Is it Time for a Greenbelt Block Party?

Greenbelt might benefit from a block festival, said Better Block Project program manager Jan Townshend. “Even in your downtown, I think it would be worth doing,” she said.

“I think it is wonderful,” Townshend said, recalling her month long stay in Greenbelt through a home swap that brought her from England to Lastner Lane several decades back.

She still frequents the Old Greenbelt Theater and , but thinks it is unfortunate that some people who live as close as College Park don’t know that the Roosevelt Center exists. She thought a better block celebration might be a good way to get the word out to people who would enjoy Greenbelt’s town center. “I just wish more people knew about it,” Townshend said.

Her suggestion followed on the heels of an April 9 block festival in Mount Rainer that she said gave the area “a completely different feel.”

On Saturday, The Neighborhood Design Center (NDC) hosted a Better Block Project celebration in Mount Rainer, hoping to revitalize local storefronts and invigorate its arts community.

Nearly a year ago in Oak Cliff, Texas, a group of local artists and residents grew increasingly concerned that their city was losing its vitality. They sprung into action with a one-day festival that revamped area building facades. 

“It was very successful. It started this movement,” NDC project coordinator Chuck McNamara said.

Inspired by Oak Cliff’s results, Prince George’s County locals got together with NDC to collaborate the kick-off of a mega-event in the Gateway Arts District.

Neighborhood businesses, restaurants, vendors and sponsors were invited out into the streets of Mount Rainer to greet residents and showcase their goods, crafts and services as well as participate in family-oriented activities.

The festivities began at noon and took place on 34th Street, starting at the traffic circle on Route 1 and going up a block and a half to just past Bunker Hill Road.

Participants were treated to food, crafts and live entertainment as well as corporate investing advice and information about local properties.

NDC’s partners were Gateway CDC, Joe’s Movement Emporium, The Mount Rainer Business Association, Community Forklift, SCRAP-DC and The American Society of Landscape Architects' Maryland chapter.

Event sponsors were Envision Prince George’s, M-NCPPC, the City of Mount Rainer, County Councilman Will Campos, Anacostia Trails Heritage Area and Gateway CDC.