Long Branch Business League
Volume 12
Issue 7
“Thank You Everyone!”
IN THIS ISSUE
Long Branch Festival expresses its gratitude
Long Branch Festival a Success Page 1
(from page 2) The Festival’s Thank You List … “CHEER’s Bruce Baker, John Brill, and Vanessa Pinto, among many others, helped create the visioning process in Friendship Lane, together with John Marcolin and many others from Planning. Ada Villatoro, from El Golfo; Anna Rivera, from El Gavilan; Iris Jimenez, from La Casita: you all took a chance on a little-known Pupusa Alley and made it happen. Also Edgar Alvarado and his team of fantastic artists from Arts on the Block! Clara Ramos and Carlos Perozo for making loteria happen. Both were a delight! Nok Kim, from Rainbow Laundry, sacrificed a whole weekend to help us build the festival stage. Thank you, Greg Fernebok, for very kindly letting us use your parking lot, and Karen Tyler, Finmarc management and Flower Associates for generously allowing the use of Pupusa Alley. And many, many others, if only there was time to mention you all! I love you, mom and dad!” [Festival rushes from stage, filled with emotion.]
Page 2 Stores Assist County Effort Page 2 Festival Builds Vision for Area Page 3
Festival Pictures Page 4
Clockwise from top left corner: Child ponders loteria board; the horn section of El Pulgarcito Salvadoran Marching Band winds its way through Flower Avenue Urban Park; the Selfie Zone in Friendship Lane, with original artwork created by Edgar Alvarado, Austin Hill, Athena Corbin, Serena Feingold and Chloe Rasmuson; diners enjoying Pupusa Alley as MHP’s Naudia Porter (far left) sells festival bags and t-shirts; Eric Energy creating smoke rings during his science performance; experienced players placing their chips during one of two loteria days in the park.
Long Branch Business News, a monthly publication, Paul Grenier, Editor 301-812-4141 pgrenier@MHPartners.org
October 2019
Long Branch Business League
Festival Transforms Long Branch, Creates Excitement From Sept. 20 to Sept. 27, the Long Branch festival, co-hosted by the Long Branch Business League, MHP and Montgomery Parks and Planning, brought twenty-one performances to a newly-built stage at Flower Urban Park while transforming bare asphalt into creative public spaces with exciting nooks and crannies. The festival also transformed local perceptions of what downtown Long Branch is all about. For an entire week, Long Branch became a place of music, learning, good food and fun. Performances varied from rock improv to traditional guitar to science education. Opening night, Columbo Percutiva (pictured at right) brought to the stage its distinctively warm Columbian style of Latin rock. The following day, Empresarios Musica brought the crowd to their feet with a rousing blend of salsa,
Supported by:
reggae and cumbia. One festival-goer was overheard saying “This is the first time in 20 years I’ve danced!” The number of such dancers increased exponentially on the final Friday, when a 35member Salvadoran marching band brought many hundreds of excited viewers to the park. For children, on Saturday, Sept. 21, thanks to Montgomery Parks, a massive climbing
See Festival, p. 3
Long Branch Business League Meeting
Wednesday, Oct. 9, from 10 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. El Golfo Restaurant, 8739 Flower Ave., Silver Spring
Local News “Thank You, I Love You All!” Long Branch Festival Lists Everyone It is Grateful to … “I want to thank John Marcolin, Elza Hisel-McCoy and everyone at Montgomery Planning, all of whom were the co-pilots of our wonderful Festival airplane: they did everything. Far too much to list. Equally huge thanks to Montgomery Parks, including Mike Riley, Dan Singh, Haviz Adeojo and the terrific guys who brought and picked up the storage trailer! The Park Police, who were there for us at the Beer Garden and for the closing parade, made everything safe and friendly. Amee Bearne at MHP, who acted as the four-star general of the entire project, from planning to spatial design to permitting and a hundred other details. Catherine Rytkonen – OMG -- she was responsible for marketing, organizing, booking performances. She did at least three times more than anyone could have expected! Purple Line Transit Constructors, including Carla Julian, Scott Risley and Chris Stokes, provided materials and labor that built many of the festival spaces, especially at Friendship Lane. Thank you!! John Brill did so much, everything from music sound systems to building the complex wooden stage to organizing the festival’s vision center. Thanks also to John Angel for his sound system and fantastic outreach to the community (continued) … — See Thank You, back page
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DiscoverLongBranch.com Long Branch Stores Contribute to County Business Improvement Effort
DiscoverLongBranch.com Long Branch Festival Rocks Out, Attracts Hundreds (from p. 1) Long Branch life! Neighbors are literally talking non-stop about how great it is to have activity and music in the park.”
