Arts & Culture

From Bethesda Magazine: 25 ways to savor summer

Strathmore's Live From the Lawn, Gaithersburg's SportsFest, Montgomery Parks' All-Star Comedy Show and more ways to get outside

Stephanie Siegel Burke

June 29, 2026 3:00 p.m. | Updated: June 25, 2026 4:08 p.m.

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Live From the Lawn. Photo credit: Courtesy Strathmore

Independence Day

July 3: Montgomery County 250th: Shine Together

Celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States’ independence and the establishment of Montgomery County—it was founded on Sept. 6, 1776—at this free event at Albert Einstein High School in Kensington. The party begins at 7 p.m. with live music from local band The Nighthawks with fireworks expected to begin around 9:15. Parking with shuttle service is available at Westfield Wheaton mall starting at 6:30 p.m. montgomerycountymd.gov

July 4: Germantown Glory

This Independence Day celebration at South Germantown Recreational Park kicks off with live music from TFC, a band specializing in soul, Motown and top 40 hits, at 7 p.m., with fireworks around 9:15. Bring chairs, blankets and picnics to this free family-friendly event. montgomerycountymd.gov

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July 4: Rockville’s Independence Day Celebration

Enjoy live music before a 20-minute fireworks display marking the 250th anniversary of the country’s independence. The free event starts at 7 p.m., followed by fireworks around 9:15, at Mattie J.T. Stepanek Park in Rockville’s King Farm neighborhood. rockvillemd.gov/services/independence-day-celebration

July 4: Upper Montgomery County VFD Fourth of July Fireworks

The Upper Montgomery County Volunteer Fire Department’s signature annual display takes place at the polo fields off Hughes Road in Poolesville, where vendors will be selling food and specialty items. Gates open at 4 p.m.; fireworks start around 9. $10 cash per car. Rain date is July 5. umcvfd.org/july4

Fairs and Festivals

July 11: SportsFest

This annual morning of movement at Gaithersburg’s Bohrer Park at Summit Hill Farm celebrates sports. It starts at 8 a.m. with the SportsFest 3K Run Fundraiser benefiting the city’s youth and teen sports programs (registration required). After the run, kids entering kindergarten through eighth grade can participate in free sports stations, including soccer, football, baseball, track and field, basketball, volleyball and an inflatable obstacle course. gaithersburgmd.gov/recreation/sports/sportsfest

July 19: Silver Spring International Food and Craft Festival

An artisan market featuring handmade items from around the world is the highlight of this free event at Veterans Plaza in Silver Spring that also features international cuisine, cultural performances, a DJ and dancing. chiceventsdc.com

Aug. 14-22: Montgomery County Agricultural Fair

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“Barn in the USA” is the theme of this year’s fair, which features carnival rides and games, farm animals, craft and hobby contests, and grandstand entertainment that includes monster truck, rodeo and demolition derby shows. It all takes place at the Montgomery County Agricultural Fairgrounds in Gaithersburg. mcagfair.com

Aug. 16: Hey Cousin Culture Fest

Local bands and musicians, dance teams and a DJ provide entertainment at this free event celebrating the Black diaspora. The family-friendly festival also features a market selling art, crafts, apparel and food at Veterans Plaza in Silver Spring. eventbrite.com/e/2026-hey-cousin-culture-fest-tickets-1986580366353

Aug. 23: Washington Folk Festival

Hundreds of performers present dancing, storytelling and music ranging from Americana to international at this free event organized by the Folklore Society of Greater Washington at Glen Echo Park. Food trucks will be on-site. glenechopark.org/events

Community Events

July 19: Sketching a Century

In celebration of the centennial of Rockville’s Glenview Mansion, artists are invited inside the historic landmark to sketch, paint and create works inspired by the building’s architecture, interior and grounds. rockvillemd.gov/services/glenview-mansion-centennial

Aug. 14: All-Star Comedy Show

Cabin John Regional Park becomes a comedy club for this free event, featuring a lineup of local comedians from Improbable Comedy, plus food trucks and local craft beers. Bring lawn chairs or blankets for seating. Recommended for age 17 and older. montgomeryparks.org/events/all-star-comedy-show

Music

Through Sept. 5: Glenstone’s Summer Music Series

The outdoor concert series at Glenstone art museum in Potomac continues into September with shows featuring jazz, classical and international music. The series is inspired by Glenstone’s “Ties of our common kindred” exhibition, which commemorates the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and the concerts feature musicians who bridge American sounds and ideas. glenstone.org/summer-music-series

July 1-Aug. 12: Live From the Lawn

Strathmore’s annual free summer concert series returns to North Bethesda with performances on Wednesdays (and one Saturday) featuring Americana, folk-bluegrass, jazz and world music groups. It kicks off with a show by Strutman Lane, a funk/pop/soul band with a vibrant horn section. strathmore.org

