Hyattsville Aging in Place, Helping Hands University Park, Neighbors Helping Neighbors of College Park, and Explorations on Aging have joined together to launch a new, online informative series to entertain, engage, and educate attendees, especially our older residents residing along the Route 1 Corridor. These Corridor Conversations programs will be held monthly and attendees can join via telephone or Zoom. Presentations begin at 2 p.m., although attendees are encouraged to join at 1:30 for conversation to work out any technical glitches. When possible, programs will be recorded for those who cannot attend live. We will be expanding this list as new programs are ready.
National Orchestral Institute: A Month of Music & Exploration
Saturday, April 29, 2023 — 2–3:30 p.m.
Since 1988, the National Orchestral Institute + Festival at The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center has brought the country’s top young performers together for a month of intensive study and world-class performances. In 2018 they received a Grammy nomination for Best Orchestral Performance, and in 2020 they announced trailblazing conductor Marin Alsop as their first-ever Music Director. For the past seven years, the program has been overseen by it’s director Richard Scerbo — a resident of Mount Rainier. He joins us to talk about the festival and institute, discuss upcoming performances, and answer questions.
To register for any or all of these events, click here.
The Route 1 Corridor Conversations series has received support from Maryland Milestones, the City of Hyattsville, and the City of College Park.
Past Events
Black Lives Matter … North Brentwood: 1887 To Today
Thursday, February 25, 2021 — 2–3:30 p.m. — Click Here to Watch This Presentation
Join us for a discussion of the history of our Route 1 neighbor, North Brentwood. We’ll learn about the history of North Brentwood, the first African-American incorporated town in Prince George’s County. From its connections to the 19th Infantry Regiment of U.S. Colored Troops in the Civil War through the Civil Rights Movement to today, North Brentwood holds a unique place in Route 1’s Black history. Learn about the early days of North Brentwood, its varied relationships with its surrounding communities, its growth through self-sufficiency, and its development today. Chanel Compton, board chair and former executive director of the Prince George’s African American Museum and Cultural Center and executive director of the Banneker–Douglas Museum, Maryland’s official state museum of African American History and Culture, will lead the session, which also includes North Brentwood Mayor Petrella Robinson, a lifelong resident of the town.
Understanding the Power of Stories in Our Lives
Wednesday, March 31, 2021 — 2–3:30 p.m. — Click Here to Watch This Presentation
Join nationally recognized author, educator, and former neighbor Carol S. Pearson, Ph.D., to learn about how the power of myths and ancient stories apply to our lives today, and how they can inspire and influence us. Dr. Pearson has developed tools to help us recognize these stories. Discover how your story, once recognized, can help you better understand your life and chart a path through difficult decisions.
The Bard in April: Shakespeare’s Magic Macbeth
Saturday, April 24, 2021 — 2–3:30 p.m. — Click Here to Watch This Presentation
Celebrate Shakespeare’s birthday with a look at a magic-filled Macbeth. Join Hyattsvillian Janet Griffin, newly retired artistic producer for the Folger Theatre, and actors Kate Eastwood Norris (Lady Macbeth) and Cody Nickell (Macduff) as they revisit the theater’s exciting 2008 production of Macbeth, co-directed by the famous magician Teller and Aaron Posner. The sold-out production was later filmed with a live audience. Watch this astonishing Macbeth, available for you to view free through the Folger website, and experience how the staging, faithful to the 400-year-old text, was riveting and remains vividly alive to the team that developed it.
The Great Caterpillar Factory & Backyard Birds
Saturday, May 22, 2021 — 2–3:30 p.m. — Click Here to Watch This Presentation
It’s May and the great caterpillar factories of eastern North America are in full production. You’ll hear their engines humming as they munch away in woodlots or mature trees. For songbirds, this is a sign the bounty that fuels the mating, nest-building and parenting is going on right now in our backyards. Join science writer and College Park resident Rick Borchelt for a look at some of the common birds that depend on these caterpillar factories in suburban landscapes.
Art Works. It really does.
Saturday, June 26, 2021 — 2–3:30 p.m. — Click Here to Watch This Presentation
Explore the power of art and mindfulness connected drawing. Join artist, educator, and nonprofit leader Barbara Johnson of Hyattsville-based ArtWorks Now on an exploration of the many ways art works to support our well-being. From experiencing art created by others to engaging in the creation of your own artwork, art really does make our lives richer, happier, and even healthier. Come prepared with some blank paper and whatever drawing instrument you have around the house (pencil, pen, marker, paintbrush, and/or paint) to participate in some short experiential artmaking.
Pluto: Planet or Not?
Saturday, July 24, 2021 — 2–3:30 p.m. — Click Here to Watch This Presentation
Learn about Pluto’s five moons and the 2015 New Horizons flyby from University of Maryland professor Douglas Hamilton. Discovered as the ninth planet in 1930, Pluto was re-classified as a dwarf planet in 2006. The largest of the dwarf planets, the Horizon flyby taught us a lot about our distant neighbor and its moons, four of which were discovered between 2005 and 2012.
