<b>Thrills and Spills
</b>Potomac Whitewater Festival July 10 – 11. The Potomac Whitewater Festival is an annual fund-raising event that celebrates kayaking and the Potomac River. The festival's most dramatic and dazzling event is the Great Falls Race. This downriver race is a quick, adrenaline-packed descent of 60 vertical feet through the Potomac's spectacular class V+ Great Falls. Other festival events include freestyle, wave surfing, and squirt boat competitions, beginner whitewater clinics, attainment, slalom, boatercross races, and much more.
For the past 19 years the festival has supported American Whitewater, an advocate for the protection of our whitewater river resources. AW represents paddlers' interests to restore rivers, eliminate water degradation, improve public land management and protect public access for responsible recreational use.
See the website for schedule of races and clinics. http://www.potomacfest.com
<b>Cabin John Ice Rink.
</b>Cool off on the ice, open all summer. Call or check the website for hours for public skate times plus special family or adults only times. Lessons available.
www.cabinjohnice.com
10610 Westlake Drive, Potomac
301-765-8620
<b>Ride the Cabin John Miniature Train
</b>7400 Tuckerman Lane, Potomac
301-765-8670
Children and adults can tour the woodlands of Cabin John Park while riding on the miniature train, a replica of the1863 C.P. Huntington, a 4-2-4T steam locomotive.
Open seven days a week in the summer, Monday - Thursday, 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. (1st train at 10:30; last at 6 p.m.); Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, 10am-7pm (1st train at 10:30; last at 7:30 p.m.). Tickets are $1.75 each. Children age 2 and younger with a paying adult ride free.
<b>Cabin John Regional Park Adventure Playland
</b>7400 Tuckerman Lane, Potomac
<b>Locust Grove Nature Center
</b>Cabin John Regional Park, 7777 Democracy Boulevard
301-765-8660
http://www.montgomeryparks.org/nature_centers/locust/VirtualTour.shtm
Locust Grove offers programs featuring the natural and cultural history of Montgomery County and the surrounding region. Visit the forest exhibit and hike one or all of our many trails. What to do at Locust Grove?
Play with the indoor oak tree exhibit. Find the animals that live in and near the tree; push the buttons to learn what they sound like!
Watch the birds feeding at the Wildlife Observation area
Watch from inside, or go outside and watch through our widlife blind. Quietly visit the small pond to look for frog eggs or tadpoles in spring.
Check out the Naturalist Garden. Spring brings bluebells and bulbs, while summer welcomes butterflies and blossoms galore. Fall is for seeds and fruit, while most plants lie dormant all winter.
Hike through the Upper Meadow. Look for Monarch butterflies, caterpillars and eggs on the milkweed in summer. Listen for wrens and bluebirds near the bluebird nest boxes. Watch for box turtles crossing the path in early morning.
Wander to the Lower Meadow. Watch for bats leaving the bat boxes in late afternoon or early evening. Sit under the shade of the 200-year-old sycamore and imagine what the park looked like when it was part of a huge farm. Watch as Cabin John Creek flows briskly by. You might spot minnows, crayfish, bathing birds, or signs of beaver activity.
<b>Visit Hadley’s Playground at Falls Road Park
</b>12600 Falls Road, Potomac
Award-winning Hadley's Playground, a fully accessible playground that allows children of all ages and abilities to play together, is the highlight of Falls Road Park, 20 acres acquired in 1986.
http://www.montgomeryparks.org/parks_facilities_directory/fallsroadlp.shtm
<b>Sunday/July 4
</b>10th Annual Autism Speaks 5K Run and One-Mile Walk. 7:30 a.m. Pre-race warm-up (with professional trainer Fred Foster). 8 a.m. 5K road race; 8:05 a.m. 1 mile walk. At Potomac Library, 10101 Glenolden Dr., Potomac. Sponsored by BOWA Builders. Registration information: Cost: $30 for adults, $15 for children under 14. Online registration will close at midnight June 30. Packet Pick-up and late registration: July 2 at Potomac River Running store, Rockville Town Center, 115 Gibbs St., 4-8 p.m., $35; July 3, Potomac United Methodist Church, corner of Falls Road and South Glen Road, 3-6 p.m., $35; July 4 at Potomac Library, $40. Website/Registration: www.autismspeaks5k.org. Contact: autismspeaks5k@autismspeaks.org. Or visit http://events.autismspeaks.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=344807
<b>Fireworks!</b>
<b>Gaithersburg Fireworks and Celebration
</b>Bring a blanket, bring a picnic and bring the whole family to enjoy the City of Gaithersburg Independence Day Celebration on Sunday, July 4. Gates to the Montgomery County Fairgrounds open at 5 p.m. A two-hour concert featuring the variety band, Appaloosa, starts at 7 p.m., and a few brief remarks from the Gaithersburg Mayor and City Council will be made at 8 p.m. The exciting fireworks display launches at dusk (approximately 9:25 p.m.). In the event of rain, the fireworks only will be held on Monday, July 5.
The Montgomery County Fairgrounds is located at 16 Chestnut Street in Gaithersburg. Walk in at Chestnut or Dalamar Streets; the Perry Parkway entrance to the Fairgrounds will be closed. No unauthorized cars will be allowed in the Fairgrounds.
Food will be sold at the celebration. Absolutely no alcoholic beverages, glass containers, rollerblades, skates, bikes, pets, or fireworks of any kind will be permitted.
Phone: 301-258-6350