Weekend Excitement

 

Can you feel the weekend coming? Can you sense it waiting in the wings, eager to make its big entrance? If you thought last weekend was full of cool happenings around town, what with HoCo Pride and Books in Bloom, you might be surprised that there’s even more in store this weekend.

First off: Happy 50th Birthday to the Village of Long Reach! They’re celebrating with a two-day festival and all of us are invited. The event, presented in collaboration with Columbia Association and the Columbia Festival of the Arts, will feature food, performances, fine arts & crafts show and sale, and a special walk-along exhibit from the Columbia Archives.

Check out the event page on Facebook and the website, too.

Mark your calendars for Friday, October 15 and Saturday, October 16 to celebrate the 50th Birthday of Long Reach Village in Columbia, Maryland.  Hosted by The Columbia Festival of the Arts, this FREE Outdoor Festival features Live Music, a Fine Arts & Crafts Show, great festival food and plenty of family-friendly programing.  The Long Reach Stage includes a fantastic lineup of international and local music performances. There is even a magic show and comedy show for the kids.  

Renowned multimedia troupe Squonk Opera’s new project “Hand to Hand” takes center stage both days and promises to thrill audiences with two large hands the size of houses incorporating music, design and staging.  Musical performers include internationally acclaimed instrumentalist Vanessa Collier and LADAMA, a Latin alternative band that has performed at the Lincoln Center.  Other performances touch every music genre from Pop, Rock, Country, and Hip Hop.

The entire Free outdoor festival takes place at Long Reach Village Center located at 8775 Cloudleap Court, Columbia, MD 21045.

If my encouragement isn’t enough, how about this from the County Executive?

There’s a whole new energy and vibe at the Long Reach Village Center and I encourage you to visit and experience it for yourself. There’s no better time than the 50th anniversary of the village, hosted by the Columbia Festival of the Arts and Columbia Association. Join the party next weekend on Friday, October 15th, from 5 to 9pm, and then Saturday, October 16th, from 11am to 9pm. Learn more at https://longreach50.com/

The evolution of the Long Reach Village Center as an Arts hub goes back at least as far as the ArtReach Festival in 2015. County Executive Calvin Ball, then Council member Ball, spearheaded the community process that was evaluating various concepts for reinventing the aging retail center. Despite being temporarily derailed during the Kittleman administration, the work began anew in 2018. 

This weekend’s festivities highlight great collaborations between Columbia Festival of the Arts, the Columbia Association, and the Village of Long Reach. But it’s important to remember that we wouldn’t be in the position to have this event at all if it weren’t for the the vision and persistence of the community itself, supported by Dr. Ball and Howard County Government. There’s a whole lot of good stuff going on here.

Me? I’m drawn to yummy food from Althea’s Almost Famous, performances from Squonk Opera, Damon Foreman, and Vanessa Collier, and anything from the artsy DOODLEHATCH folks. It’s going to be a great weekend.

And I’ve got even more for you tomorrow.