Defensive End Demeioun “Chop” Robinson, Quince Orchard Class of 2021, was drafted in the 1st round of the NFL draft by the Miami Dolphins (21st overall). Chop helped the Cougars to a State Championship in 2018. He earned All-Met honors in 2019 and was the Maryland Gatorade Player of the year in 2021.
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Movie studio Lionsgate has announced that it is developing a new “The Blair Witch Project” with the horror experts at Blumhouse, according to a recent report by the Associated Press. The first installment of the franchise was primarily filmed right here in Montgomery County and was co-written, directed, and edited by Wheaton High School and Montgomery College graduate Eduardo Sánchez.
Westfield Montgomery Mall presents ‘Spring Fever’, a Spring/Summer 2024 sartorial celebration as an official event of the National Cherry Blossom Festival, furthering its commitment to cultivating meaningful cultural experiences that engage the local community. This elegant affair will be free and open to the public on Friday, April 5, with festivities starting at 6 PM and a fashion show at 7 PM in the Nordstrom Wing. For the occasion, participating retailers will offer special promotions including gifts with purchase, extended store hours, and discounted merchandise. (more…)
Note: After this article was published, we were able to get in touch with Patricia Richardson who shared additional information about her time in MoCo. Though she’s widely listed as being from Bethesda, she moved to the area from Hagerstown and attended Pyle Junior High (now middle school) before moving on to Holton Arms.
Recent rumors of a Home Improvement reunion via a possible reboot of the show have been swirling, but Montgomery County native Patricia Richardson put an end to them in a recent interview on the Back to the Best podcast.
Rachel Chavkin, a stage director perhaps best known for directing the musicals Natasha, Pierre, & The Great Comet of 1812 and Hadestown, was recently honored by having 48th St. in New York renamed Chavkin Way on March 20th. She is a 1998 graduate of John F. Kennedy High School in Silver Spring.
On Friday morning Holly Morris announced that she will be leaving FOX 5 after 25 years with the station. “It’s time for me to say goodbye to FOX 5 and to the world of local TV news.”
Saturday Night Live’s Heidi Gardner will no longer be performing at the Robert E. Parilla Performing Arts Center at Montgomery College in Rockville on Friday, March 22 due to changes with the schedule of a project she’s working on, according to a recent report by mymcmedia. Instead, she will be replaced by fellow cast member James Austin Johnson, known for his impression of former president Donald Trump. Tickets for the event are $25 ($23 for seniors, and $5 for students w/ ID) and can be purchased at www.montgomerycollege.edu/pac.
Montgomery County native Steven Rales won an Oscar for Best Live-Action Short Film as producer of the film, “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar.” Rales was born in Bethesda in 1951. He founded Danaher Corporation in 1984 with his brother Mitchell Rales (part owner of the Washington Commanders and founder of Glenstone), where Steven Rales is chairman of the board.
Natalie Jasmine Harris is a Black, queer filmmaker who is a native of Montgomery County, MD (Silver Spring). Her film, Grace, was selected for the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. According to a kickstarter for the finishing funds of the movie, it is described as “A Black Southern Gothic narrative short film set in the 1950s about a young girl named Grace coming into her womanhood and sexuality.”
Kelly Clarkson has been “highlighting folks from across the country who are stepping up in big ways for their local communities and neighbors.” Her show, The Kelly Clarkson Show, continued its search for 2024 Good Neighbor of the Year with Dana Marlowe, founder of I Support The Girls, a Washington D.C. area-based (Wheaton, MD) non-profit that collects and distributes millions of bras and feminine hygiene products for women in need. Marlowe herself is a resident of Montgomery County.
Andrew Italia is a Quince Orchard High School graduate and MoCo resident. When he was in college at the University of Maryland, he was the movie critic for The Maryland Diamondback. During his time as the movie critic, he began making Oscar predictions for all 24 categories. His all-time record is 21 out of 24, but he usually falls in the 18-20 range. Last Week we shared his Top 12 movie list for 2023. For more movies on Twitter/X, see @italia_budo
