Uncorked Grows Into A Signature Event

DiVine mesmerized the crowd at Rockville’s Uncorked Wine and Music Festival on Saturday. This vine-covered performer characterized the uniqueness and growth of the event as she walked along the streets then blended into the scene. A few years ago the music festival was much smaller in scope and not as well-attended. The Town Square was new with saplings along the streets. Now the trees and the festival have grown so that a large green performer on stilts easily disappeared in the crowded street setting.

Locals didn’t want to miss Uncorked, especially when they spied clusters of grape-shaped balloons decorating the streets. People also came from around the beltway to taste the Maryland wines, often comparing them to Virginia’s reserve. Although there might be Maryland wine festivals in other parts of the state, this is the only one in the DC area.

Intent on discovering a favorite Maryland wine at the Festival, I brought together a small band of tasters, both friends and strangers. One of our participants recently moved to College Park from Seattle and decided to go to Uncorked after interviewing for a job in Rockville and seeing the banners. As the gang made their way through the selections from the wineries, people learned of our mission and would make recommendations. Everyone preferred dry reds, so the group searched for the best red wine. Maryland wines are often fruity and white, but the group wanted to know how Maryland’s contributions compare to the wines they usually consumed.

Although the decision was close and the tasters couldn’t try all of the wines offered, the group decided the Cabernet Sauvignon from the Boordy Vineyards was best. The Cabernet was smooth, refined, and more complex than other selections. Established in 1945, Boordy is Maryland’s oldest family-run winery. Located on a 230-acre farm in the Baltimore countryside, the winery specializes in oak-aged cabernets and it shows. Elk Run’s Merlot and Basignani’s Lorenzino Reserve were also favorites.

This year, the City of Rockville ordered 3,000 wine glasses, up from last year’s 2,000. The supply ran out around 4 PM when the event was still crowded and going strong. At the time, Superland was performing their new-era funk on the main Plaza stage. A sure sign of a good show, the crowd grew during their performance as more and more people were drawn to their “raucous horn section”. The headliner stage showcased the best of our area’s local talent and I’ve been told Bill Kirchen’s “rockabilly rave-up” was amazing when he took the stage at noon.

The Wine and Music Festival is a rare opportunity to introduce our local music talent and vineyards to a broader audience. Terrapin Station Winery tweeted “Rockville Uncorked is in the bag and what a day! This is our third year, and we thought we could predict the wine we needed but we sold out of three wines today.” If Terrapin Station is any indication, the outcome was prosperous for all.

Colleen McQuitty, Rockville’s special event manager, had many people tell her how much they enjoyed the local musicians and Maryland wines. She described it as “A good crowd having a good time.”

As Ernest Hemingway said “ Wine is the most civilized thing in the world.” Uncorked certainly is our proof.

MCPS Back To School Fair Draws The Largest Crowd Yet, Weast Thanks ABC7/TBD

Families started to line up for free backpacks of school supplies at the Carver Educational Services Center at 8 AM on Saturday. The Third Annual Back-to-School Fair wasn’t scheduled to open until 11 AM. By 2PM all 5,000 backpacks had been distributed to kids who needed them to get their school year off to the right start.

The City of Rockville booth

The white tents spread across the entire parking lot to accommodate over 10,000 visitors to the Fair, up from 8,000 last year. Booths had information on recreation programs and resources available in the County. Kaiser Permanente provided health information. Nutrition was an important theme. A human-sized bunch of grapes and a banana traversed around the crowd. Kids jumped in the moonbounce, ate Carmen’s Italian Ice, and talked to a robot. Throughout the day, the main stage was jumping. The organizers understood that kids like to move. The Washington Talent Agency kept the crowd upbeat and dancing.

Dancing to the beat

During the Corporate Sponsor Recognition, School Superintendant Jerry Weast emphasized the importance of the sponsors and volunteers who make the event possible. The total sponsor amount has grown from $80,000 to $200,000 in three years. Representatives from all the corporations, organizations, and schools received awards of appreciation from Dr. Weast and Eric Davis, the director of Family-Community Partnerships which organized the event.

Jerry Weast, Eric Davis and Leon Harris

From the beginning, ABC7/TBD have been the main sponsor of the Back to School Fair. ABC7 Nightly News anchorman, Leon Harris, accepted the award then stayed to talk with his fans and sign autographs. As a MCPS parent, he’s always willing to help out. 

In case you missed it, News Channel 8 is now TBDTV. TBD.com is the place for all local news in the DC region. In addition to producing their own stories and linking to other news outlets, the site networked 130 blogs together including Rockville Central. Therefore I was on hand to help distribute t-shirts and answer questions. If you haven’t yet, visit TBD.com and put in your zip code for your local community news. Try it on your phone too. The apps are a terrific way to stay connected when you’re on the go.

