Reader’s Note By Cheryl C. Kagan: VisArts Hosts National Scrabble Tournament
Jul 21, 2009 8:00 - 5 Comments
For the second time this year, Rockville’s VisArts was the host venue for a national Scrabble tournament (North American SCRABBLE® Players Association) this past weekend. Like so many other activities taking place in the City (including the Twilight Run, Hometown Holidays, etc.), this is not just about fun and games. It’s about bringing people to Rockville to support our local stores, restaurants, hotels, and nonprofit organizations!
Players came from around the region to compete in one of four divisions based on their ratings from past tournaments. I met competitors from NY, CT, PA (Philly as well as Pittsburgh), in addition to DC, VA and all around Maryland.
A number of players returned again to Rockville who had played in the tournament we hosted in March. Denise Mahnken drove down from Long Island (NY) for the second time. She thought it was worth the drive because “the venue is beautiful, and the windows don’t make you feel like you’re inside on a lovely day.” Additionally, she enthused that, “The town [Town Square] is quaint and lovely to walk around, and the hospitality is wonderful!”
Roberta Borenstein brought a friend with her from Connecticut to stay for the weekend. She built a sight-seeing trip around the tournament.
Nancy Konipol and her husband came down from New York City. They called VisArts a “gorgeous venue” and indicated that they would definitely come back. As a photographer herself, she loved seeing the exhibits between matches. They also stayed in a hotel they liked very much and sampled a few different Rockville restaurants.
Dave Engelhardt didn’t mind coming down from Baltimore and thought that the “free parking is really nice.”
Linda Wancel came from Queens and appreciated both seeing the artists at work… and the chance to buy art if something appealed to her. She also likes the great choices for places to eat. She said that “Rockville should host once a month. We’ll keep coming back!”
That’s a quick report from this second Rockville-based tournament. No matter how you scramble the Scrabble tiles, it sounds to me like ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT… and definitely FUN too!
For more information about the weekly Scrabble matches in Chevy Chase, visit http://dcsclub.org and join us!
Cheryl Kagan, a Rockville resident and political activist, is also a Scrabble fiend!
Editor’s note: Kagan, a former state delegate in District 17, is a candidate for state senate in 2010.
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How many participants were from Rockville?
National Scrabble Tournament is new to me. The out-of-town participants must have loved the event. It is amazing what Rockville sponsors.
Brigitta, I’m very glad to clarify and provide an answer. The City of Rockville did not sponsor this event (i.e. no taxpayer monies were expended on this event), VisArts was given a generous contribution by the players to support their work, and I would guess that most of the players were NOT from Rockville. That means we were able to show off our lovely new Town Center to visitors! Hope that answers your question.
Yes, you answered my question, but would like more information on how Rockville groups can get VisArts sponsorship.
The Rockville Sister City board was approached for help in finding a place to hold a fund-raising event for Weiqu (Chinese name but GO in Japanese) games. The group is looking for a place to showcase the game to the public. It would be nice if the group could get exposure in Town Center as the Tournament did. Maybe you can give the group suggestion where to start with their request.
I would guess that it depends on VisArts’s space availability. They can make more money from larger private events (i.e. weddings, Bar/Bat Mitzvah parties etc.). The Scrabble folks make a fairly significant contribution to VisArts as part of the “thank you” and to support their great arts programming… Perhaps you could check in with their staff? Good luck!
Thank you. I will share the provided informaton.