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Happy Saturday, Westminster!
Little Locals Town & Gym took home the $10,000 grand prize at Thursday's Carroll Biz Challenge, beating out four other local finalists.
Rockin' for Raptors brings live music to Bear Branch this evening, Amy's Laundry proved that a working laundromat makes a pretty good concert venue on Friday night, and there are big activities planned around Westminster all weekend.
In the news, the Carroll County Board of Education had a full plate at its Aug. 12 meeting. There's good news and bad news on academics: The district ranked among Maryland’s top performers in ELA and math, but fell short on a reading target for a third straight year and saw widening gaps for students with disabilities.
At that same meeting, the Family Life Advisory Committee roster failed 1-4 after an appointment drew questions from board members about the process. This followed a lengthy discussion that also involved a board member withdrawing their committee appointee over past social media posts she called “atrocious.”
Let's get into all this news and more.
👀 Around Town
🎸 Amy's Laundry hosted its four-band bill Friday night, packing the working laundromat on Main Street with music, presented by Fine Tuned Presents and The Garage. Watch the Facebook reel, the Instagram reel, or the TikTok clip. And if you’re thinking, “Who came up with this idea for a concert in a laundromat?” the answer is Jake Fine, and you can read about it here.
🎪 The 2nd annual Carroll County Kidz' Funfest returns to the Farm Museum Saturday, 11 a.m.–3 p.m., with a scavenger hunt, farmyard friends, face painting and more. The first 250 kids get a free gift, and there's a chance to win two Hershey Park tickets. $10 per car, cash only. Bring a toiletries donation to the on-site Wellness Wagon to benefit CCPS students. See the post.
🏰 The Oakenmist Renaissance Faire makes its Westminster debut this weekend at the Carroll County Agriculture Center, Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m., and Sunday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Single-day tickets are $23 advance, $25 at the door; kids 10 and under are free with a paid adult. Read the full story.
🥂 Westminster Liquors opens Saturday, 9 a.m., at 140 Englar Road, Suite 7, in the former Rite Aid Liquors space — two to three times the size of any other liquor store in town, according to owner Tom Welliver. Saturday's grand opening includes a Chamber of Commerce ribbon-cutting, giveaways and storewide sale pricing. Read the full story.
🦅 Rockin' for Raptors brings live music and raptor presentations to Bear Branch Nature Center Saturday, 6 p.m., with The Thing, Noah Pierre Band and Flowerbomb performing to help raise $25,000 toward a new raptor enclosure. Parking is $25, cash only; carpooling is encouraged. See the post.
🎒 With rain in the forecast, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Carroll County and Find Your Purpose are moving their School Supply Giveaway indoors to the Boys & Girls Club's clubhouse at 71 E. Main Street, Westminster, keeping the same Sunday, Aug. 16, 3–6 p.m. pickup window. The event still includes music, games and free school supplies. See the post.
🚶 The city holds a Mayor's Community Meeting on the Wakefield Valley Park Trail Renovation project Tuesday, Aug. 18, 6 p.m., at the Wakefield Valley Event Center, 1000 Fenby Farm Road, with updates on design, engineering and timelines for improving the 187-acre park's trail network. See the post.
💛 The 4th annual Kindness Stroll kicks off Thursday, Aug. 20, 4–6 p.m., on Locust Lane in downtown Westminster, across from the library, with student-designed Be Kind artwork going up in over 40 Westminster merchant windows through Sept. 23. Read more about the event.
🐻 Rachel's Bears, a Carroll County-based charity that donates books and bears to children receiving care at places like Carroll Hospital, holds an Orioles game fundraiser Sunday, Aug. 23. See the post.
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🗞️ In the News
📊 CCPS Ranks Second in State, But Misses Target a Third Straight Year
The Carroll County Board of Education got mixed news at its Aug. 12 meeting. The district ranked second in Maryland in English language arts proficiency (67.5%) and third in math, outperforming state averages on every ELA and math assessment. But an internal scorecard showed CCPS third-grade reading proficiency has missed the district's own target for a third straight year — 62% in 2025-26, against a year-three goal of 75% — alongside a widening gap for students with disabilities, whose ELA scores fell in six of seven assessments. Maryland also begins phasing in a new statewide test, MSTAR, this year.
🏆 Little Locals Town & Gym Takes Grand Prize at Carroll Biz Challenge
Little Locals Town & Gym, a Finksburg business for kids ages 0-8, founded by Nick and Torie Hoddinott, took home the $10,000 grand prize at the 15th annual Carroll Biz Challenge Live Finale Thursday night at the Carroll Arts Center. Five finalists, narrowed from 29 original applicants, pitched live for judges and a crowd. Pearl Intelligence Network won the $2,026 People's Choice Award, and Project Lather took home the $2,000 Changemaker Award, courtesy of United Way of Central Maryland.
📋 Board Rejects Family Life Advisory Roster Over Appointment Process
The Carroll County Board of Education voted down its Family Life Advisory Committee roster 1-4 on Aug. 12, leaving the panel that reviews health and family life curriculum materials unseated heading into the school year. Board member Kristen Zihmer withdrew her appointee, Krista Schultz, a day after an advocacy group circulated Facebook posts that it said showed racist language from several years ago. The roster then failed over a separate issue: Board President Steve Whisler appointed Kathryn Hart to fill a vacancy without pulling her from the district's 100-person applicant pool, which drew questions from board members Tara Battaglia, Patricia Dorsey and Zihmer.
🔥 Downtown Fire Leaves Three Apartments Unsafe
If you missed the news earlier this week, a fire at 27 East Main Street in downtown Westminster on Wednesday evening left three apartments unsafe for occupancy, though no injuries were reported. Kevin Dayhoff, the Westminster Fire Department's public information officer, told Westminster Wire that Carroll County's Emergency Communications Center got the call at 5:40 p.m. and that 76 firefighters from multiple departments had the blaze out by 6:35 p.m. and cleared the scene by 8:10 p.m. The fire was caused by a roof-repair torch, according to the Carroll County Times.
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— Westminster Wire