Leon Harris and Cindy Cotte Griffiths

Looking Back at the Montgomery County Fair

The largest Fair in the State of Maryland was a major attraction last week and Rockville residents were out in full force.

Before you even entered the Fair, you were greeted by friendly faces from Rockville.

Boy Scout Troop 447 from Rockville worked long hours to direct the cars in the parking lot. On the last Friday and Saturday nights, the lot was full and closed down early in the evening then reopened after the very popular Demolition Derby. The place was packed with friends and families enjoying the temporary fun on the fairgrounds.

The Fair is only possible because of volunteers. People helped in many different ways. The Unitarian Universalist Church of Rockville collected food for Manna outside the entrance on Monday.

On those hot days, our own Carmen’s Italian Ice was on hand to cool everyone down. Notice the free samples!

And of course, as I mentioned before, Ruth Hanessian from the Animal Exchange held the Hermit Crab Races on Wednesday even though the weather was iffy. As you can see, members of the Royal Court did attend again!

When the kids and I spent the day at the Fair I thought we would run out of things to do, but we didn’t even make it through all the displays and buildings. We did however join in the square dancing which the young ones had never experienced and enjoyed ourselves immensely. I wouldn’t miss the Fair!

Ride and Stride Recommended

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During Hometown Holidays my family decided to join the Ride and Stride which turned out to be a very pleasant tour of Rockville. The 12-mile route for bikes meandered through many of our lovely parks and tree-shaded paths. Each neighborhood revealed their best kept little secrets.

Ride and Stride starts early. The first event leaves at 8 AM, so the streets were mostly silent until our bikes momentarily clicked past. My friends from the Wootton Parkway area enjoyed the Fallsgrove and New Mark neighborhoods which were completely new to them, while I found the cuts through neighborhoods off Seven Locks and Fall’s Chapel to be a treat. The well-chosen route included the most fun features in Rockville, Friendship Bridge and the Maryland Avenue tunnel, which I described in my post Over and Under: Biking The Bridge. The rest stop was at the new Thomas Farm Community Center in Fallsgrove.

My nine-year-old completed the 12-mile route designed for families and felt a true sense of accomplishment. Most families included kids about 10 years old and up. Kids will surprise you with their dexterity and accomplishments if you give them the chance, but a kid’s ability to finish this 12-mile ride with these small hills would depend on their temperament. Adults and kids alike couldn’t hop on a bike and finish the course without any preparation or previous experience, which is the key no matter what your age.

Members of the Rockville Bike Advisory Committee rode along with the bikers and also stayed at the tail end to tell the police officers the entire group was through and they could leave their posts at the street crossings. Riders were friendly and supportive, engaging in conversation and encouraging the kids to keep going.

Looking over the other routes, the hard core more “challenging” 28-mile ride includes the 12-mile route plus an additional 16 miles in a larger circle around Rockville. The “strides” are either 2K or 5K runs or walks depending on your desired speed. The routes were well-marked except in a couple of places but it didn’t matter because you are given both a map and a guide telling you exactly when to turn onto each street. Luckily other riders, both friends and strangers, were always on hand to direct us so we made it through without a problem.

At the end I drank too much coffee from Starbucks and ate too many high fiber treats from Great Harvest while we were waiting around for the raffle. You could bring a t-shirt to be stamped with the Ride and Stride logo too. In general, participants stayed around to talk and share their experiences.

Other riders told me they save the route map and bike it on their own throughout the year. If this doesn’t tell you the route is a terrific choice for Rockville, I don’t know what would!

Hometown Holidays Grows Up

Hometown Holidays turned 22 and matured. This year’s festival was full grown in every way. The artists expanded to fill two streets with high quality creative pieces. The green market offered many more products including >Twilight Candle Shop’s soy candles made in Damascus and free books to reuse and recycle.

An energetic group of nonprofit organizations, including the Rockville Express Baseball team and the Human Rights Commission, engaged passersby.

The music and entertainment on all seven stages spanned the spectrum of music and magic while visitors flocked to the very popular Taste of Rockville zone.

Billy Coulter who lives in Rockville was a true hometown favorite and when I first heard the band, I spun around and went to listen.

A giant screen from the Cartoon Network changed our local corner into a mini-Times Square. Also in the big City category, people had the chance to appear on local Channel 11 TV.

You could even meet human-sized cupcakes and cookies.

