The Arts and Humanities Commission is excited about the fall 2016 We Are Takoma arts and humanities line-up. Here’s a quick preview of some of the upcoming events.

On Thursday, Sept. 1 at 7:30 p.m., venture into the contemporary jazz scene in Tokyo, Japan, with PhD ethnomusicology student William Scally in his presentation Tokyo Jazz: Decentering “America’s Classical Music.”

The exhibition Traditions, featuring work by Susana Garten, Lauren Kingsland, and Marsha Stein, opens with a reception on Thursday, Sept. 8 at 6:30 p.m

Also on Thursday, Sept. 8 at 7:30 p.m. Docs In Progress presents the film Moosehead’s Wicked Good Plan followed by a discussion with filmmaker Sarah Katz.

The ever-popular Third Thursday Poetry series launches its 12th year on Thursday, Sept. 15 at 7:30 p.m. with readings by Grace Cavalieri, Megan Kuyatt, Charles Wright, and David Salner with host Merrill Leffler.

On Thursday, Oct. 6 at 7:30 pm, George Washington University’s Dr. Jennifer Tobkin discusses Muhammad ibn Dawud alIsfahani, A Poet of Male Friendship and Love in 9th Century Baghdad.

Thursday, Oct. 13 at 7:30 pm, you are invited to Street Sense Film Night for the screenings of Fairness Rising, Late Show, and Raise to Rise, three short films about homelessness in the nation’s capital made by people experiencing homelessness but for everyone to see.

Kate Bole and the Culkin School of Irish Dance show off their fancy footwork in Lilt ‘N Dance on Saturday, Oct. 15 at 7:30 pm.

Third Thursday Poetry is back Oct. 20 at 7:30 pm with featured poets Jean Nordhaus, Martin Fitzpatrick, and Renee Gherity.

On Thursday, Nov. 3 at 7:30 pm, take a virtual tour with Lara Langer, recent PhD in Art History from University of Maryland, to see Highlights from the Collection of Renaissance Sculpture at the National Gallery of Art.

Man/Made opens Thursday, Nov. 10, with a reception at 6:30 pm showcasing works by Jessica Beels, Alexis Cohen, Allan Leventhal, and Dilip Sheth.

This article appeared in the August 2016 edition of the Takoma Park Newsletter. The Takoma Park Newsletter is available for download here.

By Helen Lyons

A brand new community kitchen at the Takoma Park Presbyterian Church will give micro entrepreneurs a leg up as they build their businesses, thanks to a partnership with Crossroads Community Food Network and grants from the city, county, and state.

“There’s lots of people who have incredible skills and talent and want to start food businesses,” said Lorig Charkoudian, the executive director of Community Mediation Maryland, who spearheaded the initiative, “and to have food businesses, you have to have a licensed commercial kitchen.”

Charkoudian said that many of those ambitious entrepreneurs lack the capital required to obtain access to a licensed kitchen, and entrepreneurs said that the kitchens in their homes aren’t suitable for building strong businesses.

“The difference between having it in your house and having your own [commercial] kitchen is huge,” said Maria Pia Chirinos, who hopes that the Community Kitchen will allow her to grow her mother-daughter catering business specializing in Peruvian cuisine.

“We are fifteen minutes away from here,” Pia Chrinios said, “so it would be awesome to have the kitchen right here. We can come, cook here and sell our food. The kitchen here is going to be amazing.”

Beverly Coleman, the owner of Bev’s Gourmet Salad Creations, called the convenience “an awesome thing.”

“You don’t have to go hunting and pecking and trying to find somewhere,” she said. “We have our own kitchen in the community. It’s home based. It’s a great thing, and it’s definitely going to help me.”

Prospective business owners aren’t the only ones who have taken an interest in the Community Kitchen. Danny Wells, chef and part-owner of Takoma Park’s Republic restaurant, said that he’s drawn by both the uniqueness and the quality of the food that business owners plan to prepare in the kitchen.

“There’s a lot of Latin American producers that produce ingredients that are really hard to find around here,” Wells said, “and in this super diverse community in which we live and work, it’s cool to find channels for harder-to-find products. The general purveyor that I work with can’t find a lot of the products that these guys are going to produce.”

