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The Downtown Wheaton Flea Market was successfully moved this month from the grassy lot at Reedie Drive and Grandview Avenue to the Safeway store parking lot at the corner of Georgia Avenue and Reedie Drive. Since Safeway has closed, this move will provide additional space for more vendors who are interested in setting up at this market. The downtown Wheaton area has proven to be an excellent location for this flea market, and the past two weeks' flea markets have been such a success that the weekly Wheaton farmer's market also moved to the Safeway parking lot this past week. The farmer's market provides fresh produce for sale from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sundays from June to October and the Wheaton flea market, held every Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., is a great opportunity for many vendors to sell their merchandise and for Wheaton residents and visitors to make purchases at reasonable prices. Items being purchased include art, crafts, jewelry, toys, antiques, books, cloths, electronics, new/used household items and much more. It is across the street from the Wheaton Metro station and one block from the Westfield Shopping Mall. Vendor space is available; for applications or additional information call 301-649-1915 or view www.wheatonmd.org.

IRS to hold open house

in Wheaton for taxpayers

The Internal Revenue Service is hosting a special open house this Saturday to help small businesses and residents solve those thorny tax problems that didn't disappear after April 15. Five IRS Taxpayer Assistance Centers across Maryland and 200 across the nation will be open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, including the one in Wheaton at 11510 Georgia Ave.

IRS staff will be available on site or by telephone to help taxpayers handle issues involving notices and payments, return preparation, audits and a variety of other issues. At a previous IRS Open House on March 27, approximately two-thirds of taxpayers requested and received assistance with payments and notices and 88 percent of those had their issues resolved the same day, according to IRS spokesman James Dupree.

The Open House on Saturday is the first of three events scheduled through the end of June. The next two are planned for June 5 and June 26; stay tuned to The Gazette for more details.

County planners to hold forum on sector plan amendment

Montgomery County planners would like to hear what you think about the Wheaton Sector Plan, an updated version of the 19-year-old sector plan that provides zoning, transportation and environmental guidelines for downtown Wheaton. A community meeting will be held at 7 p.m. May 19 at the Gilchrist Center, 11319 Elkin St. in Wheaton, to give residents a chance to review and comment on the sector plan's preliminary recommendations before they are presented to the Planning Board in the next month or so.

The proposed sector plan is designed to encourage business investment in Wheaton, smart growth near the Metro, a more walkable downtown, environmental sustainability and more. Planners view the forum as one way to hear from Wheaton residents, workers and business owners about what they think the Wheaton of the future should be.

Planners develop master and sector plans to create a long-range planning framework for each community designed to last 15 to 20 years. After the May 19 community forum, the planners will present a draft plan to the Planning Board. The board will hold a public hearing later this summer on the plan. After a detailed review of the draft through a series of work sessions, the plan will be sent to the County Council for final review and approval by December 2010 or January 2011.

Learn more about the Wheaton Sector Plan Amendment at www.montgomeryplanning.org/

community/wheaton/index.shtm.

Habitat for Humanity donates home as part of partnership

This past Saturday, Habitat for Humanity of Montgomery County donated a 10th home to a needy family that the county's Habitat has renovated since joining in a partnership with the county and local communities to purchase and renovate foreclosed homes in areas hard hit by the economy.

Habitat workers and Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, a national faith-based financial services company, gathered at the future home of Hidar, Salem and their sons at Napier Street to honor the hard work, generous financial contributions and community support that made the rehabilitation of the Glenmont/Aspen Hill home possible.

The renovation was a part of the Neighborhood Revitalization Program, a partnership between Habitat and the Department of Housing and Community Affairs to purchase and rehabilitate vacant, foreclosed homes in Montgomery County. This particular home was a result of another partnership between Habitat for Humanity International and Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. This partnership, called Thrivent Builds with Habitat for Humanity, has led to the completion of more than 2,000 decent, affordable homes across the country and around the world since 2005. Thanks to its 2.6 million members, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans was able to help Habitat alleviate the foreclosure crisis.

Wheaton church to host

yard sale, looking for sellers

Hughes United Methodist Church will hold a community yard sale from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the church, 10700 Georgia Ave. in Wheaton, and the public is welcome to get in on the fun. Participants will keep the proceeds of their sales and may reserve a space for $15. Spaces are reserved on a first-available basis. Tables will be available for rent for $5 on the day of the sale while they last. Call the church office at 301-949-8383 to reserve your space. The event will also include breakfast and lunch sales, a bake sale, children's activities and a certified antique appraiser on site. The rain date is May 22.

Brookside Gardens' requesting volunteers for butterfly exhibit

Brookside Gardens' Wings of Fancy is looking for volunteers to help run the live butterfly and caterpillar exhibit, which is held annually at the Wheaton gardens. The exhibit launched earlier this month and will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily until Sept. 19. Volunteers can help serve as flight attendants, which share information about butterflies with visitors and enforce government regulations to ensure butterflies do not escape from the exhibit room.

Information specialists will introduce visitors to the exhibit rules as they arrive and collect tickets already purchased in the gift shops, and tour guides share information more formally by meeting scheduled groups and giving guided tours, primarily to young school-aged students.

