Visarts regularly has Groupon vouchers, and we purchased one to give ourselves a chance at the…read morepotter's wheel. This is located in a building on the third floor in the Rockville Town Center, and there are garages abundant in the area with up to 2 hours of parking free. The class is 2 hours so you'll end up paying $3 for the overage. Class started on time, the session was "full house," and one lady snuck in a child even though class was meant to be 14+ years only. The instructor went over the process and demonstrated how to begin and form the shape of the piece you intend to make (or end up with!). The instructor was helpful, friendly, and upbeat. I think playing some music would have enhanced the experience! You get three shots at creating something out of clay, and whatever you create can be kilned and picked up in 2 weeks. You may want to arrive early if you are in a group and want to sit together. I recommend wearing an apron as you'll get your clothes dirty. The stools aren't comfortable. You are advised to remove rings, watches, and bracelets for optimal experience.

I visited Visarts for a stained glass class this past Saturday (2/22) and it was awesome more or…read moreless from start to finish! The teacher provided us instruction at the start of the class to get us going. We each picked a pattern and glass as we saw fit. From there, we followed the instructions and asked questions of the teacher as we went along. Since I was alone, I was able to work wearing headphones, listening to an audiobook as I cut and grinded glass. Overall, I absolutely enjoyed this class and want to have stained glass as a hobby in the future! Definitely recommend the stained glass class at Visarts!

Always have a wonderful time at We Art Fun!!! May daughter loves going there, she has worked on so…read moremany projects and attended after school and non school days activities at We Art Fun!!! We love it!!! Ms Roxana is the best!!! She always makes us feel welcome !!!! I recommend We Art Fun!!!

Great place for kids and grown ups who enjoy creating art. There are canvas, ceramics, mosaic etc…read moreto choose from. We enjoyed painting and making art that we put up at home. They have birthday parties or sip n paint, the owner is flexible and works to create a package.

Enjoyed the facility for our christmas party for our 90 person group. The new website made making…read morea reservation much easier and it allowed me to see the open slots. The facility was clean, lots of parking, and really nice bathrooms with a coat closet next to each room. Simple christmas decorations and lots of tables for us to use that they set up. Brought our own tablecloths, so clean up was easy. The kitchen does need its outlets updated, so we ended up bringing our own extension cords and were warned not to overload the circuits. There is a coffee pot and tea kettle in the kitchen. The oven worked great and the sink is roomy for clean up. Will keep coming back to this facility.

Some of the organizers are rude. No real community outreach for women that are Seniors that are…read moreminorities. Not accommodating peoples wide array of dietary restrictions. Should include various topics of cultural information and education for the cultural landscape of the MD and DC community. Should engage young woman volunteers.

I recently returned to Maryland after a decade away, and one of the first places I re-visited was…read morethe Sandy Spring Museum. I remembered it fondly as having lovely grounds and a small collection of interesting historical exhibits. Well, it still has beautiful grounds and some historical exhibits, but now most of its space is devoted to the work of local artists. It currently hosts colorful yarn sculptures that appear almost organic. Their beauty is enhanced by the diverse shapes and colors the artist chose for each grouping. It's a display that can be enjoyed by people of any age, and it's small enough that children won't get bored. The museum is free to visit, so anyone can enjoy what it has to offer. Highly recommended!

Enjoyed a walking tour of art on the grounds of SSM. Daría did an amazing job explaining each…read morepiece. This is a hidden gem in MoCo with a lot of history. You def need to check their website for different events and featured artists. FYI-you can have weddings, company events, etc.

This is a great addition to the Kensington community near the neighboring Antique Village…read more It occupies the entire building next to the post office, and has a large parking lot in the rear (with a few spots reserved for the dental practice). It's a unique art school combined with artists' workshops on three levels. They offer an array of classes for artists and for novice looking for a fun hobby. The classes posted that I saw were for drawing,painting, and live model drawing. Some studio rooms were quite small, while other room were larger for classes/workshops. I came for the grand opening celebration. The founder's young son was greeting people at the door and giving a well rehearsed explanation of all they had to offer. I was impressed. It was quite fun going in all the rooms and meeting some of the artists. I hope to visit again soon... maybe partake in a class one day.

The teachers and facilities are second to none! I can't say enough good things about Compass…read more Large classrooms plenty of lighting the people and place is so inviting.

This is an amazing park with a museum, theater, dance hall, and great art galleries. Used to be an…read moreamusement park but now a great historical site. They also have the Clara Barton House that my wife and I toured. You can drive here or take Ride On Route 29 from Bethesda or Friendship Heights.

