This Sunday, take a stroll with your family for an important cause, Research Down Syndrome (RDS), and in memory of a beloved local son, brother and small but mighty RDS champion who passed away this year.
A Walk for Flynn Sunday, May 20, 2012 at 9:00 AM North Lake Center at 15101 Bauer Drive in Rockville, Maryland (this is the holding school for Beverly Farms ES, previously known as Manor Lake ES).
Donation: $20 per person. Make checks payable to Research Down Syndrome (RDS)
What to Wear: Navy Blue and Kelly Green – Team Flynn colors!
Rain Date: Sunday, June 2.
Why We Come Together: To honor and remember Flynn Thomas Fry. We want to help keep Flynn’s spirit alive, and also contribute the family’s favorite charity, Research Down Syndrome (RDS).
Walk Details:
The Walk for Flynn will take place around Lake Frank, located in the Manor Lakes neighborhood off of Bauer Drive. After our walk, we will provide a light breakfast for everyone before they head off to their other Sunday activities.
The walking paths around Lake Frank are not hard to maneuver, and there are only a few hills to climb. The entire walk around the lake is about four miles, with a few interesting creek crossings on big stones. For the seasoned walker/hiker, it takes about an hour. We will have an alternate route that is shorter and easier for the less-seasoned walker and children.
My IRL friend Jean, writer of the pee-your-pants funny blog Stimeyland, has a son who plays hockey for a unique team for kids with developmental disabilities, the Montgomery Cheetahs. Jean says of the Cheetahs, “It means everything to us.”
Jean has three kids. I have three kids. The scheduling and driving and commitment required of us parents for our kids’ extracurricular activities is daunting. Admittedly, I would rather ditch the whole process and go play soccer as a family in the backyard, or take the kids along to a wine festival to play in the gravel while I savor a Sauvignon Blanc. Of course I don’t do that. Just like you parents out there, I sign up, pay for and drive my kids to multiple activities each which enrich their development, confidence and joy.
But when you hear the words, “It means everything to us,” from a fellow mom who willingly gets up on weekend mornings before the sun for games and practices, invests in oodles of expensive hockey gear, and oh yeah, has two other sons with their own interests and activities you know this local activity provider must completely rock.
So my family and I are definitely hitting this fabulous fundraiser and family skate event on Saturday May 12 from 5-7 pm at the Rockville Ice Arena. People can come out and skate for a couple hours, or cheer the skaters on and eat snacks from the rink restaurant (what Alice and I will be doing as Chris/Dad, Charlie and Eve get their skate on). We can all also participate in a raffle for Disney tickets, Nintendo 3DS systems, and more prizes aimed at the family demographic, and donate to the Cheetahs if you are so inclined. I am so inclined.
You can register for the event in advance. 100% of the money raised will fund ice expenses for the Cheetah program. If you pony up $50 at their donation site (a very fair price for a night out for your family) you can send a shout out to your favorite Cheetah (Go Jack!) and get a Cheetahs t-shirt.
Having just turned 37, I myself look forward to wearing a cheetah tee while doing errands around town. (Oh wait, it’s the cougar that is the wild cat symbol of a hot older woman. Hmm, maybe I can start a new pop culture name that a cheetah is a not-overly-worked-out-but-takes-care-of-herself professional woman and mother who gets sh*t done?? Do you think that will catch on??)
The Montgomery Cheetahs are a non-profit organization offering an adapted ice hockey program for young people with developmental disabilities, such as autism and Down syndrome. More than 100 youth have participated in the program since its founding in 2006.
Taste the World in Downtown Silver Spring’s Fenton Village
Sunday, May 6, 1-5pm
Nearly two dozen restaurants featuring cuisine from around the globe will be showcased in the second annual Taste the World in Fenton Village on Sunday, May 6 from 1 to 5 p.m. Fenton Village is located just south of downtown Silver Spring between Wayne, Georgia and Burlington avenues and Fenton Street.
