Tag Archives: Takoma

FREE Costume Sale

We’re spring cleaning our costumes, props, and classroom supplies, and it’s time to purge! We’ll be opening our office to the community to take items off our hands. Most garments are one-sized or size inclusive. First come, first served. ALL ITEMS FREE. Bring your own bags to carry away your new treasures!

At Only Make Believe, we create interactive theatre with children in hospitals, care facilities, and special education settings. Inspiring joy and imagination, our professional actors engage children with medically fragile conditions and developmental disabilities, fostering social and emotional growth.

Craft for a Cause with Only Make Believe

Allow yourselves to unwind and create super hero masks, hats, and other kid-friendly giveaways. Everything you create will be used to help children escape into the world of “make believe” during our performances in hospitals, care-facilities, and schools dedicated to serving children with disabilities. No art degree required! Volunteers under 16 years old must be accompanied by an adult. Please RSVP at the link provided.

Inklings New Fantasy Book Club

The Takoma Park Neighborhood Branch Library hosts the “Inklings” New Fantasy Book Club, named in honor of the originator of the genre – J.R.R. Tolkien’s own fantasy book club. We meet in-person to discuss the works of current fantasy authors, with a focus on authors who use the freedom of the fantasy genre to subvert institutional and cultural norms.

Meetings are in-person at the Takoma Park Neighborhood Library in the downstairs meeting room. We meet every second Thursday of the month through the end of 2024 from 6:30pm to 7:30pm.

Audience: Adults (20+)

All materials are available through the DCPL Catalog in a variety of formats.

View the 2024 reading list: https://dclibrary.libnet.info/event/9872654

Don’t miss out on this exciting opportunity to connect with fellow fantasy fans and explore new worlds of imagination. See you there!

Ruthie and the Wranglers at Carroll Cafe

Come join the music and fun as Carroll Cafe welcomes back Ruthie and the Wranglers to our stage. With over 30 WAMMIES, you don’t want to miss their heavenly harmonies and range of styles.

Danielle Arigoni for Climate Resilience for an Aging Nation

About the Book: Climate Resilience for an Aging Nation argues that climate resilience planning must be evaluated and implemented using a lens of aging. There is a role for all sectors (housing, transportation, health care and elder care, emergency management, and more) in implementing strategies that reduce risk for the growing share of older adults in our communities and enhance resilience for all.

About the Author: Danielle Arigoni (M.R.P. ’97) is an urban planner and community resilience expert.  She currently serves as Managing Director for Policy and Solutions at the National Housing Trust, providing strategic direction for the organization’s sustainability and resilience policy efforts and oversight and guidance for NHT’s state and local advisory services.

This event is in person.

The Green Way Reading Series Vol. 5

The Green Way Reading Series is a monthly literary event based in Takoma Park, MD curated by Elizabeth Bryant and Takoma Park’s Poet Laureate Taylor Johnson. The series centers emerging and established poets and artists in interdisciplinary, intergenerational and cross-regional dialogues. We want these programs to encourage growing participation and local engagement in the evolving landscape of contemporary poetry. The intention is to bring something new to this area with offerings that provide a space for horizontal community building, the generation of new work, and the amplification of local poets. The series is made possible by generous support from the Cave Canem Foundation and the Maryland State Arts Council, in addition to our collaboration with Takoma Park’s People’s Book. The space is open from 5:00 – 7:00 pm, readings begin at 5:30 pm. We hope that you can join!

Lillian-Yvonne Bertram is an African American writer, poet, artist, and educator who works at the intersection of computation, AI, race, and gender. They are the author of Travesty Generator (Noemi Press), a book of computational poetry that received the Poetry Society of America’s 2020 Anna Rabinowitz prize for interdisciplinary work and longlisted for the 2020 National Book Award for Poetry. They are the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Poetry Fellowship. Their other poetry books include How Narrow My Escapes (DIAGRAM/New Michigan), Personal Science (Tupelo Press), a slice from the cake made of air (Red Hen Press), and But a Storm is Blowing From Paradise (Red Hen Press). Their fifth book, Negative Money, is available now. They direct the MFA in creative writing program at the University of Maryland. Their new chapbook, written with AI, is called A Black Story May Contain Sensitive Content and won the 2023 Diagram/New Michigan chapbook contest.

Justin Phillip Reed is an American writer and amateur bass guitarist whose preoccupations include horror cinema, ideological failure, and uses of the grotesque. He is the author of two poetry collections, The Malevolent Volume (2020) and Indecency (2018), both published by Coffee House Press. His hybrid collection, With Bloom Upon Them And Also With Blood: A Horror Miscellany, will be released in fall 2023. Born and raised in the Pee Dee region of South Carolina, he participates in alternative rock music cultures, ogles Toyota Tacomas, and enjoys smelling like outside. His current favorite band is Oklahoma City’s Chat Pile.

Simon Shieh is a Taiwanese American poet. He is the author of Master (Sarabande Books) and the recipient of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation. Simon’s poems and essays can be found in POETRY, American Poetry Review, Guernica, Best New Poets, and The Yale Review, among others. Simon co-founded Spittoon Literary Magazine (spittoonlitmag.com) which translates and publishes the best contemporary Chinese writers. He lives in Washington, DC with his wife, Charlotte, and their dog, Momo.

Juneau Black for Twilight Falls

Join us at People’s Book for a conversation with Juneau Black about their latest book in the Shady Hollow Mystery series, Twilight Falls!

