Baltimore is looking for a new operator to run its largest farmers market.

A request for proposals, opened late last week, runs through Feb. 21, less than two months ahead of the market’s opening day of April 13.

City leaders will prioritize “innovation” while also looking for someone who can preserve the market’s nearly 50-year legacy, Tonya Miller Hall, senior adviser for the Mayor’s Office of Arts & Culture, said in a statement. She did not respond to an interview request.

The search comes amid a shakeup at the city’s longtime event partner, the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts. The nonprofit formerly ran the farmers market below the Jones Falls Expressway as well as Artscape and other programs and festivals.

But BOPA’s relationship with Mayor Brandon Scott deteriorated amid the group’s leadership changes and a $1.8 million bailout request. Scott finally canceled the city’s contract with BOPA last fall “following several years of turmoil within the organization,” stripping the nonprofit of its quasi-governmental status and taxpayer funds.

Now Scott’s office is looking for someone else to manage the market, which dates back to 1977 and is the biggest producer-only market in Maryland, according to the request for proposals.

The RFP was issued by the Baltimore Development Corporation. In her statement, Hall touted the collaboration between the BDC and the Mayor’s Office as a reflection of a “shared commitment” to the market remaining accessible to local residents and visitors. While the BDC intends “to lend a helping hand” with the search, according to its president, Colin Tarbert, he clarified that his group is not selecting the operator or managing the contract.

The new contractor will manage all aspects of the market starting this year, including vendor selection, promotion and marketing, logistics and permitting. Interested applicants should be licensed nonprofit or for-profit organizations with experience managing events.