Gajewski Town Hall Meeting Tonight

Gentle readers, we forgot to hit "return" and so today's Weekend To Weekend made it appear to the casual reader that Council Member Piotr Gajewski's town hall meeting, which is to take place this evening, was scheduled for tomorrow night. Nope. It's tonight! (The header for the next date got run into the description for Piotr's event instead of appearing in the line below.)

Here is the info for tonight's meeting:

Town Hall Meeting, Rockville City Hall, 8 PM - 10 PM. Councilmember Piotr Gajewski is scheduled to have another citizen meeting.

I am on deadline for "work," but if I can swing it I will see you there!

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Weekend to Weekend 5/15/08

Events in Rockville

You can be sure that I’m going try to include as many Town Center events as possible in Weekend to Weekend this Summer, but there’s so much going on I might not be able to include it all! I’m not exaggerating! There’s music every Wednesday and Thursday nights and movies every Saturday night. You can read all about it in this brochure. Bookmark it and plan to enjoy the good times!

Thursday, May 15

Mystic Warriors, Concert in the Square, Rockville Town Center, 6 PM - 8 PM. Andean music in a new way. Fusion, not just New Age, or Jazz or International. Experience the sound.

Last Martinis and Matisse, VisArts, 6:30 PM - 9:30 PM. $10 cover charge includes painting a martini glass. This is the last one of the season. Sponsored by the Fractured Prune, very decadent. The Jim Steed Music will bring on the power pop. Still haven't seen it? Don't miss the exhibition: "Kimonos and Woodcuts: Collaboration - A Way Of Work." Visit the resident artists in their studios. The cash bar features a "Summer-tini" with other martinis & bottle beers.

Town Hall Meeting, Rockville City Hall, 8 PM - 10 PM. Councilmember Piotr Gajewski is scheduled to have another citizen meeting.

Friday, May 16

Bike to Work Day! Bike for the Green.There are pit stops in Rockville Town Square and in Fallsgrove from 7 AM – 9 AM. You need to register for them, but everyone can bike and think about changing our lifestyles for a healthier body and planet.

Wine Tasting Social, Rockville Senior Center, 7 PM - 9 PM. Rock Enroll to register $10/members, $12/nonmembers, $15/nonmembers, non-City residents. If you are single and at least 60, this is your chance to get out and meet some people! Dress well and enjoy a variety of wines and hors d'oeuvres.

Saturday, May 17

Authentic Trea$ures to Tra$h Yard Sale, East Rockville Citizen Association, 8 AM – 1 PM. ERCA tells us “We invite one and all to come and get lost in East Rockville, you never know what you'll find!” More than 35 families and organizations are selling. Join in this friendly community event! Follow the signs from Veirs Mill Road, First Street or Rt. 355 to find one location then get a map to find them all!

Rockville Growers Only Farmers Market, Corner of Monroe Street & Rt. 28, 9 AM - 1 PM. Free parking. First one of the season! Flowers, fruits, vegetables, plants, and home-baked goods. Always a good review. Stop by on your way to baseball at Dogwood Park!

Little Maetros Live in Concert from Kidville, Congressional Plaza 1 PM, 2:15 PM & 3:30 PM. Free. Rain or Shine.

Spiderman 3, Movies on the Square, Rockville Town Center, 8:30 PM. First of this Summer’s free outdoor movies!

Sunday, May 18

Little Maetros Live in Concert from Kidville, Rockville Town Square, 1 PM, 2:15 PM & 3:30 PM. Free. Rain or Shine.

Rockville Chorus, F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre, 7:30 PM. Free, no tickets required. This is the Spring Performance of this approximately 70 member chorus which performs works by well-known and local composers.

Tuesday, May 20

Mommy & Me on the Square, Rockville Town Center, 10 AM – Noon. Free every third Tuesday of the month. Children under 5 accompanied by an adult can enjoy a storytime, singing, arts & crafts, and balloon animals. Think about staying for lunch because there will be specials! Meet in front of the Rockville Library.

Kid’s Day, Rockville Town Square, 6 PM – 8 PM. This is the first one to be held by the City of Rockville, promising activities for the kids.

Wednesday, May 21

Gonzo’s Nose, Concerts on the Square, Rockville Town Center, 6 PM – 8 PM. Free concert with this party cover band. Well now, I checked and they do Finger 11, Linkin Park, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Paramore, Foo Fighters, and Buckcherry so they should consider these my requests!

