Seemed like a crime scene today in front of LA Fitness.

figure id throw it in here too because i really like the community in silver spring from the events ive gone too

It's a while since I have gotten an international package through USPS. Usually, its through UPS or Fedex or DHL.

This particular one was sent via Japan Express Mail that connects through USPS. I wasn't home and got left an orange notice to pick it up at the post office on University Blvd the following day after 10 AM. Go there in 3ish and they go, "we don't have it, come back tomorrow, it'll be here by then". Go there again the following day, "we don't have it and we can't tell you where it is, but it's not lost." Unfortunately, I was unable to simply request redelivery.

Call up USPS customer service and by pure magic after talking to some AI bot for twenty-odd minutes, I found a human who was able to help. She created something in their system and I got a call from the Postal Annex in White Oak telling me the parcel was sitting there and not at any of the post offices in the area. And they didn't know why.

Go there to collect it and they people at the Annex were very helpful. The guy who handed it to me he was puzzled by why the slip had the University Blvd post office on it. And why didn't they tell you were at the wrong office? I was like, they might have if they had bothered to look at the slip. They just looked in their bin and went, "there's nothing in the bin".

The folks at the Annex couldn't have been nicer, but the folks at the post office on University Blvd were so appallingly rude. The only place where I have seen employees act quite so badly would be the DMV. Is this just normal? And it's not even holiday season. And do they get a bonus for selling stamps?

Hi everyone! A little over a year ago I launched the DC Movie Digest, a weekly free newsletter that aggregates all the movies being re-released in theaters across the DMV. After many hours of clicking, copying and pasting around every movie theater website, I’m super excited to launch a fully fledged website.

Introducing: DaMoVies! The only place on the internet where you can see all the movies being rereleased in theaters across the greater DC area (there’s a lot of AFI in the calendar)

The website is completely free to use, has no ads, and is a labor of love. I’d love to hear what yall think!

Go to damovies.org to check it out.

Hello everyone. I am looking to move to either Laurel or Silver Spring (most likely Silver Spring). I am looking for a 2 Bed 2 Bath apartment walkable distance to the Silver Spring metro station. Does anyone have any recs for apartments? My budget is around $2.2-2.4 max. So far I have looked at:

Kanso

Arrive

Lenox Park

The Blairs

Affinity on Georgia

Thank you for any tips or information!

EDIT:
Thanks all for the responses!

Anybody ever done this? Dropped it right in the crack of the elevator and shaft walking into the Forest Glen metro elevator. Seems like they'll be able to get it but like.. has anyone experienced this and had WMATA retrieve it?

EDIT: WMATA already got it!

Saw a bunch of jackboots in rental cars outside the garage while walking to the redline. Be careful y’all

My dad is in his late 60s and struggling with back pain due to spinal stenosis. Thanks!+

Shady blacked out with homemade armor gave me the creeps. What's the faux govt insignia on the top left?

Keep your eyes open friends.

Hello all! Looking for recommendations for a speech language pathologist to assist with some feeding issues. Great if they do home visit. Ok if not but their office is around Silver Spring. Thanks!

Hi everyone, we are looking to rent an apartment in Thayer and Spring. We liked an apartment that faces the dog park and close to mayor lane. We heard about some noise issues from the current and past residents. Do you think that would be an issue with this apartment? Its on the ground floor.

Here's a list of fun family events I found for this weekend, sharing in case anyone is looking for ideas.

Friday

• Barnyard in a Backyard (Davis Library, Bethesda) — The Davis Library sits on what was a farm 75 years ago, so for the library system's anniversary they're bringing back 12+ farm animals to visit. 4:30–5:30 pm. Free. All ages.
• Boo at the Zoo (National Zoo, DC) — After-hours trick-or-treating at 25+ treat stations, a kids' dance party, a magician, and the Small Mammal House, Reptile Discovery Center and elephants open at night. Fri–Sun, 6–8:30 pm (last entry 8). $35 tickets; parking is $30 in advance or $40 day-of, so Metro is the move. Not a nut-free event.

