Enjoy music and community! Come on out for North Woodside’s 2026 Summer Porch Concert series, which will run Sunday, June 21 through Saturday, August 22. Free admission. Bring a chair and food to share. Open mic after bands.
Featuring: The Vico Cycle, Red Castle Blues Band, Sam Post, Zero to 60, and more!
By Cheryl Copeland, Community Design Committee
Have you seen the two new flowering trees keeping our community evergreen tree company on the grassy island where Luzerne and Glen Ross merge east of 2nd Avenue? These are just the first signs of exciting things to come to this location!
The Chesapeake Bay Trust recently awarded NWCA their Community Engagement & Restoration Mini Grant ($5,000) to put toward some of the landscaping in the master plan designed by Strawberry Fields, LLC in 2023, to be installed this fall.
The community tree triangle project is not simply to beautify a space enjoyed by a handful of neighbors and the occasional passerby. The Chesapeake Bay Trust awarded us this grant for “community engagement and restoration” because this space has a 100-year history within the neighborhood as a gathering place, which will provide educational opportunities, environmental benefits, and encourage year-round use by the greater community.
The full plan is to replace all the grass with a variety of primarily native perennials in amended soil, stepstone paths, and a circular river-stone patio. Grant terms include a commitment to include educational signage and provide workshops for neighbors and youth groups at the triangle and to teach about the sustainability of this type of conservation gardening using native plants to support pollinators in a way that is both sustainable and easily replicated in their own yards.
The estimated cost for this work is more than the grant received, so the Community Design Committee continues to pursue other funding options. This June we will learn the decision for the fourth and final Chesapeake Bay Trust grant we have applied for since 2024. The house tour event taking place this September is intended to help pay for any portions of the community tree triangle project not funded by grants.
At the upcoming NWCA Annual Meeting, we will have a table to present the project details and answer questions. The NWCA Board will recommend a dollar amount for the project, but it will require a membership vote. We hope as many community members as possible will attend the meeting to engage in the conversation before approving how much funding our association will provide.
The tree triangle project is what the Community Design Committee was formed to do — explore good and thoughtful design that engages our community at large. If that piques your interest, join us by subscribing to our listserv communitydesign+subscribe@NorthWoodsideCA.groups.io (subscription to main neighborhood listserv required).
When we gather as a community at the triangle this December to celebrate the 100th anniversary of North Woodside’s holiday celebrations, we’ll look forward to unveiling the next chapter in the story of our community tree triangle!
Help us raise funds to complete the full project by supporting the North Woodside House Tour on September 26, 2026. Buy tickets, volunteer, and/or sponsor! For more information, click here.
The NWCA Annual Meeting has happily returned to the neighborhood. It will take place at Woodlin Elementary School on
Wednesday, May 20, 2026, from 7:00–8:30 pm in the Cafeteria/All Purpose Room.
Look for signage to help you navigate to the cafeteria once you enter the building. Walking is encouraged, but parking is available in the school parking lot off Luzerne Avenue.
This year’s meeting will include presentations about our tree triangle project, the house tour in September, and the Georgia Avenue Project. In addition, a treasurer’s report, pictorial montage of the year in review, board officer elections, and a drawing for door prizes will take place. Light refreshments will be provided.
Questions? Contact programs@northwoodside.org
Cohosted by North Woodside Citizens’ Association, Rosemary Hills Neighbors Association, Linden Civic Association, Lyttonsville Civic Association
When: 1:00-3:00pm, Saturday, April 25
Where: Meet at one of these locations at 1:00pm
Gloves and recycle and trash bags will be provided
Questions? Contact programs@northwoodside.org
When: 1:00-3:00pm, Saturday, April 25
Drop off clothing from 12:00-1:00pm
Where: Montgomery Hills Park
For more information about these events, see flyers below.
It’s that time of year again! We are excited to host our annual neighborhood Egg Hunt with Linden Civic Association, and we need your help.
The Big Event:
A quick note on timing: To ensure every little hunter gets their fair share, please arrive on time. We will also likely be limiting the number of eggs per child this year so that no one goes home with an empty basket
How You Can Help:
We can’t wait to see all of you there for a morning of hopping, hunting, and neighborhood fun!
For more information, see NWCA’s dues and donation page.
NWCA has changed its membership dues structure to make it easier for households to pay according to their means and to encourage higher rates of payment participation. The standard $30/year rate will remain, but we are adding two options for varying economic circumstances.
The NWCA Inclusion Committee proposed these changes in the wake of broader Board discussions about fees because we need to comply with an NWCA Bylaws mandate to create an additional annual dues tier low enough that no residents will be excluded from membership due to financial reasons. This feels especially important now given local economic impacts of federal job and contract losses.
