Around Town, Saturday Edition

Saturday Events!

Ahem.

Today, beginning at noon at the Harriet Tubman Cultural Center, the first annual Black History Fest. This event has been student led and student organized and they’re hoping for a good turn-out so it will become an annual event.

You can learn more at the Eventbrite page for the event: Black History Fest.

Over at DOODLEHATCH in Long Reach, you can catch the most recent production of the Stand Up For Theatre group: Clue.

Tickets are Twenty dollars in advance and twenty-two at the door, with reduced rates for seniors and members of the military. I’m not seeing kids’ prices so perhaps it’s not a kid-friendly show? If you haven’t been to the DOODLEHATCH space it’s definitely worth the trip.

Tonight at the East Columbia Branch of the Howard County Library is their annual Evening in the Stacks fundraiser to support Library programs in the community. This year’s event has a pop culture theme. Festivities begin at 7 pm. $125 per person or Two for $225. (I believe that tickets are still available.)

You can learn more at the library website. This particular fundraiser supports the library’s partnership with the Howard County School System. One of the things that makes our library system so exceptional is the work they put into forging and maintaining partnerships with community groups.

Even if you can’t make it to tonight’s event I encourage you to learn more about their Friends of the Library organization. (Scroll down the page to see the list of initiatives they support.)

Any other interesting happenings going on in Columbia/HoCo today? Let me know.

Village Green/Town² Comments

Comments

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...

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...

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...

Village Green/Town²

Search This Blog