With its focus on “really beginning, low access to capital, new entrepreneurs” rather than more established enterprisers, Lorig Charkoudian said that the Community Kitchen is the only one of its kind in the greater Washington area.

“What this kitchen is going to do is create access for people with limited economic means to really get their businesses and their dreams off the ground,” Charkoudian said.

Xavier Carrillo is among them. He lives just around the corner from the church and sells tropical flavored frozen treats influenced by a nostalgia for his childhood in El Salvador. “It’s going to be so perfect for me,” said Carillo, who hopes the kitchen will help him both grow his business and share his culture.

The kitchen’s renovations have already begun, and Mayor Kate Stewart said that the neglected space in the church is expected to finish its transformation “later this year.”

“The Community Kitchen will host microenterprise development, cooking and nutrition classes,” Mayor Stewart said, “and facilitate the preparation of food for distribution to low-income individuals and families. In its own way, the Community Kitchen will help alleviate hunger and economic inequality by providing for local food production. If those aren’t Takoma Park values, I don’t know what are.”

This article appeared in the August 2016 edition of the Takoma Park Newsletter. The Takoma Park Newsletter is available for download here.

By Kevin Adler, former chair of the Takoma Park Folk Festival

The 39th annual Takoma Park Folk Festival was scheduled to be held on Sept. 11, but in July, the Festival’s leaders canceled the event for the first time since its founding in 1978.

The most recent chair, Colleen Clay, whose leadership has brought new energy to the Festival, is leaving the area. The Festival is struggling with a general lack of enough people in the spring and summer to coordinate tasks, such as publicity, volunteer recruitment and food vendors as well as someone to replace Clay.

All the Festival’s leaders have made it clear they hope this will be only a one-year hiatus. However, they warn that the break will be permanent if the community does not produce a sufficient number of organizers in the next few months.

“The message we want to get across is urgency,” said Scott Gilkeson, who has been a Festival committee member for more than a decade. “The Festival has a lot of strengths, but we need more support if we are going to survive.”

To kick off a volunteer recruitment effort, the Festival will be holding an open house at the end of September in the Takoma Park Community Center. Festival leaders are looking for 10 people who will join the existing team to revive the Festival for September 2017. “The volunteer commitment is serious, but it’s less time than you might think,” Gilkeson said.

As part of the outreach for new volunteers, the Festival’s current board encourages newcomers to bring their ideas about what the Festival can be. “This is a chance for people to shape the ‘new’ Takoma Park Folk Festival. Come with your ideas and work with us,” said Walter Mulbry, a veteran of more than 20 Festivals.

New ideas have always been a part of the Festival, said Gina Gaspin, chair of the crafts committee. She brought in food artisans to the crafts show last year for the first time.

The program is always evolving, too, said Judy Oliver, chair of the program committee that selects performers each year. She cited the Grassy Nook Stage as an example. “The Grassy Nook now features teenage performers instead of adults playing kids’ songs. That was an idea brought by a committee member, Marika Partridge, and she’s made it into one of the most popular stages at the Festival,” Oliver said.

“We have a very special event, and it’s unusual with the combination of music, dance, crafts and community tables. The foundation is here for keeping the Festival going. Those of us on the board are ready to work on the Festival for 2017 and also eager to pass what we know on to the next generation of organizers,” Oliver said. For information, visit the Festival’s website at www.tpff.org.

This article appeared in the August 2016 edition of the Takoma Park Newsletter. The Takoma Park Newsletter is available for download here.

By Rick Henry

When one characterizes the typical Takoma Park resident, two of the key attributes that come to mind are loyalty to the city and a commitment to the earth.

So it should be no surprise that a group of city residents wants to take those characteristics to the ultimate degree by creating a memorial scatter garden in a city-owned park where the cremains of Takoma Park residents can rest for eternity.

A scatter garden is a place where people scatter the ashes of their loved ones and where small plaques marking the names of those whose ashes are scattered are displayed.

“Takoma Park people are very attached to the city. We don’t want to live anywhere else or be dead anywhere else,” said Jennifer Beman White, the person who initiated the project and enlisted many of her Sherman Avenue neighbors in the effort, including Beth Baker.

