The Ninth Annual Harvest Moon Festival, which is a free, multicultural event of arts, entertainment and exhibitors, will be held on Veterans Plaza in Silver Spring from 1-7 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 25. The celebration will have music and activities for all ages.
Veterans Plaza is located at One Veterans Place, adjacent to the Silver Spring Civic Building. The activities schedule for the festival will include:
Per Montgomery County: The Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services (DPS) is reminding homeowners with septic systems about the importance of proper maintenance as the County recognizes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 10th anniversary of “Septic Smart Week” from Sept. 19-23.
A properly installed and operated septic system treats wastewater from a home (toilets, sinks, showers, baths, washing machines and dishwashing machines) and returns it to the groundwater.
Hallie, Tyler, and Ben Butler (of Butler’s Orchard) have announced that they’ve purchased neighboring Doc Waters Cidery from their aunt Susan Butler and her husband Washington White. Per the announcement, made earlier this week via social media, the Butlers are “committed to continuing and expanding the dream that Susan and Wash had for the Cidery and Orchard.”
The Cidery, which has been open around the corner from Butler’s Orchard in Germantown since 2018, features food trucks, live music, cider made on site, and more. The full statement can be seen below:
The “Summer Reading Challenge” held by Montgomery County Public Libraries (MCPL) had an enthusiastic participation level of 12,958 students ages 17-and-under. This summer’s program, under the theme of “Oceans of Possibilities,” was conducted in partnership with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF), the Washington Nationals and the Friends of the Library Montgomery County (FOLMC).
The Summer Reading Challenge began on June 15, just as schools were concluding for the 2021-22 school year. In addition to encouraging students to read during the summer, the program had the additional goal of contributing to the “Save the Chesapeake Bay” efforts.
Ella Bresee, the younger sister of Clemson football star and former Damascus High School standout Bryan Bresee, died after a battle with an aggressive form of brain cancer, her family announced on Thursday.
Bryan Bresee posted the following message on Instagram on Thursday, “My beautiful sister Ella you amazed me every single day with the fight that you put up and how joyful you were constantly through this battle. Never did I think I would be sitting here today saying bye to you. I want to thank you for bringing happiness to not only me but so many people. You are the best sister a brother could ask for and I know for a fact heaven has gained a beautiful angel today, Love you forever and always Ella bear.❤️”
Dancing
Get your groove on at our last installment of Salsa in the Park(opens in a new tab). as we kick off Hispanic Heritage Month Thursday, September 15, 5 to 8 pm, at Long Branch-Arliss Neighborhood Park(opens in a new tab)! Follow instructors for dance lessons, listen to live music, and eat fantastic food and beverage. Free admission!
Wheaton High School, located at 12401 Dalewood Dr, will host the Wheaton Community Fall Fest on Friday, September 30th, from 4pm until 7pm. The event, which is open to the community, will feature free family photos, games for all ages, wellness activities (hosted by Wheaton High School’s wellness center), schools from the entire Wheaton High School cluster, food trucks, music, an opportunity for a Q&A with the Wheaton High School admin team, and a color run sponsored by the PTSA.
The U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Terrorism and Financial intelligence (TFI) has selected Germantown-based Amentum, under its METIS Solutions entity, to provide a full range of state-of-the-art investigative and analytic solutions to counter cyber-enabled financial crime under a new multi-award Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) contract. The BPA has a maximum value of $500 million over five years.
Per the press release: “Our confidence to meet the Treasury TFI mission stems from our proven performance providing analysis of financial intelligence, and a thorough understanding of the changing financial crimes landscape and illicit financial typologies,” said Jill Bruning, President of Amentum’s Engineering, Science and Technology Group. “We can bring to bear our successful partnerships and collaboration with financial analysis industry leaders, and our extensive knowledge of the many tools and datasets required to safeguard the nation’s financial system against threats.” Under this contract, Amentum will compete for task orders to provide intelligence, financial, and investigative expertise and technology-enabled approaches across Treasury TFI at the Bureau level, including sanctions investigation and enforcement, transaction licensing, analysis and investigation of financial crimes, and other analytic solutions.
President Joe Biden released a statement this morning announcing a tentative agreement reached between labor unions and rail lines. The tentative agreement will exempt “time off for certain medical events from carrier attendance policies,” according to a joint statement from the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers (SMART). Full statement by Oresident Biden can be seen below:
“The tentative agreement reached tonight is an important win for our economy and the American people. It is a win for tens of thousands of rail workers who worked tirelessly through the pandemic to ensure that America’s families and communities got deliveries of what have kept us going during these difficult years. These rail workers will get better pay, improved working conditions, and peace of mind around their health care costs: all hard-earned. The agreement is also a victory for railway companies who will be able to retain and recruit more workers for an industry that will continue to be part of the backbone of the American economy for decades to come.
A Facebook page for “In-N-Out Burger Hagerstown”, that was created on Wednesday, September 14th, has been shared over 700 times in the 20 hours since the page was made. The page is not an official In-N-Out Burger page, and a new restaurant is not coming to Hagerstown.
In-N-Out Burger is an American regional chain of fast food restaurants with locations primarily in California and the Southwest. The chain’s location closest to us is in the Forth Worth, Texas area. So why aren’t there any In-N-Out restaurants on the east coast? According to Reader’s Digest, “The company refuses to sell frozen patties to ensure that customers are only eating the highest-quality meat, according to the official website. That’s why all In-N-Out restaurant locations are within 300 miles of In-N-Out’s patty-making facilities. These facility locations are only in California and Texas, hence the lack of any East Coast locations. This commitment to fresh food applies to other key ingredients, too—the fries are hand-cut, the lettuce is hand-leafed, and the buns are freshly baked. Not to mention, the chain locations don’t have any freezers or microwaves.”
Pumpkin spice is getting a new fall-flavored friend…with Old Bay in it. McCormick & Company has released a new Old Bay Caramel seasoning, which it will sell online only for a limited time, the company announced earlier this week. The seasoning unites the 18 herbs and spices of the traditional Old Bay with “luscious caramel flavor for the perfect sweet-and-salty mix,” McCormick officials said in a news release.
“This blend is the perfect seasoning to have as we make the transition from summer to fall,” McCormick said. With autumn on the horizon, the seasoning is making its debut at just the right time, according to the company. Old Bay Caramel Seasoning is made in small batches and available for a limited time online only. A 2.5 ounce jar is $5.95.