Sunday night’s headliners brought high expectations. Jah Works from Baltimore had the crowd pumping with traditional Jamaican reggae but unfortunately Soul Asylum self-destructed. After the Ride and Stride I happened to be hanging out with our friends and I heard a big sound from the main stage which could only be Soul Asylum. In the late morning sunshine they decided to eventually play a full song then played five. Scott from Guiseppi’s Pizza and I had a private, mostly acoustic concert. They wanted to know if the music was a standard for condos in the neighborhood. Really, they were good.

Now I’ll confess. I only like their first two albums from the early 80’s meshing a cutting-edge alternative sound. I’m not fond of “Runaway Train” although one fan made a cardboard train and they invited him to join them on stage so clearly people liked this hit. In fact, after they played it, most of the crowd left. I understand how this must have brought them down. So down in fact that their encore consisted of them starting heavy metal, reggae and rock-a-billy songs then abruptly stopping. People were yelling “Finish a song” while they kept saying “All right we’re leaving.” Until the lights and sound were turned off on them. I wish they could have played the music they enjoyed during their morning sound check instead of what they thought the crowd expected. For me the high point was “I Need Somebody To Shove” which they played first.

As you walked down the streets during Hometown Holidays, you felt a real energy from this event. I saw people I knew and met others who introduced themselves, but, of course, the majority were unknown to me. During Sunday night’s headliner concert introduction by the Mayor, City Council and Maryland State Senator Jennie Forehand, Mayor Phyllis Marcuccio asked who was from Rockville and had a loud response. Then Councilmember Piotr Gajewski asked who was from New York and had a few, which he then followed up with “who is from someplace other than Rockville” and there was a bunch. He invited them to come back and visit again. Hometown Holidays has grown from a local gathering to a showplace for Rockville. We do have a terrific City to share.

Lunching In The DMV: Tokyo Express

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Photo by Dskco

Dskco has reviewed an old favorite, Tokoyo Express. Although the restaurant serves Chinese and Japanese, this in only a review of Tokoyo Express.

She says it’s cheap sushi:

Whenever I want cheap sushi that’s close to home, I go to China Taste/Tokyo Express. I’ve been going to this place for about 10 years now. Granted I haven’t been in a while because I’ve been trying new places for the blog, but I had to come back at some point. My mom found this hole in the wall, yey. They have a tiny parking lot that I’ve never seen full. The closest metro is Twinbrook on the red line.

The restaurant seems like a quite a deal. Dskco thinks it’s good for a quick bite but maybe not a big bite.

Lunching in the DMV is a local Rockville blog reviewing restaurants throughout the metro DC area. Whenever she writes about a restaurant in Rockville, we post a link to her article. She stops by all those places you wonder about to let you know whether you should. We’re happy to share her experiences with our readers.

Lunching In The DMV: El Patio

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Photo by Dskco

Dskco found El Patio by chance, as she explains at the start of her review:

The other night the bf suggested we just drive up the road and try some random restaurant. I usually like to research a place, read reviews, etc before eating somewhere. He is the spontaneous one in the relationship, and I admire that about him. We ended up trying an Argentinean Cafe called El Patio on Twinbrook Prwy. I’ve seen this tiny place before, but never thought about stopping by. The parking lot is tiny. The closest metro stop is Twinbrook on the red line.

She thinks the restaurant is like being in a different country. Besides the dining option you’ll also find a bakery and small grocery with packaged goods from Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. The food was good and the regulars seemed to be content.

If you’ve ever wondered about Greenberry in Mid-Pike Plaza, she also visited it the same day and her review is here.

Lunching in the DMV is a local Rockville blog reviewing restaurants throughout the metro DC area. Whenever she writes about a restaurant in Rockville, we post a link to her article. She stops by all those places you wonder about to let you know whether you should. We’re happy to share her experiences with our readers.

Lunching In The DMV: Giuseppi's

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Photo by Dskco

Dskco visited a Rockville stronghold, the meeting place for local candidates and a stalwart of the community, so I was curious to read her review of Guiseppi’s. This is where my family gets our pizza on Friday nights. It’s the place to meet for lunch. As a newcomer, what did she think?

Dinner and a movie is such a relaxing way to start off a weekend. The bf and I went to see Alice in Wonderland 3D at Regal in Rockville Town Square, and had dinner at this pizza place called Giuseppi’s a few doors down. We wanted something fast and affordable. There is free parking a few blocks away and garage parking. The closest metro stop is Rockville on the red line.

She agreed this family-run and affordable Italian place will leave you with “no complaints”, especially their ‘Dinner and a Movie’ package: “for each $5 purchase, get a movie ticket for $6.50″.

