Art & CultureThis is a featured page

  • A Summer's Day by John Ford
A Summer's Day by John Ford, 1976


For more than 20 years, John Ford's mural (see above) hung on the southeast corner of East West Highway and Route 1 welcoming visitors and passersby alike until the building was torn down for redevelopment (the mural itself is now in storage indefinitely awaiting a new home). Ford's mural depicted his memories of summer visits with his grandparents in Riverdale Park and was probably one of Riverdale Park's most visible pieces of art ever, but the truth is, you have to leave the major roads and well-beaten paths to see what Riverdale Park offers. Some of these offerings are institutions in and of themselves like the historic Riversdale Mansion(where one of the first art exhibits in America took place), while others rest upon the laurels of individuals who've woven themselves into the fabric of this town like painter Gerald King.

The town still wants for a local performance venue of its own, [Flash Update, the Archie Edwards Blues Heritage Foundation came to town in Feb 09, click on Blues Heritage Foundation for information about their weekly Saturday afternoon jams in RP]. In addition to the events and performances at the Riversdale Mansion, local restaurants S&J and The Calvert House Inn often host live music (DJ and karaoke in the case of the former; live bands in the case of the latter). Free local music shows used to be a weekend mainstay at the Riverdale Bookshop, but major hikes in rent forced this local institution to continue its existence exclusively online. Additionally, the Riverdale Park Farmers Market offers live music every week during its season from April to November.

Architecturally, historic Riverdale Park features everything from beautiful Victorian homes to charming cape cods and ranchers with the aforementioned Riversdale Mansion serving as the aesthetic hub in much the same way it served as the social/economic hub when first built for the Calverts. In addition to its homegrown treasures, Riverdale Park lies in close proximity to local and national centers of art and culture from the University of Maryland through the Gateway Arts District and into Washington, DC (all conveniently accessible by public transportation).
The links below are just some of the institutions and individuals who add a bit of art and creativity to Riverdale Park:

THE RIVERDALE MODEL RAILROADERS

CALL FOR ARTISTS ~ RIVERDALE PARK ARTS FESTIVAL (5/4/08)

The newly revived Riverdale Park Arts Council invites all artists to reserve space for the upcoming Riverdale Park Arts Festival, Sunday, May 4, 11am - 6pm. This celebration of the arts will include artists' exhibits/sales, demonstrations, performances, and more. It will be held outdoors at the Town Center (right near the MARC train station). See the Call for Artists below for details and reserve your spot early before the spaces are all filled!
Feel free to forward this invite to other artists.

Art & Culture - Riverdale Park Community Wiki


NOTE: Please feel free to grow and contribute to this page!


dwightrholmes
dwightrholmes
Latest page update: made by dwightrholmes , Feb 28 2009, 9:54 PM EST (about this update About This Update dwightrholmes Edited by dwightrholmes

1 word added
5 words deleted

view changes

- complete history)
Keyword tags: None
More Info: links to this page
Started By Thread Subject Replies Last Post
emmyloudoll rp Birds 0 Apr 5 2009, 9:32 PM EDT by emmyloudoll
Thread started: Apr 5 2009, 9:32 PM EDT  Watch
At our Bird Feeders: Red tailed hawks, Cooper hawks, flickers, red head woodpeckers, downy woodpeckers, Pileated Woodpecker, Carolina wrens, Jimmy wrens, cardinals, blue jays, cat birds, mockingbirds, red wing blackbirds, Starlings, Grackles, English sparrows, Song sparrows, tit mouse, gold finches, warblers, speckled brown like a thrush, ?nuthatches - little brown bird with straight up tail, also a slate colored one with straight up tail, 2 kinds of hummingbirds, blue heron tries to go fishing in my tiny pond, Turkey Vulchers back at Gossling Pond, Robins, pidgeons, doves. The backyard holy terrors to the other birds are: Redtailed hawk, Cooper hawks, Flickers, Red headed woodpecker, Pileated Woodpeckers, the owl (don't know what kind of owl but it is huge) - the birds all run when these show up. Last year I saw either a Scarlet Taniger or Oriole - it was across the street. Then one year a parakeet and another year a parrot which turned out to be my neighbors. Multiple kinds of ducks in our little ponds around. Note: In china last year,I never saw a single wild bird or heard a wild bird - not even in the countryside. Em
Do you find this valuable?    
Keyword tags: Birds in RP
Showing 1 of 1 threads for this page