Events In Rockville 4/30/09

>Pick of the Week

All Town Square All Weekend!

Saturday, May 2, 2009 Cinco de Mayo 12 PM – 2 PM
Sunday, May 3, 2009 Shelter Walk ‘n Roll 1 PM – 3 PM

Cinco de Mayo

Led by Austin Grill’s overwhelming desire to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, Saturday’s going to be “excepcional” in Town Square. Maryland Avenue will be closed and filled with food and goodies from the Town Square merchants: Austin Grill, Bobby’s Crabcakes, Fractured Prune, Gordon Biersch, La Tasca Spanish Tapas Bar, Lebanese Taverna, Oro Pomodoro, Primo Italiano, Robeks Fruit Smoothies and Healthy Eats, Sushi Damo, Taste of Saigon, Pomegranate & Co., Ten Thousand Villages, and The Papery. Great Cinco de Mayo day discounts too! Austin Grill told me this was going to be even bigger and better than last year!

Live music ALL day long:

12:00 PM – Rueda USA, Latin Dance Program
12:30 PM - Gold’s Gym Zumba Demonstration

1:00 - 3:00 PM - Stokley Rose
From their website: “A high-energy original rock band with roots from bands like Metallica and Alice in Chains to Dave Matthew’s Band and the Black Crowes. We keep our fans guessing with an array of riff driven power mixed with a funky and melodic feel. This energy and feeling is translated into our live shows. We’ve blown the roof off of places like The Velvet Lounge and Jammin Java.”

3:45 - 4:45 PM - Keegan Corbey
From his MySpace: “Born and raised in Rockville MD I started playing music when I bought my first guitar at the age of 13 after listening to garage bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Sound Garden, and Green Day. I kept playing all the way through my four years at Good Counsel High School in Wheaton MD, and then spent a year studying in Nashville, TN at Middle Tennessee State University. Since then I have been living back in Rockville MD playing open mics and gigs at bars and coffee shops through out the DC area.”

4:45 - 5:45 PM Mariachi Band

6:00 - 9:00 PM The Reagan Years
From their website:”The East Coast’s premier 80’s tribute. This rock band of seasoned musicians recreates the sounds of the 1980s; a day when Ronald Reagan was President, M-TV first aired, CDs emerged, Acid Washed jeans were “Cool” and alternative music was called “New Wave”.” And “TRY’s stage show creates a party atmosphere filled with fun college and high school memories. Throughout a performance, the quintet changes lead vocalists and plays special requests from the Reagan era. Musical selections although diverse in style, all share the “common thread” of success during the 80′s decade. The Reagan Years: no Voodoo Economics, just great music!”
Picture of the Reagan Years by FaithDesired.

9:30 PM - 12:30 AM Eddie Stone inside Austin Grill
From their MySpace: “It’s a little hard to pick a sound so we got some songs that sound like these bands… The Who, Guns ‘n’ Roses, Pearl Jam, Rancid, Nirvana, Led Zeppelin… it’s just good ol’ ROCK ‘N’ ROLL!”

But it’s not just a hot music scene, you can keep the kids busy while you listen and enjoy some cold beverages:

Moonbounce 12-8 PM They ought to be tired!
Balloon Animals 12-6 PM
Crafts 12-4 PM by VisArts
Rocket Balloons at Toy Kingdom
Coloring for Kids at Gifford’s Ice Cream

Shelter Walk ‘n Roll

Please come join me to “Help End Homelessness … One Step at a Time”. (Yes, this is a shameless plug!) Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless’ (MCCH) 13th annual ShelterWalk ‘n Roll is this Sunday! Shelter Walk ‘n Roll 2009 benefits the thousands of people who experience homelessness in our community every year. As I’ve mentioned before, I work for MCCH and this event is planned by me. Enough said!

We’ll have even more music in the Square: “Jack Worthington & Denise D’Amico” Jack is an acoustic classic rock guitarist & singer joined by Denise on vocals and tambourine.

Activities for the entire family such as face painting, Plinko, a bean bag toss, and Find the Facts. Walk to raise awareness about the issues of homelessness in our community and support the programs of the Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless.

1 PM Registration and festivities begin. Just come by the table to participate and you’ll get a cool orange tshirt.

2 PM The one-mile walk begins. Walkers can choose to go around again for a two-mile walk. The route goes by Courthouse Square Park and the memorial to the Montgomery County residents who perished on September 11, 2001.

