Saturdays & Sundays in October mean the popular Eye Spy Trains are back for Halloween. Great for families of all ages, Montgomery Parks’ Cabin John Miniature Train and the Wheaton Miniature Train will take a ride through “Trainslyvania.” Please visit ActiveMontgomery.org to purchase tickets and guarantee your seat at your ideal train time and date, tickets are available for purchase online.

A small number of tickets may be purchased onsite, but ride times will not be guaranteed. Registration closes the morning of the scheduled ride, so don’t wait, book your ride reservation online today! Trains will run Saturdays and Sundays beginning October 1 and ending October 30, 11a – 6p. For tickets purchased online, any train canceled due to weather or mechanical issues will result in a full refund automatically credited to your method of payment.


Enayat Nazary is 5-feet, 5-inches tall and 120 pounds. He has brown eyes and black hair. He was last seen wearing a gray t-shirt with a red logo, gray shorts, and yellow Nike sneakers. Police and family are concerned for his welfare. Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Aseel Enayat Nazary is asked to call the police non-emergency number at (301)279-8000 (24-hour line) or the Special Victims Investigations Division at (240)773-5400. Callers may remain anonymous.

 


With Hocus Pocus 2 being released on Disney’s streaming service, Disney+, we wanted to revisit the [not so strong] MoCo connection  from the popular original 1993 film– Bethesda native Sean Murray in his role as Thackery Binx.

Hocus Pocus follows teenager Max Dennison (Omri Katz), who after moving to Salem, Massachusetts, explores an abandoned house with his sister Dani (Thora Birch) and their new friend, Allison (Vinessa Shaw). After dismissing a story Allison tells as superstitious, Max accidentally frees a coven of evil witches (Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy) who used to live in the house. Now, with the help of a magical cat (Binx) the kids must steal the witches’ book of spells to stop them from becoming immortal.


S.P.I.E.S. 2: Flight of the Hawk is the follow-up to S.P.I.E.S. & The Lost Treasure of Atlantis, which was an online hit for Imagination Stage in the winter of 2021. DC Theatre Arts praised it as “a fantastically entertaining conglomerate of action, adventure, suspense, and pure silliness.”

The new adventure (which doesn’t require any knowledge of the first one) is now in-person, with the live audience of children ages 5+ taking on the role of spy cadets being taught by the hilariously bungling live facilitator, Pat. During the cadet training, Pat is contacted and told that an award ceremony for Spy Team 7 has gone awry with the villainous Winnifred Veil putting in motion her plan to dominate the world. It’s Pat and the cadets to the rescue, providing key information and making crucial decisions to assist the spies, who are beaming in on the big screen.


Niche, a rankings and review resource that provides information on K-12 schools, colleges, cities, neighborhoods, and companies across the United States, has just published its new 2023 Best Schools and Districts rankings. Now in its ninth year, the rankings include updated data for 92,743 public schools, 30,112 private schools, and 11,820 school districts nationwide. 5 of the top 7 private high schools in Maryland are located in Montgomery County, with Bethesda’s Holton-Arms School earning the top spot.

Per Niche: “The 2023 Best Private K-12 Schools ranking is based on rigorous analysis of key statistics and millions of reviews from students and parents. Ranking factors include SAT/ACT scores, the quality of colleges that students consider, student-teacher ratio, private school ratings, and more. Data sourced from the U.S. Department of Education, Niche users, and the schools directly. Read more on how this ranking was calculated.


New York based men’s fashion store Psycho Bunny, which specializes in “4,000 stitch bunny-embroidered polos”, is scheduled to open this Friday, September 30, at Westfield Montgomery Mall (7101 Democracy Blvd). The clothing line currently has collaborations with Daddy Yankee, Justise Winslow, and Jay Versace.  Psycho Bunny will be located on the bottom level of the mall.

From their website: “We could have done what everybody else was doing. But we didn’t. Instead we set out to make the perfect polo and the most luxurious tee you’d ever wear. And that’s exactly what we’ve done. Our Pima cotton is woven from longer, smoother fibres. This has a number of benefits, most important of which is that it gives the fabric an incredibly soft on-body feel. The longer fibres are more durable, too—less prone to warping and tearing, while retaining their colored dye considerably longer than traditional cotton.”


