There was a big crowd at the New Deal Open Mic night for the first-ever performance in Greenbelt of “Roosevelt Rap.” This telling of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s major life events was written by Jeffrey Urbin, Education Specialist at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, and performed by our own Rebecca Holober (rapping) and Barbara Logan (ukulele percussion).  Video by ...

The Greenbelt Step Club had been a hub for recovery and 12-Step meetings of all kinds since it opened in 1990 in its original location behind and beneath the former Domino’s Pizza in Roosevelt Center.  Then for reasons that remain unclear (at least to this blogger), they lost their lease – but happily found a new location just across the driveway from ...

What a surprise to receive my Old Greenbelt Theatre membership card, shown above. It’s the exact same watercolor that’s been hanging on my wall for decades.  They’re displayed with three other scenes I chose because I love them: the Takoma Park Farmers Market, the Uptown Theater, and the Spanish Ballroom at Glen Echo. I bought them years ago at a ...

Recycling Plastic Pots These are just some of the plastic pots I unwittingly acquired in April in my yearly fit of plant-buying. I gathered them here to wash them before looking for the least bad way to deal with them, feeling heartsick that plants come with plastic. Is there really no better way to package them? But assuming for now ...

Chatting with Greenbelter Aaron Solomon at the Farmers Market last Sunday I learned that Greenbelt Access TV is now on Youtube.  So yay!  And here’s what’s there so far, followed by offerings from other all-Greenbelt channels online. Greenbelt Access Television Channel There I found the Eleanor Roosevelt High School Dixieland Combo playing in Roosevelt Center.  Other ERHS groups appearing are ...

You all remember GHI’s recent kitchen and bathroom renovation contests, right? The winners are here (kitchen) and here (bathroom), with photos and their tips for us. The contests were conducted by the Architectural Review Committee chaired by Lola Skolnik, and I’m a member, too. Next up from the same hard-working committee is a Garden Contest, and it’s not your Grandmother’s ...

Greenbelt celebrates July 4th at Buddy Attick Park, starting with community drumming led by Katy Gaughan (a force of nature – just watch!) Next came the Greenbelt Concert Band and the fireworks ...

by Jeff Lemieux Like it or not, Greenbelt Road is our city’s Main Street. But Greenbelt Road is built more like a highway than a neighborhood connector. It has high-speed ramps and wide lanes and overhead signs that are designed to allow outside traffic to speed through Greenbelt, not for local access. As a result, there’s no safe way to ...

Originally published on Bad Wolf DC  6/23/15. The Circulator Experience DC has had Circulator buses for 10 years now but it wasn’t until last week, with the opening of its long-awaited National Mall route, that I finally rode one. I discovered my new favorite way to see the biggest collection of sights in all of D.C. Easy, relaxing, and super-cheap. I ...

by Kathie Jarva, chair of the GHI Woodlands Committee A huge THANK YOU to all the neighbors who joined members of the GHI Woodlands Committee on Saturday, June 20,  to cut down a prodigious amount of Golden Bamboo from GHI wooded areas near 2, 4, and 6 Courts of Ridge. Bamboo warriors pictured in front of just one of the ...

The 446-acre treasure that is the National Arboretum has seemed down on its luck these last few years.  It had a short-term director (not a plant person), then several acting directors, and worst of all, a two-year cutback on public hours to just four days a week since a congressional event called a sequester. (I worked in Congress for decades and don’t ...

And grand it was! Festive, too. Apologies to everyone I didn’t identify in the video with captions. I’d add these missing captions if I knew how to do it using the Youtube editor: Mayor Emmett Jordan being interviewed by Hillary Howes Catering by Jeremy Ehrenreich In-theater comments by County Councilman Todd Turner Who else should I have ID’d?  ...

How about a new feature here on the old blog – fun day trips from Greenbelt!  Guest blog stories welcome – just leave a comment. So I’ll start, with a place I began exploring last summer and returned to recently – Patuxent River Park.  in Upper Marlboro.  Its website tells us it has more than 8 miles of scenic woodland trails ...

Hillary Gottemoeller and Joe Harris – the performing couple formerly known as the The Bachelor and the Bad Actress – were married yesterday in Roosevelt Center, a place I’ll forever think of as The Church of You and Me – or You, Me, and the Whole Town.  And the location was soooo fitting.  Joe’s been ensconced in the music scene ...

If you’ve walked around Greenbelt Lake recently you’ve probably noticed this scene along the path – a swath of gold and lots of lavender action, too. I was wow’ed by this scene enough last year to search out the gardener to find out more.  Turns out the gardener is the very knowledgeable Teresa Desch, who’s actually created native-plant gardens for ...

I’m still as busy as ever but how can I NOT blog about the opening of our much-missed, better-than-ever historic Greenbelt Theatre, under exciting new management?? The soft opening was Friday May 1 and as executive director Caitlin McGrath said after the firemen arrived between shows (thank to an overzealous smoke detector being set off by the popcorn machine). that’s ...

Capacity crowd and lots of laughs last night at the New Deal – a Tuesday night, y’all.  It was the first of what will be a monthly event (4th Tuesdays) and boy, are we lucky to have good stand-up right here in Greenbelt. From left, Chris Lawrence, Matt Brown, Andre Ferrell, Jeff Hysen Here’s how it came about: Chris Lawrence ...

by Jeff Lemieux Last winter, my wife and I took a bike ride around Greenbelt, Maryland.  It was between 2 and 4pm on a Wednesday afternoon.  Our goal was to see how many parking lots around our shopping centers and office parks sit empty on an average workday. What we found was pretty discouraging. The offices behind Greenway Center are ...

By Li’l Dan Celdran, GES parent On Wednesday, December 3 Greenbelt Elementary School hosted an assembly for all its students and staff regarding its new recycling program. Dr. Luisa Robles, Sustainability Coordinator for the City of Greenbelt, shared information with us on the items that can be recycled at GES.  Dr. Robles set up tables with colored tablecloths indicating which ...

Before celebrating the new year, I decided to share images of some of the Greenbelt events I attended and photographed in 2014.  Easy enough, since they’re all filed away under “GB Events 2014.”  So to everyone who made these events happen, thanks for the memories! In January I caught the regular Open Mic event (for adults) at the New Deal, ...