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From the Burgess

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Woodsboro

Burgess Heath Barnes

Wow, this year has flown by! My hope is that each of you had a safe and happy Thanksgiving and took the opportunity to give thanks with your family and friends.

Back on October 17, Woodsboro held its first annual music festival in conjunction with Woodsboro Days, which is traditionally the third weekend in October, annually. The event was a great success, with several hundred in attendance for the family-friendly day in the park that included vendors, food trucks, and bands that played on the newly constructed permanent stage. Be on the lookout for announcements early next year for a spring/summer event to be held on the new stage as well. During the weekend, town residents and churches set up yard sales, and the Woodsboro Historical Society’s museum at the train station was open to visitors. Their annual 5K run/walk fundraiser also had a record number of participants. The weekend was an overall success in so many ways, and I am looking forward to next year’s festivities already. Mark your calendars now to attend next year’s Woodsboro Days on October 15-16, 2022.

At the November 9 town meeting, several items were discussed, including plans for a town hall that will be built on South Main Street on a lot the town purchased in 2018. The engineer and architect said he would deliver the final plans by November 22. The town council made a few changes last month to the original plans that delayed delivery, including the removal of a full basement intended for record storage. An attic with an open room was added instead. I am excited about the process. If all goes well with the approval of the new plans, we can have them submitted to the county soil conservation division for approval by the end of the year. My goal is to have shovels in the ground by early spring once the ground thaws from winter.

The American Rescue Plan funds the town received will help immensely in repairing and replacing several infrastructure items related to the town’s water and sewer systems. The council will vote on several of these items at the December meeting and how funds will be used in accordance with the plan’s spending guidelines.

The town is looking to fill committee seats, including those on the Planning & Zoning Committee and Board of Appeals Committee. We have some potential annexation requests coming up, so it’s very important that we fill these committee seats ASAP. If you would be interested in volunteering your time and live within the Woodsboro town limits, please attend a meeting or reach out to myself or the town office to express your interest.

The town has a few activities scheduled to celebrate the Christmas holiday season, and I invite you to attend. Check the Community Calendar in the back of this issue for these family-fun holiday events.

 I would also encourage everyone to support Glade Valley Community Services (GVCS) Holiday Toy Shoppe toy collection to make sure children in our community have a toy under the tree. For more information, please contact GVCS by email at gvcs.inc@verizon.net or call 301-845-0213.

I would like to wish each of you a Merry Christmas, a happy holiday season, and a blessed New Year. After the last two years and what everyone has been through, let’s hope and pray that 2022 is much better.

If you have any questions, concerns, complaints, or compliments, please feel free to reach out to me at hbarnes@woodsboro.org or at 301-401-7164.

Woodsboro town meetings are held on the second Tuesday of each month at 7:00 pm. The current location for meetings is the St. Johns United Church of Christ, located at 8 N. Second Street in Woodsboro. The public is always invited to attend.

Woodsboro Music Festival Held

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Woodsboro Days was revived in 2013 and marked the first time in approximately 25 years that a town-wide celebration had been held. Woodsboro Days was revived as a 5K-run fundraiser for the Woodsboro Historical Society, held on the third Saturday of October each year, which this year fell on October 16, 2021. Over the years, the event quickly expanded into town-wide yard sales, with an annual large yard sale and food sale at the Woodsboro Evangelical Lutheran Church. In 2020, the event had to be canceled due to the pandemic. But this year, it was back and bigger than ever.

On Friday, October 15, the weather looked bleak for Saturday in the afternoon, so the decision was made by Burgess Barnes to postpone the music festival until October 17, which turned out to be a great decision all around. The 5K went off great, with a record number of 46 runners competing, and the Historical Society raised a record-breaking amount of funds to fund the museum’s operations for the next year. The town and churches yard sales had a great turnout and the town was bustling.

Shortly after Heath Barnes was elected as Burgess, he and Commissioner Dana Crum were approached by new resident, Joe Williams, regarding having a music festival in the park. After discussion, it was decided that it would coincide with the Woodsboro Days and would take place in the afternoon of October 16 after the yard sales and 5K were finished.

For the music festival on October 17, there were over 20 vendors and/or organizations set up with tents in the park, along with a beer and wine garden by Links Bridge Winery and Rockwell Brewery, and Calypso N’ Roux as the food truck on-site. The event began with Burgess Barnes, Commissioners Eckenrode and Cutshall, and maintenance men Mike and Steve cutting a ribbon to officially open the stage/bandshell (pictured above). Charity J opened with the national anthem. Due to the success of the weekend event, it has been decided that going forward, Woodsboro Days will not be a one-day event, but rather a two-day annual event, which will continue to take place on the third weekend of October.

The event was a great success for the community. Burgess Barnes said the roof will be completed in the next few weeks and invites the community to be on the lookout for a possible event in the spring. The next Woodsboro Days Festival will be held October 15-16, 2022.