Music and festivities continue after the walk until the door prize winners are picked at 2:45 pm. We have some excellent prizes from Austin Grill Rockville, Dave’s Candy Kitchen, La Tasca Rockville, Robeks Fruit Smoothies and Strosniders Hardware.

Registration/Pledges:$25 for Adults (includes a T-shirt)$15 for children 5-18, and college students with I.D. (includes a T-shirt)Free for children under 5.

Events in Rockville

Here’s the links to Rockville Living’s events in two formats - a two week list or six week calendar.

This community event listing is a partnership between Rockville Central and Rockville Living. If you would like your community event to be listed, you must submit your request through Rockville Living using this form. We need your help colle
cting and posting events — that is how this resource will get better and better. Please become a regular contributor by requesting a username so that you can enter the information directly to the database.

If you attend an event, we invite you to write a Contributor Review. Just send it to Cindy Cotte Griffths and we will consider it. Rules: Event is in Rockville; fairly recent; article is your work; you are not offering it for publication elsewhere. Try to keep it under 500 words; we will edit for length. Include a photo if you have one.

POTD: Pathway

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These are so perfectly manicured along this winding sidewalk . . . it just caught my eye!

Contributor Opinion By Bill Neil: What Euphoria Can Do To a Decent Concept

>The recent Rockville Council debate about parking fees set me to thinking about broader growth policies here and in the County. Rockville Town Center is not going to rise or fall on parking policy as long as that policy is within the bounds of reason: marginal this or marginal that won’t make or break the whole concept, but broader economic forces, county growth policy, and the city’s own plans for the Pike can.

Maybe Town Center should have been on a much larger scale, much more residential, to sustain the retail/restaurants …County Councilwoman Nancy Floreen liked this line of reasoning…but how much residential density is needed to support the retail portion? Could anyone have sold residents on 5,000 units, or 10,000? That’s very doubtful. And given the trouble in selling the limited units actually built, just how viable is the concept? There is something to the higher density arguments that the “New Urbanism” promotes with its mixed-use philosophy, which is also being promoted by MoCo Plannning Director Hanson, but, as in so many areas of American economic life, boosterism, euphoria and the inability to take even the most reasonable critics seriously works to undermine prudent application of decent ideas.

The trouble is, with the New Urbanism, is that it’s not easy to create truly urban scale projects in small cities and semi-suburbs; especially where they don’t have fully supportive public transportation that people like to ride (I’m thinking of rail over buses.) In MoCo we only have the north-south Metro, and nothing in rail east-west….although the Purple Line looks more likely now. Chairman Hanson is always saying that the density necessary is the hardest sell…there’s some truth to that …but it’s the totally overboard nature of the county push for the New Urbanism everywhere at once that also undermines this….so before we really know if Rockville Town Center is viable in “neutral” economic times (and nobody knows when they will be neutral again - maybe in 3 years, maybe 5, maybe 10, we don’t know, but it’s not soon…) poor Rockville has to compete now with Twinbrook Station, what is already built near and at the Montrose Crossing shopping center, and what is being planned for White Flint… and all those locations north and west and east (Glenmont….Wheaton…the New Science City outside of Germantown, and Shady Grove itself)…and don’t forget the county’s dreams for the Twinbrook Sector plan…right between White Flint and Twinbrook Station.

For folks who really want urban, and more public transit than we currently offer here, there is Washington, DC itself, Silver Spring and Bethesda…county officials are not satisfied with the successes there…they want to apply the “model” even to areas where it will be much more difficult to execute.

It would seem that whatever the merits of Town Center, and that which is imminent at Twinbrook Station, White Flint’s “me-too-ism” is bound to undercut other projects…and that grand concept for a whole new city will have the hardest sell of all because it has no real identity to build upon…. (and I’m not sure Twinbrook Station does either: I’m saying this as a neutral observer: there is nothing special about that location, it’s just another Metro stop and has much less to attract folks than downtown Rockville, which has the County government and the cinemas to start with….and some beautiful mid-19th and Victorian architecture within walking distance)….in a three minute walk you can, without exaggeration, walk back two through two centuries…

Once again, I’m struck by how a decent notion, mixed-use higher density near transit nodes, takes off, becomes almost an obsession, like securitization and derivatives, with skeptics and critics largely ignored, such as Alex Marshall (here’s an index of articles he’s written, esp. under the heading of “The New Urbanism”).

