🍦Employee of the year

Good morning, Columbia. I love that some random guy was texting PGA Tour pro Matt Fitzpatrick after his wins this season and I love even more that Fitzpatrick kept saying thanks and asking who it was like a totally normal person. Direct quotes (stitched together): “I thought it was just some member at my club. . . I thought it was just some random guy who wasn’t very good on his mobile phone.” This is the kind of humor we need more of.

In today’s Columbia Scoop:

Let’s get to it.

— Michelle Sinclair

Erica Carpio meets people on the worst days of their lives. That’s because she’s a victim advocate for the HCPD. Victim advocates guide people through the immediate aftermath of crimes. Things like emotional support, court filing assistance, and even going to court with you.

And for that work (including leading an overhaul of the victim services department), County Executive Calvin Ball recognized Erica as Howard County’s 2026 Employee of the Year. Congratulations, Erica! (She also won the county’s Unsung Hero award back in 2019.)

🗳️ How EOY gets picked – Employees get nominated for Employee of the Year by their co-workers. A selection committee comprising employees from several departments makes the final selection.

Also honored at the county Employee Recognition Awards:

🦸 Unsung Hero – Jonathon Frias from Inspections, Licenses and Permits was doing a routine inspection when he encountered the victim of an armed robbery. He stayed with the victim, comforted them, and even gave investigators information regarding the case.

🔧 Fifty-Year Man – Gary Miller’s worked at the Central Fleet Division in the county’s maintenance shops for longer than most people reading this have been alive. More than 20 other employees were recognized for 30 years or more.

To everyone who works at the county, thank you for all you do!

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Bruce Springsteen, the Foo Fighters, and Dave Matthews all play the same stage on the same day this Saturday. October is not messing around (especially this first weekend).

Tom Morello's wildly popular, first-year Power to the People Festival takes over Merriweather this weekend with the above lineup plus Joan Baez, Public Enemy, and Jack Black. Doors at noon, music at 1. Tickets sold out in the blink of an eye, but there are plenty on resale websites now (cashortrade.org is the official resale marketplace).

Also at Merriweather: Logic and G-Eazy on Sunday night, and beabadoobee closes out the season on the 10th. Tickets for Lizzy McAlpine and Riley Green in 2027 go on sale Friday.

The same weekend, Ellicott City Main Street becomes Diagon Alley. Wizarding Weekend runs Saturday and Sunday with a costume contest, themed quests, Butterbeer, and lots of magical photo ops.

The full guide has the rest: HoCo Pride at Symphony Woods on the 11th, the Hispanic Heritage Festival at the Chrysalis, a free Columbia Orchestra pops concert, Wanderland (not a typo), the Maker Faire, a haunted walk at Rockburn, and four places to shred old documents (maybe we’re weird for being excited about this).

Read the full October guide here.

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🎈 = family-friendly events

🎨 Fall Decoupage Pumpkin Workshop – Create a one-of-a-kind decoupage pumpkin in the Red Barn at Mary's Land Farm with hot cider, step-by-step instruction, and all supplies included.

🎈🎬 Movie Nights in the Park – The (real) Wizard of Oz (1939 version) screens outdoors at Color Burst Park for Tween & Teen Night Takeover, with lawn games, trivia, and music before the 7:15 PM showtime.

🎸 Power to the People Festival – Tom Morello's festival puts Bruce Springsteen, the Foo Fighters, Dave Matthews, Joan Baez, Public Enemy, and Jack Black on the Merriweather stage in one day. Doors at noon, music at 1 PM.

🎶 Beethoven 5 – The Columbia Orchestra performs Beethoven's Fifth Symphony at the Jim Rouse Theatre.

🎈🐴 Draft Horses & Draft Beers at Manor Hill – Meet friendly Belgian draft horses from Gentle Giants Rescue for petting and photos, plus brick-oven pizza, lemonade, and farm-brewed beers (a portion of proceeds benefits the rescue).

🎷 Jazz in the Garden with High Caliber – Bring a picnic lunch and enjoy jazz standards from quintet High Caliber in the native plant garden at Howard County Conservancy.

🎈🎉 Y2K Night – Dance to early-2000s hits at the CA Lakefront with a DJ, music videos on a giant screen, nostalgic games, and Y2K-inspired outfits encouraged.

🎈🚗 Columbia Cruise Night – Hot rods, street rods, and modern muscle cars roll into McGaw Plaza for a Saturday night cruise-in with music and free parking.

🧶 Fall Yarn Swap – Bring yarn you no longer need and go home with new skeins you love, plus knit or crochet with fellow fiber artists.

🚴 Free Bikes 4 Kids Donation Event – Drop off gently used or new bikes for preschoolers through high schoolers at Trek Bicycle Columbia or any Howard County fire station.

🎤 Logic & G-Eazy – The Endless Summer Part II tour at Merriweather, with Juicy J opening. Doors at 5:30, show at 7 PM.

🎈🧛 Vampyres in the Park – A vampyre and goth picnic in the Hollofield area of Patapsco Valley State Park. Bring a blanket, wear black.

🎈🏃 HCC 5K Challenge Race – A team-based 5K with obstacles at Howard Community College to raise funds for student scholarships.

