More News

Church holds spring dance

Get ready to dance the night away at the Christ Congregational Church "Spring Cotillion" held from 8 to 11 p.m. Saturday at the church, 9525 Colesville Road in Silver Spring. Music is provided by the Big Band, conducted by Chuck O'Connor. Dress elegantly or dress casual but come ready to enjoy the evening. Light refreshments will be served. Admission is by donation.

New Lumina production comes to Round House Theatre

Silver Spring-based performing arts group Lumina Studio Theater will presents "Boss John," an adaption of Shakespeare's "King John," 7 p.m. Friday, 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday at Round House Theatre, at 8641 Colesville Road in Silver Spring.

Based on one of Shakespeare's lesser-known plays, "Boss John" is set in 1850's New York City at the infamous Five Points. Tickets are on sale now at www.BrownPaperTickets.com.

Sign up today

for Takoma Park 5K walk/run

Remember those new running shoes you bought as part of your New Year's resolution to start jogging again? With registration now open for the Takoma Park 5k Challenge, now might be a good time to dig them out from under the bed.

Registration for the event, which drew nearly 300 residents last year, will be open until 7 a.m. April 29 for the walk/run event, which will take place May 2. A fun day for the family as well as professional and casual runners, the walk/run has events for children as well as adults and all ages in between.

For more information or to register, visit the event's Web site, www.tkpk5k.com.

Silver Spring nonprofit

planting trees in Haiti

Trees for the Future, a Silver Spring-based nonprofit organization providing economic opportunity through seed distribution and agro-forestry training, have been planting fast-growing, nutritious Moringa trees to help bolster struggling communities in Haiti, which was ravaged by earthquakes earlier this year.

Known as the "Miracle Tree," Moringa not only provide leaves that help combat undernourishment, but can also help fertilize the soil, restore degraded farmlands, and increase crop yields, according to a news release from Trees of the Future, which is celebrating its 20th year anniversary this year.

Artists market now offering local wares year-round

Fenton Street Market, a new outdoor artists market that made its Silver Spring debut last fall with two events, is going weekly this spring on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. beginning April 17 at the corner of Fenton Street and Silver Spring Avenue. Market founder and Silver Spring resident Hannah McCann is currently looking for vendors for the market, which last year featured more than 60 vendors selling antiques, imported goods, crafts, art and food, plus live music and various interactive programs to entertain and engage shoppers.

Everyone with a service or product of value to the community is encouraged to participate in the market. All applications will be considered, with an emphasis on quality and variety of product to keep the market fresh. Applications are being accepted on a rolling basis through the season's end in October, and are available online at www.fentonstreetmarket.com.

The market is now being run as a partnership between McCann and the Latino Economic Development Corporation (LEDC), an area nonprofit supporting small and independent business. Local resident Debbie Lee, founder of Rock-n-Romp and Handmade Mart, has signed on as the Fenton Street Market's manager. Free parking in the public lots across Fenton Street.

Spring music series comes to Long Branch Library

Spring is in the air and for Montgomery County Public Libraries, so is music. MCPL is celebrating spring with a series of free musical programs at branches around the county that will feature a Latin jazz ensemble, a jazz pianist, a classic jazz quartet and a brass band that offers a range of musical styles.

Sabroso! Latin Jazz Ensemble will bring their high-energy brand of traditional jazz standards seasoned with an authentic Afro-Cuban and smooth jazz instrumentation to the Long Branch Library, 8800 Garland Ave. in Silver Spring, at 2 p.m. April 17.

The musical programs are free and funded by the Friends of the Library, Montgomery County MD, Inc. To request ADA program accommodations, at least five work days in advance, or to receive more information about programs, call the library hosting the program.

Additional information is available at www.montgomerycountymd.gov/library, look for MCPL's "Check Us Out Calendar of Events," or call Ask-a-Librarian Language Line at 240-777-0001. TTY users call Maryland Relay at 7-1-1.

Local environmental group partners with salon for Earth Month

Silver Spring-based environmental group Potomac Conservancy has been a chosen as an Aveda Earth Month Partner, collaborating on a host of volunteer and fundraising events with Aveda for their April Earth Month Campaign. Aveda is a Minnesota-based company that provides beauty industry professionals with botanically based products.

In 2009, the partnership with Aveda resulted in more than $25,000 raised in support of the Potomac Conservancy's work to protect the Potomac River and its tributaries, where 80 percent of Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area residents get their drinking water. For a list of events visit www.potomac.org.