July 9, 16, 23: Cool Concerts for Kids

Three free interactive concerts for children are also on the lawn at Strathmore this summer. The first features folk duo Larry & Joe, who combine Venezuelan and Appalachian traditions. Wendy & DB, a Grammy-nominated blues- and rock-influenced duo, is next. Rock and hip-hop group Big Bang Boom closes out the series. strathmore.org

July 19: The Steely Dan Sessions: Aja

Local musicians The Sidleys, Al Williams III and Eddie Montalvo perform Steely Dan’s lauded album Aja in its entirety as well as other Steely Dan classics and other popular songs of the time at the Bethesda Theater. bethesdatheater.com

July 24: Rose Royce

In the 1970s, this R&B group scored hits with songs such as “Car Wash,” “Wishing on a Star,” “I’m Going Down” and “I Wanna Get Next to You.” Expect to hear those favorites and more when they perform at the Bethesda Theater. bethesdatheater.com

July 29: Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers

The influential singer-songwriter and pianist comes to The Music Center at Strathmore with The Noisemakers. Hornsby has collaborated with 1960s and ’70s icons such as the Grateful Dead, Don Henley and Bonnie Raitt, as well as contemporary rock musicians including Haim and Ezra Koenig. Although Hornsby’s music draws from rock, bluegrass and jazz, his biggest hit, “The Way it Is” from 1986, was sampled by several rap artists, including Tupac Shakur. strathmore.org

Theater

Through July 12: Sister Act

A nightclub singer pretends to be a nun to escape the mob in this musical comedy based on the 1992 film starring Whoopi Goldberg. While hiding in a convent, Deloris Van Cartier and the Little Sisters of Our Mother of Perpetual Faith find they have a lot to learn from each other. The show is by Rockville Musical Theatre at F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre in Rockville. r-m-t.org

July 2-Aug. 23: A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder

After the death of his mother, Monty Navarro discovers he’s distantly related to the wealthy D’Ysquith family but is eighth in line to inherit the title Earl of Highhurst in this musical comedy at Olney Theatre Center. Navarro hopes to advance his place by dastardly deeds, and local actor Tom Story plays all seven members of the D’Ysquith family who are killed. olneytheatre.org

July 16-Aug. 2: Adrift: A Medieval Wayward Folly

Happenstance Theater presents this medieval-themed show at Round House Theatre in Bethesda. The production combines characters inspired by the tarot and the paintings of 15th-century Dutch artist Hieronymus Bosch, puppetry, and physical comedy to tell the story of a ship of fools adrift at sea after an apocalypse, trying to figure out: “What do we do now?” roundhousetheatre.org

July 24-Aug. 2: Anything Goes

Montgomery College’s summer dinner theater presents an updated adaptation of Cole Porter’s classic musical about a stowaway who boards a ship in pursuit of the woman he loves. There will be a pre-show meal with passed hors d’oeuvres and chef stations at the Theater Arts Building on the Rockville campus. montgomerycollege.edu/events/summer-dinner-theatre

Aug. 8: A Midsummer Night’s Dream

The Rustic Mechanicals, a West Virginia Shakespeare troupe, brings the Bard’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream to the stage at BlackRock Center for the Arts in Germantown. The group strives to make Shakespeare’s plays accessible to modern audiences. blackrockcenter.org

Film

July 25, July 31, Aug. 7: Bethesda Outdoor Movies

The free annual outdoor film series returns with three nights of movies shown on a huge inflatable screen at County Parking Lot 24, behind the Farm Women’s Market in downtown Bethesda. This year’s lineup features Ocean’s 8 on July 25, La La Land on July 31 and Bring It On on Aug. 7. While limited seating is available, attendees are encouraged to bring their own chairs. bethesda.org

July 30-Aug. 20: Movies in the Parks

Catch a different family flick in a different Rockville park each Thursday during this free series. The lineup includes An American Tail: Fievel Goes West in Mattie J.T. Stepanek Park, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie in Montrose Park, Freakier Friday in Fallsgrove Park and Turning Red in Isreal Park. All movies are rated G or PG. In the event of inclement weather, films will be shown at the Rockville Senior Center. rockvillemd.gov/services/movies-in-the-parks

Aug. 14: Movie & Meteors

Come for the science fiction and stay for the real science at Observatory Park in Gaithersburg. The night starts with a screening of classic sci-fi flick Close Encounters of the Third Kind. After the movie, stay to observe the Perseids meteor shower, the best of the year, according to NASA. gaithersburgmd.gov/recreation/parks-fields/observatory-park/skywatching-programs

See our weekly list of things to do at BethesdaMagazine.com. Submit events at BethesdaMagazine.com/submit-calendar-event.

This appears in the July/August 2026 issue of Bethesda Magazine.

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Originally published at Bethesdamagazine