Howard County Maryland Visitor Guide 2021 - Magazine - Page 15
MERRIWEATHER POST PAVILION
THE COLUMBIA
ORCHESTRA AT
THE CHRYSALIS
A
Columbia
STAPLE
Performing Arts
FOR OVER
40 YEARS
TAKE CENTER STAGE IN HOWARD COUNTY
THE COLORBURST PARK
Performing arts
take center stage in
Howard County.
On any given night, you could
jam with your favorite rock band,
laugh out loud at a comedy show,
experience an award-winning
Broadway performance, or enjoy
a symphony orchestra concert.
If visual art is more your style, visit
one of the county’s many galleries
to find inspiring works of art by
local and regional talent.
One of the country’s most
recognizable concert venues,
Merriweather Post Pavilion,
features a diverse range of artists
and events each year, from
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Howard County, Maryland Visitor Guide
IT’S Showtime!
Center
STAGE
rock and pop, to country and
classical. With more than 50 years’
worth of concerts under its belt,
Merriweather has hosted acts like
Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and
Led Zeppelin, to name a few.
Just outside of Merriweather
Post Pavilion is the Chrysalis
at Merriweather Park.
This 5,000-square-foot, open-air
concert stage is hard to miss,
with its 60-feet high, bright
green canopy. The venue hosts
concerts and community events
during the warmer months.
For a classical experience,
the Columbia Orchestra
presents symphony orchestra
performances, chamber concerts,
and jazz music each season.
Both of these venues are located
within Symphony Woods, a 40acre lot of preserved land in the
heart of Columbia. In nearby Color
Burst Park, the Summer Series
features fresh and bold musical acts
all summer long, including reggae,
roots, rock, and more.
For the fine art enthusiast,
The Artist’s Gallery in Ellicott City
showcases the work of local artists
in an effort to combine creativity
and community. If you prefer
poetry, Busboys and Poets in
Columbia is the place for you.
Not only does it serve great plates
of wholesome food but is also
a cultural hub for artists, writers,
activists, and poets.
Celebrate Howard County’s art
culture with festivals that embrace
the artist in us all. Capital Jazz Fest,
an outdoor music festival, brings a
weekend of cool jazz and soul to
the area in June, while the Main
Street Music Festival showcases
local and regional indie artists in the
fall. Artists are invited to participate
in Paint It: Ellicott City, a juried
plein air paint-out, and movie
buffs will love the independent
films on display at the Lakefront
Film Festival in Columbia.
To top it all off, the Columbia
Festival of the Arts celebrates
a broad spectrum of art forms,
entertainment, and culture with
a two-week celebration each year.
Ask anyone who lives in or
has visited Howard County
what their number one
recommendation is for a visitor,
and more often than not,
they’ll tell you to see a show
at Toby’s Dinner Theatre.
Toby’s has been a staple of
the Columbia community for
more than 40 years, presenting
award-winning Broadway and
original musicals, accompanied
by an exceptional buffet-style
dinner. Toby Orenstein herself
has been a respected leader
in the local entertainment
industry and has been a lifelong
advocate for the arts.
When Toby moved to Maryland
in the 1960s, she was shocked
by the lack of arts and
entertainment the area offered.
It was a stark contrast to her
upbringing in New York, so she
made it her mission to create
opportunities in the arts. And
create opportunities she did.
She founded the Columbia
Center for Theatrical Arts, the
Young Columbians, and, of
course, Toby’s Dinner Theatre,
which hosts more than 140,000
patrons each year. The Theatre
in the Round presents five
or six shows a year, including
children’s performances,
nationally recognized shows,
and original musicals. Since
opening, they’ve produced
more than 200 shows and
received more than 100 Helen
Hayes Award nominations.
Toby is impressed with the
strides that the arts and
entertainment industry has
made in Howard County since
she arrived in the area.
More venues pop up each
year, creating further
opportunities for local,
regional, and national acts
to perform. And whether those
venues are local restaurants
that host open mic nights
and poetry readings, or largescale performance arts centers,
like the Cultural Arts Center
that Toby is helping to bring
to Columbia, they all contribute
to the cultural fabric of Howard
County and create remarkable
entertainment opportunities
for the community.
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