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Emergency Alert!






I did not have being awakened at four thirty am by an emergency alert on my New Year’s Day Bingo Card. 



 

Honestly, I did not have a New Year's Day Bingo Card but, since I’m up early, maybe I’ll make one. 

Did you know that Howard County will be represented in today’s Rose Bowl parade? 



Seen here in a post by the Maryland Music Educators Association, Doug Lea is the trumpet player at the far right of the photo. He’ll be participating in the Rose Parade as a part of The Band Directors Marching Band.  Lea, whose career as a music educator in the Howard County Schools includes teaching, directing, mentoring, and leadership, is clearly not resting on his laurels in retirement. 

He has also marched with The Band Directors Marching Band in previous parades. I’m in awe of the stamina it takes simply to walk a parade route - - now imagine adding musical performances to that, too! 

 Keep an eye out for them today. 

*****

At noon: Guigui’s Kréyol Flavors at the Common Kitchen will be serving soup joumou with free Haitian bread and hot cocoa (while supplies last.)


Yes, it says 1/1/25 but you know how it is with changing the date…


Soup joumou, also known as Freedom Soup, has a fascinating history. From Wikipedia:

When the Haitian Revolution ended with Haiti's liberation from French colonial rule on Jan. 1, 1804, Haitians celebrated by consuming soup joumou all day, relishing the taste of freedom. Haitians both at home and in the diaspora eat this soup to celebrate the first successful slave rebellion that transferred political power to its freed slave majority

Why celebrate with soup? Because, before the revolution, their enslavers had forbidden them to eat it. Did you know that? I didn’t. Did you know that the U.S. refused to acknowledge the newly independent Haiti because they feared that the notion of Black freedom might spread to America? 

I don’t remember learning this in school. Did you?

*****

At the Bohemian House in Old Ellicott City, you can ‘get your craft on’ at the Creator’s Coven event tonight from 6:30 - 9:30 pm. 

Ellicott City Creators Coven: 8320 Main Street, Ellicott City, MD 21043


From the event page: 

Come craft with us! This a free crafters group meeting to promote community and creativity. Bring whatever project you're working on and join fellow crafters from your own community. Also bring a snack to share if you wish. (This is an ongoing event. Check the event page for future dates.)

Ellicott City Creators Coven: 8320 Main Street, Ellicott City, MD, United States, Maryland 21043

Bohemian House, owned by Tiffany Averill, was written up in Baltimore Magazine in September. 

*****

If you’re feeling in an active mood, Maryland’s State Parks organize First Day Hikes. Check their website to see what’s on offer. 

I’m no hiker but I just may bundle up and walk around the neighborhood picking up some of the trash that got away during the recent high winds. That strikes me as a good way to begin the year, along with this wish:


Confused? Read yesterday’s blog.


Whatever your plans are today, or if you are luxuriating in the freedom of having no plans, I hope the New Year comes at you gently and with good intentions.


Village Green/Town² Comments 

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  1. Julia A. McCreadyJanuary 1, 2026 at 4:16 AM

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