With FREE PARKING in all of the City’s garages and meters on Friday, July 4, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t make a weekend of it in Downtown Frederick!

Don’t see your favorite place on our list? This is only a start. Be sure to check with individual businesses for their most up-to-date hours.

For more great things to see and do in Downtown Frederick, visit downtownfrederick.org/events.

Spend your 4th of July weekend with us!

The post 4th of July in Downtown Frederick appeared first on Downtown Frederick Partnership.

Don’t see your favorite place on our list? This is only a start! Be sure to check with individual businesses for their most up-to-date hours. For more great things to see and do in Downtown Frederick, visit downtownfrederick.org/events.

The post Visit Downtown Frederick this Memorial Day! appeared first on Downtown Frederick Partnership.

Alive @ Five is a summer-long fundraiser for Downtown Frederick Partnership, featuring 21 weeks of live music along scenic Carroll Creek Park in Downtown Frederick. All proceeds from the event benefit the Partnership, a nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing, promoting, and preserving the vitality, livability and diversity of Downtown Frederick, a national Main Street community.

Beginning Thursday, May 8, Alive @ Five will be held every Thursday through September 25 in the Carroll Creek Amphitheater from 5-8PM. All happy hours are 21+ events (valid ID required), and admission is $6 per person, per event for the 2025 season.

“Alive @ Five has become a beloved tradition in Downtown Frederick, and we’re excited to welcome the community back for another season of great music and good times,” said Kara Norman, Executive Director of Downtown Frederick Partnership. “This series not only brings people together, it directly supports the local businesses and vibrant culture that make our downtown so special.”

Alive @ Five features $6 craft beverages from local makers, including beer from Brewer’s Alley and specialty cocktails made with spirits from McClintock Distilling Co., Tenth Ward Distilling Company, and True Standard Distilling. Wine from Atomic 97 is also available. Be on the lookout for special Tap Takeovers by other downtown breweries throughout the season. Purchase tokens onsite and exchange them for one of the week’s craft beverage selections.

Additionally, a rotating schedule of local food trucks and downtown restaurants will bring a variety of culinary options each week. Purchases can be made directly from each food vendor.

Find the weekly lineup at: downtownfrederick.org/aliveatfive

Interested in volunteering? Each week, the Partnership relies on 50+ volunteers to help produce Downtown’s favorite outdoor happy hour. Volunteer roles include craft beverage pourers, front gate attendants, event setup and breakdown, and more. Sign up at: bit.ly/aliveatfivevolunteer2025

2025 Alive @ Five Band Lineup

May 8 – The 19th Street Band (High-Energy Americana)

May 15 – Melissa Quinn Fox (Modern Country)

May 22 – Shake the Room (Totally 90s)

May 29 – Poehemia (Celtic Rock)

June 5 – Dan McGuire Group (Party Rock)

June 12 – Nick Frey & The Sons of Thunder (Folk, Blues & Soul)

June 19 – Ahzay & The Squad (Hip Hop and R&B)

June 26 – Four Star Combo (50s Rockabilly)

July 3 – Honest Lee Soul (Funk & Soul)

July 10 – Oasis Island Sounds (Steel Drum Calypso)

July 17 – Justin Trawick & The Common Good (Bluegrass Pop)

July 24 – 8 Ohms (Groovy Funk)

July 31 – Marshal Fuzz (Melodic Grunge)

August 7 – Guys In Thin Ties (80s Anthems)

August 14 – Enslow (Indie Pop Era)

August 21 – Tom Starr Band (70s Dance & Disco)

August 28 – Wild Planes (Hard Rock)

September 4 – Freddie Long Band (All The Hits)

September 11 – Crash The Limo (Millennial Mixtape)

September 18 – Edwin Ortiz y La Mafia Del Guaguanco (Salsa, Merengue & More)

September 25 – Sticktime & The Who’s Your Daddy Horns (Legendary Classics)

Every morning before Alive @ Five, enjoy free fitness and wellness classes in the amphitheater. Yoga with Sol Yoga begins at 7 AM, with additional wellness classes offered throughout the season. Find individual class listings at: downtownfrederick.org/events

In the case of inclement weather, Alive @ Five may be canceled. For real-time updates, visit the event page at downtownfrederick.org/aliveatfive or follow the Partnership on Facebook and Instagram @DwntwnFrederick.

Alive @ Five is made possible through the generous support of our presenting sponsor ACNB Bank, as well as Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races, WLR Automotive Group, Goodwill Industries of Monocacy Valley, Truist, Green Goods Dispensary, M&T Bank, Brewer’s Alley, Innovative Inc., Manning Media, LSWG and Showtime Sound.

Additional support provided by: Frederick Air, Graphics Universal, Outdoor Solutions, FoodPRO, Frederick Magazine, BeLocal, Benefactor Events, Earthlink, Ice Lab, the Frederick Book Arts Center, the Frederick Flying Cows, the Frederick Keys, Frederick Laundry, The Frederick News-Post, Good Morning Frederick, Imagination Center, Minuteman Press, Postern Stroll Ijamsville and many more “Friends of Alive @ Five”.

