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.
https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=350012294088962
Opening Date For New Rio Playground Announced
The new playground at Rio will be opening on Wednesday, July 7th. According to Rio, the 8500 sq. ft open-air playground features slides, a rotating climber, sensory play, an ADA -accessible surface, and shade pavilions to keep kids cool while they play.
Below you’ll see some pictures and a video of the progress from earlier this month:
New playground will open at @RIOLakefront this summerhttps://t.co/9ULKOD86pL pic.twitter.com/zRBA2bzwWc
— The MoCoShow (MCS) (@TheMoCoShow) June 9, 2021
MoCo Park Police Officer Rescues Kitten Stuck in The Engine Compartment of Vehicle in Germantown
On Sunday afternoon, Maryland Park Police tweeted that an officer responding to the Germantown SoccerPlex rescued a kitten from the inside of a vehicle’s engine compartment. The cat was then taken to the MoCo Animal Services & Adoption Center.
This morning officers responded to the Germantown SoccerPlex for the report of a kitten stuck in the engine compartment of a vehicle. The kitten was rescued and transported to the @mcasac shelter for evaluation and adoption if an owner is not located. pic.twitter.com/Rdevgn53v1
— Park Police MC (@ParkPolice) June 6, 2021
In other cat/kitten news, did you know that June is national Adopt a Cat Month? Click here to see a list of animals currently up for adoption at the Montgomery County Humane Society.
Did you know June is #AdoptACatMonth? We have some amazing cats ready to find their forever homes! For more information and to fill out an application, please visit our website. 😻https://t.co/V6HY2oqbOL#adoptablecats #rescuecats #adoptme #adoptdontshop #letsbehumanetogether pic.twitter.com/DW5PNQOGFE
— MoCo Humane Society (@MoCoHumane) June 1, 2021
Black Hill Nature Center Reopens This Saturday
Per Montgomery Parks:
Starting June 5, Black Hill Visitor Center will be open from 12 – 4 pm on Saturdays and Sundays.
Black Hill Visitor Center is located in Boyds, Maryland, overlooking Little Seneca Lake in Black Hill Regional Park. The center is home to the Black Hill Nature Programs.
The Visitor Center hosts an information desk, restrooms, exhibits, children’s corner, auditorium, and naturalist staff offices. It is a perfect place to get more information about the park, attend a nature program, purchase boating permit, or take a break to enjoy a glorious sunset
Outside surrounding the center, are natural play spaces perfect for fun exploration, native plant gardens maintained by wonderful volunteers, a pond, meadow, and a one of a kind Earth Bench.
Black Hill Regional Park is open for exercise and the enjoyment of fresh air, open, green space.
Visit https://www.montgomeryparks.org/parks-and-trails/black-hill-nature-programs/ for more information.
The National Capital Trolley Museum, on Bonifant Road in Colesville, has reopened for Saturday visits.
They will be open on Saturdays only until further notice. Saturdays the Museum is open from 12PM to 5PM. Saturday afternoons, the Museum hosts hourly guided tours and rides on the Museum’s fleet of historic streetcars.
The museum recommends visitors make online reservations. The Museum’s current hours are determined by staffing and local guidelines, including masking and social distancing. Online, the Museum also offers a virtual tour of their facility.
“Tails on the Trails” Fun Run and Walk This Saturday at Cabin John Regional Park
Montgomery Parks is hosting a free fun run event for residents and their dogs this Saturday at 9am at the Robert C McDonell Campground (7701 Tuckerman Lane in Rockville).
From Montgomery Parks:
In celebration of National Pet Month, Montgomery Parks is excited to announce Tails on the Trails Fun Run and Walk, a free event designed to include your four-legged family members!
Join us at the Robert C. McDonell Campground at Cabin John Regional Park, where you will find a beautiful natural surface path that is about one mile long. Check-in will take place at the entrance to the campground. There your dog will be able to go through an agility course, pose for pictures, and sniff to their heart’s desire within the campground.
Parking is available by the check-in area. Overflow parking available at the Group Picnic Area on Tuckerman Lane or along the gravel path leading to the campground. Keep an eye out for volunteers and signage when parking!
The race begins at 9 am and ends at 12 pm. Registration is required, and guests may sign up for a specific start time. Please only arrive during your start-time window, as these start times are used to control the number of guests on the trail due to COVID-19 restrictions. All park rules and regulations regarding animals in the park apply. Reminder: Dogs must be leashed at all times, and all waste must be picked up and disposed in trash can. For more information, please visit the Rules and Regulations section of our webpage.
Glen Echo Carousel Reopens Tomorrow
The Dentzel Carousel at Glen Echo Park will be reopening this Saturday, May 1st at noon. The carousel was installed in the park in 1921 and underwent a complete restoration between 1983 and 2003.
Due to COVID restrictions, their policies and precautions have been modified this year. Tickets and details are available here.
Glen Echo launched its 100th Anniversary Celebration of the carousel back in February.
The carousel has been closed since the summer of 2019 due to repairs and remained closed in 2020 because of the pandemic.
“Considered one of the most beautiful carousels in the United States, the Glen Echo Park ride was installed in 1921 by the Dentzel Carousel Company of Germantown, Pennsylvania. The carousel is one of only 135 functioning antique carousels in the country and one of the few still in its original location. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the carousel is truly a Washington area treasure!”
