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🍦Summer Concerts Roundup

🍦Summer Concerts Roundup

Where to Pick Crabs, BOE passes budget, Composting Made Easy...

Naptown Scoop
June 20, 2025

Good morning, Annapolis. Thanks to everyone who completed our audience demographics survey. As promised, two of you are winning $150 Osteria 177 gift cards. And they are. . .

Erin M
Sean R

Check your emails Erin and Sean. Your cards have already been delivered. Buon appetito!

In today’s Naptown Scoop:

Where to Pick Crabs
BOE passes budget
Composting Made Easy

Let’s get to it.

— Lauren Burke Meyer, Dylan Roche, & Duffy Perkins

THE DIGEST

The biggest stories we covered this week

🛍️ JCPenney is closing for real this time at Annapolis Mall. It will be replaced by Hobby Lobby, Onelife Fitness, and Grocery Outlet.

🪕 The Baygrass Festival revealed the lineup for the September 20–21 festival at Sandy Point State Park. It’s headlined by Greensky Bluegrass, Molly Tuttle, and features over a dozen more bands.

🏠 With the Mireles family officially closing on their home, Annapolis Hope has come to a successful end.

🧮 Anne Arundel County Council approved the $2.4 billion FY26 budget. Elsewhere, county councilman Pete Smith entered the County Executive race.

Most clicked stories of the week 🏆

Monday: Save the Date: Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse Anniversary 🛟
Tuesday: June 2025 Anne Arundel County At A Glance
Wednesday: Annapolis Town Center’s Fourth Fridays Concert Series
Thursday: Dollars and Sense: breaking down the Annapolis City budget

Matt Foreman breaks statewide fishing record 🎣

If you’ve ever seen a Chesapeake channa, AKA northern snakehead, they look like something out of a monster movie — which is why we’re pretty freaked out that Crownsville angler Matt Foreman reeled in a 21.8-pounder! As it turns out, that’s a state record, according to DNR. This is the biggest invasive fish (surpassing the previous record of a 21-pound channa) ever caught, and Matt caught it on June 7 while bowfishing in the Susquehanna River below the Conowingo Dam.

🔎 Fun fact: Channa are popular targets of sportfishers because invasive fish don’t have a season or limit — you’re free to catch as many as you want. And they’re tasty as heck.

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LOCAL BUSINESS

Where to Pick Crabs 🦀

The best crab-picking spot in our area can be touchy for some. It might even make debaters, well . . . crabby. That’s why we say, the more the merrier.

Cantler’s Riverside Inn | 458 Forest Beach Road | There’s a reason people wait hours for a table here. Tucked away on the tranquil waters of Mill Creek, some call Cantler’s the GOAT of crab cracking. Why? For four decades, they’ve served hot, fresh crabs and other seafood favorites.

Mike’s Restaurant & Crab House | 3030 Riva Road | Mike’s gives Cantler’s a run for its money in longevity — serving seafood with a view since 1958. Bonus, they have multiple locations.

The Point | 700 Mill Creek Road | The beauty of The Point is its crowd-pleasing menu. It’s great for out-of-towners who say they’re game for crab picking but change their tune once they learn dinner requires effort.

The Choptank | 110 Compromise Street | This may be the new kid on the block, but don’t write it off. It’s the see-and-be-seen crab spot along Ego Alley.

Nothing in this section is sponsored. They're just the things you need to know. I'll always let you know when something's sponsored.

WHAT’S HAPPENIN’

What we’re up to this weekend

Summer vibes only. 😎

FRIDAY

🍋🍓 Rams Head Tavern Cheers to Summer Party Kick off the official first day of summer with fruity drink specials on the patio in DTA. Live music from 3–9 PM.

🚐 Food Truck Friday Fact: food tastes better from a truck. Start your weekend with flavor at 275 Harry S. Truman Pkwy from 4–8 PM. All your tasty buds are coming! 🍕🌮🍦

SATURDAY

✊🏾 Juneteenth Parade and Festival Parade starts at 11 AM at St. John’s College. Festival runs 2–10 PM at Anne Arundel County Fairgrounds with games, live performances, exhibits, vendors, a Children’s Village, and fireworks at 9:15 PM. 🎇

🍳☕️ Wildberry Field Market THE place to be for farm-fresh eggs, coffee, and shopping local small businesses. 9 AM to noon. 1047 St Stephens Church Rd

🌼📽️ Spring Into Summer Festival + Outdoor movie night Summer nights are better at ATC’s Boathouse Pavilion with free, family fun (crafts, lawn games, face painting, and treats). Festival starts at 5 PM; The Parent Trap (1998 version) hits the screen at 7:30 PM. BYO chair or blanket.

SUNDAY

✊🏾 Juneteenth Festival Last chance to celebrate, 2–8 PM, Anne Arundel County Fairgrounds.

Learn to compost and get a 🆓 bin

Ready to get excited over worm casings? Start conversations with, “What’s your soil pH?” Wanna join the cool kids in learning how banana peels are absolute garden gold? If so, come down to the Wildwood Trail at Quiet Waters Park on Saturday morning for a composting demonstration from Anne Arundel Master Gardeners.

They’ll show you how to turn household scraps into incredibly rich soil. You don’t need to be a gardener to get involved: composting is great for any yard and minimizes landfill contributions by up to 30%. And best of all: attendees receive a free compost bin. More demonstrations are scheduled throughout the year. 10 AM in Quiet Waters Park.

Summer concerts at Goshen Farms 🎶

‘Tis the season for outdoor concerts, and the latest group to announce their series is the Goshen Farm Preservation Society. Their Free Friday Night Concert Series starts tonight with bands Cape Tree at 6:30 PM and Up to 11 at 7:40 PM at Goshen Farms — 1420 Cape St. Claire Road, Annapolis 21409. Two concerts per month are planned June, July, and August, plus one the first weekend of September.

P.S. Looking for more outdoor concert series? Check this out!

Nothing in this section is sponsored. They're just the things you need to know. I'll always let you know when something's sponsored.

CIVIL NEWS

BOE passes budget ⚖️

It’s official: The Board of Education has a budget for FY2026. A $1.78 billion operating budget and $196.5 million capital budget were passed by unanimous vote. That’s $93.2 million more than last year’s budget, which will let AACPS add 65 new positions, including special education and English Language Development teachers. The budget also includes pay raises and capital projects like the final phase of the Old Mill Master Plan and pre-K/kindergarten additions throughout the county. The budget goes into effect July 1.

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WEATHER

Friday

84 🌡️ 71 | 🌤️ | 5% | 💨 W 10 mph (9 knots)

Saturday

88 🌡️ 74 | 🌤️ | 4% | 💨 S 9 mph (8 knots)

Sunday

91 🌡️ 78 | ⛅ | 3% | 💨 SSW 9 mph (8 knots)

💧🌡️ Water temperature = 77ºF
Temperature readings taken from the mouth of the Severn River the night before publication

LIVE MUSIC LOWDOWN

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

THANKS!

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