Sun Review: Maryland Live! Bustling Following Table Games Addition

A Sun reviewer compared a recent visit with his experience shortly after the casino opened last year.

In a review in The Baltimore Sun Wednesday, writer Wesley Case recognized what he called the "crowded and energized floor" on a recent Friday night visit to the Maryland Live! Casino. Table games went live at the casino in April, after voters approved changes to gambling laws on the November ballot. Case wrote that the casino "appeared to be reaping the benefits of democracy." Case wrote he had wondered when the casino opened in November if the traffic would pickup and the facility would remain sustainable. In his review today, he praised the new music venue—Rams Head Center Stage—and the casino's active atmosphere since the addition of table games. "You wouldn't mistake the casino, which opened last June and introduced live table games on…

• Photos (1)

Merriweather's 2013 Sweetlife Festival Coming Soon

Bands this year include Phoenix, Passion Pit, Kendrick Lamar, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Gary Clark Jr.

You know spring is in full swing when concert lineups for Merriweather Post Pavilion start to come out. Coming May 11: Sweetlife Festival. Broken up into two stages, the bands are mostly indie or alternative rockers, but the lineup also includes rapper Kendrick Lamar and electronic violinist Lindsey Stirling. Main Stage: Phoenix, Passion Pit, Kendrick Lamar, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Gary Clark Jr., Solange, Lindsey Stirling Treehouse Stage: Holy Ghost!, Youth Lagoon, Haerts, Robert Delong, MsMr, Twenty|One|Pilots Ticket prices are $75 for lawn seats, pavilion tickets are $95 and VIP tickets go for $150. Tickets are available on Ticketfly. Last year, the festival featured Avicii, Kid Cudi and the Shins. In a review of last year's concert, a …

• Videos (1)

PHOTOS: Student Artwork on Display at Columbia Mall

Patch photographed some of the best examples of student artwork on display at the Columbia Mall.

The spring art exhibition featuring local student artists opened at the Mall in Columbia Wednesday night. Following a tradition began last year, Patch went out and photographed some of the more eye-popping student artwork for the gallery above. The exhibit features work from all Howard County Schools spread over two levels inside the mall. This is the 41st year the mall has hosted the student art exhibit. From The Mall in Columbia: Each year, teachers chose approximately 30-40 students from their school to represent a cross-section of the arts curriculum, as well as all levels of artistic ability. The event features over 3,000 works of art from 72 Howard County Public Schools; mediums consist of drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, …

• Photos (68)

Pink Rabbit's Ride at Elkridge Library Ends (Updated)

A new sculpture will replace the "Pink Rabbit."

Update: Due to potential thunderstorms on Friday, the Elkridge library has announced that the unveiling of "Continuum" will take place on April 26. - After a yearlong run at the Elkridge library, the “Pink Rabbit” sculpture has come down. The “Pink Rabbit,” which made its debut along Route 1 south of Rowanberry Drive on April 2, 2012, will move to another exhibit in Colorado with artists Trisha Kyner and David Friedheim. This means the Howard County Arts Council will replace the previous sculpture with a new one. Replacing “Pink Rabbit” will be a sculpture from North Carolina-based artist Jodi Hollnagel-Jubran. The sculpture, named "Continuum," will be unveiled Friday at the Elkridge library. “It’s more abstract, said Beth Forbes, the …

•  8 Comments
• Photos (1)

Elkridge Woman Named Preservationist of the Year

Preservation Howard County presented Cathy Hudson of Lawyers Hill with award.

Lawyers Hill resident Cathy Hudson has been named Preservationist of the Year by Preservation Howard County, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting the county's historic sites. Hudson was recognized for "her continued advocacy for preservation,” said Fred Dorsey, president of Preservation Howard County. He noted Hudson's dedication to the following causes in Elkridge:  Other Preservationist of the Year recipients for 2012 included Kit Valentine, past president of Patapsco Heritage Greenway; and Rev. Galen Menne and Helen Rushing, who founded the Savage Historical Society. “Each recipient offers inspiration to all Howard County residents to appreciate and care for our local history and heritage,” said Dorsey in a statement.  Those who know …

•  9 Comments
• Photos (2)

Underage Drinking in Spotlight at Howard County Student Film Festival

The festival is to be held Friday March, 22.

Want to know what high school students think about underage drinking? You can have your chance at the Howard County Student Film Festival, scheduled for Friday March 22 at 7:30 p.m. at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab Kossiakoff Center, 11100 Johns Hopkins Road in Laurel. This year, the Howard County Student Film Festival is teaming up with HC Drug Free, an organization in Howard County that promotes an alcohol and drug-free environment for youth. As a result, the festival has a new public service announcement category. Participants in that category are asked to create a 30 to 90 second public service announcement focused on underage drinking. Filmmakers in all categories must be Howard County high school students. An ice cream social…

• Photos (1)

Now Open: Registration for Spring Classes at the Arts Counci

Looking to learn a new skill? Hone a seasoned one? Why not take a class at the Howard County Arts Council?

Where to Watch an Academy Award-Nominated Film in Elkridge

Type in your ZIP code to the Moviefone finder to find the latest showtimes around Elkridge.

Want to know what the Oscars will look like this year? We've got a rundown of all the 2013 Oscar nominations below.  Want to know what Academy Award-nominated films are playing near Elkridge? Check out the Moviefone finder above and type in your zip code to find the latest showtimes in the area. As for this year's awards, director Steven Spielberg's historical drama "Lincoln" earned a leading 12 nominations Thursday for the 85th Annual Academy Awards, followed by Ang Lee's "Life of Pi" with 11, while the musical, "Les Miserables," directed by Tom Hooper, and David O. Russell's "Silver Linings Playbook" tied with 8 nods each. "Lincoln" was nominated for best picture and gave Spielberg his eighth best director nomination. A win would be his …

• Photos (1)

Grammy Winners Fun. Coming to Merriweather

Also, Grammy nominees The Lumineers will play the following weekend.

  Hot off their Best New Artist win at the Grammy Awards on Sunday night, Fun. recently announced a live performance July 20 at Merriweather Post Pavilion. The indie rock band from New York City also won the Song of the Year Grammy for their catchy hit "We Are Young." At the Grammys, Fun.'s Nate Ruess, 30, joked, "I don't know what I was thinking writing the chorus for this song. If this is in HD, everybody can see our faces, and we are not very young," as the band accepted the award for Song of the Year. Tickets for Fun. go on sale on Friday at 10 a.m. on Ticketfly. Tickets are $35 - $45. Also scheduling a summer concert at Merriweather this year is The Lumineers, a folk band out of Denver, that broke out in 2012 with their self-titled …

• Photos (1)

Brian McKnight Among Performers at Rams Head in February

The new center stage at the Maryland Live! casino has revealed the schedule of upcoming performances.

Popular R&B singer Brian McKnight will be among those performing at the new Rams Head Center Stage in February.  The concert stage at Maryland Live! will have shows nearly every night of the week, including live karaoke on Sundays and tribute bands every Thursday.  Tribute bands in February will include "Girls Girls Girls," an all-female Motley Crue tribute band; "Who's Bad," a tribute group to Michael Jackson; and "Several Species" a band modeled after Pink Floyd.  Brian McKnight will perform two shows on Valentine's Day (7 and 9:30 p.m.) and tickets are $50. For the full Rams Head performance schedule, go to marylandlivecasino.com.

• Photos (1)