Entertainment

Gaithersburg Resident Owns One of the Most Valuable Hot Wheels Collections in the World

By MCS Staff

Mattel created Hot Wheels in 1968 to compete with Matchbox (which Mattel now owns). Although Hot Wheels were originally intended to be for children and young adults, they have become popular with adult collectors, and one of the most valuable collections in the world is owned by Bruce Pascal, who lives right here in Montgomery County (video below).

According to Fox 5, Pascal has more than 7,000 items in his collection. “To put it mildly, I’m obsessed with Hot Wheels,” Pascal told Fox 5. Though he got his first Hot Wherls car the year they were created, in 1968, it was until his mother gave him his old collection in 1999 that he rekindled his love for the model cars.

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Artists Invited to Sell Artwork at Spring Art Market

By MCS Staff

Due to limited availability of openings, artists are encouraged to send in their application as soon as possible. All applications must be received by February 28. The application and vendor agreement, including terms & conditions, is available here. Artists will be provided indoor or outdoor space to sell their artwork and will be responsible for setup, cleanup and handling their own sales. Wi-Fi and electricity are not guaranteed.

For more information, please call 301-258-6394, e-mail [email protected].

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Montgomery Parks offering up to $100,000 to winner of public art competition

By MCS Staff

Department is accepting submissions for a new public art installation in downtown Silver Spring park 

Montgomery Parks is looking for an artist to create a permanent art installation at Gene Lynch Urban Park in downtown Silver Spring. The newly constructed park sits on a quarter acre near the Silver Spring Metro and the Sarbanes Transit Center and will open this spring. It includes an open lawn area, a pergola with bench swings and a 10 x 13-foot concrete wall —the location of the new public artwork. 

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9-Year-Old Prince George’s County Native Keivonn Woodard Stars in HBO’s The Last of Us

By MCS Staff

9-Year-Old Keivonn Woodard is cast as Sam in HBO’s The Last of Us, a show based on the popular video game that has become one of HBO Max’s most watched series. This is the first acting job for Keivonn, who is a Bowie native– a city located in neighboring Prince George’s County.

Woodard is part of a six-generation deaf family, many of whom are actors. He also plays hockey locally for the Bowie Hockey Club 10U Team. The photo seen below, courtesy of the Bowie Hockey Club, shows the team after becoming the 2022 Ice Works St. Patrick’s Day Tournament Champions.

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New Logic Album Will Have Track Titled ‘Gaithersburg Freestyle’ Featuring Four Other Local Rappers

By MCS Staff

Gaithersburg native, Grammy Award nominated, and platinum selling musical artist Logic is gearing up to make a splash in 2023 with a little help from his friends, including local rappers C Dot Castro, Big Lenbo, Fat Trel, and Adé on the track named “Gaithersburg Freestyle” off of his upcoming album College Park, which is set to drop on Friday, February 24 (album cover below). It follows the June 2022 release of his album Vinyl Days, which peaked at number 12 on the Billboard 200.

Logic was born and raised in the West Deer Park neighborhood of Gaithersburg. Logic attended Gaithersburg High School and his ties to the area are still strong with a lot of his family still living in MoCo. The rapper also worked at Joe’s Crab Shack, located in the current True Food Kitchen space in Rio, and performed there a few times when he started off (including the video below):

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Art League of Germantown Celebrates 10th Annual Juried Exhibition

By MCS Staff

Arts on the Green in presents the 10th Annual Juried Membership Exhibition of the Art League of Germantown (ALOG). The exhibit is on display through April 16, 2023 At the Kentlands Mansion in Gaithersburg.

As part of this special exhibition, a multidiscipline workshop, Blooms & Beyond: Beginner’s Guide to Paper Flowers, will be held on Saturday, February 4 from 10:30 am to noon. Bill Mapes, ALOG’s Special Show Coordinator & Jaree Donnelly, the City’s Gallery Program Coordinator & a long-time art instructor, will share their insights about some of their favorite floral pieces from the exhibition. Jaree will share basic techniques on how to bring art to life with an introductory paper flowers craft class. All materials to create a card featuring paper flowers is included.

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MoCo Native Kevin Saunders Excels in Recent Roles on Major Shows

By MCS Staff

Actor Kevin Saunders grew up in Gaithersburg, attending Whetstone and Stedwick elementary schools in Gaithersburg and Montgomery Village. At 13, he moved to Western Maryland but came back to Gaithersburg when he was 20, later attending the University of Maryland at College Park. Now, his acting career is picking up steam– coming off of an appearance on the hit STARZ series BMF. In recent years he has had roles in Atlanta, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, Cobra Kai, and a lot more.

When asked about his favorite role, Saunders said, “This one is a tough one to be honest, so if I can answer this as a 2 parter. My first was Falcon and the Winter Soldier. That role was honestly a gift from God. I auditioned for the show June of 2019 for a completely different part and didn’t get it. Well in the thick of 2020, my agent calls me and say casting wants me to be sent to producers for one of the parts and the rest is history. The episode aired the day after my birthday while I was back home which made everything so surreal. Leaving my job and family to pursue my dream to now being in the MCU! My second was my role in Atlanta. I told myself as I was moving down that I was going to be on that show. I loved it, understood the comedy and wanted to be apart of the masterpiece. After switching agents I got my first and only audition for the role and I booked it. I got to improv a lot of moments in that scene with LaKeith Stanfield and we had GREAT convos about leaving our mark in this business as minority actors. Not only was my time on set as an actor amazing, but being a director/writer myself, they allowed me to stay behind and watch Hiro Murai’s process as a director and he was so welcoming to have me there.”

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Free Tickets Available for MCPS Dance Showcase on February 17

By MCS Staff

Get your free tickets now for the annual MCPS Dance Showcase, which will take place at 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 17 at James Hubert Blake High School. The snow date is Tuesday, Feb. 21. Reserve your tickets here. Blake is located at 300 Norwood Road in Silver Spring.

Students from the following 10 middle and high schools are expected to perform—A. Mario Loiederman, Forest Oak, Kingsview and Silver Spring International middle schools and Albert Einstein, Bethesda-Chevy Chase, Blake, Montgomery Blair, Northwood and Wheaton high schools. There will also be a performance from the All-County Dance Ensemble. These students thrive in dance class and exemplify their school’s instructional program. Student dancers in the ensemble are nominated by their dance teachers, and rehearse as a group for three months.

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Call to Artists For Paid Public Art Program

By MCS Staff

It is strongly recommend applicants read through the entire application and prepare all files, including renaming file names to the correct format, and drafting descriptions, statements and other information in advance to make the process more efficient.

GENERAL INFORMATION: The Gaithersburg Cultural Arts Advisory Committee (CAAC) seeks to promote artistic expression within our community, creative excellence from artists of all media, and incorporate artwork into the built and natural environment.  It is with this dedication that the CAAC invites artists to submit their qualifications to be considered for public art projects within our Art in Public Places Program (AIPP).  Artists will need to have experience creating public artworks, working with the community on public art projects, and ideally, as part of public art projects with adults and/or youth applicants should have arts education experience. The committee is interested in different types of media and approaches to art, including sculpture, murals, environmental artwork, etc.  Budgets for upcoming projects are in the range from $2,500 to $50,000 all-inclusive of design, creation and installation of artwork.

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