Silver Spring Town Center Inc. Pays Tribute to America's Veterans

The Silver Spring Town Center, Inc. honors the service and memory of America's veterans of the Armed Forces.

In recognition of these brave American men and women, the Silver Spring Town Center is proud to offer the following photographic tribute to our Montgomery County veterans.

American Legion Post 268, along with VFW Post 2562 and other organizations, held Memorial Day services today at Veterans Memorial Park, located near the Legion Post at 11225 Fern Street, Wheaton.

Flash! at jackie's backroom, may 9, 2008

featuring digital photography, animation and music...

Silver Spring's first youth media festival at City Place, May 10, 2008

Gandhi Brigade youth are organizing Silver Spring's first youth media festival.

Kennedy senior, Maria Guererro, is the festival coordinator. She is working with youth coordinator, Hawa Touré, youth developer, Heather Bradley, and a steering committee composed off eight teens to offer young people a venue for their new media creativity.

The festival has accepted submission in three categories: video, photography, and graphic arts. Best of show awards will be offered for each category.

The festival will be held May 10th in City Place Mall.

In addition to showing teen media the organizers want to use the festival as a springboard for a discussion of critical issues that face young people. The festival is open to youth ages 11 - 18.

For more information, visit the Gandhi Brigade's website at http://www.gandhibrigade.org/

The Mayorga Concert

The Silver Spring Town Center, Inc.’s “Community Conversation” at Mayorga Coffee Factory was a great success! Mayorga’s regular patrons joined with the South Silver Spring Neighborhood Association to listen to two exciting musical groups: the jazz quartet “Aire Lune” and the funk band “Groove Jet.” Guests enjoyed Mayorga’s fine food and drink long after the music ended.

Watch this space for information about the Silver Spring Town Center Inc.’s next “Community Conversation."

April 24 -- the next community conversation at mayorga!

The next Silver Spring Town Center, Inc. "Community Conversation" is set for April 24th at the Mayorga Coffee Factory, Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring! From 6 pm to 9 pm.

Entertainment will be provided by the exciting jazz quartet "Aire Lune."

Our partner will be the South Silver Spring Neighborhood Association.

Cash bar, but the rest of it is free!

Mayorga Coffee Factory
8040 Georgia Ave, Silver Spring, MD 20910
Telephone: (301) 562-9090

The Silver Spring Town Center, Inc. (SSTCI) is sponsoring a series of community arts and entertainment events in Silver Spring over the period January 2008 to June 2009. These events are free to the public.

The New Civic Building and Veterans Plaza: What Do We Want? Drawing on voluntary contributions by local artists and local merchants, the SSTCI seeks to engage the Silver Spring community in a conversation about the new Silver Spring Civic Building and Veterans Plaza.

These "Community Conversations" will provide opportunities for local artists to perform or exhibit their work to a wide audience in Silver Spring. We expect to feature jazz, blues, classical, Salsa, and world music in a variety of entertainment venues in the community, including South Silver Spring, Long Branch, and downtown Silver Spring.

Our goal is to foster greater appreciation for the arts and humanities, stimulate dialogue about the new building, foster networking among neighbors, and to support local businesses.

We want to develop key partnerships with local artists, performers and businesses so as to support the SSTCI mission of providing community based entertainment and educational program for the new Silver Spring Civic Building and Veterans Plaza.

Silver Spring Swings - Summer Concert Series Schedule - Just Released!

Thursdays 7-9pm Silver Plaza @ The Fountain

June 12 Panmasters of D.C. – steel drum band

June 19 Afro Bop Alliance – latin jazz

June 26 Jambulay – caribbean world beat

July 3 The Fabulous Bel Airs – oldies-50s & 60s

July 10 David Bach – world jazz

July 17 Andre Cristovam with Bruce Ewan – spanish/portuguese blues

July 24 Bach Sinfonia -- classical

July 31 Patrick Alban & Noche Latina – latin, rock

August 7 The U. S. Army Blues – big band jazz

August 14 Elliot Levine – r&b, funk

www.silverspringdowntown.com

Michael Baytop Performs in Silver Spring!

Michael Baytop was born in Washington DC in 1948 and has lived in Washington and in surrounding areas all his life. His introduction to playing music came from his father who played harmonica and sang around the house. He gave Michael his first harmonica at the age of five. Later in life, he became interested in playing the blues that he heard as he was growing up. He was fascinated by the old acoustic country style in part because of the stories it told about life for black people in a folk context. He began taking lessons from Charlie Sayles, a local harmonica player, who he found out later, was in the Blues Who’s Who. He then began playing at picnics, backyard affairs, and parties with other musicians. In 1987 he met Archie Edwards, who that day was performing at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. This began an association that lasted until Mr. Edwards’s death in 1998. Mr. Edwards mentored Baytop and encouraged him to play the guitar. In 1989 Michael met, through Archie, Richard “Mr. Bones” Thomas, a lifelong resident of Washington who played rhythm bones (made of beef short rib bones).

