Montgomery Parks is inviting the public to vote on a new art installation that will be featured at Gene Lynch Urban Park in downtown Silver Spring.  The park was officially opened to the public this summer. In January 2023, a Call for Artists was issued inviting artists to submit their qualifications and examples of their work. A panel shortlisted four artists to prepare site-specific concepts for public art that would complement the park’s green space, trees, and pergola structure. The finalists were selected out of more than 100 submissions and the winner will be selected through public voting.

“Gene Lynch Urban Park is a very high-profile, high-foot traffic area in downtown Silver Spring,” said Montgomery Parks Project Manager Linda Komes. “We had so many great submissions, and it was tough to narrow down the finalists. We hope everyone will take the time to vote for their favorite.” Voting is open to the public. Only one vote per person may be submitted. The design that receives the most votes will be selected as the winner. In the event of a tie, Montgomery Parks’ art selection panel will determine the winning artwork.


The Takoma Park Folk Festival takes place this Sunday, September 10th from 10:30am until 6:30pm at Takoma Park Middle School (schedule available below, pinch and expand). The mission of the Takoma Park Folk Festival, Inc. is to present a free annual folk festival in Takoma Park each September that celebrates the arts and the Takoma Park-Silver Spring community.  The event, which is held rain or shine, presents six stages of music, a juried crafts show, international food, community nonprofit tables, and children’s games and activities.  The Festival offers free shuttle buses (with wheelchair accessibility) to the Takoma Metro station.

All roads will remain open with limited access to the Takoma Park Middle School.  Motorists are urged to use caution and drive slowly – there will be heavy pedestrian traffic expected on Piney Branch Road. No parking from Piney Branch to Grant to Holly Avenue Parking is limited to residential side streets. Spaces will be reserved for handicapped parking, vendors, festival staff members, musicians & artists.


Montgomery Parks is inviting the public to a ceremony naming the newest mural at Brookside Gardens. The celebration will take place on Sunday, September 10, 2023 from 1:30-3:00 p.m. at Brookside Gardens Underlook/Harry Dewey Terrace 1800 Glenallen Ave. in Wheaton, MD 20902 (in case of inclement weather the program will be held in the Visitor Center).

The new artwork was painted this summer by Afro-Cuban artist Osbel Susman-Peña.  Entitled “Where Dreams Live/ Donde Viven los Sueños,” the dynamic artwork is in the Brookside Gardens Underlook, adjacent to the Aquatic Garden. The mural is a memorial to the late Betsy Thomas, past president of the Friends of Brookside Gardens.  


For the 2023–2024 school year, Glenstone Museum has launched a new booking page that will make scheduling an on-site, guided visit more seamless for educators. This system provides real-time availability to schedule guided visits between Sept. 1 and Jan. 26, 2024.

The Potomac museum provides opportunities for middle and high school students to learn in an environment that encourages direct connection with art, architecture and nature. Glenstone offers guided on-site visits and virtual engagement options. The school program is intended for a broad range of curriculum and grade levels and uses interactive exercises to encourage direct engagement. In conjunction with Glenstone’s temporary exhibit, Ellsworth Kelly at 100, school visits have been expanded to include Kelly’s important contributions to the contemporary art world. To learn more about school visits, visit the website.


Montgomery County native and “Abbott Elementary” actress and comedienne Lisa Ann Walter has lined up seven stand-up shows all over North America from Sept. 1-16 this year, including two shows at Bethesda Theater on Sunday, September 17th (6pm and 8pm) with tickets going for $49.

Lisa Ann Walter is an actress, comedian and television producer, perhaps best known for her roles as Chessy in the romantic comedy film The Parent Trap and her current role as Melissa Schemmenti on the ABC mockumentary sitcom Abbott Elementary. She’s also a native of Montgomery County.


Stephen Marley’s Old Soul, the new album from the 8x GRAMMY Award winning singer/songwriter/producer and son of the legendary Bob Marley, will be released digitally on September 15, 2023. The album boasts an array of special guests including Eric Clapton, Bob Weir, Jack Johnson, Ziggy Marley, Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley, Buju Banton and Slightly Stoopid. In celebration of the announcement, new single “Cool As The Breeze” is now playing everywhere and the Old Soul Tour Unplugged 2023 tour runs from this Sept 8 – Oct 22, with a stop in Montgomery County. Marley will be performing at The Fillmore in Silver Spring on Wednesday, October 18.