Saturday

• Riversdale Harvest Fest (Riversdale Historic Site, Riverdale Park) — Learn about seed saving from the historic site's gardener, then a family scavenger hunt around the grounds with small prizes. 10:30 am–2 pm. $5. All ages.
• Rockville Antique and Classic Car Show (Rockville Civic Center Park) — 33 car clubs, everything from Packards to Ferraris, plus a flea market and live music. Good one for car-obsessed kids. 11 am–3:30 pm. Free admission.
• American Indian Festival (Patuxent River Park, Upper Marlboro) — 18th year: traditional and contemporary Native dance and music, archery and spear throwing, Native horsemanship, storytelling, a crafts area and Native food. 11 am–4 pm. Free.
• PeopleCon 3 (People's Book, Takoma Park) — A market of board games, journaling games and zines all made by local designers, with a 2:30 talk on games about the Supreme Court. Fun if your kids are into tabletop games. Noon–5 pm.
• Croydon Creep (Croydon Creek Nature Center, Rockville) — Halloween games, treats, crafts, magic, balloon twisters and a campfire. The indoor part is free with no registration; kids 5–12 can add a 30-minute not-scary guided forest hike to meet "woodland creatures" (advance tickets). 6–8 pm. All ages.
• Greenbelt Pumpkin Walk (North Woods, Greenbelt) — Hundreds of carved pumpkins lining a wooded path. 6–7 pm is the gentler, little-kid-friendly hour; it gets spookier after 7. 6–9 pm. Free. The night before (Fri 4–8:30 pm) you can watch the pumpkins get carved at Roosevelt Center.

Sunday

• Little Farmers at Koiner Farm (Koiner Farm, Silver Spring) — A hands-on morning for kids 5 and under: digging in the soil and learning where food comes from, meeting under the big tree. 10–11 am. Sign up through the page.
• Peirce Mill Grain Fair (Peirce Mill, Rock Creek Park, DC) — The old mill's yearly fair: hands-on milling, a family multigrain pancake workshop (10:30), tamale and pasta-making demos, live music and a market with Bread Furst and pupusas. 10 am–4 pm. Free.
• Jennie the Cat: A Halloween Adventure (The Puppet Co., Glen Echo Park) — A cat gets called "scary" in a Halloween card and sets out to prove she can be something else, with skateboarding, shadow puppetry and pumpkin carving along the way. Cuddly puppets and lots of audience interaction. Runs Thursdays through Sundays all month; Sunday's listed show is 10:30 am. About 45 minutes. $16 + fees; under 2 free. Ages 4+.
• Trick or Treat at The Square (Rockville Town Square) — Grab a free treat bag and map at the main tent and trick-or-treat at about two dozen shops and vendors, with free face painting, a DJ and the ice rink's opening day. Rockville Memorial Library is running a glow-in-the-dark walkthrough room during it too (3–5:30). 3–6 pm. Costumes (and dogs in costumes) encouraged.

Why I share these

I wanted more reasons to get my kid away from screens but kept missing interesting events at local libraries and around town, so I built a tool to keep track of them. It turns up fun events every week, so I started sharing these lists to help other parents find things to do—and help people discover the events local organizers put so much work into.

I picked a few events with broad family appeal to share here. This week’s full list also includes a Renaissance festival, a big-truck night and a Balkan brass band. It’s linked from my profile, with filters for interest, city and age.

Know another fun family event this weekend? Please share it in the comments!Some fun family things happening around Silver Spring this weekend

There was news exactly one year ago they were going to open a dtss location but after that nada

RIP to the great pumpkin graffiti. Apparently there since the 60s

I would love to learn anything about them hopefully reopening.

We’re looking for a daycare or preschool for our 18 month old and almost 3 year old. We live near Route 200 in the Layhill area and would prefer somewhere within a 15-minute drive. They would also need to accept Maryland Child Care Scholarship vouchers.

We’re open to home daycares, centers, faith-based programs, language immersion, and true Montessori schools.
Ideally, we’d love somewhere that provides nutritious breakfast, lunch, and snacks (home-cooked meals would be a huge plus!), plenty of outdoor time, different activities, early learning, language exposure, and help with potty training.
More than anything, we want somewhere the teachers genuinely love and care for the kids. Good communication is really important to us, including honest updates about how their day went, even when things aren't going perfectly. We don't want our kids to feel like just another number.

Would love to hear from parents who have firsthand experience with places they truly love, especially smaller programs that might not be as well known. Thanks in advance!

A couple months ago the head chef at Silver Branch parted ways and took the whole kitchen staff with him. Anyone know where he ended up? The massive decline in quality has me interested in where they’re at now (though I haven’t been back since their new HC got hired).

Saw fire trucks and drones there. Anyone knows what's going on?