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Sample the best of the area's microbreweries from 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday at the Takoma Foundation's second-annual Nuclear-Free Beerfest. It's all going down in the Historic Cady Lee Mansion, 7064 Eastern Ave. N.W. in Takoma, D.C. The event will feature music by award-winning Karen Collins and the Backroads Band. Tickets are $35 ($25 of that is tax deductible) and can be purchased at Now & Then, 6927 Laurel Ave. or the Olive Lounge, 7006 Carroll Ave., both in Takoma Park. Visit www.takoma

foundation.org for more information.

Final days of Hispanic Heritage Month at Montgomery College

Having trouble letting go of Hispanic Heritage month? Despite the fact that the nationwide celebration of Hispanic Americans officially ends Friday, there are plenty of events in the next few days to focus on, including the closing days of Montgomery College's ongoing Latin American Film Festival.

A showing of the movie "Real Women Have Curves," a 2002 award-winning film, will be screened from noon to 3 p.m. Thursday in room CM211 at the college's Takoma Park/Silver Spring campus, 7600 Takoma Ave. in Takoma Park. The film is about Ana Garcia, a young Mexican-American woman torn between the traditional ideals of her mother and her own, more modern views of a woman's place in the world against the vibrant backdrop of East Los Angeles.

For more information about this screening, please contact Shelley Jones at 240-567-1673.

Then be sure to attend a screening of the 56-minute documentary film, "Hands of Harvest," as part of the college's Documentary Screening Series. The film will begin at 7 p.m. Friday in the college's Cafritz Foundation Arts Center lecture hall, 930 King St. in Silver Spring and will focus on the day-to-day lives of migrant Mexican women who travel to Maryland fishing villages on the Eastern Shore each year to fish for crabs to support their families and the failing industry. Adrian Muys, the film's producer, will be present at the event.

For additional information contact Gloria Bonilla at 240-567-3961 or by e-mail at Gloria.Bonilla@

montgomerycollege.edu.

What the Health?

An apple a day keeps the doctor away — and so does a visit to the 2010 Health and Wealth Fair. Stop by the Marilyn J. Praisner Community Center at 14906 Old Columbia Pike in Burtonsville from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday for blood pressure screening, body fat analysis and fitness tips. Donate blood at the American Red Cross blood drive or take a free yoga or Zumba class. Kill two birds with one stone by picking up some home ownership and mortgage info. The day includes workshops ranging from topics like Diabetes and You to Financial Planning and Investments.

Keep on Truckin'

Does your child love the gleaming red fire trucks that wail down the road, off to fight some flames? See the vehicles up close and personal at the Burtonsville Volunteer Fire Department Open House at 13900 Old Columbia Pike from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. Learn about fire prevention, check out some fun demonstrations and, best of all, see those firefighting machines. Bring the whole family for an afternoon of fun and learning.

Kiss for a cause

Pucker up and smooch outside the Super Fresh on Cherry Hill Road, all for the purpose of raising awareness of pulmonary hypertension. The Capital Breathers will be attempting to break a Guinness World record and raise awareness of PH from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday outside the Super Fresh grocery store, 12028 Cherry Hill Road in Silver Spring. Stop by, kiss and purchase a meal — hotdogs, chips and a soda for just $2 — but make sure you do it in that order; nobody wants to kiss you with chip breath. For more information or to volunteer, contact Kimberlee Ford at 301-404-7548 or capitalbreathers@yahoo.com

Classes and events

at regional services center

While running this announcement in English may miss the point a bit, classes in English for Speakers of Other Languages will be offered Wednesday evenings through October at the Eastern Montgomery Regional Services Center, 3300 Briggs Chaney Road in Silver Spring. Beginner and intermediate level classes for adults meet each Wednesday from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the center and cost $20, plus a $20 book fee.

To sign up for a class or for more information, please call 240-777-8400.

The center will also host a series of free clinics by the Montgomery County Bar Foundation Pro Bono Program offering no-charge legal advice aimed at helping low income residents in need of legal counseling. Sessions are held the first and second Thursdays of every month from 6 to 9 p.m., with the next two clinics taking place tomorrow and Nov. 4.

Participants are asked to fill out a client intake form to be completed by 6 p.m. the day of the session, so act quickly to claim a spot in tomorrow's class.

For additional information, please contact the Pro Bono Program Monday through Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 301-424-7651, 301-424-7652 or 301-424-7633. For directions, please call 240-777-8411.

Networking happy hour

Not that you need an excuse to head to Wheaton's Royal Mile Pub, but if that would make you feel better about your pre-dinner drinking, you're in luck! The Wheaton & Kensington Chamber of Commerce will be hosting a networking happy hour from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the pub, 2407 Price Avenue in Wheaton. Residents and business-owners can stop in to share drinks and laughs with members and friends of the chamber of commerce. There's no entrance fee, but there will be a cash bar, appetizers with homemade scones and a single malt scotch tasting. Call the pub at 301-946-4511 with questions, but RSVP to Wendy Howard, available at 301-946-5091 or woweeh@aol.com.