Pictured above: The band Eastern Standard Time plays at 4pm
Unlike other tasting events assembled on sidewalks or public lots, Taste the World, in a “pub crawl” style, welcomes participants into the restaurants to sample not just their specialties but their special atmosphere. Restaurants will offer appetizers or small tasting plates for $2, $3, $4 and $5.
Event attendees will pick up their Taste the World passports at Parking Lot 3 on Fenton Street between Thayer and Silver Spring avenues beginning at 1 p.m. An array of live music will be played on our Taste the World Stage, including Eastern Standard Time who will really get the party going with a Caribbean Beat! Once participants have their fill of the range of tastes, they return to the stage area and enter a free drawing for prizes from local merchants.
For more information, call 240-832-3078 or visit www.tastetheworldfentonvillage.org for maps, a list of participating restaurants, and other event details. Also join our event page on Facebook
On Friday, April 27, the Newseum will open the HP New Media Gallery, an interactive experience that uses the latest technology to allow visitors to physically step into a social network that shows media’s powerful impact on our world. Live Twitter feeds fill touch-screen monitors and connect visitors with trending news stories. The 2,500-square-foot gallery is the first permanent addition to the museum since its grand opening in 2008.
As visitors enter the gallery, they are directed to the “Check-In” area, where they can post photos of themselves to screens in the gallery and comment on events of the day. At two 11-foot-wide interactive touch walls, visitors are encouraged to explore dozens of important news events and viral videos, including the first Twitter reports of the 2008 China earthquake and the Facebook posts that fueled the Egyptian revolution in 2011.
In the “Choose the News” area, visitors can flip through the latest stories and build custom news pages, then publish them to a large video wall. The “Game Zone” features motion-tracking technology that allows visitors to use hand gestures to test their knowledge of social media.
SATURDAY APRIL 28
Fenton Street Market returns to Veterans Plaza in downtown Silver Spring on April 28, from 10:00am – 4:00pm! Every Saturday through October 27, over 60 local vendors a week will showcase their wares: original artwork, handmade and imported crafts, antiques, jewelry, furniture, vintage clothing, unique services such as acupuncture and henna tattoos, and much more. Community programming will include a screen printing demonstration by Pyramid Atlantic, an interactive model train exhibit by the Riverdale Model Train Club, and music by market favorites Snakehead Run and Israel Dempsey. Veterans Plaza is located in front of the Silver Spring Civic Building, at the intersection of Fenton St. and Ellsworth Dr., Silver Spring, MD 20910.
SATURDAY APRIL 28 & SUNDAY APRIL 29
USA Science and Engineering Festival
Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington, D.C.
April 28: 10:00am-6:00pm
April 29: 10:00am-4:00pm
Admission FREE
This huge and awesome free festival which features over 3,000 hands-on science and engineering activities, and more than 100 stage shows on six stages! It’s a science loving family’s dream! Attendees can operate state-of-the-art robots; converse with astronauts, Nobel Laureates, storm chasers, science celebrities like Bill Nye the Science Guy or the MythBusters and even scientists of the past; fly a fighter jet simulator; enter a virtual reality environment, be a CSI agent and so much more. Students can also leave with information about science and engineering scholarships, internships, mentorship and future jobs.
Before you go, be sure to download the FREE USA Science and Engineering Festival App. It lists all activities, stage shows, 36 Featured Authors, and gives you a map and more. The app is available for both iPhone and Android.
Highlight for Young Kids
Visit the PBS Kids Sid the Science Kid Booth for fun hands on activities for children all day, a photo opportunity with the Sid the Science Kid costume character, see Sid the Science Kid will perform his “Science is Everywhere” singalong on the Curie Stage on Saturday at 10:50am and 12:50pm and Sunday at 10:00am and 11:50pm, and be entered to win a Sid the Science Kid collection of merchandise drawing each day.
Also, leave a comment on this post to win one of TWO copies of the Sid’s Backyard Campout DVD! The winners will be randomly drawn in one week.
My IRL friend Jean, writer of the pee-your-pants funny blog 
Photo credit: Sam Kittner/Newseum