Last year friends wanted dinner and a movie at Regal and they were surprised by all the special deals on East Montgomery Avenue. People still don’t know about the restaurant/Regal combos which make for a great local nights out.

Lunching in the DMV is a local Rockville blog reviewing restaurants throughout the metro DC area. Whenever she writes about a restaurant in Rockville, we post a link to her article. She stops by all those places you wonder about to let you know whether you should. We’re happy to share her experiences with our readers.

All Smiles and Roses At Rockville’s 150th Birthday Parties

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James McConkey and Bernd Hinrichs

The festivities began at Glenview Mansion at noon with a greater than expected crowd. Rockville was throwing a party and the best part is always the friends who attend. A 12-member delegation from our Sister City of Pinneberg, Germany made the trip to help us celebrate, continuing one of the oldest enduring friendships in the Sister City program.

Pinneberg created a special Rockville Rose but we’ve had trouble bringing it into the country. The details of this long process are explained by Nate Carrick in his Gazette article. But the Pinneberg delegation didn’t let the lack of live roses stop them from commemorating our Sesquicentennial. They gave us a more lasting gift, a painting of Rockville Roses by Detlef Allenberg.

Burgermeister Kristin Alheit and her son

Pinneberg mayor, Kristen Alheit, emphasized how a rose shows pure lust for life, which she felt symbolized the relationship of our cities. The Rockville Rose is a very special breed with large, dark flowers which grow upright. Of the painting she said, “May this portrait express all that is important to us in the friendship between Rockville and Pinneberg.”

Mayors Phyllis Marcuccio and Kristen Alheit

When she accepted the painting, Mayor Phyllis Marcuccio explained that roses are especially important to her since her mother’s name was Rose and her middle name is Rose, “I am Phyllis Rose.”

Bernd Hinrichs, President of the German American Society of Pinneberg, explained how roses have played a significant role in society since ancient Greece. Symbolizing affection and friendship, roses stand for distinction. In ancient times everyone could be sure that what was said while standing under roses was covered by a veil of secrecy. He added, “I know why men like to give roses to women.”

Then to honor the 25th anniversary of the founding of our Sister City Corporation, our German friends gave us an actual Rockville Rose enclosed in silver, a remarkable gift which will remain mysterious and everlasting.

During the ceremonies, Rotraut Bockstahler, past President of the Rockville Sister City Corporation, explained that Sesquicentennial means six times a quarter of a century. She was glad when she found out and I’m glad to finally know!

Quite a crowd also turned out for the evening festivities in Rockville Town Center. The Rockville Jazz Band warmed up the crowd before the ceremony. People gathered throughout the Square to hear them.

Mary van Balgooy, Executive Director of Peerless Rockville, was an absolute delight as the Master of Ceremonies for the evening with her friendly and bright demeanor which brought the ceremony together.

Dick Stoner detailed the Rockville’s 150 year history but he started by referencing the names previously given to our City: Owens Crossing, Williamsburg, and Montgomery Courthouse. His list of historical facts described things, the roads and buildings. He built upon each 50 year period and created a dynamic picture of Rockville over the years.

Lt. Governor Anthony Brown noted that he saw people in the audience shaking their heads when Mr. Stoner described the three hour trip from Washington to Rockville back in the olden days of horses. But then he noted,”You don’t speak lightly of traffic in Montgomery County.” He declared Rockville a “vibrant, exciting and nationally-recognized place to live.”

Perhaps the most fun part of the ceremony was the winner of the “Rockville in 2060” Essay Contest, Anish Senapati. Mayor Marcuccio gave him the opportunity to read his essay. He pictured flying cars and lots of pollution with tall sky scrapers 200 floors high, then declared the mayor of Rockville “will be me”.

Nancy Floreen, President of the Montgomery County Council thought he would either be Chairman of the Planning Commission or President.We received proclamations from all levels of government and Mayor Marcuccio said it was overwhelming to receive “so many birthday cards”.

Phyllis Marcuccio, John Britton and Mark Pierzchala

IMPACT, a dance troupe from The Finest! moved in energetic unison then a giant birthday cake with our 150th logo was enjoyed by the crowd.

By the end of the night, it was getting a bit chilly. Throughout the day people seemed genuinely happy to see each other. Perhaps after such a long, cold winter we were especially glad to come together as a community for a good time.

The Reverend Jane Wood concluded the formal ceremony by praying, “Practice random acts of kindness, particularly to those less fortunate than yourselves.”

I only hope we will during our next 150 years as a City.

Great Hometown Crowd for Keegan Corbey

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During last Friday’s show at Austin Grill Rockville, I asked Keegan Corbey if he had a day job. He replied “Funny you should ask, I quit today.” With this daring move, he’s giving music his full-time attention.