“I loved the idea as soon as I heard about it from Jennifer,” Baker said. “I envision a scatter garden as a simple, lovely way for people to remember their family and friends.”

Scatter gardens are common, but are found exclusively within existing cemeteries or churches. What makes the proposed Takoma Park scatter garden unique is that it would be free-standing and located on city-owned land.

“We have done a lot of research and talked with someone from the Cremation Association of America, and we have not found an example of one being started by a municipality for its residents,” Beman White said. “In fact the association was very excited about the proposition and wants us to keep them informed on how it works out.” Baker believes the proposed scatter garden is “in keeping with the city’s tradition of being nontraditional.”

Both Baker and Beman White said they have received nothing but positive feedback from the people they have spoken with about the project, but both also realize that there will have to be a lot of outreach to the community as a whole. “It is a commitment to perpetuity after all,” Beman White said.

To educate the public about scatter gardens and the process of establishing one in the city, the Committee for a Takoma Park Memorial Scatter Garden has created a website (tpmsg.org), which includes an FAQ of common questions and concerns that some people may have about the project, such as: “Are their health concerns?” (The quick answer is no); “Are the remains actually scattered?” (Not necessarily); and “How much will it cost?” (That depends on which design elements, such as walls, benches and landscaping, are incorporated).

As to the actual process of establishing a scatter garden in the city, the group presented its concept to the city’s Commemoration Commission, which “documents, maintains and preserves past, present and future memorials, commemorations and recognitions” and makes recommendations to the City Council.

Commission member Howard Kohn said that while a scatter garden is “not the most obvious part of our purview,” and is different than the traditional ways of honoring people such as monuments, signs, benches and trees, “it does fall within what we are designated to do.”

He also added that while the commission is supportive of the scatter garden; the biggest challenge is finding a location that is suitable.

“There are very few places that are green and open and where no active recreation takes place,” he said.

Beman White and other members of the group involved with the project did a walk around the city with commission chair Richard O’Connor, and they identified some potential spots, which they plan to share with the City Council as soon as they can get on the agenda. Ultimately, the Council would have to approve the scatter garden.

This article appeared in the July 2016 edition of the Takoma Park Newsletter. The Takoma Park Newsletter is available for download here.

By Colleen Cordes and Gresham Lowe

Takoma Park should have a front row seat to fireflies’ annual summer light show, thanks to the City’s Safe Grow Act of 2013 and to Takoma Park’s many residents who are practicing ever more organic approaches to gardening and lawn care.

The recent law restricts the use of certain pesticides for cosmetic lawn care that the U.S. and other governments have classified as posing particular health risks or that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has designated for restricted use. Takoma Park was the first community in the nation of our size to enact such broad restrictions for private property. Following our lead, Montgomery County recently passed similar restrictions, and Maryland lawmakers just passed legislation restricting the sale and use of neonicotinoid pesticides to protect pollinators.

This is all welcome news for local fireflies – also known as lightning bugs. Because they spend so much time in their larval phase under or on the ground and their diet is mainly other small grounddwelling insects, fireflies are considered especially susceptible to pesticides and other lawn chemicals. Exploring more organic ways to take care of lawns and gardens is also worth considering to protect a wide range of other species as well, including butterflies, other pollinators and bats and birds that eat the insects. On up the food chain, organic lawn and garden care helps protect pets and our own families, especially children, who often play on lawns and are developmentally more vulnerable to toxins.

Here are three introductory tips to begin exploring more organic approaches to lawn care and gardening:

Start from the ground up by evaluating and enriching your soil. Healthy soil contributes to plant health, including a deep, rich network of roots. Healthy roots make grass and garden plants more resilient from drought, disease and insect infestations. So begin by evaluating your soil quality. You can have it analyzed by an expert, or if that seems too complicated, examine it closely yourself. For advice on whether you should have your soil chemically analyzed to test for specific nutrient deficiencies, take a sample to a free Master Gardener Plant Clinic in the county. (See extension. umd.edu/mg/locations/plant-clinics for more information.)