The great pumpkin patch

Take in the crisp air and fall foliage while picking out that perfect pumpkin for your jack-o-lantern or pie. Norman's Farmer's Market boasts a local pumpkin patch, open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily at the intersection of Fenton Street and Thayer Avenue. While you're there, check out the array of fall squash, apples, granola, cider, corn stalks and more. This weekend, there will be balloons and face painters at the market to keep your little ones entertained. Visit www.normansfarmmarket.com for more information.

Dreamy events coming

to the Silver Spring Library

Don't miss your chance to meet local author Olga Grushin at 7 p.m. tonight in the Silver Spring Library, 8901 Colesville Road in Silver Spring for a discussion of her book, "The Dream Life of Sukhanov," a novel about Anatoly Sukhanov, a 56-year-old Russian artist who traded his career as a daring underground painter in his youth in exchange for the perks and comforts of a Soviet apparatchik, or, functionary of the Communist Party, in his latter years. Grushin has won numerous awards and commendations for her work and will be present at the event.

Then, for younger library patrons from kindergarten through elementary school age, come one, come all to the exciting "Candy & Cupcake Dreamland Adventures" puppet theatre at 2 p.m. Saturday at the library.

Storyteller and child entertainer Candy will share stories, songs and lots of fun with the help of her teddy bear friend, Cupcake for an event that is sure to be a blast for the whole family.

Both events are free and open to the public, and for additional information about upcoming library events please check the county library website, www. montgomerycountymd.gov/libraries or call 240-777-0196.

Operation Christmas Child

Get in the Christmas spirit early this year by giving to those less fortunate. Local churches are collecting shoe boxes of school supplies, toys, necessity items, candy, and a letter of encouragement to deliver to children in need around the world. The filled boxes will be handed over to Operation Christmas Child, a project of Samaritan's Purse, an international Christian relief organization. Nearby drop-off locations include First Alliance Church, 14500 New Hampshire Ave. in Silver Spring, where the office hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, and Church of the Resurrection, 3315 Old Columbia Pike in Burtonsville, where the office hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. For more information, visit www.samaritanspurse.org.

Takoma Park library book sale

Attention all book lovers and read-a-holics, the semi-annual Friends of the Takoma Park Maryland Library Book Sale will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 23 at the library, 101 Philadelphia Ave. in Takoma Park.

Don't miss this rare opportunity to own some of your favorite books from the library's catalogue, with thousands of titles available and all proceeds going toward the Friends of Takoma Park Maryland Library, a group of library enthusiasts dedicated to funding and supporting the small, independent city library.

Hardcovers will be sold for $1 while trade paperbacks and mass-market paperbacks will be on sale for 50 cents and 25 cents, respectively.

For additional information, please contact the FTPML at 301-891-7259 or visit the group's website, www.ftpml.org.

New highway laws in effect now

Maryland drivers and highway commuters: the new ban on cell phones while driving is not the only new law now in effect in the state, as of Oct. 1 drivers are now required to make lane changes to avoid vehicles parked on the side of highways for emergencies or other situations.

The new "Move Over" law requires drivers approaching emergency stopped vehicles from the rear to either make a lane change to a lane not immediately next to the stopped vehicle if safe to do so, or, if a lane change is not possible, the driver must "Slow to a reasonable and prudent speed that is safe for existing traffic conditions," according to the law.

The law is designed to prevent accidents from happening involving vehicles pulled over to the side of major highways. The penalty for violators include a $110.00 fine and one point, or, if the violation contributes to a collision, a $150.00 fine and three points. If the violation results in serious bodily injury or death, the penalty is a $750.00 fine and three points in addition to any other criminal and civil sanctions.

For more information on this law and other newly enacted laws, visit the Maryland State Highway Administration website at www.marylandroads.com.

Group formed to investigate Pepco outages

County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) has formed a 12-member work group of county residents tasked with investigating the causes and possible solutions to the frequent Pepco power outages that hit the county during severe storms this year.

Chaired by retired Lockheed Martin CEO and county resident Norman R. Augustine, the group will examine each of the recent outages in the hopes of avoiding such problems in the future. Among the issues the group will look into for the utility service in Montgomery County are Pepco's preventative maintenance and tree trimming measures, Pepco's response and willingness to contract outside assistance during outages and the adequacy of Pepco's communications efforts to inform the public of the scope of outages, among other topics.

Other members of the work group include Gerald Fitzpatrick, a member of the Federal Smart Grid Task Force, Michal Ilana Freedhoff, a staff member on the House Energy and Commerce Commission, Scott Hempling, the executive director of the National Regulatory Research Institute and Steve Richter, an electric utility industry consultant, to name a few.

The group is to present its findings in a report to Leggett within the next three to six months.