Baltimore County’s First ArtFusion Festival Lands With Sun Ra Arkestra and Cosmic Art

NASA’s view of Earth supports ArtFusion’s official “Earth, Moon and Stars” theme and its connection to the Artemis era.

The first Baltimore County ArtFusion festival will turn Holt Park and Center for the Arts into a free cosmic arts campus on Saturday, August 29. “Earth, Moon and Stars” runs from noon to 7 p.m. in Overlea, bringing public sculptures, live music, workshops, a juried gallery and regional vendors together under one broad theme.

Sun Ra Arkestra closes the performance schedule at 6 p.m., an especially fitting headliner for a festival connecting art with the cosmos. The group’s Afrofuturist history makes the booking more than a clever title match. Earlier sets include children’s puppeteer Kevin Sherry, contemporary ensemble Mind on Fire, electronic artist Amy Reid, Baltimore’s Afro House and psychedelic pop musician Herald.

The public installations are designed for scale and interaction. Scott Pennington contributes three brightly painted sculptures referencing stars, meteors and 1950s science fiction. Laure Drougoul’s 23-foot “Compass” draws from Earth’s magnetic fields, Adewale Alli installs an alien-like figure with large paintings, and Bike Powered Events lets visitors illuminate towering LED forms by pedaling stationary bikes.

Families can move through fiber art, jewelry making, planet prints, cyanotypes and mission-badge button activities. The juried gallery opens at noon and remains on view through October 2, while more than 20 art vendors and several food-and-beverage operators are listed for Saturday. Admission is free, and Baltimore County says parking and shuttle service from Overlea High School are also free, with shuttles beginning around 11 a.m.

PowerPage’s Baltimore concert preview for Chance the Rapper followed one major artist into the city. ArtFusion offers a wider local canvas: experimental music, Afrofuturism, public art and hands-on creation in the same park. The official schedule gives the county’s inaugural festival enough range for families, serious art viewers and music fans to build different afternoons without losing the shared theme.