Artscape.

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Planners of the annual Artscape Summer arts festival in Baltimore were going for a more hipster, quirky feel this year.

With that in mind, I decided to focus on the strangest, most bizarre aspects of Artscape, rather than on the main attractions and performances that were so heavily advertised.

After feeling out the scene for some time, I knew I had found my spot when I was squirted by a stream of water coming out of the mouth of a giant paper mache squid. Set up along North Charles Street on a bridge over 83 North were a slew of homemade booths, installations, and games.

I interviewed some of the people who created these displays, which all seemed like they’d come right out of some small-town, hokey circus.

Where else would you find a goofy water spitting squid, anonymous love letter deliveries, the biggest little carnival on the face of the planet, a psychedelic chill-out room, pedal powered smoothies, a skating ramp, and a spontaneous bubble party all in one place?

This was my interpretation of Artscape 2010.