Howard County Datebook

Sheep, wool // The 35th annual Sheep and Wool Festival, featuring farmers from around the country, crafts and artisans, contests, demonstrations, musicians, more than 250 vendors, 1,000 sheep, and goats, rabbits, and other creatures, will continue from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Howard County Fairgrounds in West Friendship. Sheep-dog herding and sheep-shearing demonstrations are highlights. Food (including mutton) is available. Admission is free. Directions: 410-442-1022.

Tasty weed // The Friends of the Patapsco Valley and Heritage Greenway will sponsor their ninth annual Garlic Mustard Challenge from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Avalon and Glen Artney areas of Patapsco Valley State Park. Teams of volunteers will pull garlic mustard, an invasive plant that is crowding out native wildflowers, and participate in a "cook's challenge," in which amateur chefs compete to create tasty dishes using the weed. Music, games for children, environmental displays and prizes are also planned. Registration is at Pavilion 66 in the Glen Artney area of the park. www.patapscoheritagegreenway.org.

Spring dance // Kinetics Dance Theatre of Ellicott City will present its spring concert, Helix, at 4 p.m. at the Baltimore Museum of Art. Tickets are $15; $5 for children to age 11. A 1:30 p.m. matinee of a family show, Carnival of the Animals, includes a costumed menagerie of dancing animals. Tickets are $5. 410-480-1686. Or visit www.kineticsdance.org.

Student concerts // The Howard Community College music department will present Student Concert Week, starting today with a performance by the Howard Community College Singers at 7:30 p.m. in the John G. Monteabaro Recital Hall, in the college's Peter and Elizabeth Horowitz Visual and Performing Arts Center, 10901 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia. The college Jazz Ensemble will perform at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow. The concerts continue nightly through Thursday. Admission is $5. A free "Spotlight Concert" by faculty clarinetist Jane Winer, cellist Yoon Nah Cho and pianist Hsien-Ann Meng is planned for 7:30 p.m. Friday at the same location. 410-772-4914.

Community talk // "On the Horizon," conversations on health and community issues with Richard M. Krieg, president and chief executive officer of the Horizon Foundation, airs on Gtv, Comcast Channel 70 and Verizon Channel 44, at 11 a.m. and 10 p.m. Mondays, 11 a.m. and 9 p.m. Wednesdays, 8 p.m. Fridays and 11 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays. This month's topic is "Science, Technology, Engineering & Math: The Nation's Future Depends On It." 410-715-0311.

Columbia TV // Columbia Matters, the Columbia Association cable television show, is on Howard Community College cable channel 71 and Verizon cable channel 41 at 11 a.m., 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. Mondays, and 8:30 p.m. Saturdays; and on Comcast channel 73 at 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. Topic suggestions for future shows are welcome. 410-715-3120.

Senior art // A reception will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. for an exhibition of work by students in senior art classes, sponsored by Howard Community College and the Howard County Office on Aging at the Bain Center. The show will run through May in the lobby of the George Howard Building, 3430 Court House Drive, Ellicott City. 410-465-1681. Directions: 410-313-3000.

Warmer, cooler // Keith Ware of Eco-Green Living in Washington, will speak about improving insulation from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Green Building Institute, 7761 Waterloo Road, Jessup. Admission is free. Reservations are required. 443-733-1234 or visit www.greenbuildinginstitute.org. Eco-Green Living is a one-stop shopping center, stocking environmentally-friendly products from organic clothing to fuel cells.

Chess club // The Parent Resource Place, a program of Jewish Family Services in Howard County and the Jewish Federation of Howard County, is offering a weekly chess club for children ages 5 to 15 from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at Federation offices, Suite 400, Century Plaza 1000, 10630 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia. The club will continue to meet on alternate Tuesdays and Wednesdays through June 4. The cost is $24 a year and includes membership in the U.S. Chess Federation. Everyone is welcome. Helaine Brenner, 410-730-4976, ext. 118 or visit www.jparents.com.

Mortgages // Staff members from Provident Bank will present "Choose the Right Home Mortgage for You" at 7 p.m. at the Central Library, 10375 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia. Registration is required. 410-313-7850.

Marvelous movie // Slayton House Theatre in the Wilde Lake Village Center, Columbia, will continue its 16th season of "Marvelous Movies and More" with a showing of The Searcher at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Film critic Mike Giuliano will lead a short discussion after the screening. Dessert and coffee will be served. Tickets are $7; $6 for seniors and students. Raffle prizes will be offered. A senior events shuttle is available for those who need transportation. The series is sponsored by the Wilde Lake Community Association. 410-730-3987.

'Child' // Howard Community College's Student Arts Collective will present The Child Behind the Curtain, an original interactive production that travels through mythic and material worlds, through May 11 in the Studio Theatre (formerly the black box theatre) in the college's Peter and Elizabeth Horowitz Visual and Performing Arts Center, 10901 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia. Performances are at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are $15; $12 for seniors and groups. Students pay $10. 410-772-4515. Tickets: 410-772-4900, ext. 0. Or visit www.howardcc.edu/studentarts.

Ghost tours // Howard County Tourism is offering Friday and Saturday night ghost tours in Ellicott City at 8:30 p.m. Re-enactors tell stories from the history of the old mill town. Admission is $10 for adults; $8 for children and those ages 65 and older, and active military personnel. For a full schedule: www.visithowardcounty.com, or call 410-313-1900. The tours will run through November.

Lace makers // Members of the Chesapeake Lace Makers guild will demonstrate their craft and discuss its history from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 10 at the Thomas Isaac Log Cabin, at Main Street and Ellicott Mills Drive, Ellicott City. Visitors can try to make their own lace. Admission is free. 410-465-8500.

'Three Phantoms' // Three Broadway stars of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera -- Cris Groenendaal, Craig Schulman and Kevin Gray -- will perform at 6:30 p.m. May 19 at Toby's dinner Theatre of Baltimore in a benefit for The Columbia Center for Theatrical Arts (CCTA), a theater arts program for children, founded by Toby Orenstein in 1972. Tickets are $75. Toby's in Baltimore is at 5625 O'Donnell Street. 410-381-0700 or e-mail, info@CCTArts.com.

• ACCOUNTING

• DENTIST - GENERAL

• DENTIST

• FRONT DESK

• ELECTRICIAN

• View all Top Jobs