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Community Corner

🌱 The Weeknd To Perform At FedEx Field + Riverdance Anniversary

The quickest way to get caught up on the most important things happening today in Laurel.

Alexis Goring, Neighbor
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(Patch Media)

Happy Tuesday, people of Laurel! Let's get this day started. Here's everything happening today in Laurel.

First, today's weather:

Partly sunny and mild. High: 68 Low: 38.

Here are the top three stories in Laurel today:

  1. Horse Racing News: Laurel Park-based Grade 3 winner Wondrwherecraigis will be halfway around the world for his next start later this month. He is scheduled to leave on a Monday flight from Miami to Dubai to run in the $2 million Golden Shaheen (G1) on March 26 at Meydan Racecourse. He won the Jan. 29 Fire Plug at Laurel in his lone start this year, and worked a half-mile in :48.60 on March 10 at Pimlico Race Course. (Paulick Report)
  2. Award-winning musician, The Weeknd will perform a summer concert at FedEx Field in Prince George's County. He will bring his "After Hours Til Dawn" stadium tour to the national capital region on July 30. This will be the first time that The Weeknd will be touring songs from his "After Hours" album that was released in March 2020. (WTOP)
  3. The Battle of the Brains Challenge, a highly anticipated event for HBCU students, took place in Austin, Texas March 9-13. This annual event had teams of students from Bowie State University and other HBCUs across the nation competing. The institutional scholarship prizes were $50,000 for first place; $20,000 for placing second; and $10,000 for third place. (Bowie State)

Today in Laurel:

  • Pitch and Mingle Series: The Lucky Pitch—Join the Maryland Innovation Center for our pitch competition in Columbia, featuring entrepreneurs and start up companies in the community. $7,000 in prizes will be awarded! Spirited in atmosphere and in food and drink offerings, Pitch and Mingle is the perfect opportunity to stir up your social network, mingling with fellow attendees over light fare and libations! Support the community's entrepreneurs, participate in the selection process, and make connections over cocktails at the MIC. (5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.)
  • Soca Bounce Fitness Class is a 45-minute, high-intensity, low impact cardio burn session utilizing Kangoo Jumps boots. In-studio and/or outdoor fitness classes are all choreographed to the ever growing genre of Soca and other Caribbean genres. The rebound boots are designed to absorb up to 80 percent of the pressure (impact) off your joints (hips, knees and back) while improving balance, core strength, and promoting an increase in metabolism and endurance. Current class schedule is Tuesdays at 6:15 p.m. in Upper Marlboro and Thursdays at 6:15 p.m. in Bowie. (6:15 p.m. to 7:15 p.m.)
  • SOS (virtual) Book Club: The Willie Lynch Letter & The Making of a Slave—The Willie Lynch letter is the mathematics BEHIND this thing we now know as institutional racism. What lessons can be learned from the reading? Join us for three days of powerful discussions and cooperative activities. Reading materials provided. (6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.)
  • 3rd Tuesdays Open Mic Night | Columbia |Hosted by Orville—Born in Takoma Park (Md.), Orville Walker has been writing poetry for several years, but started performing his work in November 2009 at the 12th Street Lounge in Washington, D.C. Orville's poems speak a vivid truth about the struggles of being an artist, and staying constant and true to oneself. He speaks poetry for the voiceless to address the issues no others will speak of, and to release pent up emotions with his pen. Poetry has become his breath of fresh air, his meditation, his therapy. His compelling words have been shared on several stages, in front of numerous audiences. Orville has been the featured poet at spoken word venues such as Busboys & Poets, Messiah & Friends, Indulj, and touched the east coast states. (7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.)
  • Riverdance 25th Anniversary Show performance at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in NW DC—Riverdance, as you've never seen it before! This powerful and stirring reinvention of a beloved favorite is celebrated the world over for its Grammy Award®-winning score and the thrilling energy and passion of Irish and international dance. Twenty-five years on, composer Bill Whelan has rerecorded his mesmerizing soundtrack while producer Moya Doherty and director John McColgan have completely reimagined the ground-breaking show with innovative and spectacular lighting, projection, staging, and costume designs. Immerse yourself in the extraordinary power and grace of Riverdance! (7:30 p.m.)
  • Soprano Elena Villalón and Pianist Kathleen Kelly in Recital—Still in her mid-20s, Cuban-American soprano Elena Villalón was a 2019 Grand Winner of both the Metropolitan Operas Laffont Competition and the Eleanor McCollum Competition at Houston Grand Opera, were she is currently a third-year studio artist. In partnership with pianist Kathleen Kelly, she makes her Washington debut presenting Vocal Arts DC's Gerald Perman Fund for Emerging Artists Recital, offering songs by Hugo Wolf, Jean Sibelius and Sergei Rachmaninov, as well as selections by Latinx composts including Xavier Montsalvatge, Maria Grever and Federico Chapi, as well as the premiere of a newly commissioned composer Reinaldo Moya. (7:30 p.m.)
  • U.S. Marine Band Concert—Come see the Marine Band perform live at the Music Center at The Music Center at Strathmore in Bethesda today (March 15). The Marine Band's 2022 Gala concert features its first-ever collaboration with renowned pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, who will perform a new transcription of Aaron Zigman's Tango Manos. Also on the program, a world première of Jessica Meyer's Press On; Bernstein's Symphonic Dances from West Side Story; and Adolphus Hailstork's "Celebration!" Free tickets are required. (7:30 p.m.)
  • 2022 Bryan Series Featuring Anne Lamott—Anne Lamott writes about things that begin with capital letters: Alcoholism, Motherhood, Jesus. But armed with self-effacing humor and ruthless honesty, Lamott converts her subjects into enchantment. In all her novels, Lamott writes about loss—loss of loved ones and loss of personal control. She doesn't try to sugar-coat the sadness, frustration, and disappointment, but tells her stories with honesty, compassion, and a pureness of voice. (8:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.)

From my notebook:

  • Nextdoor Neighbor, Old Town Laurel: Can anyone recommend a good but affordable car mechanic? My 2009 Buick's check engine light is on. We've run through all the obvious repairs: gas cap, pumps, injectors, O2 sensor, even replaced the secondary fuse box. (Nextdoor)
  • Nextdoor Neighbor, Hammond Village: Just discovered the lock to our garden shed was broken off and my new Milwaukee Battery powered chainsaw was stolen along with the yellow Master padlock. (Nextdoor)
  • Nextdoor Neighbor, Old Town Laurel: Beware folks, the bad guys are still after our catalytic converters. We got hit last night when they sawed the catalytic converter off of our 2007 Prius. (Nextdoor)
  • Nextdoor Neighbor, Russett: Found a set of car/house keys on Russet Green across from the Avalon complex and next to Brooktree Street. Please let me know if you're missing your keys! (Nextdoor)
  • Nextdoor Neighbor, Montpelier: Looking for a recommendation for a local doctor who specializes in or works with root-cause and treatment of tinnitus (ringing in the ears). Thanks in advance for any help or guidance! (Nextdoor)

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Thanks for following along and staying informed! See you all tomorrow for another update.

— Alexis Goring

About me: My name is Alexis A. Goring. I'm a Bowie area resident with a pulse for people, news and feature stories! I've worked as a freelance writer/editor/proofreader in the media industry for 15 years. I'm also a published author, experienced blogger, and founder of Writer at Heart Editorial Services. Visit my website for more details about me and my work. Here's the link: https://alexisagoring.jimdofree.com.

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

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