In partnership with
It’s Oyster Stroll Saturday, Westminster!
The Oyster Stroll takes over downtown from noon to 4 p.m. today, and Village West Pilates is holding a closet sale during it for a good cause. Over at TownMall, the mall's future is uncertain, but it has more going on for Halloween than anywhere else in town.
There's plenty more to do today, too. Former Mets ace Dwight Gooden is signing autographs at Great Moments, the Carroll County Farm Museum has its Traditional Arts Festival, and Professor Louie & the Crowmatix play the Carroll Arts Center tonight.
Let's get into it.
Oyster Stroll is today in downtown Westminster
The city's annual Oyster Stroll runs from noon to 4 p.m. today, Saturday, Oct. 10, with eight oyster vendors, 16 distilleries, 18 food vendors, more than 75 artisan and craft vendors and live music on five stages. General admission is $15 and sold at the gate only, and kids 12 and under get in free. VIP ticket holders get in early at 10:30 a.m. Expect road closures from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on West and East Main streets, and the Westminster library branch parking lot and book drop are closed all day. The full story has the music schedule, gate locations, parking and what each ticket includes.
During the Stroll, Village West Pilates, 18 W. Main St., is holding a community closet sale from noon to 4 p.m., and you don't need a Stroll ticket to shop. The money will pay specially trained instructors to teach free Pilates classes for trauma survivors, which the studio plans to launch in Carroll County in early 2027.
Despite its unclear future, TownMall is Westminster's Halloween hub
TownMall of Westminster has four haunted attractions, horror virtual reality, scary movies, two places to find costumes, a makers night and mall-wide trick-or-treating on Oct. 31. Plus, all 30 spots for Sew 'N Sweep's free "Stitch or Treat – A Haunted Makers Night" on Saturday, Oct. 17, are full well before the event. This is all happening while the mall's future is unclear. Its owner, Westminster Mall LLC, recently sent tenants a letter asking them to confirm their lease details "in connection with this sale." The letter didn't name a buyer or a closing date, and the company that manages the mall hasn’t responded to inquiries from Westminster Wire. The story has dates, times and prices for everything going on at the mall this month, plus what the letter to tenants means.
Mercer Floor & Home Carpet One has closed, and some customers say they're out deposits
Mercer Floor & Home Carpet One on Main Street has closed. Some Westminster Wire readers say they paid deposits or the full amount in mid-September for flooring and then found the store shut down. The comments on a Westminster Wire Facebook post have become a place where those affected by the closure are sharing information with one another in hopes of getting their money back.
School board meets Wednesday
The Board of Education of Carroll County meets Wednesday, Oct. 14. Board members will convene briefly at 2 p.m. and then go straight into a closed session, which the state's Open Meetings Act allows for certain topics. According to the school system's notice, those topics are personnel matters, legal advice about the review of an investigation, a Maryland State Board of Education decision in an appeal, and the Time to Care Act, Maryland's paid family and medical leave law. The public meeting starts at 4 p.m. in the Charles I. Ecker Board Room at 125 N. Court St. in Westminster.
Sponsored by modash
Where do influencers fit in your marketing mix?
If you're deciding how much of your budget influencer marketing deserves, start with people who've already made that call.
At the virtual Return on Influence Festival '26 marketing leaders talk about where creators sit in the wider marketing mix, and how to budget for them.
On stage:
Tyler Vaught, Edelman
Meredith Diehn, goodwipes
Josh Rangel, Ogilvy
Zaria Parvez, DoorDash
Elfried Samba, Butterfly Effect
It's free, it's online, and you'll take away something you can apply to your job the very next day. (Or the day after. We're not your boss.)
October 21, 2026, 10 am – 5 pm ET.
👀 Around Town
⚾ Former Mets ace Dwight Gooden is at Great Moments, 531-B Jermor Lane, today, Saturday, Oct. 10, for its Customer Appreciation Day. There are two time slots available, 3–3:45 p.m. and 4–4:45 p.m. Tickets are $19.87 and include an autograph, a photo op with your own phone or camera and a pack of 1987 Topps. Tickets from the original Jose Canseco date are honored. Tickets and details.
🍖 Giulianova, 11 E. Main St., will have its pit meats at the Oyster Stroll today. The groceria is also taking reservations for sour beef and dumplings, and sign-ups are open for its new Tour of Italy Sauce of the Month Club, which runs January through December 2027 and includes 15% off everything on monthly pickup days. Visit Giulianova or see the Facebook post.
🚜 Today is also the Farm Museum Traditional Arts Festival, 11 a.m.–4 p.m. at the Carroll County Farm Museum, 500 S. Center St. There's live music, food trucks, craft vendors, a blacksmith, farm animals and a playground, and the first 500 kids get a free pumpkin. Event details.
