MCPS has sent its community message with five things to know for Thursday, October 26th. The full message can be seen below:
Halloween can be a fun time with friends and neighbors. However, it is also a high-risk time for injuries. Even if you are not participating in Halloween activities, you can take action to keep our neighborhoods safe:
According to our public safety reporter Cordell Pugh, a pedestrian was struck on Wootton Parkway, South of MD-189 Falls Road, near Pasture Brook Way in Rockville around 4:35pm on Thursday, October 26.
Montgomery County Police tweeted the following at 5:23pm: “TRAFFIC ADVISORY: A traffic collision has Wootton Pkwy. closed at Falls Rd. Drivers are advised to seek an alternate route. Expect significant delays.” We will provide an update if additional information becomes available. Featured image courtesy of Google Maps.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
Tickets and festival information are available at www.dmvchocolateandcoffee.com.
Before it became the largest high school in Maryland, in terms of square footage (here’s a list of the 20 largest by enrollment), Seneca Valley High School (19401 Crystal Rock Dr. Germantown, MD) opened in its original building in 1974. The school sits on land that was once the site of a dairy farm owned by baseball player Walter Johnson. Johnson purchased the land in 1935 and lived there with his family until his death in 1946. It was Germantown’s only high school until Northwest opened in 1998.
In its first year of operation, the 1974-1975 school year, under Principal Nathan Pearson, Seneca Valley hosted students in grades seven through ten. In the following 1975-1976 school year, the school operated grades nine through eleven, with 8th graders transferring to the newly opened Ridgeview Junior High School in Gaithersburg, Maryland. During the 1976-1977 school year, Seneca Valley became a senior high school, hosting grades ten through twelve, and graduating its first class in June 1977. Finally in 1988, Seneca Valley changed to its present state of full-fledged high school with grades 9-12. The original school building was demolished in 2020 and replaced with a new building on-site in 2021.
On Wednesday, the owners of White’s Ferry announced they had increased their offer to purchase the Virginia landing site from Rockland Farm to $1.25 million, an increase of $150,000 from the offer that was made in January. We reached out to Rockland Farms owner Libby Delvin, who provided the following response: “We continue to believe that a volume-based fee based on the amount and size of vehicles using our land is the fairest way to compensate us for the use of our land. Fifty-cents per car is very reasonable. The operator can increase the fee of the ferry and pay Rockland Farm accordingly. Most people are willing to pay an additional incremental amount in order to re-open the ferry.”
Other options also recently proposed by the Kuhns as ways to get the ferry opened as soon as possible, include:
Olney, MD Art Gallery and Studio to present a Pop-Culture themed group Art Exhibit and Artists’ Alley event.
Highly Animated is a 2-month long celebration of the vibrant world of fan art. From classic JRPG nostalgia, to the latest anime obsessions, to amazing original characters, this exhibition will highlight the passion, creativity and talent within fan communities.
Glen Echo Park was first developed in 1891 as a National Chautauqua Assembly, which taught the sciences, arts, languages, and literature. The Chautauqua lasted for just one season, and by the early 1900s, the site had become Glen Echo Amusement Park — the premier amusement park serving the Washington area until 1968, when it closed (learn more about the civil rights story here). Below we will share with you a tragic tale that has become somewhat of a local ghost story. A video of what Glen Echo Park looks like today can be seen below.
Glen Echo Park was home to the “Coaster Dips” roller coaster. The popular attraction opened in May 1921 and remained until the park closed in 1968. Coaster Dips was nearly 70 feet tall, and the Potomac River could be seen in the distance before plummeting to the bottom of the rickety wooden coaster. Tragically, William J. Lawrence, a 21-year-old Washington drug clerk, fell from the coaster in 1929. According to local legend, screams from the coaster echo into the late evening hours on clear nights. Per the Washington Post in 1929:
Per MCPD: Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – 2nd District Investigative Section are asking for the public’s assistance in identifying a suspect responsible for a theft and fraudulent credit card use in Bethesda. On Saturday, September 16, 2023, at approximately 1:40 p.m., the victim was at a CAVA restaurant in the 4800 block of Bethesda Avenue when an unknown suspect stole his black Lulu Fanny Pack, containing personal property and credit cards, from the back of his chair.
Moments after the victim discovered his bag had been stolen, he received a notification that his credit card had been used at a Target in the 6800 block of Wisconsin Avenue. Detectives obtained surveillance video of the suspect. The suspect is described as a Black male, approximately 40 to 50-years-old with a salt and pepper beard. He was wearing a black Nike baseball hat, a gray Nike long sleeve zippered sweatshirt and black Nike sweatpants.
Below is a list of businesses that are new or coming soon to the Montgomery Village Shopping Center: Opening Soon: Baskin Robins Permanent signage is up at Baskin Robbins. The […]
Per WMATA: If you’re headed off to the races for the 2023 Marine Corps Marathon, Metrorail will get you there starting at 5 a.m. on race day, Sunday, October 29. All lines will open early, with no scheduled track work, to get you to the start line conveniently located off the Blue or Yellow lines.
Metro is the quickest way to get around to avoid traffic and road closures. Spectators can cheer on their favorite runners by hopping on Metro to the nearest station along the course. All lines will operate frequent all-day service and fares are an affordable $2 flat rate for any one-way trip.
Per the Washington County Sheriff’s Office: “On October 26, 2023, at approximately 11:00 AM, during an expanded evidentiary search in the Williamsport, MD area, a deceased person was located. The deceased individual has been positively identified as Pedro Argote, the suspect wanted for the murder of Maryland Circuit Court Judge Andrew Wilkinson.
The deceased was located in a heavily wooded area between Clear Spring Road and Bottom Road approximately 1 mile North West of where the suspect vehicle was found. A press conference has been scheduled for 3 PM and will be held at the Washington County Administration Building, 100 West Washington Street, Hagerstown, MD.”
The construction worker was on his way to work Monday morning when he quickly stopped at the Safeway in Pasadena. He had a scratch-off he wanted to scan and it turned out to be a $50 winner. The lucky guy used his win to purchase two $20 scratch-offs, including a $1 Million Royale ticket, and one $10 scratch-off. He rushed off to work, not looking at his tickets until later.
The lucky player immediately called his girlfriend to share the news. “I was stuttering that I hit and she thought I was saying that I was in a car accident,” he chuckled. “She said, ‘hit what, what did you hit’.”
The 53-year-old plans to pay off bills. He described the experience of the big win as “exciting”. When he started to scratch his ticket, he instantly saw he was a winner. The first number in his “Your Numbers” was 03 and the $50,000 prize was underneath that number. Then he looked over and saw 03 in his “Winning Numbers”. That resulted in the top prize of $50,000. “I couldn’t believe it. I then checked it in the store, and it was true,” said the maintenance worker.
The lucky ticket was purchased at the Germantown BP on 19911 Aircraft Drive in Montgomery County. The Germantown retailer will receive a bonus of $500. The $20 $50,000 Cash started back on Dec. 29 with 160 prizes. The Germantown man is the 74th winner, but 86 still remain along with prizes ranging from $20 to $5,000.” Featured image courtesy of Google Maps.