RespectFest to Take Place This Sunday, April 7

Montgomery County has announced that its annual RespectFest event will take place on Sunday, April 7 in Wheaton.

Per the news release: “RespectFest,” is a program featuring online activities and an in-person event from 1-4 p.m. on Sunday, April 7, at the Wheaton Community Recreation Center to celebrate healthy relationships among young people and raise awareness about unhealthy and abusive ones. The program will be hosted by the Montgomery County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council.

The festival on April 7 is open to middle and high school students, their parents and youth-serving providers. It will include free food, performances, yoga, a resource fair, prizes, games and activities. There will be content booths where students can participate in activities related to dating violence prevention and intervention.

The winners of the Council’s 2024 RespectFest video contest will be announced during the event.

Up to eight Student Service Learning (SSL) hours are available to Montgomery County Public School students for participating in the virtual and in-person activities.

More information, including all workshop registrations and a list of all activities, about RespectFest is available at https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/fjc/chooserespect/RespectFest.html.

The schedule of virtual events will include:

• Tuesday, April 2. 6:30-7:30 p.m. Healthy and Unhealthy Relationships for Middle School.
• Monday, April 8. 6:30-7:30 p.m. Consent for High School Students
• Wednesday, April 10. 6:30-7:30 p.m. Bystander Intervention for High School Students

In addition, there will also be online activities that students can do on their own.

Co-sponsors of the event, along with the Domestic Violence Coordinating Council are the Sheriff’s Office, the State’s Attorney’s Office for Montgomery County, the Commission for Women, County Police and Montgomery County Public Schools.