Additional information from the album website: Stephen Marley’s highly anticipated fifth solo album Old Soul, his first full-length project since 2016, comes as a complete revelation. With his well-earned reputation as a studio perfectionist, “Ragga” as he’s known to friends and family, is a consummate live performer with a knack for spontaneity. Old Soul leans into those strengths, and opens up the artist as never before.


In a letter to friends and colleagues, Stanford expressed gratitude to the hundreds of dedicated and talented colleagues, staff, board members, fellow artists, and supporters that she has had the opportunity to work with. “A commitment to youth is the North Star that draws us all,” she writes. “Together, we have done much in four decades to bring the arts to more than a million young people, and to nurture them with the “slow food” that only live theatre can provide.”

Since joining the company in 1993, Stanford has produced 160 shows, directed 55, written 9, commissioned 50 new works, and introduced innovative educational programs that prioritize social justice and finding a young person’s unique identity or “voice” through theatre arts. She has long been a leader in promoting equity, diversity and inclusion: by establishing the ‘Youth Speaks to Age Series’ in the 1990’s that brought a dozen new scripts by BIPOC playwrights to the field; by featuring Deaf actors and actors with physical and cognitive disabilities in 9 mainstage productions; and by casting diverse actors in everything so that ALL children see themselves in the stories on stage.


CatVideoFest 2023, a compilation of the latest and greatest cat videos that have been edited by award-winning, Seattle-based filmmaker Will Braden, is showing this Saturday and Sunday only at the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center (8633 Colesville Road) in Silver Spring. According to its website, “CatVideoFest is a joyous communal experience, only available in theaters. Enjoy 70+ minutes of nonstop cuteness, bond with your fellow feline fanatics and learn more about how to help cats in need in DC and beyond.”

The film is co-presented with the Humane Rescue Alliance and tickets can be purchased here for $13. h/t @pike.and.rozay on Instagram. Watch the official trailer below:


Per Montgomery County: The Wheaton Arts Parade organization, which is constantly expanding its range of activities, will sponsor two upcoming events including a guided tour of its artists “pyramids” that are placed around Brookside Gardens in Wheaton on Saturday, Aug. 12, and a “Yarn Bomb” at the Wheaton Library on Sunday, Aug. 13, that will lead to decorating the Wheaton area in creations of knitted and crocheted works.

The “Guided Garden Tour of Pyramids” will be part of pop up art activities at Brookside Gardens from 9 a.m.-noon on Aug. 12. Brookside Gardens is located at 1800 Glenallan Ave. in Wheaton.


The convention was first held in 2008 at Tysons Corner, Virginia by Todd Webb, and in subsequent years, the flagship Virginia convention has been held in Chantilly, typically during the first weekend of August. BrickFair is a four-day event, operating generally Thursday through Sunday. The convention displays Lego models, displays and trains, most often covering more than 100,000 square feet of convention space. BrickFair conventions are also held in New England and the Southeastern United States, with the advent of BrickFair Alabama in 2012 and BrickFair New England in 2013. BrickFair operates in every season and in four East Coast states. BrickFair is believed to be the largest Lego convention in the United States and one of the largest in the world. The Virginia convention has had up to 22,500 attendees in its public hours.

The first BrickFair convention, in 2008, was held as a four-day convention at the Sheraton Premiere Hotel near Tysons Corner in Vienna, Virginia. The location was partially chosen because it was the 2006 site of BrickFest, a now-defunct Lego convention. In 2010, BrickFair was moved to the Dulles Expo Center in Chantilly, VA to make room for further expansion of the event. The Virginia convention of BrickFair is still held annually at the Dulles Expo Center. Additional information can be found here.


Metro will “Hold Up” the final train departing from Morgan Boulevard Station on Sunday night to give the #BeyHive a “Flawless” ride to and from FedEx Field. 

The last Silver Line train toward Ashburn on Sunday night will now depart Morgan Boulevard at 12:04 a.m. instead of 11:34 p.m., allowing concertgoers enough time to walk from the stadium to the station. Metro will make late trains available at transfer stations so customers aboard the final Silver Line train can rely on Metro to get them to their destinations on all lines. All customers in line at Morgan Boulevard at 12:04 a.m. will be accommodated.


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