For a do-it-yourself evaluation, observe a handful up close. Good soil will smell slightly sweet, be a rich dark brown or almost black and have a crumbly texture when dry but hold together well when moistened and formed in a ball. If the color is red and can only be dug up in thick, sticky clumps, as is the case in much of Takoma Park, your soil is heavy in clay and would especially benefit from applications of mature compost. The City’s leaf mulch, which you can pick up for free at the Public Works Department on Oswego Avenue or order and schedule a delivery, is an affordable option. For more information, call 301-891-7633.

Let nature be your guide. Healthy ecosystems thrive in diversity. Native plants have evolved to thrive in each other’s company, and each plant has its own preference for hours of sun exposure. Working within these natural limits makes for less frustrating landscaping. A monoculture, like grass, will be more susceptible to serious invasions of insects or weeds than a yard planted with a variety of species that are both native to our area and wellsuited to the micro-environment of your own yard.

The shade from Takoma Park’s lush forest canopy, for example, makes growing grass a particular challenge in many yards. Our white oaks and other native trees are much more compatible with shade-tolerant shrubs and plants. Lovely native ferns often do well on our many shady hills. (Before digging under trees, check the Tree Ordinance.) Consider reducing the area of yard planted in grass. In fact, establishing a large area of mulch around big trees – the most valuable part of the home landscape – is an excellent way to help them resist the stresses of urban life, such as pollution, soil compaction, and root disturbance. No mulch volcanoes, please! You need just two to three inches of mulch coverage, starting no closer than half a foot from the trunk but extending as far out as you like. The further you go, the greater the boon to trees. Refresh the mulch when it gets thin, incorporating the tree’s own fallen leaves if you can, which will continue to improve the fertility and structure of your soil.

Start with safest, least toxic solutions first. Weed your garden by hand before weeds get out of hand. As for lawns, if dandelions or other uninvited wildflowers become too invasive, hand weeding a fair percentage of them will help bring their numbers back under control. For gardens, include plants like marigolds and certain onions that naturally repel pests. A little nibbling of garden plants by insects is natural. If you’re losing more than, say, 30 per cent of your planting to an infestation, you can try a fairly high pressure blast of hose water to wash bugs away. Non-toxic, plant-based horticultural oils can be used to suffocate pests, and horticultural soaps – or even soapy dishwater – can also be sprayed. For help identifying a serious insect infestation and advice about other non-toxic steps, such as purchasing beneficial insects like hungry ladybugs to help bring a bad infestation under control, visit the Master Gardener clinics mentioned above.

Participating in such interspecies sharing is the real spirit behind organic lawn and garden care, much like grateful fireflies contributing their fair share by lighting up the night in Takoma Park!

Colleen Cordes and Gresham Lowe are members of the Takoma Park Tree Commission. They thank Kathy Jentz, editor of Washington Gardener Magazine and past president of the Takoma Horticultural Club, and local resident Nichelle Harriott, science and regulatory director of Beyond Pesticides, for the tips they shared for this article. For more information, visit Beyond Pesticides’ website, www.beyondpesticides.org.

This article appeared in the July 2016 edition of the Takoma Park Newsletter. The Takoma Park Newsletter is available for download here.

By Gina Mathias

If you live in Takoma Park, chances are your house could be considered small, or even tiny, by most standards. From May 31 – June 3, we were treated to a big dose of perspective when a real tiny home on wheels stopped in Takoma Park for a week of tours and workshops. The stop was part of a year-long tour for Corbett and Grace Lunsford’s Proof is Possible. Takoma Park coordinated with the Lunsford’s and their tour sponsor ecobeco, to give them a safe place to park and live at the City parking lot next to the TPSS Co-op.

The purpose of the Proof is Possible tiny home tour is to promote high-efficiency homes, which goes a few steps beyond energy efficiency to include air quality, building materials and overall home performance. While the purpose was to show residents how they can achieve a high-performance home where they live now, the presence of the tiny home sparked interesting conversations about much more, including zoning, density, netzero energy homes, affordable housing and downsizing clutter.

Several City Council members and Mayor Stewart were spotted touring the tiny home, which was open from 5 – 6 p.m. each evening. There were also several workshops, one geared specifically for home owners. Corbett Lunsford also held two special trainings at the Community Center on advanced diagnostic testing, so our local stock of energy efficiency professionals will be better equipped to help homeowners create high performance homes.

