Summer fun begins even as students clear out

By JALEN WADE

College Park may clear out once University of Maryland (UMD) students head home for the summer, but city officials say they’re doing their best to entertain the permanent residents who live here year round

To that end, the city and some of its neighborhood associations will host almost a dozen community events between May and September, including a street fair and a Taste of College Park restaurant promotion–both for the first time.

“We are a college town, but we’re not just a college town, so it’s important that we do things throughout the year for all of our residents,” Ryna Quiñones, the city’s communications and events manager, said.

The Spring Street Fair at Davis Hall on May 18 will feature artisans selling handmade goods, and food trucks, live music and wandering performers. The day will include an arts class, cooking demonstrations and a dog-friendly booth by the dog park.

Lisa Cohen, who lives in the city’s Yarrow neighborhood, said she is looking forward to the fair.

“So there’s food, but there’s vendors, there’s restaurants that people become aware of,” said Cohen, who noted she has enjoyed attending fairs in other cities.

But Cohen, an artist, said she did not reserve a booth at the fair to sell her jewelry and paintings because the event will only last three hours, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., which she said isn’t long enough to sell the quantity of pieces that would reap her a profit.

Also new this summer will be a Restaurant Week-style Taste of College Park event offering gift cards to local eateries and retail stores to diners who snap photos of the food they order at participating restaurants and post them on an app created by Flave, a Baltimore marketing company partnering with College Park on the event.

Some of the restaurants could offer specials on lunch or dinner during the event, scheduled for the week of July 21.

Derek Battle, co-founder of Flave, said the promotional week will make would-be diners aware of the city’s restaurants.

One of the goals, Battle said, is to highlight restaurants at a time when students aren’t on campus.

“College Park is a very local-driven city,” Battle said. “I think the city has a lot to offer outside of just the university. … But it’s important to just maintain that tourism, maintain the value, so that these restaurants won’t see the dip, because the summer is peak time for a lot of restaurants, but once students leave, we don’t want to see a decrease in sales, etc., during that time.”

May 9 is the start of College Park’s free monthly summer concert series, Friday Night Live!, at the City Hall plaza. Live acts will include hard-rock cover band Whole Lotta Roses, funk and soul group Honest Lee Soul, high-energy cover band Thunderball and country singer Jimmy Charles.

The event repeats on June 13, July 11 and Aug. 8 and will feature children’s activities, including a bounce house, arts and crafts, and food and drinks for sale.

On May 26, the city will have its annual Memorial Day observance at the intersection of Route 1 and Greenbelt Road, the site of the College Park War Veterans Memorial.

Participants are asked to bring photos of their loved ones, living or deceased, to the program, which will include music, speakers and a wreath laying in tribute to servicemen and women.

A Classic Rock & Car Show at City Hall Plaza will follow on June 21. Residents will be able to browse classic car lineups while ordering from food trucks and listening to live music. Kids can play at a craft station and win giveaways while supplies last.

Neighborhood game nights will return this summer on Thursdays, July 17, July 31 and Aug. 14, at the Hollywood, Calvert Hills and College Park Woods neighborhoods. Residents can gather to play lawn games and participate in challenges and giveaways.

The neighborhoods of Lakeland and Berwyn have scheduled their own summer events.

The Berwyn District Civic Association will hold a neighborhood yard sale on May 10 and celebrate Berwyn Day, an annual event with food, music, games and raffles, on Sept. 13.

And on Aug. 23, the Lakeland community will host its annual community day, when neighbors will gather.

Robert Thurston, president of the Lakeland Civic Association, said the event has, in the past, drawn not only current Lakeland residents but people from as far away as Texas who used to live in the community.

Both communities and others will participate in Rhode Island Avenue Trolley Trail Day on June 14, an event organized by the Anacostia Heritage Trail Area organization. During the annual, full-day event, residents will walk or bike the 3.8-mile Trolley Trail through College Park, Riverdale Park and Hyattsville, stopping along the way to visit activity hubs and take in local nature.

These events and others, Quiñones said, “bring the community together. They’re great to meet your neighbors, to have fun in your community, and showcase the vibrancy that is College Park.”

Come fall, multiple College Park groups organize festivals in the city. The highlight of that season, Quiñones said, will be the city’s largest event, College Park Day, on Oct. 18.

The day features live music, children’s games, community exhibitors, food trucks and inflatables, among other activities.