🍦Power to the People sells out in minutes

Good morning, Columbia. A runaway emu evaded police on the Eastern Shore for three hours yesterday. Fun fact: emus may not be able to fly, but they are the only bird with calf muscles. That helps them run up to 30 mph and deliver kicks with hundreds of pounds of force if needed. Nobody was hurt, not even the feathered fugitive itself, during the apprehension.

In today’s Columbia Scoop:

Let’s get to it.

— Michelle Sinclair

Tom Morello (best known for his work with Rage Against the Machine) revealed a one-day festival at Merriweather while on stage with Bruce Springsteen at Nationals Park on Wednesday. Power to the People Festival is scheduled for October 3, 2026.

Presale tickets launched Friday morning and were gone by Friday afternoon. General public tickets went on sale Saturday morning and were sold out minutes later. We found lawn tickets (face value $125) on TickPick for $200+.

Performances will happen on both the main stage and the Chrysalis. Nonprofits and community partners will also be on hand in the Freedom Village and a portion of the proceeds from ticket sales (and 100% of the VIP ticket proceeds) will be donated to VoteRiders.

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Quick PSA for anyone who treks to DC or Baltimore for good times: you're doing it the hard way.

June in Howard County is loaded. A free three-day arts festival on the Lakefront — yes, with Italian acrobats dangling 60 feet over the water. Merriweather's concert season is at full tilt (hello, Jack Johnson). Free music and fitness under the open sky at Color Burst Park. A brand-new skate park. Pride in the park, Juneteenth, and "Mean Girls" up at Toby's (so fetch).

Columbia Scoop's events calendar has the full rundown. But we went through and flagged our favorites.

Here’s what we’re looking forward to most in June.

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Howard County's Council gavels in Monday at 7 PM at the George Howard Building in Ellicott City — and as the first session of the month, it's a double feature. Members take final votes on bills floated in May, including a closely watched data center moratorium, and introduce a fresh slate for next month.

🏭 Data center pause: The headliner is a final vote on Vice Chair Christiana Rigby's S.M.A.R.T. Siting Act, which would temporarily block approvals for new data centers while a task force digs into their toll on water, energy, and noise — and weighs scrapping the county's data center tax credit.

🏫 Growth vs. schools: Two measures up for introduction — the School Capacity Chart and Housing Unit Allocation Chart — set which school regions are too crowded to take on new home construction over the next decade, the county's biggest lever on where development can happen.

🏡 Cottage clusters: Another final vote would define "cottage clusters" and let age-restricted senior housing built in that style go up by right in certain areas — small, lower-cost homes aimed at older residents looking to downsize.

See the full agenda.

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🎈= family-friendly events

🎈🧘 Homeschool Days on the Farm - Hands-on learning with farm animals, hydroponics, nutrition activities, wagon rides, and the megaslide at Mary's Land Farm.

🏋️ Summer Fit Series at Color Burst Park - Free weekly outdoor fitness classes—yoga, boxing, and Zumba—every Tuesday through August.

🍽️ Summer Boozy Book Fair - Columbia's favorite indie bookstore, Queen Takes Book, brings books and drinks to The Collective Encore.

🎶 Amped in the Park - Free outdoor concert series at Color Burst Park—grab food from Merriweather District and unwind under the evening sky. This week: Lakecia Benjamin “We Dream” Album Release.

📚 Lunch Date with History - Tubman Center - Howard County Historical Society's Small Museum Showcase features the Tubman Center at the Museum of Howard County History.

🎬 Movie Night - Lilo & Stitch (Live Action) - Free movie night at Downtown Columbia Lakefront—Mr. B has been sharing his love of movies with Columbia for nearly 50 years.

🎈🐮 Farmers Market - Fresh produce, baked goods, meats, flowers, and live music at Clarksville Commons—Saturday mornings through the season.

🎈🏃 Maryland Half Marathon & 5K - Run or walk to support cancer research at Maple Lawn—all proceeds benefit UMGCCC.

🎈🐝 Pollinator Fest - Learn about bees, butterflies, birds, and moths with live insects, rescue animals, crafts, and live music at Howard County Conservancy.

🎈🧱 LEGO® Railroad Trials - Best suited for ages 6+, hosted by Howard County Recreation & Parks.

🎈🏆 Card Show - Sports & TCG - Sports cards and trading card games at Long Reach High School—free admission, all proceeds benefit students.

🎈🐶 Meow at the Manor Adoption Event - BARCS brings adoptable animals, kids' crafts, vendors, pizza, and live music to Manor Hill Brewing—plus the Barn Cat's Meow beer release.

🏃 Matzohball 5K and 1 Mile Fun Run - 22nd annual family-friendly run through Western Regional Park benefiting Grassroots, DreamBuilders, and HopeWorks.

🎨 Charity Fundraiser supporting Beats not Bullets - High-end audio, live music, raffles, and food supporting Baltimore youth music education.

🍓 Strawberry Festival - Annual festival in Savage—save the date for this local tradition.

🎈🎉 Savage Fest - Petting zoo, bounce castles, pony rides, and live music at Carroll Baldwin Hall—a favorite community festival.

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🛹 Drop in: Blandair Regional Park's new skate park opens June 5. It's a 15,000-square-foot destination concrete park in Columbia built for every wheel and skill level. The sixth phase of Blandair’s evolution also adds six pickleball courts, two lighted basketball courts, and 100+ parking spaces.

⛽ Tank up: Members, take note — just the gas pumps at the Costco in Elkridge are closing today for construction.

🍕 New York slice: Tony's of N.Y. — a fast-casual, New York-style Italian joint — opens its first Howard County spot in June at Ellicott City's Enchanted Forest Shopping Center. The menu runs pizza, pastas, subs, wings, and cheesesteaks, courtesy of owner Sergio Falcone, who's spent nearly 40 years in kitchens across New York, Baltimore, and Italy.

🍗 Wing it: Buffalo Wild Wings GO — the chain's takeout-only spinoff — opens June 6 at Turf Valley Towne Square in Ellicott City, with a ribbon-cutting at 11 AM. The menu is not the same as your average B Dubs. It only includes the chain’s best-selling items and is all about speed.

🍷 Last call: The Loft Wine, Liquor & Beer — the shop perched atop Wegmans — is closing this summer after just four years. It opened in 2022 only after years of county hearings over putting a liquor store next to a grocery store, but never hit the sales it needed to stay open. Everything goes to final-sale pricing this weekend, with the exact closing date depending on how fast the shelves empty.

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77 🌡️ 52 | 🌤️ | 1% ☔ | 💨 N 8 mph

75 🌡️ 54 | ☀️ | 2% ☔ | 💨 NE 7 mph

80 🌡️ 58 | ☀️ | 1% ☔ | 💨 N 7 mph

85 🌡️ 63 | ☀️ | 4% ☔ | 💨 NW 6 mph

Cured 1821 | Mark Kotision | 6 PM 

Cured 1821 | Joe DeCara | 6 PM

Bare Bones | Brandon Freelump | 7 PM 
Cured 1821 | Rodney Kelly | 6 PM 
Merriweather | Kali Uchis | 6 PM
The Morgan Inn | David Phenicie & Paula Richardson | 6 PM

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