In early May, Montgomery County Department of Transportation contractors will close the Mill Run Drive Pedestrian Tunnel under Shady Grove Road for approximately two weeks.
During this closure, contractors will repair and repaint the ceiling, walls, and railings in the tunnel. Crews will also complete lighting repairs. The contractor for this project is Burtonsville-based Colossal Contractors Inc.
A temporary path will link the west side of Mill Run Drive with the pedestrian crosswalk across Shady Grove Road. Crews have recently installed pedestrian signals at that crosswalk.
The Montgomery County Department of Transportation aims to reopen the tunnel before swim season at the nearby Mill Creek Towne Swim Association. The area surrounding the tunnel will be backfilled and reseeded after the tunnel work is complete.
In early May, we are closing the ped. tunnel at the intersection of Shady Grove Rd & Mill Run Dr for 2-3 weeks. A temporary, alternative ped. pathway has been installed. A newsletter was sent to nearby residents. Please email [email protected] with any questions.
— MCDOT Highway Services (@MontCo_Highways) April 20, 2021
Glenstone Museum Will Reopen Grounds March 4th
Glenstone Museum, located at 12100 Glen Rd in Potomac, will reopen its grounds on Thursday, March 4th. The modern art museum will be offering an “outdoor-only experience” as well as reopening their outdoor dining area.
Glenstone will be open Thursday through Sunday from 10AM-5PM. Admission, which is free, can be scheduled at www.glenstone.org. According to MyMCMedia, March and April dates have already sold out.
The museum grounds feature close to 300 acres of of trails and paths that have been integrated with sculptures and exhibits.
Photos courtesy of glenstone.org
A list of the COVID-19 precautionary measures can be found here.
In a press release, Glenstone Director Emily Rales said, “We welcome the community to return to Glenstone to explore the grounds and outdoor sculptures, while continuing to keep themselves and their neighbors safe.”
Controversy Surrounds Future of Historic Boyds Bridge
There are well over 600,000 bridges in the United States, with many of them barely remarkable to cyclists, drivers, and pedestrians passing over and under them.
However, plans to modify, replace, or altogether close them frequently cause controversy. Such is the case on Schaeffer Road in Boyds, where a bridge built in 1925 now has an uncertain future.
The 39-foot-long one lane bridge carries Schaeffer Road traffic over Little Seneca Creek, just west of the much newer Schaeffer Farms Trail crossing.
The existing historic bridge is in fact eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places, according to the Maryland Historical Trust. (Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties: 18-47).
As this single-span bridge has aged significantly, it is in need of substantial maintenance and repairs.
Schaeffer Road through Boyds is one of Montgomery County’s designated Rustic Roads. This designation is reserved for low-volume, primarily rural, roads that “reflect the agricultural character and rural origins of the County”, according to the Montgomery County Planning Department.
The Boyds Historical Society has recently learned that the County currently plans to replace not rehabilitate this historic bridge. A replacement bridge would not only have historical implications but also significant traffic and trail safety implications.
The advocacy group Action Committee for Transit points out that replacing this bridge may in fact directly conflict with the County’s ‘Vision Zero’ plan to eliminate severe and fatal vehicle crashes.
The narrow bridge serves as a traffic calming measure, making the Rustic Road and its Trail Crossing safer and much more accommodating for bicyclists and pedestrians travelling along Schaeffer Road as well as crossing Schaeffer Road exploring the Schaeffer Farms Trails. A wider replacement bridge would only increase vehicle speeds approaching and passing the trail crossing.
Designs or plans of any proposed replacement bridges have not yet been publicly released. It remains unclear if the replacement decision is final or if there is still potential to rehabilitate this historic bridge.
The bridge is not the Schaeffer Road’s only piece of history: in 1865, Germantown resident George Atzerodt, one of John Wilkes Booth’s co-conspirators who plotted to assassinate both President Abraham Lincoln and Vice President Andrew Johnson, was arrested at a farm along Schaeffer Road. Atzerodt was given a gun and assigned by Booth and other conspirators to kill the Vice President; though Atzerodt did not follow through, he was still arrested and ultimately hanged with other conspirators.
Feature Photo Courtesy of the Boyds Historical Society.
Many of you may have spent a sun-splashed day roaming the 18.3-acre grounds of Nike Missile Park in Gaithersburg near Snouffer School Road. However, this site was not always the lovely green space that we see today – and the “Nike” is not referring to the Swoosh we’re all familiar with. Project Nike was an anti-aircraft missile initiative that traces its roots back to 1944, when the U.S. Department of War (now the Department of Defense) tasked its scientists and engineers to develop a widespread anti-aircraft missile system. During the Cold War, tensions were at a fever pitch, and the U.S. military sought to ensure that the nation was protected in the event of an attack.
Previously known as Site W-94 in the Washington-Baltimore Defense Area (BA, W), the Gaithersburg site was one of several Nike facilities across the capital region equipped with anti-aircraft infrastructure for use in the case of airborne attacks. The site was equipped with the Nike Ajax (MIM-3) missile systems, which were the main foundation of the Nike program until the mid-1960s. Once the technology advanced past the Ajax’s point, the Gaithersburg Nike Missile site was deactivated and demolished, with the core site being transferred to the National Park Service and the surrounding areas developed into residential lots. In 1997, the National Park Service then transferred the site to the Maryland-National Capital Park Planning Commission (M-NCPPC), at which point we gained the Nike Missile Park that we know today.
