Wheaton Regional Park is located at 2000 Shorefield Rd. in Wheaton. A free satellite parking shuttle Ride On service to and from the Wheaton Ice Rink and athletic fields will be available.
All are welcome to the celebration, which will include traditional, Kosher, Halal and vegetarian lunch options. There will be a wide range of activities for children and adults including music, dancing, moon bounce, face painting, the carousel and rides on the park’s miniature train.
A section of the festival is dedicated to carnival games to entertain kids, mascots including The Big Dill’s own Dilly the Pickle™ traverse the festival grounds dancing and taking pictures with guests; plus, you can test your rodeo skills with indoor bull riding. And you can’t miss the food selection where guests get to munch on pickled-themed culinary delights, including fried pickles, pickle pizza, pickle egg rolls, pickle fries, and pickle ice cream, in addition to your traditional carnival treats and sweets.
Written by Brian Crane for Montgomery Planning and first appeared in Montgomery Planning’s The Third Place Blog.
Montgomery Planning maintains the Montgomery County Burial Sites Inventory, a listing of over 300 cemeteries and burial sites around the county dating from before the arrival of Europeans in Maryland to burial grounds still in use today. However, there are 80 burial sites in the inventory that are no longer visible, and historical records only tell us approximately where they were. This may be because the graves were never marked, or the markers have been moved or have deteriorated. We are looking for these lost burial grounds, and we hope to get some help from modern technology – ground penetrating radar (GPR) – to recover this part of the county’s hidden past.
Montgomery County, MD is commonly known as being a suburb of the nation’s capital, but what might surprise some is that it is also home to a thriving biotech ecosystem. With over 350 life sciences companies, including global brands like AstraZeneca, United Therapeutics, and Novavax, Montgomery County anchors the third largest biophama hub in the U.S., behind only Boston and San Francisco.
Running annually in Washington D.C. for over 25 years, World Vaccine Congress attracts an international audience from over 80 countries and convenes more than 3,000 people to learn about the latest trends, research, and technologies in the vaccine industry. This year, Montgomery County took center stage, with a featured session on the extensive Biologics Value Chain in the County, as well as a session during which County Executive Marc Elrich spoke about the extensive resources available to companies here, and an exhibit space showcasing these resources.
A Complete Biologics Value Chain in One Region
One of the defining strengths of Montgomery County is its ability to support the full lifecycle of biologics, all the way from early research to large-scale manufacturing. During the panel discussion, moderated by Dr. Stefanie Trop, Director of Life Sciences at the Maryland Department of Commerce, local leaders emphasized that the region’s strength lies in its network of partners who work collaboratively across discovery, development, testing, and production. Panelists from companies in all stages of the value chain spectrum included Dr. Andrew Lees, Founder of Fina Biosolutions, Benjamin Moutier, Senior Vice-President, Vaccines and Immune Therapies at AstraZeneca, Dr. Helen Sabzevari President & CEO of Precigen, and Dr. Frederick Holtsberg, Chief Scientific Officer of Integrated BioTherapeutics.
This end-to-end capability in close geographical proximity gives companies a unique advantage and is rare to find in other markets, even established ones like San Francisco and Boston. In fact, only a handful of places worldwide offer the combination of infrastructure, expertise, and collaboration found in Montgomery County and if diversity, education and population density are taken into consideration – then Montgomery County standouts even more.
“Gaithersburg is one of the six places in the world where we can do what we’re doing,” explained Benjamin Moutier, Senior Vice-President, Vaccines and Immune Therapies, AstraZeneca. “We have the right partners at every step of the value chain [in Montgomery County].”
A Strong Partnership Network
Biotech breakthroughs rarely happen in isolation. They depend on strong partnerships between private companies, local and state governments, academic institutions, and workforce training organizations. Montgomery County has intentionally cultivated these connections, making collaboration and coordination defining characteristics of its life sciences ecosystem.
Dr. Frederick Holtsberg, Chief Scientific Officer at IBT Bioservices, a full service CRO offering clinical & preclinical contract research services, says the company’s close partnerships between them and local stakeholders have been crucial to its success. “As a Rockville-based company, we’re grateful for the partnership and support from city, County, and state leaders,” explained Dr. Holtsberg. “These programs have helped fuel our growth, and we’re excited about the continued momentum of our community.” (more…)
Field of Screams Maryland, one of the metro area’s definitive haunted attraction, has officially opened for the season (September 23- October 31). Located at 4501 Olney Laytonsville Rd. in Olney, Maryland, this Hollywood-level production includes well-trained actors and an intense fright experience with decor and props not seen outside the movie industry. The event was voted as the #1 spot in USA Today’s 10 Best Haunted Attractions in the country last year.