Scattered Clouds: Finding Poetry in Washington, D.C.
Saturday, August 28, 2021 — 2–3:30 p.m. — Click Here to Watch This Presentation
Join Reuben Jackson for a reading from his latest collection of poems, Scattered Clouds, and a discussion of how growing up in Washington, D.C., continues to influence his writing. A Hyattsville resident, Jackson curated the Smithsonian’s Duke Ellington Collection and is an archivist at the University of the District of Columbia’s Felix E. Grant Jazz Archives as well as co-host of “The Sound of Surprise” on WPFW 89.3 FM. His music reviews appear in numerous media outlets and his poetry has been widely anthologized.
A Virtual Tour of the College Park Aviation Museum
Thursday, September 23, 2021 — 2–3:30 p.m. — Click Here to Watch This Presentation
Join us for an online tour of Route 1’s aviation history hosted by Tom Wilson from the College Park Aviation Museum. The museum collection contains artifacts, photographs, newspaper articles, and other records documenting the history of College Park Airport, the oldest airport in continuous operation in the world, and local aviation. We will also see the current exhibition “Tails of Flight,” featuring famous aviators and the pets that flew with them.
Flour in Her Veins: Holiday Baking
Saturday, October 23, 2021 — 2–3:30 p.m. — Click Here to Watch This Presentation
Cheryl Harrington says she learned early that she had flour in her veins. She worked in her parents’ homestyle bakery in Massachusetts before going to college, and she never lost her love of baking. Even during her career with the Prince George’s County Council, Cheryl made wedding cakes, birthday cakes, and other goodies for friends. After years being encouraged to start her own bakery, she opened Shortcake Bakery in 2011 where she creates baked sweet baked goods, savory meat pies, quiches, brunches and more. Cheryl will get us ready for the holiday season with ideas about cookies, pies, and her famous Nantucket Cranberry Pie.
Diaries and Journals: Tools for Life
Saturday, November 6, 2021 — 2–3:30 p.m. — This program was not recorded.
Award-winning author Mary Amato began keeping a journal at the age of seven and she has used writing as a way to find comfort, insight, and meaning throughout her life. She’ll talk about the differences between diaries and journals, share some examples that range from funny to poignant, and share the how, when, why of writing for the self. Mary writes fiction, poetry, and essays. She also teaches songwriting and is the co-founder of Firefly Shadow Theater. In real life, Mary lives in Hyattsville. In cyberspace, Mary lives on www.maryamato.com.
Get Your Movement On!
Saturday, January 8, 2022 — 2–3:30 p.m. — Click Here to Watch This Presentation
The new year provides an opportunity to set an intention for our wellness. Embody your goals through a gentle and mindful movement session that combines yoga, qi gong, dance, and exercise with Brooke Kidd, founder and director of Joe’s Movement Emporium in Mount Rainier. All levels are welcome and modifications will be offered. Learn more about Joe’s programs at www.joesmovement.org and through a short video.
History of the Lakeland Community in College Park
Saturday, February 26, 2022 — 2–3:30 p.m. — Click Here to Watch This Presentation
Learn more about Lakeland, the historic African American community of College Park from members of the Lakeland Community Heritage Project — Maxine Gross, Violetta Sharps-Jones, Courtnie Thurston, and Robert Thurston. College Park Mayor Patrick Wojahn also discusses the City of College Park’s restorative justice efforts. Formed around 1890 on the doorstep of the Maryland Agricultural College, now the University of Maryland, the story of Lakeland is the tale of a community that was established and flourished in a segregated society, developing its own institutions and traditions, including the area’s only high school for African Americans, built in 1928. The Lakeland Community Heritage Project, was formed to preserve Lakeland’s history and the stories of its people through photographic archives and oral histories.
The Political & the Personal: The Poetry of the Women’s Liberation Movement
Saturday, March 26, 2022 — 2–3:30 p.m. — Click Here to Watch This Presentation
Drawing on personal experiences and scholarship, Deborah Rosenfelt, Ph.D., Professor Emerita in the Harriet Tubman Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at the University of Maryland, will reflect on the contributions of poets of the late 20th century Women’s Liberation Movement in shaping thought and action. Audre Lorde, one of the most influential Movement poets, famously asserted “Poetry Is Not a Luxury.” Lorde saw poetry as a source of deep personal and communal knowledge, forming “the quality of the light within which we predicate our hopes and dreams toward survival and change.” Her definition is linked to one of the central slogans of the movement: “the personal is political.” Examining selected poems, we’ll discuss how women’s poetry, along with other forms of art and thought, helped to expand the meaning of “the political” and played a crucial role in envisioning the need and possibilities for social change.
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Being a Food Critic
Saturday, April 23, 2022 — 2–3:30 p.m. — Click Here to Watch This Presentation
James Beard Award-winning food writer and columnist for The Washington Post Tim Carman will discuss what it’s like being a food critic, how he chooses restaurants to review, what he looks for in the dining experience and the changing food landscape in the DMV. He’ll also discuss restaurants of note along the Route 1 Corridor.