At the Business League’s Sept. 11 meeting, representatives of the County’s ‘4Business’ initiative spoke with Long Branch business owners about improving the climate here for small business.
Music performers were equally enthused. Colombo Percutiva praised the beautiful setting and the chance to perform directly for the community.
The County delegation included Judy Stephenson, small business navigator, and Daniel Koroma, the business liaison officer for Montgomery County. Both encouraged the Long Branch business owners present to provide feedback on their own experience and concerns.
The leader of the Empresarios, Javier Miranda, told the Newsletter that his group performs all year long in big clubs and festivals, but that the whole group had felt that Long Branch Festival had been the best and was their favorite.
“People often say that it is easier to do business in Prince George’s or Fairfax counties,” Stephenson noted, adding that their goal is to make regulations less burdensome without hurting safety. José Rodriguez, owner of the Americana Grocery store and shopping center, said that permitting is in fact easier for him in both Prince George’s County and in Fairfax. “Montgomery County is number three,” he said. Rodriguez said it would be helpful if Permitting Services had one place for small projects and another, separate space for those with large projects. Ana Rivera, owner of el Gavilan Restaurant, said that her biggest concern was the unpredictability of permitting. “The first time I came to Permitting Services for a project, they told me ‘this is all you need,’ but then the next time it turned out something different was needed.” The result was a lot of circling around and wasted time. “It would be great if we could be given a firm list of what we need right at the beginning,” Rivera noted. Koroma and Stephenson both encouraged the business owners to contact them when such situations arise, as they can often help resolve such difficulties. At the same time, Stephenson added, the County can also be a source of new business for those who take advantage of its billion-dollar a year procurement process. The procurement office holds a monthly open house where, noted Stephenson, “You can just show up and say what you are interested in doing.” The next open house will be Wednesday, Oct. 16, from 10 a.m. – 11 a.m. at 255 Rockville Pike, suite 180, Rockville.
Judy Stephenson can be contacted at 240 777-2012; Daniel Koroma can be contacted at 240 777-2584.
Artist Calder Brannock, the festival’s artistic director, voiced particular satisfacMarching Band ‘el Pulgarcito’ wows the crowd on the closing night. tion with the transformation of the alleyway at Pupusa Alley. With its new mural, temporary paintings and hanging decorations, Pupusa Alley was (Festival, from p. 1) indeed enchanting – especially during the touching wall became available — for free. performance there by Cuban guitarist Reimy Perez Bauta. “There’s a climbing wall!?” one youngster was heard Long Branch businesses were, of course, at the heart of the exclaiming. “I’m on it!” He took off running. festival and its success. El Golfo, El Gavilan and la Casita Activities for children and families on weekdays includrestaurants sold their authentic Latin food at the nowed drum circles as well as the enlightening, exciting Eric famous Pupusa Alley. Other Long Branch stores, such as Energy science show. Roxanna Flowers & Gifts, Veronica’s Bakery & Café, P&P computers and El Arbol de Pan Bakery got involved by holdSuch programming hit just the right note for Annie ing store specials and discounts during the festival week. Tulkin, who, in a tweet, remarked: “Living my best
CHEER, Montgomery Planning, Audubon Naturalist, MHP, Build Vision during Festival Led by John Brill, CHEER’s Community Empowerment Coordinator (and Business League member), the Long Branch Festival’s Vision Committee designed for use throughout the week-long festival a lively, bi-lingual space called “Imagine Our Future in Long Branch.” Held in the festival’s Friendship Lane, it allowed attendees to share their feelings about Long Branch resources today and in the future. Over 75 people completed Asset Mapping/Visioning Surveys. Others wrote on color-coded sticky notes what they wanted to keep, get rid of, or add to Long
Branch, and stuck them on a large map of the area. This information will be used to inform a community-based development plan for Long Branch. John Marcolin of Montgomery Planning added further depth to the ‘Imagine Long Branch’ effort. After giving visitors a virtual tour of the Long Branch Sector Plan, he offered them a fun, interactive (and very popular) way to vote on what they would like to see in a public space in the center of Long Branch. [Volunteers from Latin American Youth Center, Friends of Sligo Creek and LEDC, also contributed to this visioning effort. To learn more about the Vision Committee, contact John Brill at: john@communitycheer.org, 240-328-8180.]
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