Field of Screams Maryland has long been lauded as one of the best Halloween attraction in the DMV, with creative accomplishments that have resulted in multiple #1 rankings across the region. In addition, the creators famously won A&E’s Haunted House Design/Build Competition in 2018. Its flagship attraction is the one-hour walk through the Super Screams Haunted trail, which combines the Haunted Trail and Trail of Terror that features 55 terrifying stations in the darkest of woods as they navigate Chainsaw Hill, the City Morgue, the Catacombs, Laser Alley, and a finale that most run from crying for help.
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Momo Chicken & Grill opened at 4862 Cordell Ave nearly ten years ago as Momo Chicken and Jazz. The restaurant closed permanently earlier this week, according to an announcement made on social media.
Momo Bethesda wrote “Today marks the end of an era. This location (Bethesda) is closing its doors, but the memories and flavors will live on forever. Thank you for being a part of our journey.” The restaurant opened in the spring of 2014 offering Korean fried chicken, bento boxes, teriyaki, bulgogi, pork spare ribs, other Korean barbecue items, and more. Momo’s Navy Yard location will remain open.
The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum has received over $11 million from the U.S. National Science Foundation to support the creation of the new “National Science Foundation Discovering Our Universe” exhibition. The exhibition will illuminate how the development of new and more precise tools transformed humankind’s understanding of the origin, content and fate of the universe. It is anticipated to open in 2026 and is part of the museum’s ongoing transformation of its galleries at its flagship building in Washington, D.C.
“We are very appreciative of the National Science Foundation’s generous support of the transformed ‘Discovering Our Universe’ exhibition,” said Chris Browne, John and Adrienne Mars Director of the museum. “NSF was one of the original supporters of the museum’s prior version of this exhibition, the ‘Explore the Universe’ gallery, which opened in 2001. With NSF’s support, this new exhibition will play a critical role in educating the public about the science of astronomy.”
Applications for the 2024 Regeneron Science Talent Search application are now open to high school seniors. The nation’s oldest STEM competition invites seniors to submit original research in the hopes of being named a top scientific leader of the future – and of winning the top prize of $250,000.
The Washington Commanders announced programming for the team’s 12th annual Alumni Homecoming Weekend. The weekend kicked off on Friday morning September 22 with a golf tournament and will culminate with the team’s Alumni Homecoming-themed game on Sunday, September 24 versus the Buffalo Bills. This year’s annual Alumni Homecoming weekend welcomes 175 Washington Legends, representative of six decades (1960s – current), including 15 Washington Ring of Fame inductees, 25 Pro Bowlers, and members of three Super Bowl winning teams (1982, 1987, 1991 rosters).
“We are excited to bring back the largest group of Washington Legends to date to celebrate our 12th annual Alumni Homecoming tradition,” said Tim Hightower, Washington Commanders Director of Alumni Relations, and a former Washington player. “Each year this weekend provides our fans a first-hand experience to connect with Washington Legends and celebrate our franchise’s storied history and legacy.”
The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery will celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15 with special programs, film screenings and an all-ages festival highlighting Hispanic history, culture and stories. The month of festivities will be followed by the museum’s annual el Día de los Muertos event Thursday, Nov. 2. Featuring a video and music installation by artists MasPaz and Guache, the event also will include crafts, performances and culinary treats. Admission for the festival is free.
On Saturday, Sept. 23, the Portrait Gallery will collaborate with its friends at the bilingual children’s book publisher Lil’ Libros, who will return to the museum for the second co-hosted Fotos & Recuerdos Festival. The afternoon event is for all ages and will take place in the museum’s Kogod Courtyard and surrounding galleries from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Visitors are invited to join gallery tours, story times, book signings with Lil’ Libros authors, live performances and crafts workshops inspired by the Lil’ Libros book series “The Life of / La vida de,” which features Latinx sitters from the Portrait Gallery’s collection. The Washington Ballet will also be attending to lead a story time and salsa and bomba workshop. This program received federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the National Museum of the American Latino. NPR is the media partner.
Carnivore keepers at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (NZCBI) in Front Royal, Virginia, are celebrating a litter of five cheetah cubs born to 8-year-old adult female Echo Tuesday, Sept. 12. Viewers can enjoy watching the cubs grow via the Cheetah Cub Cam. Note that Echo may move her cubs out of the den and around her habitat so they may be out of view at times.
Animal care staff will leave Echo to bond with and care for her cubs without interference, but as opportunities arise, staff will perform quick health checks. During a recent weight check, staff confirmed there are three males and two females. The cubs appear to be strong, active, vocal and eating well.
Montgomery Planning to host a series of sessions in October to gather more community input about the plan area.
The Montgomery County Planning Department invites the community to four listening sessions in October to provide input on opportunities and challenges on the east side of Interstate 270 and west of MD 355 – the plan area for the Clarksburg Gateway Sector Plan.