Lively Friday Market Opened in Olde Towne on May 7

Gaithersburg Police Foundation to Host Fundraiser at Dogfish Head Alehouse

The Gaithersburg Police Foundation will hold a fundraising event at the Dogfish Head Alehouse, located at 800 West Diamond Avenue in Gaithersburg on Tuesday, May 18, 2009 from 11:30 a.m. until 11 p.m. 

Dogfish Head Alehouse will be donating 15% of the day’s proceeds on May 18 to the Gaithersburg Police Foundation.  The public is encouraged to drop by for a fun time, good food and an opportunity to meet the members of the Gaithersburg Police Department and the Gaithersburg Police Foundation, who will be on hand throughout the day.  For more information contact Keith Bryan, Foundation President, at chief@bryan-investments.com.

Resident Studio Artists Sought for Arts Barn

The City of Gaithersburg is seeking artists interested in renting studio space at very reasonable rates. Artists selected by a jury panel will be allowed to rent space at the Arts Barn, Gaithersburg’s premiere cultural arts facility.

Two studios are available for lease, one a total of 330 square feet and the other a total of 480 square feet.  Both come equipped with a sink and cabinet area and excellent lighting.  Annual rental fees are $9 per square foot for City of Gaithersburg residents and $10 per square foot for nonresidents.

Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Celebration Features Entertainment, Dance and Food

The City of Gaithersburg will celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month with a reception featuring music, dance and food.  The event is sponsored by the City’s Multicultural Affairs Committee.  Invited guests include the Mayor and City Council, City staff and representatives of the Asian-American community.  The general public is also welcome to join in the celebration.

The reception will be held on Monday, May 17, 2010 from 6 to 7:15 p.m. in the 2^nd Floor Gallery at Gaithersburg City Hall, 31 S. Summit Avenue.  Members of the Nova Music and Arts Academy Children’s Choir will perform musical selections.

Following the reception, at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers, the Gaithersburg Mayor and City Council will issue a proclamation declaring May 2010 as Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.  Nova Music and Arts Academy members will play an additional musical selection and perform a dance during the televised meeting, which can be viewed live on Gaithersburg TV (Comcast Channel 13 within in the Gaithersburg City limits).  Gaithersburg TV can also be viewed online at www.gaithersburgmd.gov.

Children’s Village at Gaithersburg Book Festival Will Inspire Love of Reading with Full Schedule of Fun, Educational Activities

There’s no question that we all want to foster a love of reading in our children at a young age. And what better way to do so than giving our sons and daughters the opportunity to interact directly with authors and illustrators?

On May 15, 2010, the Gaithersburg Book Festival will offer a full day of free activities in its Children’s Village, designed to encourage a love of books in the region’s younger residents. Included on the schedule are meet and greets with popular authors, where children can have their picture taken and speak with their favorite writers, and maybe even a character or two… rumor has it even the Cat in the Hat^© will be stopping by!

Other happenings in the Children’s Village include:

On Stage

Author Presentations: Authors who will be reading from their books, discussing their writing and answering questions throughout the day include:

• Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, author of more than 135 books for children, teens and adults, including “Shiloh,” which was made into a major motion picture;
• Joseph Slate, best-selling author of numerous children's books, including the wildly popular “Miss Bindergarten” series;
• Valerie Tripp, author of numerous children’s novels, most notably ones that are a part of the “American Girls Collection;”
• Audrey Penn, author of the picture book, “The Kissing Hand;” and
• Paula Young Shelton, author of “Child of the Civil Rights Movement,” who knew Martin Luther King Jr., as “Uncle Martin” and was carried in her parents’ arms on the march to Selma.

Storytelling: Take a magical journey with Storyteller Arianna Ross from Story Tapestries as she        enchants children of all ages with her magical gift.

Musical Entertainment: Scenes from “Seussical the Musical,” performed by KAT 2^nd Stage.

Workshops: Several hands-on workshops are planned to allow children of all ages to explore their creativity. Pre-registration is highly recommended as select workshops have space limitations.

Poetry and Prose, Ideas Alive: Discover Your Inner Writer (grades 4-8): Learn how to bring alive a “big idea,” in either poetry or prose, using sensory imagery and metaphor. Writings will be illustrated and ultimately bound as a book. Taught by Carol Peck, who has taught creative writing at University of Maryland University College for more than 30 years, was Writer-in-Residence at Sidwell Friends School for 13 years, and has been a Poet-in-the-Schools since 1970.

Making Expressive Books, An Arts Workshop for Children (ages 6-11): Learn about binding, texture and printing, and create your own book-arts project. Taught by Heidi Bishop, an active volunteer in the arts community who serves on the Gaithersburg Cultural Arts Advisory Committee.

The New Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley, A Lightsaber Workshop (ages 6-11, parents welcome to participate): What happens when it’s bedtime and the lights go out in The New Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley (based on the Jeff Brown “Flat Stanley” series)? Why, Stanley and Arthur wage a full-scale lightsaber battle in the dark, of course! Bring your young Jedi enthusiasts to the Adventure Theatre booth located in the Children's Village and engage them in a special one-of-a-kind stage combat workshop. Presented by Adventure Theatre.