Ride of Silence, Rockville Town Square, 7 PM. Join cyclists in a silent procession to honor cyclists killed or injured when biking on public roadways. This free ride has no brochure, no sponsors, no registration and no t-shirt. Come out during Bike Safety Month to help raise awareness. The ride starts in front of the Rockville Library and will go ten miles through Rockville on multi-use paths and public roads with a Rockville City Police escort…in silence.

Thursday, May 22

The Rockville Singers Chorus, Concert in the Square, Rockville Town Square stage, 6 PM – 8 PM.

Friday, May 23

Blessing of the Animals, Animal Exhange, 4:30 PM. Bring your pets. Blessings by Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish clerics. A fun community gathering!

Saturday, May 24

Rockville Growers Only Farmers Market, Corner of Monroe Street & Rt. 28, 9 AM - 1 PM. Free parking. First one of the season! Flowers, fruits, vegetables, plants, and home-baked goods. Always a good review. Great way to start off the holiday weekend with some special treats!

Hometown Holidays!!!! Check out the full schedule for Saturday. Something for EVERYONE! Honestly, I can’t understand not going!! SEVEN stages of entertainment, Taste of Rockville featuring 30 of our best restaurants, the VisArts Festival (wide range of very talented artists from near and far), Going Green Expo, and lots for the kids! Vanessa Carlton headlines with her tremendous voice and smart lyrics at 8:30. She’s not quite traveling “A Thousand Miles” coming down from NY but her visit will make your day! Don’t miss her!

Sunday, May 25

Hometown Holidays!!!! Check out the full schedule for Sunday. SEVEN stages of entertainment, Taste of Rockville featuring 30 of our best restaurants, the VisArts Festival (wide range of very talented artists from near and far), Going Green Expo, and lots for the kids! Our very own hometown band, The West End, is playing the Courthouse Square Stage from 12-1 PM then 2–3:30 PM. Yes!! The West End IS the ROCK in ROCKville Hometown Holidays and you know what I think about that! Our Rockville Central publisher, Brad Rourke, will be singing and playing along with Monique DeFrees, Mike Shawn, and Matthew Taylor.

Stride to Ride, City of Rockville, start times run from 7 AM to 8:45 AM. You can bike, walk or run. Distances from 2 miles to 28 miles around Rockville. This is a fundraiser for the Rockville Recreation Fund and the Rockville Bike Fund and you must register Rock Enroll #25006. All routes start and end at Rockville Town Center corner of East Montgomery Avenue and Maryland Avenue. Maps, t-shirts, refreshments and health screenings too!

Monday, May 26

Memorial Day Festivities, 9 AM.

Memorial Day Parade, Rockville, 10:30 AM – Noon. Look for me with my Cub Scout Pack 928 on Tim Jone’s firetruck! Always fond of the parade, a highlight of my year!

Email the information for any fun, educational or community events to be included in Weekend to Weekend. Businesses are invited to send along specials and discounts. Include links! We will publish event listings occurring in & around our coverage area (map) on Thursdays. The inclusion of events and specials is at our discretion.

If you attend an event, we invite you to write a contributor review. Just send it in 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!

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Did You Stuff A Bus?

Did you see one of Montgomery County's big, blue Ride On buses parked in a prime spot in front of Whole Foods on Rockville Pike yesterday? It was there as part of an event in support of Manna Food Center, one of the region's most important food banks.

The County had donated four buses to Manna's "Stuff A Bus" food drive, while Whole Foods agreed to donate 5% of its receipts to the cause. People from all over the county brought bags of food to stuff the buses.

As the economy continues to cool and people are hit with more and more anxiety, local agencies to help people struggling to make ends meet are seeing a distinct rise in their numbers. April last year, according to the Washington Post, Manna served 1,700 families. This year, April brought 2,263 families through the doors.

Elsewhere throughout the region, food banks can barely keep items on the shelves -- the need is so great that they are gone almost as soon as they arrive.

