Village Green/Town²

Posts

Small Wishes Come True: Live at the Lakefront

Have you seen the photos from the opening event for the new Columbia Association performance space at the Lakefront? Or perhaps you were present for the event? You know how opening events are. Speeches, local notables, chairs lined up neatly for invited guests, celebratory signage and decoration, the photo-friendly ribbon cutting…You’ve seen one, you’ve seen ‘em all. Right? But, wait. The violinist. Could it be? Yes! It was. Marvillous Beats. In 2020 I discovered a local performer through a tweet and wrote about him in The Beat Goes On. The video shows a young Black man playing violin near Vantage House* in Town Center, I believe. He is accompanied by a backing track. Would you call this style jazz violin? I think so. He is very, very good. I was curious, so I looked him up. Marvillous Beats is the performance name of a Laurel-based violinist Marvill L. Martin. (He is also a composer, actor, and audio engineer, according to his website bio.) The violinist playin...

Partly Cloudy With a Chance of Community

It’s a cloudy day in HoCo and it’s shaping up to be mostly plant sales, yard sales, farmer’s markets, and Mother’s Day themed events. Here’s a look at a few that caught my eye. The Market at Clarksville Commons is back, beginning at nine am. There’s an historical event in Elkridge beginning at eleven am. “Elkridge: Crossroads of Revolution.” It’s free but you need to sign up because they are providing lunch. Click here to learn more and to register. Event is in Patapsco Valley State Park, Avalon Picnic Shelter 105. At Robinson Nature Center, there’s a Bookworm Bash from 10 am to 12 pm. It's a read aloud party, and everyone is invited! Join local authors alongside Robinson Nature Center staff for this imagination-fueled adventure in our nature play space. Enjoy story times before making your own story through interactive play and crafts. The RPB Sneak Peek Weekend is a soft opening event for a new experiential art space called Resting Bitch Place: 135...

F ³: Eating the Difference

I woke up this morning to discover that NPR making the claim: Prices are up, but Mother’s Day still means brunch , Alina Selyukh, Scott Horsley. It's the biggest day for America's restaurants, and one of the biggest for flower sales. Despite anxieties over rising gas prices, people are ready to splurge to celebrate. Really? Which people would that be? Last night as I was making up a grocery list I discovered that a tub of Kerrygold Butter, a special treat for my mother in law who loves her mashed potatoes with a dollop of good Irish butter, has reached the eye-watering price of ten ninety-nine.. I don’t know how one grocery item can break your brain but this was too much. At fourteen ounces, it isn’t even a full pound of butter. To be sure, it’s a special treat, possibly a bit of a luxury item. But ten ninety-nine for a package of soft butter? I can’t do it. I found myself facing a mental hurdle I couldn’t get over. Of course the Irish butter is symbolic of all of the increasi...

Provincial? Or: What’s in a Name?

I may not be hanging around town as much as I’d like these days, but I did have lunch with a friend at the Lakeside Deli Tuesday. This afforded me the opportunity to pop into Lidl afterwards. As I navigated the distance between the two, I did a double take. The Metropolitan is no longer Metropolitan. Images from basic Google search Well, it may be “metropolitan” in the descriptive sense, but the signage tells me it’s The Westley. So does their website. When did that happen? It was still The Metropolitan in December… And then, in February… Why the new name? Also, apparently the full name is The Westley Merriweather, because of course it is. From what I can tell the rebranding is associated with a change in management. The Metropolitan opened in 2017 under the management of a company called Kettler. It is now in the hands of Bozzuto. NEIGHBORHOOD Life is About Exploration Location, Community, Quality Living. It Starts Here. (At the Cheesecake Factory? Well, okay.) I’ve ...

Flashlight

It’s getting on my nerves again. “Never saw a photo opp he didn’t like.” You know what I’m talking about, right? Some folks have nothing better to do than to show up on a local social media post and complain that the County Executive is in the photo. This happened on Reddit recently and I made the mistake of responding, in frustration, “I don’t think the original poster understands how this all works.” Then came the response, “How does it all work?” Sigh. I asked for that. The County Executive does not wake up on a Wednesday morning and decide to do some new HoCoGov thing and get his picture taken. He works with a team of county employees. They assess needs, establish priorities, enact policy. When you see Dr. Ball cutting a ribbon, speaking on a new initiative, or responding to a community concern he is there to serve the public as a representative of the work of Howard County Government as a whole. His face and his position are the most widely-recognized in HoCo and he is...

Snapshots

First off: HCPSS is posting more diverse recruiting adverts than I had originally thought. See below. Not sure about their choice of what words should be the BIG words, though. Is there a secret message in here that I’m missing? HCPSS VALUED ALONE HERE YOU FALL 2026 ***** Someone is having fun over on the Columbia Reddit. I’d love to know the backstory on this. Caption reads: Petition to replace Jim Rouse statue with giant mechanical supervillain spider. The advert placed directly below made me giggle. “Satisfying to watch. Satisfying to eat.” ***** A few days ago I titled a post “Places and Spaces.” A few days ago the Columbia Association posted a short video entitled “ Places and Spaces.” It’s possible I snagged their title without realizing I had seen it elsewhere. I don’t think it’s a crime but I feel pretty stupid, anyway. ***** Last night the Baltimore Sun put up this odd post on Facebook. It has since been revised to look more like their usual posts. Take a look. I...