Tried the waltzing class at the Glen Echo Park complex and loved it. Tony Treston (affiliated with…read moreWaltz Time) was my instructor; he demonstrates the basics of waltzing in an easygoing manner. My first lesson was no pressure and I felt like I made a lot of progress. BTW, this is not Viennesse waltzing, which is a formalized style of waltzing. The kind of waltzing taught here is more of a "garden variety", and done by cultures all over the world. It's a 3-step candance (slow, quick quick), and anyone can do it, seriously. It might be the best $13 that I ever spent. That's the cost of admission, which includes a 45 minute lesson, followed by nearly 3 hours of dance time with a live band. The Spanish Ballroom, where the social dances are held, is a premier venue. The building itself is Art Deco architecture and considered to be one of the best ballrooms of its kind on the East Coast. The interior is decorated tastefully and lighted well. The expansive floor is made of a lovely maple wood. The live music is such a treat as the acoustics here are top notch. The social dances are a lot of fun, and waltzing isn't the only style offered--there's contra dancing; tango dancing; swing dancing; blues dancing, etc. The social dance calendar is quite extensive. Check out Glen Echo Park and Waltz Time websites to see all the possibilities. Am already planning when I'll attend again.

It's been about a year since I started taking pottery classes at Something Earthy and it literally…read morehas been a true joy. Though I still feel pretty insanely novice on the wheel, I've pumped out some pieces that I'm pretty proud of... and many pieces that... could use some work lol. Linda is the owner and head teacher at the studio and she is quite literally the best. She is SUPER friendly, always willing to help, and honestly has become someone who I consider a friend. Something Earthy is not just a studio that offers weekly classes though, there is a pottery shop that is filled with her work, students work, and other local artisan's crafts. As if that isn't a enough, Linda also makes homemade jams and jellys and freeze dried candy that she sells in the store portion. There are also small classes for younger children where they can choose a pre-molded ceramic and paint it. Linda even grows produce and sells it during the season. But yeah, it has become one of my favorite little retreats. This is the epitomy of a hidden gem and I could go on blushing about how amazing this place is for pages, but rather than TLDR-ing you, I'll just say that if you're in the area - or even if you're not - you should stop by shop and inquire about classes.

Unfortunately, my experience during the past two months was not a success. As a virtual beginner,…read moreI did not have six classes in the studio. I had six visits to the studio where I was mostly on my own. After some guidance during the first couple of classes, I was usually left to figure out what to do by myself. I didn't see the owner/instructor many times until an hour or hour and a half of my "class" began. Often when I did see you, it was just a casual hello sort of thing. Far from instruction. Overall, I was provided one or two demos of the various steps. I never mastered centering or trimming. I threw away about 1/4 of my clay because pieces flew off the wheel or the base collapsed. During my third or fourth time in the studio, I specifically remember the owner said to me, "You forgot what we talked about before..." It usually takes beginners three or four times to "get it" and incorporate learning into short term memory... The one time (first and only) the owner showed me glazing, she chided me for leaving the piece in too long. Strangely, that is one of the only pieces I actually have kept. Subsequent glazing was a disaster with tong marks and color unevenness. I threw away four finished pieces. I got some glazing assistance from an experienced "student" on my final two pieces. She was kind enough to help me use the bottles of glaze, find and use the brushes and try a different approach without dipping. Sadly, the base of the plate that I glazed by hand doesn't sit evenly on a surface, so I am not sure it will be the 10th anniversary gift that I intended. When I originally found Something Earthy's website, "class time" and "studio time" were advertised and new students were only taken on a particular schedule. I expected six classes of instruction. When I was a graduate school professor, I was in the classroom with my students for the full scheduled time of classes. I was their guide, their instructor and my assignment was to teach them and expand their knowledge of the subject matter. Advertising "class time" is misleading! I did not ask the owner for refund or concessions of any kind. I shared with her that I wanted to express my deep disappointment in what I experienced, as I was SO hopeful that pottery would become a life-long love for me as it was for her. I also encouraged the owner to either reconsider her approach with beginners or just advertise the studio to experienced artisans.

We recently celebrated my mother's 80th birthday at Spark by Hilton Germantown last Aug1, and the…read moreevent was a wonderful success. My mother was extremely happy, and our guests truly enjoyed the celebration. The event space is spacious and beautiful, with plenty of room for our decorations, dining tables, entertainment, and dancing. Since there was no other event scheduled that day, we were generously allowed to decorate in advance, which made our preparation much easier and less stressful. The kitchen area and available food warmers were also very convenient for serving our large group of guests. Dennis was friendly, professional, and very easy to communicate with. He clearly explained all the available options, answered our questions, and offered helpful suggestions throughout the planning process. Ariana was also extremely helpful. She assisted us with the room layout, open-bar arrangements, and room discounts for our guests. Her recommendations helped us use the space effectively and made the entire celebration run smoothly. We are very grateful to the entire team for helping us create such a beautiful and memorable 80th birthday celebration for our Nanay. We highly recommend this venue for birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, and other special occasions!

August 4th 2018 we had my Mom's Retirement Party.......The venue was very nice the food was…read moredelicious the decor was very elegant ,We had the entire Oak room and Maple room,I loved the staff all in all I would give it a 10 i would have given it a 20 they could not get the Projector to work for our picture slide but that didn't even matter, The coordinator Syssenden was very kind and planned everything so well, she had surgery and could not finish the planning so Cathy took over in her place and did an amazing job the day of the event Melissa the room decorator was very detailed and made the room look great!!! overall just a great Place the venue and Staff!!!!!!