Because the private sector that wants this stands to gain immediately (like the fees the banks earned for processing the mortgage backed securities?) and perhaps independently of the projects’ long term merits…we just all sail along, as “consumed” as ever by the “growth fetish.” (Note to author Gus Speth: nobody is reading your book The Bridge At the Edge of the World here in MoCo…they don’t have the faintest idea what you are talking about.)

Sometime ago, I read the marketing studies for Rockville Town Center. They constructed a 15-20 minute drive radius for potential customers that somehow included both Silver Spring and Bethesda. It led me to remark in county Council testimony that they must have done the driving at 2:00 AM to get that far that fast in MoCo. My question is: do all those hard numbers folks at MoCo Planning or Rockville Planning now subtract a certain percentage on retail draw, traffic and revenue to take into account the fact that a driver (or Metro rider) - potential customer - will, under the visions/fantasies now on the drawing board, have presented to them before they ever get to Rockville Town Center, a giant mixed use shopping experience at: 1) White Flint Future; 2)Twinbrook Sector Whisp of Smoke Future; 3) Twinbrook Station itself; 4) the new and improved shopping loops of the Pike itself? And I believe that the population growth numbers necessary to make all this successful would, if accurately presented, lead to a citizen revolt. And where, in our region, is development being clamped down on, in sensitive rural areas, to compensate for the higher densities invoked? That’s a major flaw in Smart Growth, stamped from its birth era: the anti-regulatory period of 1980-2008

Anyone else want to map a similar exercise out for the northern and eastern points on the compass and all the “diversions” planned for the potential Rockville shoppers? I’m playing the hometown boy here, but does this make any sense? Is there any reasonable scale here? It just seems like a re-run of the same processes that brought on the Wall Street debacle, a mania where the insider players lose any sense of outside realism. The fact that this fantastic number of higher density projects is being marketed directly in the wake of the greatest real estate crash and financial crisis since the Great Depression is truly something to behold. It’s as if the events of 2007-2009 never happened, have no implications for future growth.

What’s behind government’s stamp of approval for it all? First, they don’t have to say no to anyone with an old shopping plaza in their portfolio… they can create much appreciated value for so many developers…by the wave of their zoning wand…Second, in govt’s eyes, the 30 year planning horizon dissolves all the objections raised here…Third…they’re turning key decisions over to the private sector: how much and what type is now becoming the developer’s call, not the elected officials…they won’t have to say “no,” or “stop.”

Conclusion: despite all we citizens have been through economically over the past two years, “the market” - in this case the real estate and development industry - which didn’t see the bubble and collapse coming, despite their ringside seat - is still worthy of our full faith and credit -and taxpayer provided infrastructure.

But what do I know? I’m only a citizen. And I don’t have standing.

Bill Neil an>
Twinbrook Section of Rockville

This is a contributor opinion. Rockville Central encourages readers to submit such opinions for consideration — the more voices the better. We especially welcome people who disagree with us. We ask that all such contributions be civil and we reserve the right to edit (in consultation with the author) or reject. Contributor opinions should not be seen as reflecting opinions held by Rockville Central editors, as they are just as frequently at odds with our own views. That’s the whole point!

Mayor And Council On Pay Raise: "No Thanks."

The Rockville Mayor and Council voted Monday to reject the city’s Compensation Commission recommendation that the legislators’ stipends be increased by 2% based on cost of living data.>

The Gazette quotes Council Member Phyllis M. Marcuccio: “No, thank you, I suppose is the only way I can put it. . . . We certainly know this is not the time.”

The move keeps legislators’ pay at $25,750 for the Mayor, and $20,600 for Council members. Council Member Piotr Gajewski proposed a reduction in these amounts (to $19,000 and $15,000 respectively), which he said would save the City $30,000 per year. His proposal failed for lack of a second.

POTD: Mobile

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My friend Dante Ramarui has incredible talent. He makes stuff like this.

Rock Climbing in Rockville

Where better to rock climb than in >Rockville?

Many people don’t know the City has a Climbing Gym tucked behind Glenview Mansion in a maintenance building. The walls reach 20-feet high with over a dozen routes. I first discovered the facility when I signed up for a Women on the Move beginner’s class for my 40th birthday and we had an excellent time learning!

