04-11-2024 Howard Magazine - Flipbook - Page 14
HIGHLIGHT
BY ALLANA HAYNES Howard Magazine
Visitors splash glow paint across a canvas in a black light room to create an art piece to take home. Following the paint session, visitors can
participate in a paint fight using paint-filled pistols and squirt guns. PHOTOS COURTESY OF AXGARD
Find your inner artist
Create a masterpiece while having fun with paint in splatter room at AxGard
After being medically retired from the army after 13
years, Mike Mcgraw, 31, was in search of a new venture.
Interested in working for himself, he and his wife,
Amanda, looked into starting an ax-throwing business
where he could use his military training to coach everyday
people.
Started as a mobile ax-throwing business where they
traveled to events in a trailer, the couple saved up enough
money to open a permanent location on Main Street in Old
Ellicott City.
AxGard opened in October 2020 and the couple started
the business to bring family-friendly activities to Main
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| Spring 2024 | howardmagazine.com
Street. Frequenting the area in the past, they wanted to
offer new experiences to residents and visitors.
“We used to come [to Old Ellicott City] all the time
with friends before we even opened the business and
we really liked the community and the feel of the small
historic town,” Amanda said. “We’ve really wanted to bring
something to Ellicott City like an activity because they’ve
got all of the little shops and restaurants, but there wasn’t
really much to do activity-wise, so we wanted to bring that
to town.”
AxGard features ax-throwing activities suitable for
children ages 13 and up and adults of all ages, according to