Skip to main content

Battle of the Big Story



Is this the big story in Old Ellicott City this weekend? From the Ellicott City Partnership:

Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler!  

In other words, LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL!  Join us Saturday, February 22 where good times will be happening from one end of town to the other.  Come for brunch or lunch, enjoy shopping specials and bead giveaways, then land at Boogaloo at The Bin for live music and libations.  Stick around for dinner or after concert fun at one of our many late night spots. If you can’t be on Bourbon Street, Main Street is the place to be!

NOTE  Approximately 600 parking spots are available in lots A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and the Circuit Courthouse Lot. Parking is also available on Ellicott Mills Drive. This weekend, another special event will be taking place in town causing a portion of Lot D to be closed and limited parking on Main Street. Please take advantage of the FREE SHUTTLE running 11am until 9:30pm. Shuttle Stops are:

  1. 3430 Courthouse Drive at George Howard Building
  2. Courthouse Drive at top of Circuit Courthouse Parking Lot / 8360 Court Avenue
  3. 3829 Church Road at Main Street (Firehouse Museum)
  4. 8390 Main Street at Wine Bin Parking Lot
Or, is this the big story in Old Ellicott City this weekend?


There has certainly been quite a lot of buzz about the latter. As befits human nature and Howard County, there have been an assortment of responses from curiosity and enthusiasm, to ennui, nay-saying, and accusations of a lack of transparency. No matter what it turns out to be, I think that responses will fall in more or less the same sorts of categories. 

If I see anyone say, “Well, I thought it was going to be awful but it was great!” I will consider that to be newsworthy.

I have to admit I hadn’t seen any online information about the Mardi Gras themed events until yesterday, although clearly this has been in the works for a while. I follow a lot of Ellicott City themed accounts but nothing about this has popped up in any of my feeds. There must be something wrong with my algorithm.

True to the spirit of this blog, I have prepared an impromptu list of things that the secret event might be but probably isn’t. As per usual, your input is welcome.

How about:

A cattle drive?
Running of the bulls?
Roller derby?
76 Trombones?
Filming of a major motion picture?
Filling up the entire street with jello?

Whatever it turns out to be, I hope lots of folks will turn out to support Old Ellicott City and have some fun. If we are not going to have even one decent snow this winter, let’s get out of the house and enjoy our community.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Teacher Gifts

Today is the last day of school before the Winter Break. It’s a good time to remember the far-reaching nature of our public school system. You may not have children. You may have sent your children to independent schools. It matters not. You will be impacted one way or another. Yesterday I read a long thread on Facebook about several waves of illness in the schools right now. There’s influenza A and norovirus, I believe. And of course there’s COVID. Apparently in some individual schools the rate of illness is high enough for school admin to notify parents.  When I was little the acceptable holiday gift for a teacher was one of those lovely floral handkerchief squares. (I don’t know what it was for male teachers. They were rare in my elementary years.) These days the range of teacher gifts is wider and I have fond memories of Target gift cards which I have written about before. I think it’s safe to say that giving one’s teacher Influenza, norovirus, or COVID is not the ideal holiday...
1 comment
Read more

Getting Fresh

One of my favorite days in the Spring comes when this year’s list of Farmer’s Markets is released. That happened this week. New this year are markets in Old Ellicott City and the “Merriweather Market” which, according to the address, will be located here . I mistakenly thought at first glance that it was in the new-construction part of the Merriweather District. I find the name confusing considering its actual location. I’m going to guess that this market is an initiative of the Howard Hughes Corporation because the name seems chosen more for branding purposes than anything else.  Alas, the market in Maple Lawn is gone. The thread on the markets on the County Executive’s FB page will provide you with quite the education in who actually runs the Farmers Markets vs what people often think is going on. Short answer: they are not  chosen nor run by the county. Each market is an independent entity, sometimes started by community volunteers, other times supported by local businesses...
1 comment
Read more

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday.  Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was  "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018.  2018 .  But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest.  In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...
1 comment
Read more