The facility is great for beginners, groups, or parties because it is so self-contained and manageable. Affordable packages are available for birthday parties, scout meetings, youth group meetings, and office parties. If you schedule an event, you’ll be the only group using the gym, so it doesn’t feel hectic like an assembly line. Trained staff are on duty to safely belay the climbers, who should be at least 7 years old. Beginning rates vary from $125 to $200 for 2-hour parties and groups depending on residence and type of group.

Open Climbing Nights for experienced climbers are offered from 7 PM – 9 PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Adults who want to climb, or bring children, must know how to belay. The City also offers ongoing classes for kids and adults.

For information, call 240-314-8643 or e-mail [email protected].

Our other climbing gym in Rockville, Earth Treks, has over 16,000 square feet of climbing walls up to 40-feet tall with over 100 top-rope climbs in the Marlo Furniture building. The 2-hour parties start at $225 and include a t-shirt and goody bag with a certificate and stickers for the base price.

Earth Trek has various Passes and hours including a Summer Pass for $149. As I’m always hearing there’s not that much for teens to do around Rockville, perhaps this is a place for teens over the age of 14 to stay busy and fit this summer while keeping out of the heat. Climbers are required to pass a Belay Safety Check or take a class to climb.

Earth Treks has Introductory Packages. For information, call 240-283-9942.

Next Rockville Roundatble Is May 13!

We >had a boffo time at the last Rockville Roundtable, so let’s continue the fun!

The next Rockville Roundtable will be held on Wednesday, May 13, at 12:30 pm. We will meet at the new Indian restaurant in Town Square: Spice Xing. That’s on Gibbs Street.

What is the Rockville Roundtable? I am glad you asked that. It’s just an informal lunch. We meet every month, always on a different day (so different people can come). It’s come-as-you-are, very casual, there are no speeches, it’s low pressure, and some people even say it’s fun. There is usually about a dozen of us, but sometimes our numbers grow. There’s a photo from our last lunch.

It’s just a chance to get together and talk about anything that seems interesting.

Hope to see you on the 13th! If you think of it, please shoot me an email rsvp’ing, but if you forget, don’t worry: just show up.

See you there!

POTD: Star

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Everyone knows I am a sucker for a good barn star.

Planner: City Meetings This Week (4/27/09)

Here are the City meetings we know about for the next two weeks.>

We are trying to add to this service so it is not just City-sponsored meetings but also other important civic meetings throughout Rockville. Please send us a note to let us know about your civic meeting. We will post them on the calendar available here. For clubs and events, use the add event form. We can’t publish everything, but we we will do our best to be inclusive.

All meetings below are at at City Hall (111 Maryland Ave.) unless noted otherwise. Where there is an agenda available, the link goes to that, otherwise it goes to the main page for that group.

This Week:

• Mon., Apr. 23, 6:30 pm — Mayor And Council (on agenda: Twinbrook Neighborhood Plan, worksession #2 on budget)
• Mon. Apr. 23, 7:30 pm — Traffic And Transportation Commission
• Wed., Apr. 29, 7:00 pm — Planning Commission
• Thu., Apr. 23, 7:00 pm — Recreation And Park Advisory Board

Next Week:

• Mon., May 4, 6:30 pm — Mayor And Council

Yes, I know next week looks sparse, but that’s all I have. If you know of civic meetings next week, let us know!

Lunching in the DMV: Niwano Hana

>Hungry for sushi? If not, you will be after reading Dskco’s review of Niwano Hana on Lunching In the DMV. She recommends the Special Rolls and the host, who can sometimes be seen wearing purple suits!

Hi everyone! I wanted sushi recently so the bf was nice enough to satisfy my craving by taking me to Niwano Hana. It’s my ‘go-to’ sushi place if I want something a little more special in terms of rolls. It is located on Rockville Pike in Wintergreen Plaza with the closest metro stop being Rockville on the Red Line. There is plenty of free parking in the shopping center, but it can get crowded.

We’re pleased to be able to link to Dskco’s restaurant reviews and hope you enjoy reading them as much as we do.

POTD: In Lights

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Rockville Central reader Janet Piczak Brown sent this cool shot along. Of it, she says: “I was in downtown Rockville today and just noticed these lights. Had to get a picture.”

Glad you did!

Rockville Science Day Is Sunday!