Hunt, Gather, & Make
Saturday, May 21, 2022 — 2–3:30 p.m. — Click Here to Watch This Presentation
What do you need to make a work of art? Almost anything can be used to make art! In this Corridor Conversation, join multi-disciplinary artist Racquel Keller for a virtual hands-on art-making session designed to put creativity at your fingertips. Find your inspiration in everyday items and transform the things found around your house into art supplies. Click here to download a supply list to prepare for the conversation.
Do Bees Have Knees (and Other Things to Know About Beekeeping)
Saturday, June 25, 2022 — 2–3:30 p.m. — Click Here to Watch This Presentation
June 20th through 26th is Pollinator Week, which makes it a perfect time to learn about one of the most important pollinators around — honey bees! Maggie Mills from Hope Honey Farm in Hyattsville will join us to talk about the basics of beekeeping, the role of bees in our food supply, and how our gardens and yards can support bees and other pollinators.
Puppet Theatre: Then & Now
Saturday, July 16, 2022 — 2–3:30 p.m. — Click Here to Watch This Presentation
Join Michael Cayo Cotter, founder and director of the University Park-based Blue Sky Puppet Theatre, for a historical look at how and why he started Blue Sky Puppet Theatre in 1974 and its transition from an adult experimental company and political satire street theatre to a full-time, fine art educational touring company for young audiences by 1980. The discussion will also include a review and demonstration of the five popular forms — puppetry, hand, rod, marionette, shadow and table top — and how Zoom has transformed puppetry performances. It will be fun, interesting, and captivating!
Covid: Pandemic to Endemic — Are We There Yet?
Saturday, September 24, 2022 — 2–3:30 p.m. — Click Here to Watch This Presentation
People are acting like Covid is now endemic, it’s solved, and we can go on with our lives as normal. But we aren’t there yet — there is much we still don’t know. People are still dying from it, and long Covid is real and we don’t know much about it. What do we need to do to protect ourselves and others? Dr. Stephanie Trifoglio, a geriatrician who has practiced in our area for decades, will look at what we currently know about Covid and what we need to continue doing to protect ourselves and others.
How Streetcars Built Our Route 1 Communities
Saturday, October 22, 2022 — 2–3:30 p.m. — Video forthcoming
Today, the Trolley Trail gives bikers and walkers easy passage from Hyattsville up Route 1, but until the late 1950s actual streetcars traveled the trail south from Branchville all the way to the Department of Interior in downtown D.C. Join Eric Madison from the National Capital Trolley Museum for a look at Route 1’s streetcar past and how it contributed to the development of the Route 1 corridor.
What’s Music Good for? A Cognitive Scientist’s Perspective
Saturday, November 12, 2022 — 2–3:30 p.m. — Click Here to Watch This Presentation
Join Dr. Robert Slevc for a discussion of how music can help our brains. Dr. Slevic is associate professor and associate chair in the University of Maryland Department of Psychology, as well as part of the university’s Program in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science (NACS) and the Maryland Language Science Center. His research focuses on the cognitive mechanisms involved in the processing of language and of music in both normal and brain-damaged populations.
Metro Anthology: Stories And Drawings About Metro Riders
Saturday, January 28, 2023 — 2–3:30 p.m. — Click Here to Watch This Presentation
Carol Morgan, DC artist, sketches other riders on Metro buses and trains, noticing the diverse backgrounds of the people she sees. Prompted by Carol’s drawings, Gerry Hendershot, a poet from Riverdale Park, imagined the lives of Metro riders and wrote poems about them. Carol’s drawings and Gerry’s poems were published by Politics and Prose as Metro Anthology: Stories and Drawings about Metro Riders. In this presentation, Carol will show and talk about her drawings, and Gerry will read selected poems. Participants will be invited to share their own Metro stories.
Food, Aging & Community — What’s Healthy and How Do You Get Your Food?
Saturday, February 25, 2021 — 2–3:30 p.m. — Click Here to Watch This Presentation
Psyche Williams-Forson is professor and chair of the University of Maryland’s Department of American Studies. She is one of America’s leading thinkers about food and culture, and the author of several books, including Building Houses out of Chicken Legs: Black Women, Food, and Power; (with Carole Counihan) Taking Food Public: Redefining Foodways in a Changing World; and her most recent, Eating While Black: Food Shaming and Race in America. She and her students have worked with Meals on Wheels, and she is a member of the Prince George’s County Food Equity Council. During this Corridor Conversation, she will discuss the role of food and community.
Gardening for a Healthy Mind, Body & Planet
Saturday, March 18, 2023 — 2–3:30 p.m. — Click Here to Watch This Presentation
Whether you’re an experienced gardener or just curious, join us for a discussion about vegetable gardening and landscaping with native plants. A founding member of the Hyatt Park Community Garden, Dave Roeder will discuss growing vegetables in small spaces with methods that won’t break your back while providing continuous produce throughout the summer. He also was a long-time volunteer with Chesapeake Natives and will discus landscaping with native plants to support wildlife, reduce runoff, and save on maintenance chores.