The tour was a last-minute opportunity that ecobeco President Brian Toll offered to the City when they ran into trouble finding a place for the Lunsford’s to park for the week. The City jumped at the chance to bring something trendy and interesting to the community that also helps with the City’s efforts to win the Georgetown University Energy Prize. Attracting people to the Tiny Home for tours offered a unique opportunity to inspire others to save energy at home and to get advice from an expert. Fifty local contractors also were inspired to use the advanced diagnostics they learned to help residents who have had energy audits and want to air-seal, insulate and optimize their home’s performance.

If you missed the tiny home tour, you can watch the Lunsford’s quirky, educational videos on Corbett and Grace’s YouTube channel, “Home Performance” at www.youtube.com/ user/GreenDreamGroup. And you can catch their new TV series on PBS in early 2017, “Home Diagnosis,” which Corbett describes as “This Old House” meets “CSI.”

This article appeared in the July 2016 edition of the Takoma Park Newsletter. The Takoma Park Newsletter is available for download here.

By Sebastian Goldberg

Editor’s Note: Takoma Park is one of 50 communities competing in the Georgetown University Energy Prize Competition. Sebastian’s project, named “Project Porch Light,” helps Takoma Park’s entry in the contest because the goal is to have the most energy savings, and replacing light bulbs with more efficient ones will save a lot of energy.

On a Sunday April 17, teams of boy scouts from Troop 33, based in Takoma Park, fanned out across Takoma Park on a mission to replace light bulbs of Takoma Park residents with more efficient LED bulbs. They were working with me on my Eagle Scout project. I wanted to find a project that helped out the City, and I have always enjoyed doing things for the environment.

I read about Georgetown University Energy Prize Competition the newspaper, so I asked Takoma Park Sustainability Manager Gina Mathias if there was anything I could do to help. She suggested the project because she was looking for someone to replace porch lights. People often leave them on all night, which wastes energy, so by switching to LED bulbs, lots of energy can be saved.

To identify houses that needed LED bulbs, initially I signed people up at the Takoma Park farmers market until I had almost all of the houses needed to complete project. However, I did not get all of the participants at the farmer’s market, so we had to go door-to-door to recruit more participants.

LED bulbs are the most efficient commercial light bulbs and are 40 percent more efficient than compact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs and use about a sixth of the energy of traditional incandescent bulbs. In addition to being more efficient, LED bulbs last much longer. While a CFL bulb might last 10,000 hours, the LED can last 50,000 hours, which can be almost thirty years if not constantly in use.

The project replaced over 100 light bulbs in Takoma Park where 57 houses had their outdoor lights replaced with new LED bulbs. While the final installation took place in just one day, the project had been in the works since January, including numerous meetings between me and Bryant Martinez, the Takoma Park sustainability assistant working with Gina Mathias. Martinez provided support and helped coordinate my efforts, including ordering the replacement bulbs requested by Takoma Park residents, which were funded by the Takoma Park Public Works Department as part of the City’s energy conservation efforts.

Now that the project is completed, the new LED bulbs will produce an estimated energy savings of 10,500 kilowatt hours annually. These saving will help improve the City’s standing in Georgetown contest. Overall the project went well, and we all hope that City of Takoma Park wins the Georgetown contest.

This article appeared in the July 2016 edition of the Takoma Park Newsletter. The Takoma Park Newsletter is available for download here.

Despite cold and rainy weather, the Friends Book Sale – held indoors – raised more than $2,600 for the Library.

Many thanks to these volunteers and staff who made it a success: Pat Hanrahan, Gary Sternberg, Tom Brune, Tim Rahn, Clair Garman, Paula Nersesian, Dave Burbank, Maurice Belanger, Sam McCollin, Merrill Leffler, Wabi Aboudou, Ann Slayton, Amy Beaupre, Sherelyn Ernst, Suzanne Morgan, Katherine Dixon-Peugh, Rebekah Zanditon, Deb Nelson, Pat McMahon, Miriam Szapiro, Wally Malakoff, Patti Mallin, Kathleen and Harry Fulton, Kevin Adler, Gina McNeal, Jeff Blum, Ellen Cassidy, David Wiley, Ben Wiley, and Richard McAlee, Mr. Walker and Kimley Mannix of the Department of Public works, and Recreation Department staff, especially Debbie Huffman.

