Howard County Fair Opens 80th Year (2026-08-07)

Friday morning: patchy fog then chance showers and thunderstorms, high near 90 degrees. Southwest wind 1 to 7 mph.

Good morning, it's Friday, August 7th, and this is the HoCo Brief. The fair is back, and this year it turns 80. An Ellicott City restaurant everyone loves is opening a second location in Baltimore. One Columbia neighborhood has a vulture problem, and yes, I mean actual vultures. And tax-free week is coming, so hold off on the backpack shopping for a few more days. We've also got school changes, a AAA credit rating, and your weekend plans. Let's get into it.

The Howard County Fair opened Thursday, and this year marks its 80th. It's one of Maryland's biggest summer traditions, and the Banner's weekend roundup puts it at the top of the list for the next few days, with rides on the midway and the full fair lineup. If you're planning a trip today, the forecast is the thing to watch. Showers and thunderstorms are likely Friday evening before 8, so an afternoon visit is the safer bet. Eighty years in, the fair is still the one week when the whole county shows up in the same place, and this weekend is the time to go.

Students across the D.C. region head back to class this month with a long list of changes waiting for them. WTOP's back-to-school roundup covers bell-to-bell cellphone bans, AI-powered security cameras, new grading rules, and bus-tracking apps rolling out across area districts. The specifics vary from district to district, so parents should check which of these apply to their own schools before the first bell rings.

An art exhibit by watercolor teacher Nishita Jain and her students opens today at the Howard County Arts Council. The show celebrates individual artistic voices and the shared experience of learning through watercolor, and it stays on view through September 25. If you've ever wanted to see what a teacher and a room full of students can build together, this is the one to catch.

Pepper House is expanding. The Ellicott City restaurant, named one of the top Chinese restaurants in the country by Yelp, is adding a second location in the R. House food hall in Baltimore's Remington neighborhood. Ellicott City keeps the original, and Baltimore gets the sequel. The Banner has the full story.

Vultures have descended on the Glenmont community in Columbia. The Baltimore Banner reports a woman there keeps feeding the birds raw meat, and she hasn't stopped despite repeated orders. So the vultures keep coming back, and Glenmont neighbors are sharing their streets with the flock. Every neighborhood has a story. This week, Glenmont's is the one nobody else can top.

Maryland's tax-free week starts soon. Clothing, shoes, and backpacks qualify for the sales tax break, timed right for back-to-school shopping, so hold your receipts a few more days. Tickets are on sale now for the Howard County Arts Council's 29th annual Celebration of the Arts Gala. And at the library today, the East Columbia Branch hosts Harry Potter Sewing from 2 to 3 p.m., for ages 10 and up with an adult.

Also today. Howard County earned AAA credit ratings, the highest mark available, from all three major rating agencies. In Ellicott City, ten years after the disastrous flood, WUSA9 reports on how county leaders are working to stop the next one. On Reddit, locals are comparing Howard Community College and CCBC on classes, credits, and transfer paths. A relocation agent's YouTube video on what it's really like to live in Howard County in 2026 is making the rounds. Toronto Raptors guard Immanuel Quickley returned to John Carroll, his alma mater, this week to host a basketball camp for about 70 kids ages 6 to 17. In Baltimore, the International Edgar Allan Poe Festival moves to Lexington Market this year, with demolition underway near the Poe House and Museum. The Arts Council's Amped in the Park series brought modern jazz from Birckhead to the stage this week. Nature in Two Voices, with Jing-Jy Chen's watercolors on rice paper and Chris Rapa's oversized field paintings, runs through August 30. Author Phill Branch reads from his memoir The Double Dutch Fuss at an upcoming Arts Council Author Works event. And the Baltimore Sun reported this spring that a New York-style Italian restaurant is on the way to Ellicott City.

The Howard County Fair runs Friday and Saturday in its 80th year, and the Banner's weekend roundup also lists an all-you-can-eat crab feast and a Super Smash Bros gaming convention. Paint It! Ellicott City holds an opening reception Saturday at the Howard County Welcome Center, where the open paint exhibit hangs through August 23, Tuesday through Sunday, 10 to 5.

Two numbers stuck with me this morning: eighty and ten. The fair is opening its 80th year, and it's been ten years since the disastrous flood in Ellicott City. One is the county at its most familiar, and the other is the county still doing slow, unglamorous work so the places we love get to keep having anniversaries. I like that both landed in the same week. Also, someone in Columbia is feeding vultures raw meat and will not stop, and honestly, I have questions. Have a good Friday.

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