Community invited to free festival that temporarily reimagines Main Street Damascus to inspire permanent improvements for the future
Wheaton, Md. – The Montgomery County Planning Department , part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC), has announced it will host the Damascus Placemaking Festival , a free, two-day community event, on Saturday, October 19 and Sunday, October 20, 2024. The festival will take place along Main Street in Damascus (9801 Main St, Damascus, MD 20872).
“We have heard from the community on how Main Street could be temporarily transformed into a more vibrant community space. Folks are eager to see change along Main Street, particularly more green spaces, and spaces for music and art” said project lead Audrey Vogel. “Our project consultants are now working on the design concepts to bring this vision to life this fall.”
About the Damascus Placemaking Festival
The festival is the culmination of a collaborative, short-term special planning initiative to bring together local businesses, residents, visitors, and civic groups to temporarily reimagine a portion of Main Street in Damascus. Community members will work with the project team through the summer and fall to bring their ideas for Main Street to life. The two-day celebration will include local food, music, arts, and engagement activities in a welcoming place for residents to gather with their community. This initiative will help create a clear vision for a vibrant and welcoming Main Street that embraces and celebrates the community’s small-town charm.
The Damascus Placemaking Festival is modeled on the White Flint Placemaking Festival that took place in 2018, the Burtonsville Placemaking Festival in 2019, and the Fairland and Briggs Chaney Placemaking Festival in 2022. These events have each drawn 1000 to 3000 people over a weekend.
Community Kickoff and Questionnaire Summary
The festival organizers kicked off the planning process with the community on June 3, 2024, at Damascus High School. Nearly 100 community members attended to learn more about the project and share their ideas for how to reimagine Main Street. Watch our YouTube video about the kickoff meeting .
The project team also collected community input through an online questionnaire that was open from June 3 through June 28 and received 279 responses. Feedback collected during the kickoff meeting and from the questionnaire will inform the festival’s design and programming. Planning staff presented a summary of the feedback it has received to the Montgomery County Planning Board on July 18. A final feedback summary report will be posted on the project’s website soon.
Stay Informed, Get Involved
To learn more about the Damascus Placemaking Festival please visit the project’s website and sign up for our e-letter to receive updates about the festival, schematic designs, and volunteer opportunities.
What is Placemaking?
Placemaking inspires people to collectively reimagine and reinvent public spaces as the heart of the community and strengthen the connection between community and the places they share. Placemaking refers to a collaborative process that shapes our public realm to maximize value. Beyond just promoting better urban design principles, placemaking facilitates creative thinking, capitalizes on community assets, and contributes to the community’s health, happiness, and well-being. More than livable; these places are loved. Put simply, placemaking incorporates community input and sentiment to make people feel good about where they live, work, or play and imagine the possibilities of their neighborhood.
For updates and link to press release, see here: https://montgomeryplanning.org/?p=57234