Cabin John Village, formerly known as the Cabin John shopping center and mall, is  named for the adjacent creek and regional park. It has been a pillar of the Potomac community since 1967 and was acquired by EDENS in 2016. Per EDENS: “EDENS has transformed the traditional shopping center experience into a welcoming communal environment that naturally fosters meaningful social interaction. Complementary retail options include a curated mix of home goods, dining, health and wellness and more outdoor greenspace welcomes the opportunity for community events.” Below you’ll see a list of some of the places coming soon to the shopping center:

Augie’s: Augie’s Mussel House and Beer Garden is coming to 7747 Tuckerman Ln (Cabin John Village), the former site of Lahinch Tavern. Augie’s currently has a location at 1106 King Street in Alexandria, VA. In addition to mussels, menu items include a 10-Day Cured & Smoked Brisket Sandwich, Chicken Pot Pie Empanada, Chicken & Waffles,  and Soft Shell Crab.  Opening information has not been announced.


Potomac residents Sina and Nina Farzin brought their popular product, Oogie Bear, onto Season 14 of Shark Tank with the hopes of raising $400,000 dollars. Oogie Bear is “the only infant booger picker on the market that effectively and safely removes sticky and dried boogers from babies’ nostrils.” Their research and product development facility can be found in Rockville/North Potomac.

The Farzins were interested in parting with 5% of their company for $400,000. It costs approximately $3 dollars to make and sells at a price point up to $24.99. The product is specifically designed for children under the age of two and uses a “patented, award-winning design features a loop end that’s a magnet for sticky boogers and a scoop end that takes care of those dry, crusty ones, plus our trademark bear head, which is way more than just cute: it prevents the tool from going too far into baby’s nose.”


Rise Counseling has announced the opening of its new virtual counseling practice in Bethesda. Founder Mikela Hallmark commented “We built a great office in Atlanta, GA and realized that many working professionals want quality counselors who are available for virtual appointments. With their busy lives, they enjoy being able to avoid the traffic, and fit sessions in when it’s convenient for them.’ We’ve launched the website, and now we’re recruiting talented counselors to join our team.

Per the press release: The addition of the new virtual location will allow Rise Counseling Bethesda to bring their therapeutic services to more people in need of support. They offer individual counseling, couples counseling, as well as anxiety therapy.  ‘We’re pretty passionate about helping high achievers get the support they need to reduce anxiety and increase sense of connectedness, and this virtual office allows us to expand our reach’, said Hallmark. The Rise Counseling Bethesda virtual therapy practice is now hiring therapists and will soon be accepting new clients.


The founders of Honest Tea, which was founded in Bethesda, have launched their latest venture– Just Ice Tea. “We are excited to bring you our new line of delicious, organic and fair trade certified bottled teas with unsweetened and just sweet enough options.”

Coca-Cola announced in May that it would be phasing out the Honest Tea line from its portfolio. Bethesda resident Seth Goldman cofounded the drink company in 1998 and was its CEO until 2015– when he stepped back and  became executive chairman of Beyond Meat. In June Goldman stated that he would be re-entering the bottled tea business with the announcement of his new line, Just Ice Tea.


Per MCDOT: On Wednesday, Sept. 21 starting at 1 p.m., the Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) will hold a virtual public hearing on the proposed abandonment of a public alley on the basis that there is no current or anticipated future public use. The public will have an opportunity to present oral or written testimony.

The applicants, Benjamin and Michele Oshman, are seeking the abandonment of a portion of a 15-foot wide Public Alley covering approximately 301 square feet behind their property located at 4803 Bayard Boulevard, Bethesda, MD 20816. The petition seeks to abandon a portion of the Public Alley which was established initially in connection with a Subdivision Plat dated Oct. 8, 1920 and entitled “Crestview” on the basis that there is no current or anticipated future public use of the alley.


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