The Wilde Lake Fall Festival, coordinated by the Wilde Lake Community Association, celebrated the beginning of the fall season with a vibrant festival this past Sunday. The event connected people of all ages residing in the Wilde Lake village and neighboring communities of Howard County. Many families and friends gathered at the picturesque Wilde Lake Park to enjoy a festive annual event, which shined light on an abundance of local community resources, businesses, artists, entertainment, food trucks, and more.
As you walked around the festival, you were uplifted by the warmth of smiling, dancing, and conversations. Many attendees had never been to the Wilde Lake Park, which was built in 1967. Many enjoyed the scenic views while some escaped the crowd to enjoy a quieter lunch by the peaceful lake. Steve Shuman, of Travelin’ Tom’s Coffee Truck, was fueled by his quality coffee, as he had three events to attend on Sunday — both before and after the festival. As you walked past the food trucks, you entered into a party with a mix of live performances from students at the Wilde Lake High School and tasteful music from “T.K. The DJ.” Three high school bands — Avenue, Vantage Point, and Subject 37, kicked off the event by performing popular music on the stage followed by the Wilde Lake Step Team shortly after. T.K. The DJ entertained kids of all ages with hula hoop contests and gave away prizes throughout the event.
Since this year’s annual fall celebration was closer to Halloween, attendees were encouraged to Trick-Or-Treat with vendors and come dressed in their costumes. Some of the costumes seen were Tiana, Bowser, Mario, the Very Hungry Caterpillar, Cookie Monster, a tall inflatable dinosaur that could barely fit under the vendor tents, and a sunflower costume with a handmade sunflower hat. Guests knew how to bring their own definition of fun and decided to picnic in the grass, ride unicycles and practice juggling. Other participated by tossing footballs and walking their dogs, while some brought their own fishing rods to enjoy the sport in the Wilde Lake before the colder season approaches.
At this year’s festival, local artists were invited to showcase and sell their artwork, which was an initiative to showcase local talent, as the Wilde Lake Community Association is home to the Bernice Kish Gallery at Slayton House. A few attendees were excited to see the gallery was dedicated to Bernice Kish, who was the former Village Manager for 25 years and a passionate advocate for the arts. Karen Wallace, of Karen Wallace Glass, was one of the artists who was able to attend this year’s festival. Karen has been practicing glass-making since 2000 and enjoys the surprise of opening the kiln and not knowing what beauty awaits to be discovered.
The current Wilde Lake Village Manager and Executive Director, Sharon Cooper-Kerr, was ecstatic about the community engagement, as the past few events carried on during cold, rainy weather. The Wilde Lake Board Members: Tina Horn, Vice Chair, Kondi Walters-Smith and Jean Joklik, Outreach and Engagement Committee Co-Chairs, and Brandon Cogdell, Education Committee Chair, accompanied Sharon Cooper-Kerr at the celebration with smiles as they all connected with the community and danced to the lively music.
Welcome Speech:
Sharon Cooper-Kerr, Wilde Lake Village Manager & Executive Director:
“We’re so excited, it’s sunny, sunny, sunny. Thank you all for being here today. We have a fun day planned for you at Wilde Lake Park…I hope you have a wonderful time here in Vibrant Wilde Lake. We have several vendor tables around and I hope you will go about and enjoy and participate in all the activities we have here: moon bounces, face painting, dancing, games, etc. I want to thank Columbia Association for being our partner in this program today. Also, Bike HoCo for being here as well. We thank them so much for providing the bike corral today and I hope those of you who rode your bike here today are enjoying that. I want to thank my team who have been instrumental in putting this program together. Karly Maroney is our Events Coordinator, thank you, Karly. Here also is Kate Kolorik, Kate is our facility manager. If you all need anything, please come see us at the Wilde Lake tent.”
Jessica Feldmark, Maryland State Delegate:
“Thank you, good afternoon everyone. Thank you to the Wilde Lake Village Board and staff…Thank you for being here and for making Wild Lake such an amazing community. I am honored and privileged to represent this area in the Maryland House of Delegates. But more importantly, I am a proud Wild Lake resident and really just love being a part of this community. And today’s Celebration is part of what makes it so special. So please enjoy and I will be here circulating. So if you want to say hello or if there are any issues you want to discuss, don’t hesitate to come find me. “
Jennifer Mallo, Chair of the Howard County Board of Education:
“Thank you all for coming out. What a vibrant community and a beautiful day. I could not be happier to represent you on the Board of Education as your District 4 representative. Thank you for coming out today and make sure you come over and say hi. Get out and vote! Early voting starts this week.”
Full list of vendors and partners:
Wilde Lake Community Association, Neighborhood Reps, PTA of Running Brook Elementary School, Howard Community College, Columbia Community Care, Wilde Lake Childrens Nursery, Queen Takes Book, Proactive Wellness, Perfect Alignment Realty, Truist Bank, Marg Goodlin, Wilde Lake Resident, New York Life, Karen Wallace Glass, Howard County Offices of Constituent Services, Connecting the Dots, Rebel Roots Essentials, Sam’s Club, The Haint Blue House, Jennifer Kraus, Wilde Lake Resident, Michael Smith, provided free character drawings, P.F. Changs, General Manager, Zathy Ndiang , “Z”, provided free samples and is also the Wilde Lake High School Wrestling Coach and a Wilde Lake resident, T.K.’s Party Entertainment, Peppy Expressions, Face Painting, Doors to Africa, The Taco Joint Food Truck, Namit’s Filipino BBQ, Travelin’ Tom’s Coffee Truck, Howard County Drug Free, JVC Party Rentals, Wilde Lake High School Bands, Wilde Lake Step Team, Bike HoCo, provided free bike corrals, and Columbia Association. For more information about the Wilde Lake Community Association, please visit www.wildelake.org.
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