🍦If you build it they will come

Good morning, Columbia. Wondering why there was no Scoop yesterday? We’ve decided Tuesday & Thursday is a better publishing schedule than Monday & Thursday. I hope you missed us. But it’s OK if you didn’t. On that note, if there’s anything we can do to make this newsletter better, please reply and let us know. We read every single reply.

In today’s Columbia Scoop:

Let’s get to it.

— Michelle Sinclair

July in Columbia is a lot. It opens with a bang (free Fourth of July fireworks over Lake Kittamaqundi) and keeps right on going with a stacked Merriweather run (Train, Death Cab for Cutie, O.A.R., and Caamp), free movie nights on the Lakefront, and three days of beer and music at Manor Hill.

👉 Here's what we're looking forward to in July

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HoCo’s party for America's 250th birthday comes with a lake, a brass-and-banjo headliner, and free parking. Tough to beat.

Howard County's free July 4th celebration takes over the Downtown Columbia Lakefront on Saturday. The timeline:

There's no parking at the Lakefront, so stash the car at the Mall in Columbia, the Merriweather District, or Symphony Woods Garage (all free) and walk in. Rain bumps the fireworks to July 5.

Want more? Manor Hill turns the holiday into a three-day farm party (July 3–5) with live music, farm-brewed beer, and brick-oven pizza. The Summer Sounds Series brings "Liberty & Lemonade" nights to River Hill on July 3 and Harpers Choice on July 5. And Turf Valley Resort leans family, with water slides and crafts.

One housekeeping note: county offices and the 50+ centers close Friday, July 3, but trash, recycling, and yard trim run their regular Friday routes.

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🍽️ Food Truck Wednesdays in the Merriweather District - DF 26 Mexican Food and Tasty Empanadas roll into Merriweather Row Plaza for your midweek lunch fix.

🎶 Dancin' Under the People Tree - High-energy dance fitness under the iconic People Tree sculpture at the Lakefront—all ages welcome, no experience needed.

🎬 Movie Night - Hamilton - The filmed Broadway production of Hamilton screens at dusk on the Lakefront—bring a blanket and settle in for one of the best musicals of our time.

🎭 Toby's Dinner Theatre Presents: Mean Girls - Fetch happens at Toby's with buffet dinner and the Broadway musical. Matinee at 10:30 AM and evening show at 6 PM.

🎈🎉 Pre-4th of July Pool Party - High schoolers: get your red, white, and splash on at Faulkner Ridge Pool with pizza, snacks, water games, and prizes.

🎈🎶 Summer Sounds Series at River Hill Village Center - Liberty & Lemonade-themed evening with live music and family activities at River Hill Village Center in Clarksville.

🎈🎆 July 4th Celebration - The big one: food trucks, live music by Dom Flemons & The Traveling Wildfires, and fireworks at dusk on the Lakefront. Gates open at 3 PM.

🎈🎶 Summer Sounds Series at Harpers Choice Village Center - Liberty and Lemonade-themed Sunday concert series with live music and family fun at Harpers Choice.

🍺🎶 4th of July Weekend at Manor Hill - Three days of live music, farm-brewed beer, and brick-oven pizza at the farm. Frank Florence plays Saturday, Evelyn Acht on Sunday.

🎨 B'more Blended - Works by Baltimore Watercolor Society - A juried exhibition of 72 Baltimore Watercolor Society artists at The Meeting House Gallery. Free admission, runs through July 25.

🎨 Karen Jury: Eyes Wide Open - Photo encaustics and mixed media highlighting overlooked details, on view at Artists Gallery in Ellicott City through July 26.

🎨 Johan Lowie- Terrain of Memory - Landscape paintings exploring how memory reshapes place, on view at the Horowitz Center through August 2.

🎨 Zofia Chamera- HCC Visiting Artist - Sculpture in clay, wax, bronze, and handmade paper at Howard Community College's Talkin Family Art Gallery through August 2.

🎭 Toby's Dinner Theatre Presents: Mean Girls - Multiple shows all weekend—brunch matinee and evening performances of the Broadway hit with buffet dinner.

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⚾ Field of Dreams – Centennial Park West just opened three renovated baseball diamonds with artificial turf and lights, now named the A. Raul Delerme Fields after a longtime county parks employee. The turf and lights mean fewer rainouts, longer seasons, and a real shot at hosting regional tournaments – part of a $10 million-plus, four-year overhaul of the Ellicott City park. Time to find out if they really do come if you build it.

🍕 Teen Kick Backs Are Back – Howard County Rec & Parks is running its free summer drop-in nights for ages 11 to 17 again, with pizza, video games, sports, and supervised hangouts at six spots across the county. Fridays and Saturdays through late August, from North Laurel and Roger Carter to the Harriet Tubman Cultural Center and Wilde Lake Middle School.

📊 Contract Gap – Howard County's first-ever disparity study found that minority- and women-owned businesses received just 9.19% of county contract dollars from 2018 to 2023, while unclassified firms got the other 90.81%. County Executive Calvin Ball, who commissioned the study, says the findings will guide procurement changes; the consultants recommend lifting the county's 20% participation goal and setting subcontracting targets. ($)

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90 🌡️ 71 | ☀️ | 6% ☔ | 💨 S 8 mph

97 🌡️ 76 | ☀️ | 4% ☔ | 💨 SW 7 mph

100 🌡️ 78 | ☀️ | 4% ☔ | 💨 W 7 mph

🎸 Carpool: A Tribute to The Cars – Friday, July 3 at The Collective Encore. New-wave hits done right, from "Just What I Needed" to "Drive."

🪕 Dom Flemons & The Traveling Wildfires – Saturday, July 4 at the Columbia Lakefront. The Grammy-winning "American Songster" headlines the county's Fourth of July celebration, on at 7:30 before the 9:15 fireworks.

🍺 Manor Hill's Fourth of July Weekend – Frank Florence on Saturday, July 4 and Evelyn Acht on Sunday, July 5 at the Ellicott City farm brewery, with farm beer and brick-oven pizza alongside.

🎶 Summer Sounds Series – Friday, July 3 at River Hill Village Center in Clarksville and Sunday, July 5 at Harpers Choice. Free "Liberty & Lemonade" evenings of live music and family activities.

Thanks for reading Columbia Scoop today. If you found something useful, share it with someone who drives to Pennsylvania to buy “the good fireworks.”