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Downtown Bethesda is the place for art and culture this month with a gallery tour and artist market this weekend and outdoor movies coming up at the end of the month.

The Bethesda Art Walk, a guided tour of eight Bethesda art galleries, meets at 6:30 p.m., Friday, at the Bethesda Metro Center at the corner of Old Georgetown Road and Wisconsin Avenue. The guided tour will give patrons the opportunity to learn about Bethesda's galleries as well as their current shows and exhibiting artists. Aside from the eight galleries on the tour, four other galleries will also open their doors from 6 to 9 p.m. For a list of all participating galleries, visit www.bethesda.org.

The Bethesda Artist Market will feature work by 25 local and regional artists from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday in the Bethesda Place Plaza, located at the corner of Old Georgetown Road and Woodmont Avenue. Fine art and crafts will be on display and for sale. The market will also feature live music throughout the day.

Later this month, cinema under the stars comes to Bethesda with the Bethesda Outdoor Movies: Stars on the Avenue taking place July 28 through Aug. 1.

Movie-goers can bring their own lawn chairs to the corner of Norfolk and Auburn avenues in Bethesda's Woodmont Triangle for five nights of film. The series features something for everyone with new releases, action, documentary, comedy and classic movies. Movies start at 9 p.m. each night.

On the schedule are: "Grease" on July 28, "Dial M for Murder" on July 29, "American Graffiti" on July 30, "Twilight" on July 31 and "Mamma Mia" on Aug. 1.

All events are free. For more information, call the Bethesda Urban Partnership at 301-215-6660 or visit www.bethesda.org.

Golfers think pink

to fight breast cancer

Some of the professional golfers competing in the AT&T National last weekend sported pink ribbons in support of Amy Mickelson, wife of golfer Phil Mickelson. Amy Mickelson was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and although her husband did not play in the tournament held at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, players wore the ribbons to show support of her and others battling the disease.

Local golfers will have an opportunity to show their own support by participating in the second Metro DC Golf Tournament to Fight Breast Cancer, planned for July 17 at Bretton Woods Recreation Center.

The event costs $200 and includes a four-player scramble, picnic lunch, silent auction, sit-down dinner and awards ceremony. Participants will also get a free live action swing video analysis. Information and registration forms are available at the tournament Web site at www.thinkpinkgolf.org or contact the American Cancer Society at 703-938-5550. 

The 2009 Metro DC Golf Tournament to Fight Breast Cancer, in its second year at Bretton Woods, is a merger of the American Cancer Society's Virginia and Maryland women's golf tournaments. These former tournaments raised close to $2 million over their 15 year history. The tournament is open to both men and women players with competitions for mixed and single sex foursomes. Sponsors include Subway and The Bank Fund Staff Federal Credit Union.

Local artists gear up

for exhibitions

Escape the heat with some cool new art in Kensington and Garrett Park, where local artists are just beginning July shows. Kensington sculptor and portrait artist Jason Swain will have an exhibit displayed at Sub*Urban Trading Co., 10301 Kensington Pkwy, all through July, featuring about 25 paintings.

And in Garrett Park, town artist Sean Ruttkay will be the next artist to exhibit his works at the Penn Place Art Space beginning on Sunday. Ruttkay is a nature photographer who creates large photographs that are hand-mounted onto aluminum for outdoor display around decks, patios and gardens.

Bethesda, Rockville girls

win restaurant art contest

Bethesda resident Claire Brodsky and Isabella Konrad, of Rockville, were selected as the first- and second-place winners, respectively, in Benihana's inaugural "Children Helping Children" art contest.

From hundreds of entries, their artwork was judged as the best by Benihana's Bethesda restaurant staff. As winners, their artwork will be on display in the Bethesda restaurant and each will receive complimentary dinner packages.

The art contest is part of the famed teppanyaki restaurant company's 2009 "Children Helping Children" program. In addition, Benihana donated 100 percent of proceeds of all children's meals served on Japanese Children's Day, May 5, to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, one of the world's premier pediatric cancer research centers.

B-CC Rescue Squad

volunteers complete training

Members of the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad were honored in graduation ceremonies at the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Training Academy on June 26.

Thirteen Rescue Squad volunteers were recognized for completing training programs to become emergency medical technicians, paramedics, or firefighters. Rescue Squad Volunteer Howard Weinstein completed 982 hours of class work to attain Emergency Medical Technician-Paramedic (EMT-P) status. EMT-P certification is the highest level of medical training for pre-hospital care providers at the Rescue Squad. EMT-Ps are trained to treat life-threatening conditions and administer specialized drugs to patients experiencing health emergencies. Volunteer Jason Gill completed the Emergency Medical Technician-Intermediate (EMT-I) class. EMT-I certification requires 540 hours of classroom time and includes many of the skills required of EMT-Ps.

Rescue Squad volunteers Patrick Thomas and Elizabeth Friedman were the top performers in their respective classes and carried on the Rescue Squad tradition of excellence by receiving the Richard B. Thompson Award for outstanding academic performance in Montgomery County's Emergency Medical Technician-Basic Class. EMT-B is the first level of formalized medical training required for all Rescue Squad volunteers. The training program consists of 131 hours of classroom time, in-hospital clinical requirements and testing, in addition to countless hours spent riding Rescue Squad ambulances on actual emergency calls. EMT-Bs perform a variety of skills, including patient assessment, basic life support, and use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs). Rescue Squad volunteers Sarah Hodges, Jeffrey Michaels, Alissa Parmelee, Claire Perna, Evelyn Rivera and Victoria Rudd also completed the EMT-B class.

Rescue Squad volunteers Robert Dinkelspiel, Meghan Miller and Valerie Smith completed Montgomery County's rigorous Firefighting Class. The 162-hour course consists of extensive classroom instruction as well as physically demanding practical training, including live firefighting exercises. Training includes not only extinguishing fires, search and rescue techniques and incident command, but also skills needed to address a variety of emergency situations involving hazardous materials, electrical equipment, fire alarm and sprinkler systems, and many others.

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For Bethesda and Chevy Chase items, contact Stephanie Siegel via e-mail at ssiegel@gazette.net or phone at 301-280-3006. For Kensington and Garrett Park items, contact Jen Beasley via e-mail at jbeasley@gazette.net or phone at 301-280-3005. You can also send information by fax at 301-670-7183, or snail mail at 9030 Comprint Court, Gaithersburg, MD 20877.