About the Author: Juneau Black is the pen name of authors Jocelyn Cole and Sharon Nagel. They share a love of excellent bookshops, fine cheeses, and a good murder (in fictional form only). Though they are two separate people, if you ask either of them a question about their childhood, you are likely to get the same answer. This is a little unnerving for any number of reasons.

About the Book: 

It’s spring in Shady Hollow, and romance is in the air. Even reporter Vera Vixen is caught up in the season as her relationship with new police chief Orville Braun blossoms. But true love is not always smooth sailing, as two of the hollow’s young residents come to find. Jonah Atwater and Stasia von Beaverpelt find themselves battling their families in order to be together. And when Jonah’s father, Shelby, goes over the top of Twilight Falls, all signs point to Stasia being the murderer.

The evidence against Stasia appears overwhelming, and Orville arrests her. It looks like the case is closed, but Vera isn’t so sure. There are almost too many clues indicating Stasia is the killer, leading her to suspect someone is setting Stasia up. Besides, what about the mysterious ghostly creature skulking around town at night? Maybe he or she was involved? As Vera investigates further, her sleuthing puts her in direct opposition to Orville, and soon she’s stirred up a hornet’s nest of trouble.

This event is in person.

Meet the Author: Emily Ettlinger

Just in time for Halloween Month, it’s Skeleanor the Decomposer!
Meet local graphic novelist Emily Ettlinger.

About the Book:

An instantly charming and vivid chapter-book graphic novel, starring a music-obsessed skeleton, Skeleanor, and her quest to find her sound (and her confidence) by debut creator Emily Ettlinger.

Skeleanor loves music more than life itself. There’s just one problem: She has a bit more rattle than rhythm at the moment. No matter what type of instrument she plays—from the fiddle to the xylobone—she always seems to scare the people of Little Casketon away. But with the Little Casketon Summershine festival coming up, and the town band missing a player, maybe Skeleanor (along with the help of her best friend, Batima) could show people her skills and finally take center stage.

Hilarious and heartfelt, Skeleanor the Decomposer (published by Penguin Workshop) by debut author and illustrator Emily Ettlinger is a story about chasing your passions no matter what other people say. Sometimes, all you need is a dream, your friends, and a little music.

About the Author:

Emily Ettlinger is a Maryland-based illustrator, cartoonist, and product designer and Rhode Island School of Design 2016 graduate.
Visit her at https://www.emiett.com

Carroll Cafe presents Phil Wiggins w/ Hubby Jenkins!

Carroll Cafe is so happy to be re-opening our venue with two amazing performers – Phil Wiggins, who will rock the house with his nationally recognized harmonica playing, and Hubby Jenkins, formerly of The Carolina Chocolate Drops. Appearing together recently, they are bringing their talent to our stage. Mark your calendars and make your reservations for what is sure to be a sold out show on Friday, October 13th! Reserve your seat/s: https://carrollcafe.seekerschurch.org/2023/09/phil-wiggins-hubby-jenkins/ Door will open at 7.

Please note: we will no longer be serving food & drinks. You are welcome to bring your own, drinks should be non-alcoholic please, and you must bring your own containers to take home with you – thanks for your understanding.

SSTPMA Community Art Fair

Silver Spring and Takoma Park Mutual Aid will be holding a community art fair on July 22nd from 10-2 at the TPSS Co-op! This is meant to be a space that centers art and community with local art and craft vendors, live music, food, chalk art, jewelry making, and more fun activities. All vendors will donate a portion of their proceeds to SSTPMA. Donations will go to direct aid for local individuals and families. You can learn more about our work here: https://sstpmutualaid.wordpress.com/

For event accessibility and up to date information, please check out our instagram and facebook @sstpmutualaid
If you will need any additional accommodations, feel free to email [email protected]

Celebrating Rhizome DC Parade and Film Screening

6 pm – Party at Rhizome at 6950 Maple Street NW

7 pm – Parade to the Takoma Park Community Center at 7500 Maple Avenue

7:30 pm – Film Screening and Concert at the Community Center

Since its founding in 2015, Rhizome DC has offered a home for experimental music, unconventional art, and eclectic performances tucked inside an unassuming house bordering downtown Takoma Park. Now we’re celebrating Rhizome with a multi-media party stretching across the city so bring your walking shoes!

Please join us at 6 pm on June 30 for a free party with music and conversation at Rhizome. Bring some noisemakers (kids can use their outdoor voices) for a festive parade at 7 pm from Rhizome to the Takoma Park Community Center at 7500 Maple Avenue.

At the Community Center, a free film screening will feature the Rhizome Is Home documentary along with a Q&A with film director Tatev Sargsyan. Using interviews and clips of previous performances, the film explores Rhizome’s representation of marginalized voices in the arts and resilience under threat of dislocation from the shape-shifting forces of gentrification.

Following the film screening, the CMW Players will take the stage for a short experimental music concert. Don’t miss it!

This event is part of the Takoma Park Arts series organized by the City of Takoma Park’s Arts and Humanities Division. The series includes free art exhibitions, film screenings, poetry readings, concerts, theater, and dance performances at the Takoma Park Community Center. Please go to takomaparkmd.gov/arts for more info and to sign up for our e-newsletter.

For more info about Rhizome, go to rhizomedc.org.

Old Town Spring Brass

A brass and reed ensemble featuring young musicians from House of Musical Traditions and Lowell School playing favorite classics and modern tunes outdoors under the Gazebo on Carroll Ave. Directed by local music instructor, Brian Weber.