Originally published in 2020, written by Amy Lusignan

R.E.M. will go down in rock and roll history for their legendary hit songs. A popular favorite is “It’s the End of the World As We Know It.” When it plays, everyone in the car shouts the chorus and mumbles the rest. While scrolling through a list of R.E.M’s music, you may be surprised to find a lesser-known song featuring Montgomery County’s Rockville.


SMU Data Arts has named the combined area of Gaithersburg-Frederick-Rockville the seventh most vibrant arts community in the Top 20 Large Communities category. The vibrancy assessment covers aspects of supply, […]


Timed tickets still available for Thanksgiving weekend.

Montgomery Parks is turning Brookside Gardens into a winter wonderland next week, with the opening of the Garden of Lights. The seasonal light display, featuring more than one million twinkling lights opens Friday, November 17, 2023, at 5:30 p.m. 


Five Richard Montgomery High School students have been accepted to the American Choral Directors Association’s (ACDA’s) 2024 Eastern Honor Choir. The ACDA choir consists of students from the Northeastern region of the U.S. ACDA is a professional development organization dedicated to improving choral music instruction. The students have been invited to ACDA’s conference next March in Providence, R.I., where they will have an opportunity to perform challenging musical selections under the direction of nationally renowned conductors. The students are:

Senior Choir:


Sanaa Chege, a sophomore at Seneca Valley High School in Germantown, has written a children’s book about her experiences on the diving team at school. She began diving just last fall and now dives year-round. After seeing a lack of diversity on her team, she decided to write a book to share her journey to encourage and inspire others. Her children’s book, “A Diver Like Me” will be published in February 2024.

Additional information, per her website: “Sanaa B. Chege is not your typical high school student. Hailing from Maryland, Sanaa is a young trailblazer who has been making waves, both in and out of the pool. Her journey into the world of competitive diving began in the fall of 2022, and it’s been nothing short of extraordinary.


Director Keith Boynton (The Winter House, The Scottish Play) is poised to direct his eighth feature film and first foray into horror this Halloween season with The Haunted Forest, starring seasoned genre star Jamie Bernadette (/ Spit on your Grave: Deja Vu) and newcomer Grayson Gwaze. The movie will be filmed at Markoff’s Haunted Forest in Dickerson/Poolesville, which has recently concluded its 31st season as one of Maryland’s scariest haunts.

The Haunted Forest stars Grayson Gwaze as Zach, a high school senior who, after landing a job as a scare actor at Markoff’s Haunted Forest, becomes the potential victim of a string of real-life murders happening inside the maze itself. Jamie Bernadette stars as Susie, who oversees the haunted forest and its merry band of misfits, alongside her husband, Mark (Cedric Gegel, The Coroner’s Assistant).


Learn about the culture and craftsmanship of traditional Chinese lantern festivals at the Winter Lantern Festival Washington, located at Lerner Town Square at Tysons II (8025 Galleria Dr, Tysons, VA 22102). Modern LED lights are embellished by traditionally hand-crafted lantern frames made from small pieces of classically made Chinese silk cloth and steel wire. All lanterns are created by artisans, some of which have over 20 years of experience in their trade and bring magical folklorical creatures to life. Each unique piece holds a story of its own that will be told to visitors to help contextualize their experience even more.

“With our lights and lanterns, we hope to provide an unforgettable experience for all. This year, not only will we bring lanterns, we are also excited to bring more family fun such as, dino rides, picture taking opportunities to further expand the entire experience.” The exhibition is held in an outdoor venue with indoor space available if you need to take a break during the 60-120 minutes experience. Though it is held in an outdoor venue, it is a rain or shine event. Feel free to take photos as new this year are a few figures just for picture taking. The venue reminds you to please make sure not to disturb others while taking photos. Professional equipment and tripods are not permitted. “Winter Lantern Festival’s unique luminescent nightwalk brings the culture and craftsmanship of traditional Chinese lantern festivals, where contribution is celebration!”


Akon is bringing his “The SuperFan Tour” to the DMV, when he performs at The Fillmore in Silver Spring on Tuesday, November 7th. Akon recently promoted the show on his instagram, referring to Silver Spring as “Silver Springs“, a common mistake among those not familiar with the area. The video can be seen below.

The  Senegalese-American singer, record producer, entrepreneur, and philanthropist has become an influential figure in modern world music after rising to prominence in 2004 following the release of “Locked Up”, the first single from his debut album Trouble (2004), followed by the second single “Lonely”, which was also a smash hit. Akon’s second album, Konvicted (2006), received three Grammy Award nominations for Best Contemporary R&B Album, and for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for “Smack That” (featuring Eminem) and “I Wanna Love You” (featuring Snoop Dogg). Both singles became Billboard Hot 100 top ten hits, followed up by “Don’t Matter” and “Sorry, Blame It on Me”. His third studio album Freedom (2008) was led by the single “Right Now (Na Na Na)”.


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