Over the last few months, Threads, the text-based app from Instagram, has become a container for public opinion about Baltimore City. Infrastructure complaints, illegal dumping, potholes, parking tickets. And lately, speculation about a so-called "curse" on Artscape, the city's beloved free outdoor arts festival.

Some say Artscape is cursed, pointing to a longstanding superstition about its reliably extreme weather. But like the prophets OutKast said: you can plan a pretty picnic, but you can't predict the weather.

Residents, neighbors and bots all chime in. Mayor Brandon Scott often replies, recommending people call 311 for most of those issues, but he was also a clear cheerleader for Artscape, whose two-day schedule called for rain through most of its duration.

I went anyway. And I wasn't alone. By the end of night one, I was surrounded by a sea of umbrellas.

Sure, I'm employed by the City of Baltimore and have worked with and for the festival since 2017, as a production assistant, project coordinator, producer, host and this year a moderator. But I didn't show up as a staff member. I showed up as someone who loves this city and the arts. I mapped out indoor activities, laid out my outfit — cargo pants, layered jackets, a graphic tee — loaded my bag with water bottles, found parking without much trouble and walked out the door with an umbrella and a good attitude.

I wasn't about to let rain break my Artscape streak. I've been going since I was a teenager.

Showing up to Artscape in the rain, as thousands did, says something about a person's character. About whether they actually love this city and the arts the way they say they do. It's a plant-your-feet-where-your-heart-is kind of situation. When you love something, you show up for it. It's that simple.

Artists and small businesses in Baltimore deserve our support. For some people, that's not a special occasion; it's a habit already formed, hard to break even in the rain. Which raises a real question for the naysayers: do you actually love Baltimore the way you say you do, if you won't show up for her while she's still figuring things out?

As Artscape changed locations and Create Baltimore, formerly the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts, changed leadership, a vocal contingent made clear they don't believe in the move, don't believe in the Mayor, don't believe in Artscape. They write think pieces about conspiracies and spending. They critique the tents that probably did need sandbags. And then they don't show up for Baltimore's biggest moments. A few folks on Threads even mentioned they didn't vote in 2024, but that's a column for another day.

Naysayers be damned: Artscape was fun. Capital F. And free, capital F.

I created content, bought lemonades for security guards keeping us safe, and sang along to a two-hour Roots set. I joked with concert neighbors that it was probably a warm-up for their Roots Picnic appearance in Philadelphia, which Baltimoreans will tell you is basically our cousin city. I experienced what I would call world-class art work at The SCOUT Art Fair and had riveting conversations with tastemakers from near and far. My only real inconvenience? Getting a little wet. I'll take that over the festival not existing at all.

I don't know what a world without the arts looks like, and I don't want to. So I show up, whether that's during Maryland Arts Day in Annapolis, where arts professionals from across the state advocate for public funding, or at festivals like Artscape or AFRAM, coming up next month at Druid Hill Park.

There's a clear disconnect between what happens online and what actually happens in Baltimore. Positive experiences are everywhere, if you want them. Solutions exist, from community cleanups to city internships and jobs. The only real answer is to show up and get involved.

Be part of the change instead of spreading the noise. Life is hard. We all have reasons to be disgruntled. But why not do it while singing along to "You Got Me" by The Roots and buying from a small business trying to make it another month?