Spring into Action with Laurel – Growth, Community, and Celebration in Bloom!

March came in like a lion and is going out like a lamb…a saying I remember hearing as a kid now: will April showers bring May flowers? The change in weather/season/clocks seems to have caused an upward tick in everyone’s activities.

• ·      The Main Street Festival Planning and Sponsorship Committees have been hard at work to make this year’s festival (Saturday, May 10th) the best yet…meaning there are a lot of meetings

• We need about 20 – 30 volunteers for various parts of the festival; applications are available on our website with a description of the different types required and the time shifts for them.

• We are still looking for sponsors for the festival so if you would like to earn some gratitude, become a sponsor….applications and information are on the website.

• We will continue to accept vendors of all sorts until April 15th, this is a hard deadline, with no exceptions.

• All applications are available on the website…Vendors, Parade, Sponsors, Volunteers.

• If you are a Main Street Merchant, please use the special application for you.

• We hosted an exciting Ribbon Cutting and Open House to celebrate our new office (located at 13 C Street, Unit A)…check out the photos on our Facebook page!

• This month’s Network meeting was hosted by member Bianka Mbeng, owner of Pleroma Cuisine in person. According to the photos on Facebook, it was a lot of fun!

SAVE THESE DATES

These events are all open to the public

• Zoom Network meeting on Thursday, April 17th at 12:15 pm

• Business Forum featuring members Anastasia Elliot and Bill Korman who will conduct a seminar on financial literacy. It will be held on Wednesday, April 23rd from 5:30 – 7:30 pm at the Pool House, 901 Main Street.

• We’d appreciate an RSVP if you plan to attend…it’s on Facebook and you can always email the office.

If anyone is looking for office space you could be our neighbor at 13 C Street, Unit J in our complex is available! Contact Peter Aloupis at 301-393-6090 for more information.

MEMBER NEWS

Hope House has completed their renovations and has reopened for clients! They have scheduled a number of events so go to their website for all the details.

Laurel Historical Society has said “goodbye” to Anne Bennet and Abby Carver and wishes them the best in their new endeavors. Don’t forget to check out their new exhibit “Laurel Rides the Rails” it’s fun and informative.

Peace on Patuxent will host their annual High Noon Tea Party on Saturday, May 3rd from Noon to 4 pm at the Gude Mansion. To reserve your ticket, go to www.peaceonpatuxent.org.

Laurel Arts Council has 4 openings on the Council. For the artists and art lovers among us interested in promoting the arts, please email the Mayor at [email protected] and Parks and Rec Director Bill Bailey at [email protected]/us with a short biography and your contact information.

LARS needs volunteers from Tuesday, April 1st to Saturday, April 5th to help out at a community event. For details and to sign up for a shift on any of those days, please go to https://volunteer.bloomerang.co/web-admin/app/#/shift-selection?k=96ygd1m5uf9xmy

CITY NEWS

For 36+ years, Joanne Hall Barr has served the City of Laurel in the Parks and Recreation Department and for the past several years, as the Deputy City Administrator. Joanne is the heart behind many of the programs offered by Parks and Rec and was a driving force in the creation of the Craig A. Moe Multiservice Center. Her dedication, hard work and giant smile will be missed but we all wish her well in her next adventure.

With Spring comes clean up of our parks and green spaces. Saturday, April 5th there will be a cleanup at the Riverfront Park starting at 10 am and on Saturday, April 19th the same will be at Gude Park.

The Eggstrava-Ganza will be on Saturday, April 12th at 12:00 pm sharp at Granville Gude Park. Don’t forget to bring a basket to collect your eggs!! For more details call 301-725-7000 or visit the City website.

The City will be hosting a Housing Resource Fair on Saturday, April 19th from Noon to 3:00 pm at the Craig A. Moe Multiservice Center. Know your rights and what resources are available to you! For more info call 301-725-5399 x2301.

Also on Saturday, April 19th the City will hold an Electronics Recycling, Paper Shredding, GreenDrop, Styrofoam and Paint drop off. You must be a resident of the City so bring your ID.

That’s it for now, folks!
See you next month!

President & Editor

Please let us know if you have an upcoming event!

We can share info on your sales, events and awards here in the Newsletter! 
Please send your information to Marilyn Johnson at [email protected]
by the 10th of the month for inclusion in the next newsletter.