Over the next ten years, Baytop played many venues with many different local artists, but mainly with Archie Edwards, Richard Thomas, and Michael Roach, a local blues guitarist who now resides in England. Baytop was a regular at the Archie Edwards Barbershop and spent many hours learning not only the music, but also the cultural context in which the music was created and its meaning to black heritage. He is continuing the tradition as President of the Archie Edwards Blues Heritage Foundation, at Archie’s Barbershop, which still opens every Saturday as a place where blues lives.

As President and performer for the Archie Edwards Blues Heritage Foundation, he received the 2005 Keeping the Blues Alive Award for Education from The Blues Foundation. As a performer he has played at numerous festivals, including the Bull Durham Blues Festival, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, the Herndon Blues Festival (with Barrelhouse Bonnie), and Blues in the Burg. As both a featured artist and sideman, his recordings include Ain’t Got Me No Home, Blinds Of Life, and Archie’s Barbershop Blues.

Baytop has conducted lectures on blues and blues heritage as well as performance demonstrations at many educational institutions, including Maryland University and Morgan State University. He’s also been Instructor in Blues Guitar and Rhythm Bones at Centrum, Blues Week in Port Townsend, WA.

CityDance Ensemble

CityDance Ensemble is a contemporary repertory dance company based in Washington, DC. Promising its signature power, passion, and purpose at every turn, the company performs athletic, challenging repertory by choreographers from the United States and around the world. Under the artistic direction of Paul Gordon Emerson and rehearsal director and choreographer in residence Christopher K. Morgan, CityDance Ensemble blends strong technique and physicality with a dynamic mix of energy, emotion, and humor to deliver performances full of integrity, expression, and life.

Since its inception in 1996, CityDance has grown from a group of part-time dancers to a professional company of nine full-time dancers, earning a reputation as "Washington's preeminent modern dance company” (The Washington Times). The company has been named as a “Top 25 to Watch” by Dance Magazine (2003) and has won the DC Mayor’s Arts Award for Outstanding Emerging Artist (2003) and Innovation in the Arts (2005). CityDance Ensemble is an Artistic Partner at the Harman Center for the Arts, performing a full season at the Center's Lansburgh Theatre in downtown Washington, DC. The company is a Partner at the Music Center at Strathmore, performing regularly there, at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Arts and at other theaters in the DC metro area. The company tours both nationally and internationally, bringing its “breathlessly innovative” (Dancer Magazine) performances to audiences around the world.

CityDance Ensemble is a part of CityDance Ensemble, Inc., the parent organization that also includes CityDance Early Arts, an arts outreach program for youth; CityDance Education Centers, two facilities committed to excellence in dance training for youth and adults; and CityDance FilmWORKS, an award-winning creator and presenter of dance-on-camera.

The mission of CityDance Ensemble, Inc. is to advance the appreciation for and participation in the art of dance through excellence in performance, education, film, and artistic innovation.

Check out their website at http://www.citydance.net/

Check out their blog @ http://powerpassionpurpose.blogspot.com/

Call For Performers: South Silver Spring Block Party

Call For Performers: Performance opportunities for musicians, dancers, spoken word artists.

From: The South Silver Spring Neighborhood Association
For: 2008 Exhibition at the South Silver Spring Block Party

When: Sunday, June 8, 2008 -- 11-5 pm
Where: Kennett St. & Newell Ave. in Silver Spring, MD

What: The Second Annual South Silver Spring Block Party is an event organized by the South Silver Spring Neighborhood Association with assistance from Montgomery County and area sponsors. The event is a community building party for the 3,000 plus residents within a 2block radius of Kennett St and Newell Ave in South Silver Spring.

The Block Party will consist of arts, retail and food vendors including an interactive children's art area, emergency vehicles, food and clothing drive, stage w/approximately 10 performing arts acts and retail business vendors. Over 5,000 flyers will be distributed to the nearby condo and apartment communities in addition to notices in local newspapers and community listservs, notice boards and blogs. Each selected artist will also be featured on the event's website.

Last Year: During the First Annual South Silver Spring Block Party, nearly 2000 people from the community attended. There were 10 performers, 40 retail and food vendors, a children's area, emergency vehicles on display, a historical tour and a tree planting ceremony with several top Montgomery County officials. This year we're doubling the space and the number of vendors and are looking forward to another outstanding turnout from the community. After last years amazing event, the neighbors are already looking forward to this year and we hope you'll be joining us!

How: There are 10 performance times available. If you are interested visit http://blockparty.southsilverspring.org and check out their "online audition." Be prepared to provide the following information: •Please submit 3 samples of your work •Include: Genre and group size •Include: Your Name, address and phone number

Submission Deadline: April 15th, 5pm

Jurors will make decisions based on quality of work, but preference will be given to artists located within the Silver Spring Arts and Entertainment District. Each artist will be given approximately 20 minutes and will not need to bring their own equipment as everything will be supplied for you. There will not be payment for the performance, but you will be able to sell your products.

Date Change - Mayorga Community Conversation

We've had to change the date of the next Silver Spring Town Center "Community Conversation."

It's now scheduled for Thursday, April 24, 2008 at the Mayorga Coffee Factory on Georgia Avenue in Silver Spring.

The jazz ensemble "Aire Lune" will perform!

For more information, contact the Silver Spring Town Center, Inc. @ info@silverspringtowncenter.com or at silverspringtowncenter@gmail.com

See you there.