Summer is upon us and picnic season is in full swing, which means plenty of people are taking advantage of their local parks. For an outdoor experience with stunning scenery, Howard County residents don't have to travel far to get to Centennial Park in Ellicott City. Stretching over 337 acres, the park boasts a walking trail more than two miles long around Centennial Lake, sports fields, picnic pavilions, a restaurant and canoe rentals. See scenes of yoga, fishing and more at Centennial Park in the Scenic Day in the Park photo gallery. Jeremy Fowler, 19, has known the park for years and now …

Fried chicken is a staple of classic American cuisine, and a local couple has been perfecting its homestyle goodness in Columbia for years. Chick-N-Friends at the Long Reach Shopping Center boasts a menu of fried chicken, fish, greens, yams, corn muffins and more. With made-to-order items, this chicken joint is a must for chicken lovers and regular picnic-goers. Rhodney Lloyd,who co-owns the restaurant with his wife, Cassandra, said what sets his business apart from the fast food establishments like KFC and Popeye's is the freshness of the chicken and the quality of the ingredients, which …

Howard County Patch sites have a new project, and we’d like your help. We’re compiling a “bucket list” of things you must do if you are living in, visiting, or just about to move away from Howard County. Get daily and breaking news email updates from Ellicott City Patch by signing up for newsletters here. We figured this was timely since Howard County has recently been tooting its horn as a good tourism destination. If you're not from here, we're talking about the locale between Washington, D.C., and Baltimore that has historic downtown Ellicott City, the Merriweather Post Pavilion in …

Forget what the weatherman says, spring is here and summer can't be far off. Time for ice cream. ScoopAHHHDeeDoo has been serving up scoops for the past week in a new storefront next to Little French Market in the Tongue Row shopping district off of Old Columbia Pike. And on Saturday, April 28, kids can get a free scoop after completing a mask-making tour during the Ellicott City Spring Festival. Owners Kimberly Kepnes and Debbie Kehoe are offering more than 20 flavors of hard ice cream from Taharka Bros, based in Hampden, as well as soft serve and frozen yogurt. "Something for everyone!" …

For more than two decades, Barry Gibson has showered the spring and summer days on Main Street in Ellicott City with thousands of fleeting masterpieces.Gibson has been known by folks in Ellicott City as "the bubble guy" ever since he began showing off his bubble blowing talents in front of the Forget Me Not Factory, the magic-themed shop where he works."It's very soothing. You don't think about anything when you do bubbles," Gibson told Patch.In addition to attracting patrons to the fantastical gift shop, Gibson occasionally uses his hobby to help entertain autistic children with what he …

  Frisco Taphouse & Brewery has more than 50 beers on tap and with the addition of a new micro brewery, owners expect some of those beers to be brewed right in their storefront. On Wednesday, Scott Mills, of Premier Stainless Systems, a brewery equipment company, was installing the new micro brewing setup and explained how each piece is used. Frisco's owner Adam Carton and new brewmaster, Ray Andreassen, who also brews at Ellicott Mills Brewing Company, talked about plans for the new brewery.  At the beginning, said Carton, the plan is to serve craft brews directly from the conditioning tanks…

I’ll go anywhere for cake—parties, meetings, funerals, weddings. I’d even run through a “test chamber” for a slice of cake.I used to think the best local cupcake bakery was in the kiosks at the mall, a place called The Fresh Bakery, and they’re a solid B+.  Then I heard about Kupcakes & Co. in Elkridge. It’s off of 103 in that new plaza near the traffic circle. You’ll have to drive around to the back, and cupcake nirvana is located there. I stopped by on a Saturday before a meeting, and at 10 a.m., there was a line. Who besides me orders cupcakes before lunch? Apparently, a large contingent …

As the days get warmer, the air becomes humid, making Daniel Ropero’s job more difficult. The sky is dark at 7 p.m. in early March, but onlookers leaving Rams Head Tavern in the Savage Mill can hear a blaring stereo and see a busy kitchen in the bakery. On any given night, there might be two to a half dozen cooks mixing, cutting, twisting and dusting their masterpieces in flour. Until 2 a.m., they will bake the bread for both the Savage and Fells Point locations of Bonaparte Breads, and for dozens of caterers and other restaurants. Five evenings a week Daniel drives from his home in Rockville…