Montgomery Parks Announces March Special Events For The Whole Family

Montgomery Parks, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, announces its March line-up of special events. March will be an exciting month with activities for the whole family. Join us for Acoustics and Ales at Acorn Urban Park, as well as the Parks Ale Trail at Lake Needwood.

These two festive celebrations boast craft brews, food, and live music. There will also be opportunities to learn how to RainScape Your Yard along with Garden Day, where you will be able to pick up information about invasive and native plants, pollinators, and gardening for wildlife. Lastly, imagine yourself as a majestic bird and complete The Great Migration Challenge and make a craft to help birds in your neighborhood.

Update: The Wings of Fancy Live Butterfly & Caterpillar Exhibit at Brookside Gardens will be cancelled again this year due to health and safety concerns related to COVID-19. We encourage you to take the opportunity this summer to visit Brookside Gardens outdoor butterfly garden and sharpen your observation skills and learn about local butterfly species. You can enjoy butterflies in your own garden or in many nearby public places, too.

March Events at Montgomery Parks Include:

RainScape Your Yard – Sessions I, II, III – Session I: Rethinking Your Yard | Thursday, March 3| Brookside Gardens

Join the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. for Session I: Rethinking Your Yard. Session II be held Thursday, March 17 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., and Session III will be Thursday, March 31 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. These three sessions are intended to help homeowners create a RainScape design plan. Session I: The first step to planning a RainScape project is to evaluate your site and determine what project(s) are both possible and desirable for you. Learn how to look for places to soak up water on your site, what projects fit where, and how big they need to be. This class is a recommended prerequisite to the Stormwater Solutions and the Plants and Planting Design classes. Intended for ages 18+. Fee $12 for each session. Register using Active Montgomery PBG0015-100001.

Acoustics and Ales | Friday, March 4 | Acorn Urban Park

Warm-up from the inside out at Montgomery Parks’ Acoustics and Ales winter happy hour at Acorn Urban Park, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Enjoy Craft Beer from Silver Branch Brewing, delicious food from Big Greek Food Truck, and musical guest Ted Garber. A representative from Montgomery Energy Connection will be tabling at this event to provide residents with an opportunity to swap out their old incandescent and compact fluorescent bulbs for energy-efficient LEDs. Switching to LEDs helps lower your utility costs and keeps money in your pocket so you can buy more ale and food at our events!

The Great Migration Challenge | Sunday, March 6 | Maydale Nature Classroom

Migrating birds face a lot of obstacles! Join us from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. to learn about some of the challenges, as you pretend that you are a bird on your journey north in our Great Migration Challenge game! Then we will return to the Nature Classroom and make a craft to help birds in your neighborhood! Intended for ages 3 to 12. Fee $3. Register using ActiveMontgomery.

Parks Ale Trail  | Saturday, March 12 | Lake Needwood Trails

St. Patrick’s Day is upon us, so celebrate outdoors with a good local beer at our Parks Ale Trail! On Saturday, March 12, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., start your celebrations at the Hiker-Biker trail parking lot at Lake Needwood, Rock Creek Regional Park. True Respite Brewing will offer various beers for purchase, both at the main event area AND as a refuel option at the halfway point of the hike! Spend the rest of the afternoon dancing to live music from Capital Effect. Additional food and non-alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase from O’Boy Pizza & Ice Cream.

Garden Day | Saturday, March 19 | Black Hill Visitor Center

Discover the joys and benefits of gardening! Drop by the Visitor Center from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. to ask questions about gardening and get your Gardening Info Pack about invasive and native plants, pollinators, and gardening for wildlife. Included will be a take-home activity for kids. Register using Active Montgomery for this FREE program so that we can prepare enough Gardening Info Packs (one per family). PBHVC0005-100001

Visit the Spring 2022 Montgomery Parks Program Guide to view a complete list of special events and programming, as well as how to sign up using Active Montgomery.