You can help by donating food and money to these important direct-response agencies. Manna, which is marking its 25th year, is an especially well-run enterprise with 94% of donations going straight to food aid. Manna reports that every $1 donated becomes $5 worth of food for families who are in need. From their web site:

• A $25 contribution provides a family of four with five days of emergency food.
• A $75 gift funds trucks and drivers so that they can collect 4,000 pounds of edible, nutritious food from local grocery stores, food that instead of being tossed in a dumpster will feed 50 families.
• A $150 donation allows Manna to deliver bread to 25 low-income communities.

Want to donate? Good for you. Here is information about how to give money, and here is how to give food. (To drop off, you just need to take the food here.)

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POTD: Bales

This reminds me of a scene I saw many times when I lived in Maine.

Except for the backhoe, which I saw less often.

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Consultant's Report: Economic Possibilities for the Pike

Change is going to happen. Do we want to recognize that things will be different on Rockville Pike and improve it? Tower Records closed because people don’t buy CDs that much anymore. Koons Ford is gone and we wonder what will be on that property. At the May 6, 2008, Rockville Pike: Second Report to the Community, ERA Economic Research Consultants presented a description of market trends and how they could shape development on Rockville Pike.

Even though the housing market is experiencing a slowdown, a substantial residential, multi-family demand of about 200-300 units could be absorbed in the next 5-7 years. People are looking for a place to live if the right product is available. Who are these people? Why they are the Echo Boomers (which I think is an excellent name for a rock band!). Each day 50,000 baby boomers turn 62 and their children are taking over. They don’t want traditional subdivisions or high rises. The future is compact development with mixed use. The condo market downturn that caused Town Center to go to rental units is not permanent. Markets have a way of self-correcting. Even with Town Center, Twinbrook Commons, and the development outside Rockville’s borders, there will still be a need for housing.

The demand for offices is more limited because of traffic congestion. Some office space could be feasible by the Metro stations with a focus on small, professional services, perhaps on second or third floors above retail.

Retail will be the primary economic driver for the Pike. Mixed-use with two-to-five story buildings would be best, but it was stressed that this was not recommended for everywhere on the Pike. Across the country, traditional mall developers are no longer building traditional malls. Rather the trend is to build pedestrian-scaled, outdoor developments like Town Center. We will need to decide how much of this type of development we would want on the Pike.

Currently, people will tough out the traffic because they can shop at certain stores on the Pike which are not available anywhere else nearby, such as REI. (I understand since I love REI!) Rockville Pike is therefore a regional draw. The “little guys” were driven out of the southern part of the study area and replaced by national chains. People are concerned that this would continue to happen. Nationally, consumers are interested in locally-owned businesses and are tired of “cookie-cutter” stores. A property owner will want to get the most leverage, so there is no guarantee that they will go with a local retailer, but hopefully they will take such chances and provide a diversity of retail.

When we take all of these factors into consideration and decide on a vision, how will it become a reality? As opportunities arise and there is turnover, business owners can be approached to participate in “Catalyst Projects”. In exchange for a site plan, owners may include civic and public uses to provide a better product. As long as these plans are transformative, they will help us reach the planned vision over time.

You can plan the Pike by participating in a community design charrette starting on Saturday, May 31, 2008 from 9 AM to 12 noon at Richard Montgomery High School. You’ll have the opportunity to work in small groups, answer design questions, and draw your plan on a map. Childcare will be available. Charrette opportunities will continue through June 3rd.

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Another Fine Rockville Roundtable Lunch!

The Rockville Roundtable met on Monday for our monthly informal Dutch-treat lunch (this time at Gelico's, which is my new favorite pizza place) and we had a great time. As I have written before, I continue to be amazed at how many people show up just to have some lunch and conversation together!

There were new faces and familiar. Conversation was terrific and ranged from the advisability of creating a video interview series for Rockville Central, the nature of big box stores, advisory commission appointments, pets, the weather, community service clubs, and . . . oh, you get the picture.

The next Rockville Roundtable is scheduled for Tuesday, June 3 from 12:15 until 1:30 pm. It'll be at India Grill in Ritchie Center.

What is this thing, you ask? Simple. It's just an informal lunch. There is no agenda and it is super-casual.

Hope to see you at India Grill on the 3rd! If you think to let me know you're coming, I can get the proper sized table, but if you suddenly decide that day you want to come and haven't let me know already, don't let that stop you! Just show up!

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POTD: Red Bicycle

Ever heard of the "White Bicycle" program in the Netherlands and elsewhere? I am pretty sure this isn't a red version, but instead someone's ride!

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