The minimum age for volunteering is 14 for information specialists and flight attendants and age 16 for tour guides. Students ages 11-13 may volunteer for flight attendant and information specialist positions with a parent or guardian present at all times. These volunteer opportunities are approved for Student Service Learning credit.

Job-specific and on-the-job training are provided for all volunteer positions several times throughout the season. In addition, Wings of Fancy volunteers are asked to complete a brief web-based E-Learning course.

For additional information on how to submit a volunteer application and to sign up for training sessions, call the volunteer coordinator at 301- 962-1429 or send an e-mail to MCP-GardenVolunteer@montgomery

parks.org. Brookside Gardens is located at 1800 Glenallan Ave. in Wheaton.

Items for People and Places may be sent to Amber Parcher, The Gazette, 13501 Virginia Manor Road, Laurel, MD 20707. The fax line is 240-473-7501; or e-mail aparcher@gazette.net. Call 240-473-7505. Deadline is one week prior to publication for consideration.

National Park Seminary Historic District to hold guided walking tour

Get to know the National Park Seminary Historic District, just behind the Montgomery Hills and Forest Glen neighborhoods, with a walking tour 1 p.m. May 22 at the park's entrance, 2755 Cassedy St. in Silver Spring. Tour signs will be posted on Linden Lane and parking will be on Linden Lane and Cassedy and Ament streets. The walk is hosted by Save Our Seminary at Forest Glen, which is dedicated to the preservation, history and future of the National Park Seminary Historic District in Silver Spring.

Wheaton PTSA seeking donations for post-prom party

All of the Wheaton community is feeling this year's budget crunch, and the Wheaton High School PTSA is no exception. The parent-teacher-student association is planning the school's annual post-prom party, which provides a safe and fun environment for Wheaton seniors to spend one of their last nights together. But the group is struggling to raise enough money to pull of "a really cool party," said PTSA Membership Chairwoman Donna Wright, and it needs your help. Wright is looking for gift donations to hand out at the post-prom party, such as laptops, gift cards to restaurants, movies or shops. Wheaton's prom party will be held the evening of May 28 and into the wee hours of May 29. For more information on how to donate, e-mail Wright at dwright614@gmail.com.

Taste of Wheaton

to be held Sunday

It's no secret Wheaton has some of the best ethnic food in the metropolitan region. But if you need an excuse to try out one of the area's many gastronomical delights, the 15th annual Taste of Wheaton is the perfect one.

Slated from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday in downtown Wheaton, the Taste of Wheaton offers $1 and $5 samples of culinary creations from some of Wheaton's best restaurants, Latin American wine tastings and demonstrations from local businesses and schools, such as the environmental-design company All Eco Center, knitting store The Yarn Spot and the Montgomery Blair High School's winning Robotics Team.

And when you just can't eat anymore, there's plenty of activities not related to food the whole family will enjoy. With their bellies full, kids will enjoy rides, face paintings and art. And with the money left over in your wallet from all the cheap tastes, you can browse craft, collectibles and jewelry vendors for more good finds. There will also be county and nonprofit information booths and two stages of live entertainment, featuring jazz singer Matt Wigler, salsa band Sin Miedo and many more performances. If you're a craft vendor who'd like to display your wares at the popular festival, visit www.wheatonmd.org for applications.

Area temple to host famous Jewish musician for a free concert

Ricky Recht, the top-touring musician in Jewish music, will hold a free musical Shabbat service 7:30 p.m. Friday at Temple Shalom, 8401 Grubb Road in Chevy Chase.

Recht's "Shabbat Alive!" family service will be an interactive, spiritual and musical Shabbat service involving the participation of talented members of the community, including the Shir Shalom Adult Choir, The Shabbat Ruach Band, Ruach Teen Choir and Band as well as Temple Shalom's Youth Choir.

Recht is one of the top touring artists in Jewish music today, performing more than 125 concerts each year from coast to coast. His music is a blend of pop, radio-friendly music in Hebrew and English-based Jewish text and themes of social responsibility. Recht has become an icon for Jewish youth in the United States, elevating the medium of Jewish music as a powerful and effective tool for developing Jewish pride and identity among the masses.

For more information about Recht or to purchase CDs and merchandise, call 314-991-0909 or e-mail darrell@rickrecht.com. Also visit www.rickrecht.com or www.facebook.com/RickRecht. For more information about the event, visit www.templeshalom.net.

Senior volunteer drivers needed

The Senior Connection urgently needs Montgomery County residents to volunteer to help their neighbors 62 and older live as independently as possible by providing escorted transportation to scheduled medical appointments, helping with grocery shopping and running errands and paying a friendly visit or making a phone call to share companionship.

The time commitment and schedule are flexible and volunteers are provided with life-skills training and recognition events. The Senior Connection also provides volunteer liability insurance coverage.

Call The Senior Connection at 301-962-0820, or e-mail seniorconnectionmc@gmail.com

Catholic Charities to hold weekly immigration ‘charlas'

Come "chat" about immigration at 11 a.m. every Tuesday at Catholic Charities Montgomery County Center, at 12247 Georgia Ave. in Wheaton. For $30 a person, learn about law, your rights and the potential benefits of your immigration situation before hiring an immigration attorney.