The inaugural Maryland Cider Festival is taking place this Saturday, September 9th at Two Story Chimney Ciderworks (7115 Damascus Rd. Gaitherburg, MD 20882) from 11am until 4pm. Though the event has a Gaithersburg address, it’s north of Laytonsville closer to Damascus. This event will showcase hard cider makers from across the Old Line State. You’ll also find local artisans, craft vendors, live music, and food trucks. Whether you’re an aficionado who knows their cider, cidre, or sidra, or you’re just looking for a refreshing change of taste this is the place to be. Come join us for a celebration of Maryland craft makers.

The festival will feature ten local cideries showcasing their best hard ciders, from dry to sweet, still to sparkling, modern to heritage, and everything in between. Ciders of all styles and types will be in glass for you to sample and take home, and you’ll get to learn more about the cider-making process from the experts. The festival will also have food trucks serving up delicious bites to pair with your cider, live music from local musicians for your enjoyment, and local craft vendors selling their unique and handmade products.


Chefs from Estuary, Money Muscle BBQ, dLeña, and 101 Hospitality Group Face Off During DC Central Kitchen’s Baddest Night of Doing Good at The Anthem

Capital Food Fight returns to The Anthem on Thursday, November 9th for the 19th installment of DC Central Kitchen’s raucous night of fighting hunger. The event will feature Montgomery County resident José Andres and Money Muscle BBQ/All Set/Fryer’s Roadside’s Ed Reavis. Tickets to this year’s event, presented by Instacart, go on sale Tuesday, September 5th at capitalfoodfight.org.


Our small team recently discussed a few upcoming events that some of our staff members/contributors/friends plan to attend in the coming weeks and while many were mentioned, we put together this list of the five events that came up the most:

GreekFest (9/8-9/10, Silver Spring): Saints Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church will hold its annual Greek festival starting Friday, September 8th and running until Sunday, September 10th. The festival will take place over three days–  on the grounds of Saints Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church, located at 701 Norwood Road in Silver Spring: Friday, 9/8: 4pm-9pm, Saturday, 9/9: 11am-9pm. Sunday, 9/10: 11am-7pm. Read more about the event here.


Rocktobierfest returns to Rockville Town Center on Saturday, Sept. 30 for a day of bands, beers and being together. The fifth edition of the free festival, from 11 a.m.-5 p.m., will include two stages of live music, food, beer sales by local breweries, and an artisan shopping area.

Bavarian and rock musical acts will take the stage, including Mike Surratt and the Continentals, Under the Covers, Capital Effect, Chesapeake Sons, Alt Washingtonia and Rockville German Band. Featured beverage vendors will include 7 Locks Brewing, Crooked Crab Brewing Company, Dawson’s Market, Denizens Brewing Co., Landmade Brewing, Lone Oak Farm Brewing Co., Saints Row Brewing, Silver Branch Brewing Company, Twin Valley Distillers, Waredaca Brewing Company and World of Beer.


RocktoberFest will take place at the Whelan Commons (19701 Fisher Avenue) in Poolesville on Saturday, October 21st. The event will consist of a day of fun fall activities for the whole family.

The events will include pumpkin painting, a costume parade, scarecrow making, smores stations, and bounce houses for kids.  For adults there will be a beer and wine tent featuring Manor Hill, Landmade and Rockwell Breweries.  There will also be an assortment of wines. The bandshell lineup includes No Stop Light from 2 – 3:30 and the Front Page Band from 4 – 6 pm. Additional information can be found on the Town of Poolesville website.


Current and retired MCPS employees (and one guest) are admitted free into regular season contests hosted by MCPS schools, contingent upon proper identification and the availability of space. MCPS employees include teachers, administrators, coaches and support staff. Acceptable identification includes the following:

The season opens on Friday, Sept. 1. County Sports Zone is the official website for MCPS high school schedules. Opening day for middle schools is Sept. 26, and middle schools schedules are available here.


The Rockville Antique and Classic Car Show, a city tradition for six decades, rolls into Rockville Civic Center Park on Saturday, Oct. 14.

The show’s 60th edition will be held 11 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at the picturesque park at 603 Edmonston Drive. Home to the historic Glenview Mansion, the hills of Rockville Civic Center Park offer a fall backdrop for collectors and enthusiasts to share memories as they stroll through vehicles from 32 car clubs, from Packard and Plymouth to Fiat and Ferrari. This year’s special display will celebrate 75 years of Lotus.


A couple years back we let you know of MoCo resident Jonathan Mensah, who created the All In Summer Tour– a platform that allows some of the best basketball players in our area to go head to head while crowds watch the games in person or through Instagram. Now, he has brought together Seneca Valley legend Bruce Massey Jr. And a Prince George’s County’s Kevin Kuteyi aka “Uncle Skoob” for a 2v2 tour event that will take place at Paint Branch High School on Saturday, September 2 from 2pm-7pm.

Mensah tells us he wanted to bring his tour back to its roots with 2v2 basketball, moving away from the 1v1 games for now. He is opening things up to all area basketball players who simply have to comment or send a DM in order to be invited to play (@all_in_summer_tour). Saturday’all event is free for the community.


Home bakers and professional bakers are invited to enter their best 1 or 2 crust pies made using seasonal ingredients available at the market – both sweet and savory. Celebrity judges taste the pies and winners are named in the following categories: Best Apple Pie, Best Peach Pie, Best Other Pie – Sweet, Best Other Pie – Savory, Best Kid’s Pie, Most Unusual Pie, Yummy Mess Award, and Professional Baker. Following judging, the market slices up the pies and sells them to the public to raise money for the market’s Federal Benefit Match Program. Tickets for pie slices will be sold inside the farmers market which is adjacent to the event. There are no fees to enter.


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