Sponsored by
Happy Wednesday, Westminster!
TotSwap's fall and winter kids' consignment sale is back at the Ag Center this week, with drop-off wrapping up tonight and shopping running Thursday through Monday.
Election season also kicks off tonight: the Community Media Center of Carroll County and the League of Women Voters of Carroll County hold the first of their candidate forums for every contested race on the Nov. 3 ballot, starting with Commissioner District 1 and Sheriff. And this Saturday is the big one on the calendar side — the first-ever Carroll Book Festival at the Farm Museum, headlined by Jodi Picoult.
Also today: a Main Street cafe's 10th birthday, a new coffee shop coming to West Main, and a 15-pound catfish out of the community pond.
Let's get into it.
👀 Around Town
🎂 Molli's Cafe, 199 E. Main St., marks its 10th anniversary today. "We have made it through many life lessons, late nights, early mornings, happy and sad times, and even a pandemic," owners Heather, Matt, Molli, Jake and Kayla wrote on Facebook. Visit Molli's Cafe.
⚽ Carroll Community College opens its new James D. Ball Athletic Field Complex Thursday, Sept. 17, with a kickoff celebration at 3 p.m., followed by a Lynx soccer doubleheader against Allegany College of Maryland — men at 4 p.m., women at 6 p.m. The $5.6 million complex ($2.4M from Carroll County, $3.2M from the college's Foundation) features a FieldTurf synthetic field, an NJCAA-regulation 400-meter eight-lane track and full field-event areas (hurdles, jumps, vault, throws). Read the full story.
☕ Dark Horse Roasters (pictured below) opens at 66 W. Main St. on Monday, Sept. 21, at 9 a.m. — beans from eight countries, ground on site if you'd like. Located next to American Ice Co., which has the same owner. See the announcement.
🏐 The FCA Bravehearts, a local Christian homeschool volleyball program, won the New Life Christian School Fall Classic Saturday, rallying past Covenant Life in three sets in the championship after a slow start. Katie Pearre led with 12 kills and 9 aces; the Bravehearts are now 6-2 on the season. See the recap.
🎉 Boys & Girls Clubs of Carroll County kicked off its 20th year this week, welcoming kids back to its Westminster Clubhouse for the new school year alongside original board members and longtime supporters — and received a proclamation from the Carroll County Commissioners marking the milestone. Read the post.
🎻 Carroll County Arts Council hosted its annual Instrument Tryout Day at the Carroll Arts Center on Saturday, letting CCPS fourth graders try out the instruments offered in elementary band and orchestra programs, sponsored by Opus Community Music School, Menchey Music and The Band Shoppe. Read the post.
🥛 Carroll County Food Sunday holds its 12th annual Milk Run 5K & Stroll Saturday, Sept. 19 at Tahoma Farm Park, with registration at 7:30 a.m. and the race starting at 8:30 a.m. The paved 5K winds through the Wakefield Valley Community Trail, with a shorter 2K/1.25-mile walking option; registration is $41 ($21 for students/club members, $16 for a shirt only — early-bird pricing has passed). Proceeds fund CCFS's weekly milk-voucher and supplemental nutrition program for Carroll County families in need. Register.
🎴 The Sports Card & Pokémon Show returns to the TCC Event Center at TownMall of Westminster, 400 N. Center St., Saturday, Sept. 19, 9 a.m.–4 p.m. — 125-plus dealer tables to buy, sell and trade vintage and modern cards, presented by The Collector's Clubhouse. Read the post.
🐟 Carroll County Recreation and Parks shared a big catch from Westminster Community Pond: a 30-inch, 15-pound male channel catfish. Check out the post below. This is the pond located right next to 140 by the new Sheetz (also known unofficially as the Westside Sheetz).
🗞️ News
🧸 TotSwap Kids Consignment Sale Returns to the Ag Center This Week
TotSwap's fall and winter consignment sale is back at the Carroll County Agricultural Center, 706 Agricultural Center Drive, with thousands of gently used kids' items — clothing, toys and baby gear from brands like Gap, Under Armour, Lilly Pulitzer, Ralph Lauren, OshKosh and Stride Rite. Consignor drop-off runs through tonight at 8 p.m. A ticketed presale runs Thursday, 4–8 p.m. ($7 tickets; consignors 4–5 p.m., ticket holders 5–8 p.m.), followed by free public shopping Friday, 9 a.m.–7 p.m., and Saturday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. A discount day runs Sunday, Sept. 20, 10 a.m.–4 p.m., and the sale wraps with a Dollar Dash Monday, Sept. 21, 9–10 a.m., before unsold charity items are picked up at 10:30 a.m.
🗳️ Reminder: First Candidate Forum Is Tonight
The Community Media Center of Carroll County and the League of Women Voters of Carroll County kick off their series of candidate forums for every local contested race on the Nov. 3 ballot tonight at the Fire Activities Building in Taneytown, covering the Commissioner District 1 and Sheriff races. Commissioner District 1 starts at 6 p.m.; Sheriff at 7:30 p.m. The series runs through Oct. 13, with later forums at the CMC Studio in Westminster covering the other two Commissioner seats, State Senate District 5, both Delegate districts, and the three-seat Board of Education race. Forums air live on cable channel HD-1072, at carrollmediacenter.org and on YouTube, with replays afterward.
📚 Reminder: Carroll Book Festival Is Saturday
The first-ever Carroll Book Festival takes over the Carroll County Farm Museum this Saturday, Sept. 19, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. — 100-plus authors across six stages, free admission, rain or shine. Headliner Jodi Picoult takes the stage at 11 a.m. to discuss her new novel "Hollow Bones" with NPR's Linda Holmes; her ticketed noon photo op and the kids' Character Meet & Greet (Bluey, the Gruffalo and friends) are both already sold out, though a waitlist remains open for the latter. Everything else — author panels, a Vendor Village with literary vendors and food trucks — is free and first-come, first-served.
Sponsored by Angelino’s Coffee
I Almost Threw Out My Keurig. It Wasn't Broken.
Every cup from my Keurig started tasting weak, flat, stale — so I unplugged it and stuck it in a closet. Then I learned the dirty secret of grocery store K-Cups: by the time a pod reaches your kitchen, it's usually spent months going from factory to warehouse to truck to shelf. The flavor oils are long gone. Some brands even over-roast to hide it.
The fix wasn't a new machine. It was fresh pods from Angelino's, a family-owned L.A. roastery that roasts, packs, and ships within 3–5 days — straight to your door, from 39¢ a cup. Over 1,000,000 happy customers. 50+ flavors, no subscription required, and 15% off your first order, applied automatically at checkout.
Know something Westminster Wire should cover? Submit news here.
Questions? Send them to [email protected].
— Westminster Wire