🎈🐱 Meowtoberfest Adoption Event with BARCS – Meet adoptable animals from BARCS, enjoy kids' crafts, live music from Tears for Devere, pizza, and farm beers at Manor Hill Brewing.

🎈⚡ Wizarding Weekend on Magical Main – Historic Ellicott City's Main Street turns into an enchanted village from noon both days, with a costume contest, themed quests, Butterbeer, and photo ops in the shops.

🎈🎭 Toby's Dinner Theatre Presents: Summer - The Donna Summer Musical – The musical about Donna Summer, with dinner and show packages all weekend at Toby's.

🏡 Suburban Maryland Fall Home Show – Meet home improvement companies, get expert advice, and shop for landscaping, design, and renovation services at the Howard County Fairgrounds.

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🥬 Scrap Happy – Nearly 10,000 more homes in Ellicott City and Marriottsville are about to be eligible for the county’s composting program, Feed the Green Bin. Eligible households will get an informational postcard via mail and should sign up by October 16. With this addition, almost 70,000 homes will be green bin eligible. Click here to check if your home is one.

📅 Time to Plan Vacation – The Board of Education approved the 2027–2028 school calendar. Students start Monday, August 23, 2027, and finish Tuesday, June 6, 2028. Winter break runs December 24–31, and spring break is April 13–18. The committee that built it wanted fewer half days, an early June finish, and room for religious and cultural observances through the year.

🚣 Patent Pending – Three Mt. Hebron grads filed a patent application for a fix to calf bites, the scrapes rowers get when their legs drag across the metal rails of a racing shell. Hridik Singh, Tristan Quan Tran, and Quinlan O'Niell started the project in their Mt. Hebron engineering class and ended up 3D printing a cushioned cap that clips onto the shell rails to protect the racers.

🖍️ Reduce, Reuse, Recolor – The county wants third through fifth graders to draw what reduce, reuse, and recycle mean to them for its new coloring book. Black marker or ink on white, unlined 8.5-by-11 paper, no color. Entries are due by 5 PM on January 15. The top 13 make the book (best in show gets the cover). Contest rules and application.

🏢 Maple Lawn's Newest Neighbor – MD apartment giant Bozzuto is moving its corporate HQ from Greenbelt to Maple Lawn. The office will take up over half of the building at 8160 Maple Lawn Blvd with room for 225 employees who will start working there in early 2027. And while Bozzuto started in MD, it now manages 145,000 apartments across 23 states with 4,500 employees. Tom Bozzuto co-founded the company in 1988 and his son Toby became President and CEO in 2013. ($)

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83 🌡️ 63 | 🌤️ | 0% ☔ | 💨 SW 8 mph

86 🌡️ 59 | ⛅ | 17% ☔ | 💨 SW 12 mph

69 🌡️ 55 | ⛅ | 17% ☔ | 💨 N 12 mph

65 🌡️ 54 | ⛅ | 46% ☔ | 💨 E 6 mph

66 🌡️ 43 | 🌤️ | 11% ☔ | 💨 NW 12 mph

🌳🎵= Outdoor concert

Bare Bones | Spike & Friends | 7–10 PM
The Morgan Inn | David Phenicie & Paula Richardson | 6–9 PM

Bare Bones | Glamour Kitty | 8 PM–12 AM
Barn & Lodge | Mike Heuer | 8–11 PM
Collective Encore | BRENCORE Presents…A Tribute to The O’Jays and The Whispers | 8 PM | Tickets
Looney's Maple Lawn | Under the Covers | TBA
🌳🎵 Manor Hill Brewing | Kurt Lobdell (First Friday Release) | 5–8 PM
The Morgan Inn | Soulstice | 8–11 PM
Reckless Shepherd | Totally Bowie and Echoes | 8:30 PM | Tickets
Smashing Grapes | Marissa Zechinato | 8–11 PM

Bare Bones | Smoking Section | 8 PM–12 AM
Barn & Lodge | Mike Sharp | 8–11 PM
Collective Encore | Floyd Live: America’s Pink Floyd Experience | 8 PM | Tickets
Kelsey’s Restaurant & Irish Pub | Richard Walton | 6–9:30 PM
Looney's Maple Lawn | Emotional Support | TBA
🌳🎵 Merriweather Post Pavilion | Power To The People Festival: Bruce Springsteen, Foo Fighters, Dave Matthews, Tom Morello & more | 1 PM | Tickets
Reckless Shepherd | Klepto Radio | 8:30 PM
Smashing Grapes | Bryan Mills | 8–11 PM
White Oak Tavern | Selena Raj | 8–10 PM

Barn & Lodge | Sean Bera | 11 AM–2 PM
🌳🎵 Manor Hill Brewing | Tears for Devere | 2–5 PM
🌳🎵 Merriweather Post Pavilion | Logic & G-Eazy with Juicy J | 7 PM | Tickets
The Morgan Inn | Sunday Funday Music Jam with The Soul Family Band | 2–5:30 PM
Smashing Grapes | Junghoon Park | 11 AM–2 PM
White Oak Tavern | Dave Weber & Rebecca | 8–10 PM

Thanks for reading Columbia Scoop today. If you found something useful, please share it with someone who still has the ticket stub from the last time they saw Springsteen. And if you were born after the year 1998, a ticket stub was the piece of the ticket you got back after the venue let you in.