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After years of singing in their church choir, twins Bryan and Lauren Eng of Potomac made their professional debut singing "America the Beautiful" at the semi-final games in the Legg Mason Tennis Classic on Aug. 7 in Washington, D.C.

"When I started singing I told myself to not think about anything technical and try to have fun," said Bryan.

But the twins, both 11, weren't a package deal. They sang separately at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. and were each selected on their own merits out of more than 100 other children at a casting call several months ago.

"I was really nervous in the beginning but as I started to sing I got less and less nervous," Lauren said about the casting call. When it was time for the real performance, she had no fears.

"It's just really exciting, I mean we just never expected this," said their mother, Patricia Eng. "We had taken them to the casting calls just for the experience."

The twins, who attend Thomas W. Pyle Middle School, each had several friends come to the game to watch them perform.

"As soon as I hit my first note I could hear myself echoing and I looked up on the screen and saw myself and thought it was strange," Bryan said.

Because there was no rehearsal, Patricia said she was concerned about how the children would react to hearing the echo from the microphone, but they handled themselves like pros.

"Bryan is anxious to put himself on YouTube now," Patricia said.

Cool down with icy treats

Grab some sweet treats and help a good cause at the Second Annual Park Potomac Ice Cream Social for Charity.

Bring your family and a new or gently used backpack to the central plaza of Potomac Park Place, 12505 Park Potomac Ave., Thursday from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Ice cream treats are $3.50 and proceeds will got to low-income families in Montgomery County though charity Interfaith Works. Last year, residents collected more than 600 backpacks. Tickets for ice cream can be bought in advance at the Park Potomac front desk to receive additional coupons to ZoÎs Kitchen and Elevation Burger.

Book club marks milestone

Members of a Bethesda book club with no rules, no leader and no name read their 300th book 28 years after its creation.

The all-women club, comprised of members from Bethesda and the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, began as an informal group of acquaintances has grown into a group of friends.

After reading all 100 books on the Washington Post Book World's "Recommended Reading" column in 1990, the group continued by selecting books after their appreciation of literature grew. The discussion of the 300th book, "The Custom of the Country" by Edith Wharton, took place in May where the group also discussed their favorite and least favorite books.

Club members are Susan David, JoAnne Zujewski, Lisa Hemmer, Carole Trippe and Leslie Poche of Bethesda, Vicki Killian, Ellen McMurdie, Judy Jaffie and Polly Pettit of Takoma Park, Kori Calvert of Silver Spring, Karen Griffin and Ann Masters of Washington, D.C.

Submit ideas to protect water

The Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection is eliciting input to improve its watershed goals, outlines used to protect local waterways.

DEP is looking for comments on how to make improvements on runoff management, pollutant control, trash reduction and stream resource protection. To take the survey, visit www.surveymonkey.com/WRIS.

Tail wagging hour

Take Fido out for a drink and support the Montgomery County Humane Society.

Dogs are welcome to the outdoor patio party at Redwood Restaurant, 7121 Bethesda Land in Bethesda on Sept. 14.

The event requires a $10 donation at the door, or $15 per couple, and featured door and drink specials between 5:30 and 8:30 p.m.

For more information,

call 240-483-2846 or e-mail aowen@mchumane.org.

Bethesda bakes

The Bethesda Center Farm Market is holding a "Bake Bethesda a Pie" contest Sept. 5, where participants will compete to see who stands as the best amateur baker in the city.

The application fee to enter is $5, proceeds will benefit the Manna Food Bank, which supports food shelters in and around Washington, D.C. Contestants must not be employed as a professional baker.

The winner will receive a $100 gift certificate to redeemable at local restaurants, shops, and the Bethesda Central Farm Market.

Applications are due Aug. 31. For more information go to www.bethesdafarmmarket.com.

Campus Congratulations

Adam J. Mohr of North Potomac graduated summa cum laude from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University with a bachelor's degree in finance. Mohr also served as member of the Student-Managed Endowment for Educational Development for the past two years.

Raquel Silhy of Potomac has been awarded a Master of Science degree in management from Kaplan University on Aug. 7.

Elyse Marriott of Potomac made the honor roll at Southern Methodist University for the 2009-2010 school year.

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