This Saturday, October 28th, the Kensington Volunteer Fire Department and the Town of Kensington are once again hosting their annual Halloween Movie Night. This year, “Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation” will be shown at dusk in St. Paul Park on the big screen. Costumes are encouraged for all attendees. The Kensington Volunteer Fire Department and the Town of Kensington will have refreshments available for purchase in the Park, including pizza, popcorn, and candy. Glowsticks will be available as well!

This year, the Kensington Volunteer Fire Department will also be visiting BabyCat Brewery’s 1st Halloween-iversary party. According to the Department’s Instagram story, they’ll bring one of their Fire Engines to the Brewery from 12PM-3PM.


Wendy’s, located at 5001 Nicholson Ln. in Rockville, will hold its Grand Reopening celebration on Saturday, September 23rd at 10:30am. As with recent area Wendy’s Grand Reopening celebrations, the fast food chain will offer “free food for a year” to the first 100 guests in line.

As the fast food chain did with one of its Gaithersburg locations and its Derwood location, Wendy’s will give away 100 VIP ticket to those 16 and older and present in line at 10:30am when the dining room opens (a purchase is necessary to be considered for a card). Anyone who gets a VIP ticket will be able to come back to the store once a week for a year to receive a free sandwich, salad, or breakfast biscuit.


This Saturday, July 22, the Kensington Volunteer Fire Department and the Town of Kensington are resuming their Summer Movie Night. This weekend, Wreck-It Ralph will be shown at dusk in St. Paul Park on the big screen.

Starting at 7PM, activities and games will be available in the Park, including a water balloon toss and the Fire Department’s Safety House. The Kensington Volunteer Fire Department encourages moviegoers to bring blankets, picnics, friends and family. Pizza, Popcorn, and other refreshments will be available for purchase. https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=298801665876692


According to the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office, “Today in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, MD, the Honorable Margaret Schweitzer sentenced defendant, Reginald Dunlap, 45, of Silver Spring, to life in prison suspend all but 55 years to serve and five years of supervised probation upon release. On March 10th, 2023, a jury found Dunlap guilty of First-Degree Murder for the brutal slaying of his wife, 40-year-old Lauren Charles. Charles was beloved in the community and dozens of friends and family members attended today’s sentencing hearing.”

Charles’ body was found inside the couple’s home on March 7th, 2021. She had asphyxiated due to a pillowcase forced down her throat and was beaten to death. A decorative Buddha statue is believed to have been the murder weapon. After murdering his wife, defendant, Dunlap poured bleach on her body and ransacked their bedroom in order to stage a crime scene.


Update (Postponed): Ailing historic tree expected to come down later this summer.Montgomery Parks has postponed plans to remove the historic Linden White Oak tree until later this summer. The removal is on hold pending a Historic Area Work Permit.

Montgomery Park’s Linden Oak, the largest white oak in Montgomery County, will be removed this week. The removal of the 300-year-old tree will take place on Wednesday, June 14, 2023 from 9 a.m.-Noon at Rock Creek Park (located at the intersection of Beach Drive, Grosvenor Lane and Rockville Pike).


‘Germantown Glory’ will take place on Tuesday, July 4th. It will feature live music beginning at 7 pm and fireworks beginning at 9:15 pm. No alcohol or pets are permitted. Time is approximate and may change due to weather. Additional information will be available closer to the event date. This event will be held at South Germantown Recreational Park (18041 Central Park Circle Boyds, Maryland 20841).

So far, other Montgomery County Independence Day celebrations have been announced in Gaithersburg, Kensington/Wheaton, Poolesville, and Rockville:


Mid-County Sparkles, one of Montgomery County’s Independence Day celebrations, will take place on Saturday, July 1st. Live music begins at 6 pm and fireworks begin at 9:15 pm. No alcohol or pets are permitted. Time is approximate and may change due to weather and additional information will be available closer to the event date. This event will be held at Newport Mill Local Park (11201 Newport Mill Road Wheaton, MD 20895).

So far, other Montgomery County Independence Day celebrations have been announced in Gaithersburg, Germantown, Poolesville, and Rockville:


Chuck E. Cheese will be moving from its current Rockville location at 5270 Randolph Rd in Loehmann’s Plaza (10,500 SF) to a larger space (16,331 SF) in White Flint Plaza taking over the space that was previously home to Retro Fitness which closed in May 2020, according to a Biz Journals report. The new location is in what’s technically considered Kensington, just over a mile away from the current location in Loehmann’s Plaza. A Chuck E. Cheese Rockville employee let us know that the current location will not close for a “couple months, probably around the end of May.” The new location is expected to open this summer.

Chuck E. Cheese has an additional Montgomery County location at 1127 University Blvd E in Takoma Park. The children’s indoor entertainment arcade also had a location in Gaithersburg that closed in 2020 after being in business at Gaithersburg Square for over 30 years. Per the Biz Journals report, the new location will “feature a 17-foot digital wall and other technological advances over the older locations. There will still be some Chuck E. Cheese mainstays, including things like skee-ball, air hockey, and, of course, pizza.” The Rockville location has also matched pre-2019 numbers this year, hosting 289 birthday parties.


It has been over two years since we let you know about the initial plans Kensington Crossing at 10619 Connecticut Avenue (at Plyers Mill Road). Since then, the plans were approved, and Kensington Crossing has already signed it’s first three tenants– M&T Bank, Buffalo Wild Wings GO, and Mezeh. Construction recently began at the site and a couple photos, along with additional information about each tenant, available below:

M&T Bank, which currently has a Kensington location on Howard Avenue, signed on as its first tenant to take over its largest space (2,635 SF). A representative from the Howard Avenue location has told us that the plan is for the branch to relocate to the new space once it’s ready to go.


View More Stories