ABOUT CENTER COURT
The Finn Group, Standup Baltimore, Events 4 Good People, the Greater Baltimore Urban League will curate an innovative design to create an ecosystem of key non basketball activations during CIAA 2025 in Baltimore. This curation is a collection of signature events activated in one location for 2025. Center Court has become the destination for CIAA Weekend providing key elements: activation for small and minority businesses (food, clothing, art, specialty items), food, national entertainment, and a safe and walkable environment for networking and social engagement.
THE CURATORS
The team of The Finn Group , E4GP, and Standup Baltimore have 25+ years of activations for national, regional, and local events, strategy, and community engagement. Activations include BORT (Black Owned Restaurant Tour during CIAA Weeke d), The Baltimore MET Gala, The Hip-Hop Inaugural Ball, NAACP National Convention, National Urban League National Convention, African American Heritage Festival, Preakness 147/148, 149, The Basketball Tournament, Jazzy Summer Nights, NBA All-Star Weekend, NFL Superbowl Weekend, Sorbet, Summer Black, HBCU Career Marketplace, Black Engineer of the Year, and Morgan State Homecoming.
The collaboration between Preakness 150 and The Finn Group will create an innovative and exciting consumer facing activation- AFRO PREAK! AFRO PREAK is the ultimate destination for fashion, culinary, music, and horseracing during the second leg of the Triple Crown. Afro Preak has become the #1 brand activation during Preakness. Preakness 150 and Afro Preak promises the best of culture, style, horseracing, and community impact.
Jazzy Summer Nights is a monthly mid-week concert series (June –October) that features national and regional artists, food trucks, sponsor activations, VIP sections and tables, and cigar and hookah lounges. Jazzy Summer Nights has become the signature summer destination event for the Mid-Atlantic Region.
In 2025, Jazzy Summer Nights will celebrate the 25th anniversary and the final season of this historic Baltimore event activation. Jazzy Summer Nights will be at its original location of Hopkins Plaza and conclude the series with a special concert in front of Baltimore's City Hall.
JAZZY SUMMER NIGHTS HISTORY
Jazzy Summer Nights has enjoyed an historic 25 year run as Baltimore’s premier monthly entertainment and lifestyle destination event from 2000-2025. With its final location of Hopkins Plaza in Downtown Baltimore , Jazzy Summer Nights will attract 3,500-5,000 tastemakers and influencers. Attendees come from as far north as New York and as far south as Richmond.
Past artists have included music pioneers Tank and the Bangas, Maysa Leak, Kim Waters, Frank McComb, Leela James, Fertile Ground, Chuck Brown, Rare Essence, Miri Bin Ari, Leela James, EU, Raheem DeVaughn, Biz Markie, Pieces of a Dream, Boney James, Ledisi, and Mike Phillips.
Introduced in 2022 and recognized by the Baltimore Times as the Best (of Black Baltimore) Live Performance event in 2023, the BMG features a collection of experiences (Art, Culinary, Fashion, and Philanthropy), wrapped in artistic expression and impact, working in concert to deliver a best-in-class evening of entertainment at The HALL - LIVE! Casino & Hotel Maryland (Saturday, September 13).
Executive producers and culture creators, LaRian Finney and Derrick Chase, have been the driving force behind the BMG since the inaugural brand activation at the Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA), building and elevating local businesses and entrepreneurs through this dynamic production that embraces the city's commitment to art and culture.