Educational, Fun Activities

Create a Reading Buddy with Family Services, Inc. (ages 10 and under, supervising adult required for all participating children): This creative art project allows children of any age to create their own reading buddy to read to, share books with, as well as listen to stories they tell.

Storytime and crafts with Andy’s Parties (ages 3-7)

The Gaithersburg Book Festival Children’s Village is presented by Washington Parent Magazine and is sponsored in part by Family Services Inc., Andy's Parties and Adventure Theatre.

For complete details about the Children’s Village, visit http://www.gaithersburgbookfestival.org/children.htm.

The Gaithersburg Book Festival will take place May 15, 2010, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the grounds of City Hall in historic Olde Towne Gaithersburg.

In its first year, the Gaithersburg Book Festival will host more than 45 nationally renowned fiction and non-fiction authors – many of whom are residents of the Washington, D.C., area – as well as workshops for all ages, book signings, vendor booths, and a coffee house with poets and singer/songwriters.  A full schedule of activities can be found online at www.gaithersburgbookfestival.org.

About the Gaithersburg Book Festival

The Gaithersburg Book Festival, conducted in partnership with Barnes and Noble-Gaithersburg, Friends of the Library, the Gaithersburg-Germantown Chamber of Commerce, and Chloe's Coffee and Gallery, is an annual, all-day celebration of the written word, designed to become the region’s premier literary event. It debuts on May 15, 2010 on the grounds of Gaithersburg City Hall, with shuttle buses running from Lakeforest Mall.  Activities include author appearances, discussions and book signings; writing workshops; a full Children’s Village; a Coffee House with poets and singer/songwriters; onsite book sales from Barnes and Noble (featuring the books of the festival's presenting authors) and Friends of the Library (used books); exhibitors; and, of course, food, drink, ice cream and more from local restaurants, with perhaps a taste-test or two from some of our food-related authors. Admission is free.

For more information, please visit www.gaithersburgbookfestival.org.

  
Gaithersburg Endorses Greater Washington 2050 Compact

The Mayor and City Council of Gaithersburg formally endorsed the Greater Washington 2050 Compact via resolution at its meeting on April 19, 2010.

This regional initiative, led by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) in partnership with public, business, civic and environmental stakeholders, is designed to improve the quality of life for area residents in the next 50 years.  COG’s Board of Directors formed the Greater Washington 2050 Coalition in 2008 to create a comprehensive vision for the National Capital Region.

The Coalition’s report, Region Forward – A Comprehensive Guide for Regional Planning and Measuring Progress in the 21^st Century, includes nine regional goals in four themes:  accessibility, sustainability, prosperity, and livability.  The goals and targets outlined in the document are designed to help guide COG policy committees when making decisions about such things as energy, the environment, land-use, housing, transportation, health, and public safety.

“We are proud to be part of this ground breaking regional effort,” said Gaithersburg Mayor Sidney Katz.  “By signing the compact Gaithersburg agrees to incorporate these regional goals and consider regional impacts as we make decisions at the local level.”

   
Gaithersburg Elected Officials Express Support for Great Seneca Science Corridor Master Plan

The Gaithersburg Mayor and City Council expressed their appreciation for modifications made by the Montgomery County Council to the Great Seneca Science Corridor Master Plan prior to voting today to approve the plan.

“Throughout the planning process we have expressed our concern for the density of this project, and have suggested changes to lessen the project’s impact on surrounding communities, including those in Gaithersburg,” said Mayor Sidney Katz.  “We are thankful that the County Council listened, and we are excited the County is moving forward with a plan that meets our mutual objectives.  We will continue our involvement as the development now begins to take shape.”

In early March, 2010, the Mayor and City Council joined with elected officials in Rockville to request that the Montgomery County Council address a number of specific items before approving what was then called the Gaithersburg West Master Plan.  Among the issues were concerns regarding the overall fiscal impact of the project, formulas used in traffic studies, traffic mitigation strategies, staging requirements, open space requirements, pedestrian amenities, and a concern for the lack of communication between the County and the affected municipalities in developing the master plan.  There was also a request to change the name.

“The County should be listening to its residents and to the local officials who are closest to the people,” said Gaithersburg City Council Member Ryan Spiegel.  “Our collective efforts proved that with determination and willpower, an organized group of concerned citizens can make a difference.”

Among the modifications incorporated in the approved Master Plan are a reduction in commercial development space from 20 million to 17.5 million square feet, providing protection against unacceptable traffic congestion by keeping the critical lane volume requirement at 1,450 cars per hour instead of increasing it to 1,600,  requiring full funding and at least 50% construction completion of the Corridor Cities Transitway (CCT) from the Shady Grove Metro to Metropolitan Grove prior to the commencement of Stage 3 of the plan, new staging requirements for housing, requiring a minimum of 40% life science jobs in the LSC zone – with  incentives for higher amounts, including greater focus on environmental sustainability, and requiring that an advisory committee of stakeholders be created to monitor the plan’s progress and address problems should they arise in its implementation.

Detour on E. Diamond Avenue Due to Construction

East Diamond Avenue between Park and Russell Avenues in Olde Towne will be closed to through traffic Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. from April 22 until approximately June 15, 2010 to allow for storm drain construction.  A detour will be in place.