At the same time, our citizens’ association has tended to run annual deficits, covered by a previously built cash reserve. This gap stems in part from increasing costs: upgrading to modernized accounting software, nonprofit filings, insurance, and—happily—an expansion of community programs.
The association needs to improve its paid membership participation to increase its income. The committee’s proposed structure tries to satisfy both its fiscal and equity concerns. At its January meeting, the Board signed off on the committee’s recommendation to try a three-tier structure, where neighbors will self-identify the levels at which they can contribute:
| Community Supported $5/year | Community (standard rate) $30/year | Community Supporter $50/year |
The standard rate is $30 per year. The new levels allow members to pay $5 per year (Community Supported) if their means are limited or $50 (Community Supporter) if they choose to provide extra support. Dues payment amounts are confidential.
We hope that if enough neighbors contribute at the Community Supporter level, and if more households pay dues at any level, annual revenue will grow enough to cover costs. Failing that, the Board may revisit increasing the standard rate in the future.
If your household has not yet paid dues, go to our Simpli Dues page to do so. If you’re not sure if you’ve paid in the last year, go to the same link. Renewal emails from our platform can end up in your promotions or spam folder or get lost amid other messages, so please do check online.
All residents of our community are eligible to participate in NWCA services, including our listserv. The main benefit of becoming a dues-paying member is the formal privilege of voting on neighborhood issues (as set out in the association’s bylaws). Contributing members vote on board and leadership appointments, bylaws changes, neighborhood issue positions, and other matters. Voting almost always takes place at the annual meeting.
Dues-paying members of any level can feel good about making possible the wide range of services our neighborhood association provides—from the discussion forum, to events, this newsletter, and much more. Your membership dues and donations are tax deductible as charitable contributions. Thank you!
The NWCA Inclusion Committee endeavors to make North Woodside a place for all people, as codified in NWCA’s bylaws. For more information: northwoodsideca.groups.io/g/inclusion. Contact: inclusion@northwoodsideca.groups.io
It was wintry times again in North Woodside earlier this week. This storm was quite the opposite of the last one that featured lots o’ sleet that mostly bounced to the ground and resulted in angular blocks of rock hard “snowcrete” that lasted for weeks. This storm’s wet snow stuck to every single itty bitty branch and transformed the neighborhood into a beautiful winter wonderland for a few short hours, before all plopping to the ground. Wet snow + no school = perfect conditions for snow people to pop up. And indeed, a few did, including this one on Rookwood Rd.
Check out a slide show of photos taken by neighbors, starting with “before and after” flamingos (click on right arrow):
When will spring finally come? We will see. Look closely. Already there are signs that it is on its way…
Today marks the 30th anniversary of the tragic MARC-Amtrak train crash just south of the Talbot Avenue Bridge. Eleven people perished in the crash, including three MARC crew members and eight passengers.
For more information and a compilation of community members’ memories of the crash, visit the Talbot Avenue Bridge Committee’s website.
Shake off the winter doldrums. Join your neighbors and friends on Tuesday, March 3, 2026, 6:00–8:00 pm at the Urban Winery for an NWCA meet and greet!
Support this local business. Meet new neighbors and reconnect with old. Food, wine, and nonalcoholic beverages will be available. No cover charge. Come as you are.
Cohosted with Linden, Lyttonsville, and Rosemary Hills civic associations.
Address: 2315 Stewart Ave., Silver Spring
Questions? Contact Melinda Frederick, NWCA Program Coordinator
Announcing the North Woodside Snow Art Awards of 2026!
After traipsing far and wide–over ice and salt and mountains of Bobcat-piled “snowcrete”–an impressive array of frontyard igloos, snow people, and icy sculptures have been found and nominated. A couple backyard igloos were nominated as well.
And now, without further ado…drum roll…we present the North Woodside Snow Art Award winners of 2026! (Click on a photo to view larger and scroll through.)
Meet some of the young artists behind the cool creations:
Indeed, they put in many hours of work–days, in some cases–to complete these impressive abodes. Luckily, with school out for over a week and nine days straight of chilly temps, they had plenty of time on their hands!
Judge’s Note: The January 25 storm’s particular makeup of icy precipitation–powdery snow followed by several inches of sleet–has enabled a usually-rare-around-here form of snow art involving creative stacking and placement of “sleet blocks,” distinctive for its angularity. Who knows if we’ll have such awesome igloo-building conditions ever again? And commendations for the creative use of tools (garden shovels, propane blow torch, boxes, bucket, and more) and materials (branches, wood planks, backyard patio items) to construct a number of the snow art winners.
See how how a team of high school artists constructed the “Best Window” winner, sleet block by sleet block:
How long will these icy creations be around? Temperatures and sunlight will determine. And time will tell. If Punxsutawney Phil is correct, could be a while.
Which igloo will last the longest? What’s your guess?
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