Local Artists & Venues

Artists and organizations in italics are located in the Arts & Entertainment District.

Five venues bring arts alive in the Bel Air Arts & Entertainment District: Bel Air High School, Rockfield Manor, Shamrock Park, Reckord Armory and the John Carroll High School Academy of Performing Arts & Dance.

Choral groups

Bel Air Community Chorus

Deer Creek Chorale, Inc.

Harford Choral Society

Bay Country Gentlemen

Susquehanna Symphony Orchestra, Inc.

Dance

The Dance Conservatory of Maryland (DCM)  – Ballet Chesapeake

Bel Air Dance Academy

Ryan-Kilcoyne School of Irish Dancing

Silver Eagle Cloggers

Galleries

Harford Artists Gallery located in Suite 104 of Armory Marketplace just behind the Armory on Main Street.  A registry of artists who belong to the Harford Artists’ Association is maintained on their website.

Liriodendron Mansion, the former summer home of Dr. Howard Kelly, is now an elegant events venue and houses a museum and art gallery in a densely wooded Bel Air neighborhood. It is a Palladian style home with a large terrace, wisteria-covered archways and a boxwood garden. Liriodendron is adjacent to the MA & PA Trail. The gallery hosts local artists on a rotating basis.

Historical sites

Historical Society of Harford County is housed in a 1930s era U.S. Post Office. It is an important resource center for historical and genealogical research, housing a library and archives of maps, plats, photographs and 1800s newspapers. It also hosts changing exhibits of local and regional historical interest.

The Hays House Museum is located at 324 Kenmore Avenue, near the Bel Air High School. The Hays House was built in 1788 and is the oldest house in Bel Air. The Historical Society of Harford County, Inc., operates the historic house as a museum whose mission is to be a history-in-action museum and a valuable educational resource that illustrates and re-creates to the extent possible the social, cultural, economic, and practical aspects of the daily life of rural gentry primarily during the historical period 1788-1820.

Visual Arts

Theater

The Bel Air Reckord Armory

Geppetto on Bel Air Armory stage

Bel Air Reckord Armory (37 N. Main St.) was built in the Greek Revival style in 1915.  The armory was formerly the headquarters for Company D of the Maryland National Guard. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.

Throughout the years, the armory also served as a town social center. With this rich history in mind, the town of Bel Air purchased the building in 2004.  Extensive improvements have transformed the building into an event, performance and meeting venue.

 Armory Park 

Also located on the grounds of the Armory, the Frederick Ward Armory Park was dedicated in summer 2010. The park’s walls and columns have a Port Deposit stone facade that matches the Armory’s historic stone. The ground is covered with permeable pavers to support storm water management. Clematis climbs a “living wall” that overlooks a small outdoor stage at the rear of the park. Tables and chairs provide a refuge for shoppers, workers and town visitors.

Maryland Conservatory of Music audience in Bel Air Armory. Photo courtesy of MCM.

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