Per the City of Rockville: Donations are being accepted for the 2023 Holiday Drive, Rockville’s annual push to help the community’s hundreds of children and families in need during the holiday season. In 2022, the city served 630 families, and 1,200 children, during the Thanksgiving and December holidays. This year, the city will provide fresh produce and gift cards for Thanksgiving, and books and gift cards for each child in a family for December.
Books can be dropped in collection boxes at several locations: City Hall; Twinbrook Community Recreation Center; Lincoln Park Community Center; Thomas Farm Community Center; Rockville Swim and Fitness Center; and Rockville Senior Center.
“I was visiting my parents and when I left their house, I noticed the store where my dad buys his tickets. That’s all it took.” With the Lottery suddenly and unexpectedly on her mind, she kept an eye out for another Lottery retailer as she drove home. This brought her to Fenton Citgo in Silver Spring.
The Montgomery County woman chose Bonus Match 5 as her game that day. “I don’t know why I chose it to play,” the human resources specialist said. “It just felt right.”
The DMV Chocolate & Coffee Festival is coming to Montgomery County on November 7 & 8, 2026, at the Adventist HealthCare Fieldhouse in Germantown, Maryland. Get ready to sip, sample, shop, and enjoy a full weekend of family-friendly fun!
Sip, Sample & Shop
Get ready to explore a festival floor filled with top chocolate makers, coffee roasters, bakeries, specialty food vendors, artisan brands and small businesses from across the region and beyond. Sample new flavors, meet the people behind the products and shop directly from the talented makers and businesses who created them.
Experience Chocolate History
One of the highlights of this year’s festival is a large-scale chocolate sculpture of George Washington on horseback, created by award-winning chocolate artist Paul Joachim.
The sculpture will be part of a special exhibit exploring chocolate’s place in early American history. Guests can see the sculpture up close, sample colonial-style drinking chocolate, and shop the exclusive Collector’s Heritage Box inspired by the historic drink. It’s a unique opportunity to experience chocolate through art, history, and taste all in one place.
Seminars, Demonstrations & More
Visit the Sip & Share Seminar Classroom for educational sessions and demonstrations throughout the weekend, all included with your festival admission. Explore topics ranging from ancestral cacao in the Ecuadorian Amazon and the realities of starting a coffee business to craft chocolate and festival trivia. Learn directly from experts and makers as they share their knowledge, demonstrate their craft and offer a closer look at how their products are made.
Fun for All Ages
The DMV Chocolate & Coffee Festival offers an experience the whole family can enjoy. Kids under 12 receive free admission with a ticketed adult and can get creative at our complimentary kids’ craft tables. Festival mascots Chunk & Bean will also be on-site for meet-and-greets and photo opportunities throughout the weekend. Families can even shop for Chunk & Bean plushies, children’s books and other kid-friendly items.
Whether you’re a serious chocolate lover, a coffee enthusiast, a foodie or simply looking for a fun fall outing, there’s something for everyone to see, taste, shop and enjoy.
Save on Tickets
The DMV Chocolate & Coffee Festival Maryland Edition takes place November 7 & 8, 2026, at the Adventist HealthCare Fieldhouse in Germantown, Maryland.
MoCo Show readers can use code MOCO10 at checkout to save 10% on online festival tickets. Grab your tickets and get ready to sip, sample and shop at one of the sweetest weekends of the fall!
Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), in partnership with the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), will host a Student Environment Volunteer Day from 9:30 a.m.–2 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 1, at Gaithersburg High School. Students will learn about sustainability and help beautify the community. They also will work to enhance the health of the environment by planting native plants and trees in the stormwater management gardens around the school.
The student environment volunteer day is part of the Out-of-School Time (OST) program offered by Montgomery County Recreation, in partnership with MCPS. The OST days are designed with free out-of-school programming for students throughout the 2023-2024 school year.
Dan Cox, a Republican politician who recently represented district 4 in the Maryland House of Delegates and won the Republican nomination for Maryland Governor before losing to Governor Wes Moore in the general election, has announced his candidacy for Maryland’s 6th district.The district encompasses all of Garrett, Allegany, Frederick, and Washington counties as well as a portion of Montgomery County. David Trone is its current representative. Fox made his announcement via a video on social media.
Cox has stated he has been active in politics since 1980, when he campaigned with his parents for Ronald Reagan. He also worked on the 1996 presidential campaign of Alan Keyes and as an aide to former U.S. Representative Roscoe Bartlett. From 2007 to 2009, he was the President of the Town Commission of Secretary, Maryland, located in Dorchester County. He was the Republican nominee for Dorchester County Circuit Court Clerk in 2006, losing the race to Democratic nominee Michael L. Baker. Cox was also the Republican nominee for Maryland’s 8th congressional district in 2016, losing the race to Democratic nominee and state senator Jamie Raskin of Montgomery County.