All proceeds from the Friends of the Library book sales go to the Library in the form of funding for services, resources and programs.

This article appeared in the July 2016 edition of the Takoma Park Newsletter. The Takoma Park Newsletter is available for download here.

Experts agree. Summer reading should be fun. And fun is the focus our Summer Quest summer reading program, which gives readers lots of flexibility in choosing which books to read. Summer Quest 2016 officially kicked off June 13, but readers can join any time during the summer because we won’t conclude the program (with a party!) until early September.

Featuring a story and game board created each year by library associate Dave Burbank, Summer Quest is a “read to advance” game. To begin readers pick a character and we give them a game board and a story, which contains 10 reading challenges. Each time readers complete a book for a challenge, we move their character along a giant game board in the Children’s Room.

The reading challenges are open-ended – “read an adventure book” or “read a book about someone different than you” – so that readers have plenty of choice in which books to read. Adults also are welcome to play; it’s a great way to structure your summer reading. Thanks to the Friends of the Takoma Park Maryland Library for sponsoring our unique Summer Quest program.

This article appeared in the July 2016 edition of the Takoma Park Newsletter. The Takoma Park Newsletter is available for download here.

The Library has books in Spanish for all ages. Here are some new, mostly nonfiction titles for adults. Ven y descubrelos!

Papa Francisco, El Nombre de Dios Es Misericordia. In his first book published as pope, Pope Francis shares his thoughts on the topic he believes to be the cornerstone of faith: mercy.

Veronica Cervera, La cocina Cubana de vero. Cervera’s fully illustrated cookbook offers 100 traditional Cuban recipes.

Juan Morris, Cerati: La biografia. A biography of Argentine singer-songwriter, composer and producer Gustabo Cerati (1959-2014) who changed forever the history of Spanish rock.

Rosa Barocio, Disciplina con amor: Como poner limites sin ahogarse en la culpa. The author gives reasonable and sensible recommendations supporting parents and educators confronted by the challenges of educating children.

Jorge Ramos, Sin miedo: Lecciones de rebeldes. Emmy Award winner and journalist Jorge Ramos shares some life lessons and experiences from his 30-year career.

Allan Percy, Mujica: Una biografia inspiradora. This biography of Pepe Mujica, former president of Uruguay, introduces his life and heartening way of thinking.

Jose Fernandez, Reta to Vida: No es dejar de comer sino aprender a comer. Nutritionist and star coach Fernandez offers inspiration and detailed menus to help the whole family achieve a healthier diet.

Draco Rosa y Nena Niessen, El secreto de la vida a base de plantas. Rosa and Niessen present their best vegetarian recipes, explain the nutritional and medicinal properties of a plant-based diet and propose a plan for healthful eating.

Claudia Molina, Jugosa y fit: El verdadero secreto de los jugos y ejercicios para tener un cuerpazo.

Cesar Lozano, No te enganches #Todopasa. Lozano offers lessons and solutions to discover the best path to living a full and happy life.

Miguel Luiz, El arte tolteca de la vida y la muerte. Spiritual wisdom teacher Ruiz shares his life experiences and offers timeless insights from the Toltecs to encourage readers who are confronting life’s challenges.

Yordi Rosado, S.O.S. Adolescentes fuera de control en la era digital. A modernday guide for parents to facilitate effective communication with teens in the digital age.

Dennis Nelson, Guerra contra todos los Puertorriquenos: Revolution y terror en la colonia Americana. Nelson’s well-documented account of the compelling life of Pedro Albizu Campos provides a window into an important but overlooked history of the Puerto Rican independence movement.

Carlos Wynter Melo, Las impuras. (Fiction) – Victims of the repression during the invasion of Panama by the U.S., two women reconstruct their past and look for redemption while trying to find the meaning of life.

[Book descriptions are taken from reviews appearing in Library Journal on May 1, 2016.]

We also have books for those learning English as a second language. Ingles para Latinos, Primer Nivel (with three CDs.) and Ingles para Latinos, Segundo Nivel (with a guide to pronunciation) are two newer titles, but we have many more.

This article appeared in the July 2016 edition of the Takoma Park Newsletter. The Takoma Park Newsletter is available for download here.