For St. Patrick’s Day 2026, Baltimore Sound Entertainment designed and built a full tent environment inside the Covered Tent at Guinness Open Gate Brewery in Halethorpe, working for Aramark. Turf, a pergola, greenery walls, a “Ring for a Pint” wall, lighting and a live-music stage all went in over two install days. It was the biggest piece of a year of work at the brewery that also included DJs, a holiday photo activation and a corporate event.
At a glance
- Client: Aramark at Guinness Open Gate Brewery
- Venue: Guinness Open Gate Brewery, Covered Tent, Halethorpe, MD
- Date: Tent installed February 23–24, 2026, for St. Patrick’s Day; other activations from July 2025 through May 2026
- What BSE provided: Tent design and build, event lighting, a live-music stage, DJs, a custom audio package and photo booth activations
In this post
The brief
St. Patrick’s Day is the biggest day of the year for a Guinness brewery. Aramark, which runs events at Open Gate, needed the Covered Tent to feel like its own destination, not just overflow seating next to the taproom.
That meant a space with a look of its own, a reason for guests to stop and take a photo, and a stage for live music. It also had to be built ahead of the holiday and hold up through the crowds.
What we built
We installed the tent over two days, February 23 and 24, 2026. Jeff Lang and Hanna Cohen led the build on site as project leads, with an install crew of five to seven.
The ground and the frame. Green turf went down across the floor, and a pergola gave the room a structure to hang everything else on.
Greenery walls and lighting. We lined the space with greenery walls wrapped in string lights, hung lanterns, and washed the canopy in green light. The lighting did most of the work of making the tent feel finished, day or night.
The “Ring for a Pint” wall. This was the photo moment. A dedicated wall built around ringing for a pint gave guests a clear thing to do and a clear place to take a picture.
The stage. A live-music stage anchored one end of the tent, so the music had a home and the crowd had a focal point.
The first teardown came on March 23 with a crew of nine. Parts of the build stayed up through the season, and our final break-down ran October 19 and 20, 2026.
A year at the brewery
Over about a year, BSE worked a run of events at Open Gate with Aramark.
- Lovely Days of Summer, July 4, 2025: DJ Jeff Lang played from noon to 4 PM with a custom audio package.
- Snow Globe Photo Activation, December 12–14, 2025: a holiday photo booth with an attendant, running across three days.
- St. Patrick’s Day tent, February to March 2026: the design and build above.
- Corporate event, May 24, 2026: a five-hour DJ package.
We also ran a Pop Up photo booth in the taproom, and our photos from the brewery include a band in costume posing among the barrels for a “Gaelic Mashup.”
Why it worked
Build the space once, then use it all season. A themed tent is a big lift for one day. When the bones of the build, like turf, a pergola and lighting, are made to stay up, the venue gets a finished room for every event that follows, not just the holiday.
The other lesson is to give guests one clear thing to do. The Ring for a Pint wall worked because it was simple. Guests knew where to go, what to do and where to take the picture. One strong photo moment beats five weak ones.
FAQ
How far ahead should you build a themed tent for St. Patrick’s Day?
Give yourself room. We installed the Open Gate tent about three weeks before the holiday, over two days, which left time to adjust details.
What makes a good photo moment at a brewery event?
Something guests can do, not just look at. An interactive wall like Ring for a Pint, good lighting and a clear backdrop get more photos than decor alone.
How big a crew does an event tent build take?
It depends on the build. For this one we had two project leads and five to seven installers on site, and a crew of nine for the first teardown.
Can one company handle the build, the music and the photo booths?
Yes. At Open Gate, BSE handled the tent design and build, lighting, the stage, DJs, audio and photo booths, so the venue had one team to call.
Planning a seasonal activation, brewery event or themed build in Maryland, DC or Virginia? BSE brings design, lighting, DJs, live music and photo activations under one team, backed by more than 200 five-star Google reviews. Call us at 443-405-2378 or reach out online.
