Held for the first time this year was the "BBQ Fest with Live Band," held at Memorial Park, which received enthusiastic attendance on July 21.

The event featured barbecue dinners prepared by members of the Taneytown Fire Department, as well as drinks and food offered by the Taneytown Lions Club and Gunner's Grille, a casual dining eatery located at 5525 Taneytown Pike.

Live entertainment was provided by the four-man Nautical Wheelers, billed as "Maryland‘s #1 beach party band."

Hundreds of attendees packed the events, many lugging their own lawn chairs for a seat on the park tarmac.

Nancy McCormick, Taneytown economic development director, said, "We had about 600 (attendees), easily. They started coming about 6 to 6:30 p.m. and included people of all different ages, young kids, older people."

McCormick stated that the fire company "started running out of food. They ran out of ribs and chickens around 7 p.m. We didn’t know what we were going to have. We couldn’t tell them if it was going to be 50 or 500 people."

"The band played to the audience and performed little bit of everything," she said. The group played until after 9 p.m., having begun around 5 p.m.

"This is the first time we have had something like this in a long time," McCormick said. "We played this up pretty big. I even got a call from a lady in Hagerstown seeking information to come."

Events coming up in August include the Community Yard Sale, also a first-time event.

Residents and business will be able to hold their own yard sales in their yards or along the sidewalks on August 18 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and no permit is required (Taneytown does not have a yard sale permit in any event).

"This is something new too," McCormick stated. "We’re just trying to get people in town. We have no idea what the predication will be."

Continuing events include the Taneytown Farmers Market held on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon. The market runs from Memorial Day through Labor Day and is held at the Memorial Park.

"The farmers has been going well and has had a fairly decent turnout," McCormick stated. She noted there are generally between six to nine vendors setting up offering a range of goods including vegetables and fruit, herbs, soaps, eggs, flowers and jewelry.

The market features live entertainment, and has breakfast sandwiches available for early attendees.

Also continuing is Taneytown’s "Movie in the Park" which normally occurs every third Saturday unless there is a conflict with another event, according to Bob Mitchell, Taneytown parks and recreation director.

McCormick stated, "We wanted to provide something for families to do at no cost."

Attendees are encouraged to bring their own blanket or lawn chair. Snacks are available during the movie at the FSK concession stand.

McCormick said with road and sidewalk work finally done, the town is now focusing on getting more people to visit Taneytown through offering an array of events.

For the latest list of scheduled events, visit the Taneytown web site at taneytown.org and click on "Find and Event."