We ❤️ Teachers 5K celebrates educators through movement. On race day, runners and walkers across the country will participate in host city races, school celebrations, and virtual events — all in support of teachers and educator wellness. We'll be in beautiful Wheaton Regional Park, Join Us!
Walk it. Run it. Move for the teacher who moved you.
Eight student teams on a mission to make a positive impact on society presented their startup ideas to a panel of expert judges during the Leonsis Family Entrepreneurship Prize “Bark Tank” Pitch Competition on Thursday, October 26, 2023, at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, taking home $125,000 in prizes.
During the event, Georgetown Entrepreneurship also announced a transformational $5 million gift from Ted Leonsis (C’77, P’14,’15), founder, chairman, principal partner, and chief executive officer of Monumental Sports & Entertainment, and his family, to provide permanent support for the Bark Tank Pitch Competition, so that it exists at Georgetown in perpetuity. The gift also will establish the Leonsis Family Venture Development Program to support student startups, incubator programs, and other entrepreneurial programming across the university. Since Bark Tank’s inception, $975,000 in prizes have been awarded to 60 different ventures, and those ventures have gone on to raise more than $295 million and create over 1,000 jobs.
After a string of 80° degrees, temperatures today have reached the 70s for most of the area (some have made it to the 80s while others are in the mid to upper 60s) with rain possible later this evening. With Halloween will come more seasonable temperatures that may feel even cooler since we’ve been nearly 30° warmer for almost a week.
Temperatures will start off in the low 40s when we wake up on Halloween and will move up to the 50s by about noon before high temperatures in the mid to upper 50s in the afternoon. Temperatures should remain in the 50s by 5pm and could start to dip a few degrees each hour after that on the way to 40° by 10pm on Halloween night. The slightly chilly temperatures may call for a jacket over the costumes.
Catalyst Hot Dogs has announced it will be opening a concession stand this season at The Xfinity Center (8500 Paint Branch Dr, College Park) at the University of Maryland. New Jersey native Chris Van Jura opened Catalyst Hot Dogs in late 2020 as a food truck/trailer that served New Jersey style hot dogs. The trailer operates across Montgomery County and surrounding areas. In January, Catalyst Hot Dogs took over the kitchen at Denizen’s Brewing Riverdale Park location (4550 Van Buren St., River Dale Park) in Prince George’s County.
Per Catalyst Hot Dogs when the trailer first opened: “Owner/operator, Chris Van Jura, has been a member of the Hospitality Industry for nearly 20 years. Over this time he has, on a daily basis, done what every Hospitalian does, which is put the attention and focus on the guest. During this time, he has relocated to the DMV, found love and started a family. He has devoted hundreds of hours to the needs of others—and now, through the pandemic and two furloughs, he has made a choice: We’re getting into the Hot Dog business!”
Sushi N You will be opening at 7607 MacArthur Blvd in Cabin John on Thursday, November 2 in the space that was previously home to J. Brown Bakery almost a decade ago. The restaurant will be giving away California Rolls on Wednesday, November 1st from 12pm-2pm. The following note was left on the door:
“Thank you for waiting for Sushi N You for a long time. We will be having our grand opening on Thursday, November 2nd. We have passed numerous permits and inspections required for various openings from Montgomery County, Maryland.
Per Montgomery County: “As Veterans Day approaches on Saturday, Nov. 11, Montgomery County has joined the national “Operation Green Light” salute to veterans and the County’s Commission on Veterans Affairs is seeking additions to its virtual tribute to County veterans. For those who want to attend ceremonies on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, several will be held around the County.
Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich and the County Council are supporting Operation Green Light, a program sponsored by the National Association of Counties to honor those who have made immeasurable sacrifices to preserve freedom. The program asks for displays of a green light, from Nov. 6-12, in a window of businesses or residences to honor veterans.
Hilton announced the forthcoming opening of Spark by Hilton Germantown (26260 Goldenrod Lane; 301-428-1300), continuing the company’s focus on the premium economy segment. Spark offers modern hospitality and exceptional essentials at a budget-friendly price. The Germantown property will be the secondSpark by Hilton, to debut in less than a year after Hilton announced the new, exciting and fresh hotel brand. It is the first in the Washington Region and the next in what Hilton has announced as a pipeline of more than 400 expansion opportunities in various stages of development around the country.
Per Hilton: Located conveniently off of I-270 in Montgomery County, Spark by Hilton Germantown Washington DC North is perfectly situated to serve the lodging needs of business, government and personal travelers. Savvy travelers will be able to access The Highlands at Germantown Event and Meeting Center, offering a range of special event, celebration, and meeting facilities. The hotel is located within five minutes of the Maryland SoccerPlex and Clarksburg Premium Outlets and is immediately adjacent to Montgomery College and Holy Cross Germantown Hospital. All the amenities and attractions of the nation’s capital are just 45 minutes away, accessible by car or public transportation on the Metro Red Line rail. The hotel is also close to Fort Meade, the Department of Energy and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
