it takes to have a Main Street and a downtown thriving."
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This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Hagerstown summer fun: Things to do downtown in 2024
