Gaithersburg

The City celebrates and honors Native American Heritage Month in November with educational presentations, programs & a proclamation highlighting the culture, heritage & achievements of our Native American neighbors. Activities & exhibits celebrating Native American Heritage Month include:

Proclamation: An official proclamation designating November 2022 as “Native American Heritage Month” in the City will be presented at the November 7 Mayor & City Council meeting. The public is welcome to attend the meeting at City Hall, watch it live on YouTube or watch it via Zoom by registering here. The proclamation will be received by Milo Booth, a Tsimshian member of the Metlakatla Indian Community. Milo moved to the Gaithersburg area in 2011. He participates in multicultural events at schools, often visiting classrooms to talk about his heritage, including songs & dance and sharing items that are important to the Tsimshian culture.

Former Quince Orchard High School and Penn State football star Bani Gbadyu died early Saturday morning from complications related to pancreatic cancer, according to a report by the York Daily Record. “Close friends confirmed the news. They expect funeral and celebration of life services to be announced shortly in the Lebanon, Pa. area.”

Previous report (10/13/22): Bani Gbadyu made a name for himself battling on the football field. Now, the former Quince Orchard and Penn State student/athlete has a different battle. “I never thought I would hear the words Advanced Pancreatic Cancer in my life, much less at such a young age. Hearing and learning that I have cancer and being in the hospital for over 2 weeks has been the absolute hardest experience of my life.” Gbadyu wrote in a social media post yesterday.

On Thursday, August 18th, the conversion of the basketball courts to pickleball courts at Life Time in Gaithersburg began. The right side court have been permanently converted to Pickleball and is now open for use. The existing basketball court is in Gym 1 and Pickleball is now a permanent fixture.

Per the Life Time website, each club has scheduled pickup play for basketball throughout the week for adults, including 18+ and 40+ only, as well as kids 17 and under and 12 and under. Outside of the pickup schedule and other scheduled events on the court, you can always shoot hoops or find a game of 21, 2-on-2 or even a run of 5-on-5. Pickleball is offered through clinics, lessons, and open play, which is a series of set times every week where all players with a reservation can participate in fun and challenging games.

Back in July we let you know that Sportrock Climbing Centers is coming to Rio, taking over part of the space that was previously occupied by Sport & Health (Dave & Buster’s now occupies the other part of the space). Per an update provided to us by Rio today, Sportrock is aiming for a late 2023 opening. Sportrock opened the first commercial climbing gym in the DC metro area approximately 28 years ago in 1994, when it opened its Rockville. That location closed in 2006, but Sportrock has continued to operate successfully in Alexandria, Virginia. Now, it’s bringing rock climbing back to Rio, where many remember the much smaller walls that were a part of Sportland in the 90s.

The Sportrock founders met while training together at Zich’s (pronounced Zeke’s) Garage, a handmade climbing gym in Washington, DC. When Zich was 19 he was looking for a place to train in the wintertime. Zich convinced his supportive parents to let me build a DIY climbing space in their freestanding car garage. When the demand outgrew the space, Sportrock founders broke off and formed Sportrock’s first location in Rockville (14708 Southlawn Ln) so they would continue to have a place to climb and train together.

The team-building event is geared towards snow removal preparedness for the upcoming winter weather season. The “Snow Road-eo” returned to the Activity Center at Bohrer Park on Thursday, October 20, 2022. The team-building event is geared towards snow removal preparedness for the upcoming winter weather season.

Seven teams, each consisting of a snow plow driver & a navigator, competed in a timed obstacle course where they negotiated their way through eight stations along a plotted route. The course especially challenges the participants to operate large machinery in very tight spaces, something they encounter regularly when plowing courts & newer developments with on-street parking. Crew members completed pre-trip plow truck inspections and a written exam prior to the obstacle course event.