One of my favorite events in Rockville all year is coming up this Sunday. Yes, that’s right! >It’s time for Science Day.

The event will be held at Montgomery College (just look for the crowd) from noon to 5:00 pm, on Sunday, April 26.

From the press release:

“Science is a great way to learn new things and have fun doing it,” said Rockville Councilmember Phyllis Marcuccio. “This event continues to grow and offer more to the community every year. And we are hard at work to develop the Rockville Science Center so people will be able to explore science every day.”

Dozens of exhibitors will be on hand at this year’s Rockville Science Day. Local scientists, educators and historians will give demonstrations and provide science, environmental and technology activities.

Activities will include learning about animals, engaging with robots and conducting chemistry experiments. In addition, attendees will learn about earthquakes, volcanoes and rocks, as well as electric vehicles and solar observing.

See you there!

A cappella Fest at Wootton

If you’re looking for a fun night out this Saturday, April 25, 2009, head over to >Wootton High School from 7 PM - 10 PM to hear several of our local high school A cappella groups compete. Tickets are only $5.

Last year the First Annual A capella Fest started as an Eagle Scout project by Jack Stonesifer. Although most of these projects involve mulch, Jack came up with the idea of the Wootton High School A Cappella competition resulting in over 110 pounds of canned goods collected for the Manna Food Pantry. The event was hosted by the University of Maryland all male A cappella group, the Generics.

The Generics will be returning as hosts for the second year, with a freshman who participated in the competition last year from Wootton.

These six high school groups will compete:

Wootton Supertonics
Wootton Chaos
Wootton Acabellas
Landon Bearitones
Richard Montgomery In Tune
Walt Whitman’s None of The Above

Here’s the rundown on these fine singing groups from Susan Stonesifer.

Wootton will be fielding three groups on Saturday night. The A Cabellas, Wootton’s newest group, will be the only all girls ensemble of the evening. Featuring strong soloists, the guys of the Supertonics, look to move up from their second place finish last year. Guys and girls mix in Chaos, known for their diverse repertoire.

From across 270, In Tune from Richard Montgomery will be appearing for the first time. Walt Whitman’s None of The Above is returning, looking to score again for best soloist and best arrangement. The Landon Bearitones sing mostly classic songs with great class.

The Supertonics were a guest on our Rockville Central Radio show last year before their delightful performance in front of a packed crowd at Hometown Holidays. Personally, I know a couple of the guys in Chaos. This is going to be a good competition. All of these high school students can do some amazing things with their voices!

POTD: Queen And King?

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This was drawn on a friend’s driveway. It’s a detail of a larger tableau. I think the bit I am looking at is a queen (on the right) and a king. But I am not so sure about the king. He might instead be an alien.

If so, they do seem quite happy.

Event Feature: Shelter Walk 'n Roll

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As I’ve mentioned, last year I joined the staff of the Montgomery County Coaltion for the Homeless. I want to let you all know that we are having our Shelter Walk ‘n Roll in Rockville Town Square on Sunday, May 3, 2009 from 1 PM to 3 PM. Since I’m always into Rockville events, I’m excited the walkathon will be in our very own City.

I would love it if you all come out to support our work to help those experiencing homelessness in our community. Registering is as easy as signing up at the tables in Rockville Town Square betweet 1 PM and 2PM. Jack Worthington and Denise D’Amico will start playing on the stage at 1 PM and we’ll have kid activities like face painting, coloring, and games.

The 1-mile walk around the Rockville Town Center will commence at 2 p.m. The walk will go past the Old Courthouse and the park in memory of those from Montgomery County who perished on September 11th. After the walk, the music and activities will continue until we pick the winners of the door prizes at 2:45 PM. The City Staff will be turning on the Town Square interactive fountain when we are done, so the kids can run through the water when the event is over. Let’s hope for spectacular weather!

Registration is
$25 for adults (includes t-shirt)
15 for Children under 18 and students with a college i.d. (includes t-shirt)
Free for children under 5.
Checks only please.

We do have early registration online if you visit http://www.mcch.net/. Click on donate tab, fill out the online donation form and in the “Gift Designation” section, please indicate Shelter Walk ‘n Roll 2009 and list the names of each walker.

Please join my family for a fun afternoon and help raise awareness about homelessness in Montgomery County. If you have any questions, let me know: Cindy Cotte Griffiths.