🎷 Tonight at 7:30, five-time Grammy nominees and Blues Hall of Famers Professor Louie & the Crowmatix play the Carroll Arts Center, 91 W. Main St. Tickets are $20–$28. Tickets and details.
🎸 Island Green, 1199 S. Pleasant Valley Road, has live music Saturdays and Sundays starting at 1 p.m., and Virgil Cain is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 15, at 6 p.m. Events at Island Green.
🌽 Corn Maze at the Carroll County Ag Center (706 Agricultural Center Dr.): Saturday, Oct. 10, 2–10 p.m.; Sunday, Oct. 11, noon–6 p.m.; and Friday, Oct. 16, 6–10 p.m. It's open weekends through October. See the schedule.
👻 Hera's Nightmare Haunted Attraction at TownMall is open Saturday, Oct. 10, and again Oct. 16, 17, 23, 24 and 30, 7–10 p.m., plus a few other nights through Nov. 1. This year's lineup includes a new haunt, Asylum: Midnight Ward. Tickets and details.
🎓 The CCPS College and Career Fair is Monday, Oct. 12, 6–8 p.m. at the Carroll County Ag Center's Shipley Arena. More than 95 colleges and universities will be there, along with military and trade school representatives, the Carroll Community Foundation (scholarships) and Carroll Community College's financial aid office. Event listing.
🎬 R/C Theatres Westminster Movies 9 has a Mystery Movie Horror Edition on Monday, Oct. 12, at 7 p.m. Tickets are $5, the film is rated R, and you won't find out which one it is until the lights go down. Also save the date: the theater's annual holiday showing is The Polar Express on Saturday, Dec. 5, at 10 a.m., with $1 tickets going on sale soon. Showtimes.
🎃 Library events next week: pick up a mini pumpkin to decorate for the Taneytown Branch contest on Wednesday, Oct. 14; Moon Gardens: Gardening for Bats is Wednesday, Oct. 14, at 6:30 p.m. at the Finksburg Branch; and Friday, Oct. 16, brings Pete the Cat at the Westminster Branch at 10 a.m., Taneytown STEM Day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (no school that day), and Senior Authors for Senior Readers at 1 p.m. at Exploration Commons. Registration is required for some. See the full calendar.
🎨 The Carroll Arts Center's 24th Annual Members Show is free to view, noon–4 p.m. through Nov. 7, at 91 W. Main St. Coming up, locals Ebb & Nova play Friday, Oct. 23, at 7:30 p.m. Members Show details and Ebb & Nova tickets.
🦇 Halloween at the Carroll Arts Center: Scary-Tale Evenings run every night Oct. 27–30. The silent film The Phantom of the Opera screens Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 7:30 p.m. ($10), Ex Machina screens Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 7:30 p.m. ($10), the Tricks & Treats Magic Show with D's Magic is Thursday, Oct. 29, at 6 p.m. ($10–$20), and The Rocky Horror Picture Show is Friday, Oct. 30, at 10 p.m. ($30). Phantom, Ex Machina, Magic Show, Rocky Horror.
💼 Now hiring: San Sushi, coming soon to 172 E. Main St., is hiring front- and back-of-house staff, and the perks include one staff meal per shift. (See the post). Mediterraneo is hiring full- and part-time dishwashers and prep cooks (see the post). The Carroll County Sheriff's Office is taking applications for court security deputy, a uniformed civilian job that isn't a sworn deputy position (see the post).
🍷 On Main Street: The Double Barrel Tasting Room, a wine bar, is taking shape in the building next to RockSalt in the Coffee District (see the video). Further east, Deep Seapothecary, 235 E. Main St., now offers bespoke perfume consultations where you work with them to create your own scent (see the post).
📋 Carroll County Health Department and Carroll Hospital want to hear from you. They're doing a Community Health Needs Assessment, and the short survey helps decide where local health resources go. Take the survey.
💊 Save the date: a Community Disposal Event is Saturday, Oct. 17, 8 a.m.–noon at 1250 Old Meadow Branch Road, Westminster. You can drop off unused or expired medications, sharps, household hazardous waste and documents for shredding. It's run by the Carroll County Health Department with the Sheriff's Office and the county's Bureau of Solid Waste. Carroll County Health Department.
🎣 The Westminster Community Pond is turning out some big catches. Carroll County Recreation and Parks says one local angler recently landed a large carp there, and it isn't her first impressive catch. See the photos.
🍗 Haven't seen the Westminster Wing Walk Map yet? It's our guide to non-chain wing spots near Main Street, built from your suggestions, and we'll keep adding to it. See the map.
Know something Westminster Wire should cover? Submit news here.
Questions? Send them to [email protected].
Westminster Wire is now on YouTube, too. Tell your friends they can follow along there or on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
— Westminster Wire