His first CD, Navigators, will be released on February 13, 2010, the same night he opens for The Association (Never My Love) at the Birchmere. This well-deserved break will launch the next phase of this local performer’s career.

Born at Holy Cross Hospital, he laid down his first dollars for a guitar at age 13 while listening to garage bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Sound Garden. After Good Counsel High School he headed to Middle Tennessee State University. He’s back in Rockville and has decided if he’s going to make it musically, now is the time.

If Friday night’s show is any indication, he’s made the right decision. His intense presence and crowd-pleasing voice kept everyone out much later than expected. Keegan’s versions of popular songs made the audience forget the orginals then his own songs caught everyone’s attention. He and Dave Speake are a well-polished acoustic guitar duo, a unified pleasure to hear. Keegan even steps up the sound with a bass drum.

Dave played the harmonica for No Cover Charge, apparently the one and only song he’s allowed to pull it out for:

Keegan’s laying it all on the line to live his dream of being a songwriter performing his original “Neo-Celtic Americana folk rock”. There’s no doubt his obvious talent will win fans with every chord.

Tickets are still available for his Birchmere show with The Association on Saturday 2/13/10 at 7:30 p.m. $35. Fans eagerly anticipate his 8 song CD next month.

Lunching In The DMV: Sushi Damo

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Photo by Dskco

In her latest review on Lunching in the DMV, Dskco was out to celebrate her birthday, which meant a visit to both Susahi Damo (for dinner) and Gordon Biersch (for dessert).

I had a great birthday weekend a few weeks ago. On New Years Day, the bf took me to Rockville Town Square for dinner at Sushi Damo, dessert at Gordon Biersh and Regal to watch Avatar in 3D (go see it if you haven’t yet!).

Sushi Damo is the bf’s favorite sushi place. Located in Rockville Town Square, there’s paid parking, meter and free parking all over the place. We parked at the theater for $1 since we were going to see a movie anyway. The closest metro stop would be Rockville on the red line.

As always, Dskco entices with her photos taking you right along for the discoveries. Read to find out about Green Tea Tiramisu and her birthday good time.

Lunching in the DMV is a local Rockville blog reviewing restaurants throughout the metro DC area. Whenever, she writes about a restaurant in Rockville, we post a link to her article. She stops by all those places you wonder about to let you know whether you should. We’re happy to share her experiences with our readers.

Rockville Rings In The New Year With the Peerless Brunch

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Bill Forehand in his historic sailor's uniform. Photo by Max van Balgooy.

For the first time, I attended this wonderful New Year’s tradition and was delighted to be able to speak with Max van Balgooy. Since his campaign for City Council ended, he has continued to blog at Max for Rockville but is now writing about issues, people and events. He has graciously allowed me to share his latest post, New Year Opens in Rockville With Peerless Brunch.

The Peerless Rockville New Year’s Day Brunch at Glenview Mansion was the first official event celebrating the 150th anniversary of the City of Rockville and everyone enjoyed a beautiful day, a nice mix of members and friends, and of course, lots of good food.

Although it’s a holiday, the event always draws a good crowd of community leaders, including State Senator Forehand; State Delegates Barve, Simmons, and Gilchrist; Rockville Mayor Marcuccio; Rockville Councilmembers Gajewski, Newton, and Pierzchala; and City Clerk Funkhouser. This year’s event invited people to wear something vintage and among the standouts were Bill Forehand (with a Civil War sailor’s uniform) and Cindy Cotte Griffiths (with an amazing vintage dress–satin and velvet?).

Peerless also encouraged everyone to submit their nominations for Places That Matter in Rockville (standing or not) and Peerless will be using it as a guide for events and activities for the upcoming year (Phyllis Marcuccio was actively supporting the Pump House).

Glenview Mansion is an ideal place to hold the brunch–it’s almost perfectly suited to this type of event–and it was wonderfully decorated for the holidays. Rockville is very fortunate to have such a marvelous historic venue for community events (so much better than a high school gym!). If you want to see a photoalbum from the day, click here.

Cindy Cotte Griffiths, Mark Pierzchala, and Lesley Cross. Photo by Max van Balgooy.

And yes, he’s right about the velvet on my mom’s dress but I don’t think it’s satin.

With this event, Rockville has officially started to party like we’re 150 years old. Check out the schedule. Next Sunday the 150th Anniversary Photo Exhibit opens at Glenview Mansion from 1:30 to 3:30 PM. Don’t miss the photos from 43 residents along with a Then and Now exhibit of Rockville’s Downtown.