Additional Event Info:

downtownfrederick.org/aliveatfive

About Downtown Frederick Partnership

Founded in 1990, Downtown Frederick Partnership is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to enhancing, promoting, and preserving the vitality, livability, and diversity of Downtown Frederick—a nationally recognized Main Street community. The Partnership has managed Downtown Frederick’s Main Street program since its designation in 2001.

For more information, visit downtownfrederick.org.

Contact:
Feby Emelio
Communications Manager, Downtown Frederick Partnership
301.698.8118
feby@downtownfrederick.org

The post Alive @ Five 2025 Season Begins Thursday, May 8 appeared first on Downtown Frederick Partnership.

The Partnership is thrilled to introduce Voices of Downtown Frederick – a blog series highlighting the many communities that help make Downtown Frederick special. This month’s blog celebrates Pride and is written by Dr. Andi Overton.

Pride (Noun): 1. A feeling of deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one’s own achievements, the achievements of those with whom one is closely associated, or from qualities or possessions that are widely admired

June is here, which means you’ve probably noticed the rainbow flags on most street corners, and you may have seen the advertisements for the best festival held in town (that’s the writer’s humble opinion) over on the creek and happening in just a few days. While there is historical context on why some of us who identify with one of the (many) letters in the gay alphabet, confusingly known as “ LGBTQIA+,” celebrate June as Pride Month, I can certainly assure you it’s more than a singular individual-identifying celebration labeled only for “gay folx”. Colloquially known simply as Pride, Pride Month celebrations recognize the culture, history, and community contributions that LGBTQIA+ folx provide all year! That’s right, we are not just out and proud in June–our community contributions are all year long! Also, June is a GREAT time to remind folx that non-straight people REALLY do throw THE BEST outdoor summer festivals filled with happiness, authenticity, and even a wedding or three tossed in for good measure. Look, I would bet every dollar I have and every trucker baseball hat I own (far more than the dollars I have, for sure) that you will not find a better family party than Frederick Pride.

Walking up and down Downtown Frederick streets, the pride flags that are in window dressings and hung from flag poles can be seen (clutches pearls) THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE YEAR–symbolizing that celebrating Frederick’s diverse population of awesome people is a 365-day event–and us non-straight folx are part of the diverse make-up that makes Frederick so very special. While we routinely see the celebratory fruits of such labor in June at Pride, I assure you we happily exist the other 11 months of the year, too, just like everyone else. Like everyone else, we pay taxes, argue over insurance rates, attend community meetings, teach kids, drive our busses, own the house you might be renting, and even, gasp address your ills in the mental health and medical communities, among a multitude of other incredible industries. We visit restaurants in the city, get ice cream with our families, walk our pets down picturesque tree-lined Downtown Frederick streets, and exercise out in Baker Park with our friends. (We are FIERCE on the pickleball court.) We even drink beer at Bushwallers, visit Deliza Cafe for coffee and connections, walk our dogs past the Magoo’s Spaceman, and celebrate with a show at the Weinberg with other Fredericktonians who love a good theater production. Yes, even the straight friends. Frankly, some of us don’t even like the good ol ROY G BIV flag and just prefer to be our authentic introverted selves quietly sipping tea at an outdoor cafe off Market Street each month–even during the Pride one. You know, we exist in our own way enjoying all that Frederick life has to offer.

Just like everyone and anyone else.

Pride Noun: 2. Consciousness of one’s own dignity.

Frederick has not always been perfect when celebrating diversity and making equitable and equal decisions for its residents and visitors; all cities, even the third-largest one in Maryland, can feel narrow to those from any group historically marginalized and under-represented. Change is uncomfortable for most people, especially when entire groups who are unapologetically and authentically (as it should be) conscious of their dignity (i,e PROUD) ask for recognition of the same. Historically, that recognition has not always been authentic or even remotely present. Change is hard, especially when it is routinely misunderstood.

This is why Pride in Frederick and across the United States is such an important and now uber recognizable fun time–it is the celebration of us–ALL OF US–no matter who you are, who you love, who loves you, from where you come, where you go, where you work, your name, your biological sex, the gender with which you identify, or even the horse you rode in on. Pride tells you that you are loved, you are capable of love, and most folx would relish the opportunity to have you come into our space and show us your authentic selves. Even if you are straight and cisgendered. In fact, especially if you are straight and cisgendered. Pride says, “you be you, always.” An authentic, beautiful, perfectly imperfect Fredericktonian.

Dr. Andi Overton is the Chairwoman of the Board of Directors for Woman to Woman Mentoring, the Vice Chair of the Student Homelessness Initiative Partnership, Member of the Board of Directors and Co-Chair of the DEI Committee for the Rotary Club of Carroll Creek, and all around authentic out-and-proud gay woman. 

The post Pride: Unique, Beautiful and Authentic Frederick appeared first on Downtown Frederick Partnership.

Don’t see your favorite place on our list? This is only a start! Be sure to check with individual businesses for their most up-to-date hours. For more great things to see and do in Downtown Frederick, visit downtownfrederick.org/events.

The post Visit Downtown Frederick this Memorial Day! appeared first on Downtown Frederick Partnership.