Checking in on the Mulberry Tree || Revisando el árbol de morera 

Are they ready? Are they ready? Are they ready?

📣 Welcome

Date 5/15/2026
Issue #26

Since when did May get to be such a busy month? Graduations, checking in on the mulberry tree, end of school year gatherings, checking in on the mulberry tree, gardening tasks, checking in on the mulberry tree, organizing summer logistics, checking in on the mulberry tree, spring cleaning, checking in on the mulberry tree. There’s a lot to do! 

Many of these events are reflected in the lists below. Hope you find something you’re excited about. Just don’t forget to check on the mulberry tree. And if you’re lucky enough for excess, I’m resharing the galette recipe from MaryLee Haughwout. Enjoy, neighbor. 

How was your Open Studio Tour? I owe the LGN some answers about our funky little Arts District (turns out the designation is a county and state effort), and I’m working with a few folks to gather more information (like, how can we protect and further celebrate what makes us so dang special). In the meantime, make sure you’ve joined their newsletter! 

My Top Five

• 🎡 5/15 (Fri): MRES Community Carnival 

• 🎉 5/16 (Sat): Mount Rainier Day Festival 

• 💃 5/17 (Sun): The Movement is for Everyone Family Dance Party benefiting PGIRC

• 📚 5/18 (Mon): Summer Reading registration begins at Mount Rainier Public Library 

• 🥧 Mulberry + serviceberry galette recipe 

🏛️ City Updates

Brentwood: 

• 5/19 (Tue) (All Day): Senior Society Meeting

• 5/19 (Tue) (7–9 PM): Council Meeting

• 5/21 (Thu) (6:30–9 PM): Community Advisory Meeting

• 5/25 (Mon) (10–11 AM): Memorial Day Event 

Cottage City:

• 5/19 (Tue) (6:30 PM): Free Mosquito Control Workshop, Freebies & Raffle 

Mount Rainier: 

• 5/15 (Fri) (7–9 AM): Bike to Work Day 2026

• 5/15 (Fri) (5–8 PM): Mount Rainier Elementary Community Carnival

• 5/16 (Sat) (11 AM–5 PM): Mount Rainier Day Festival

• 5/19 (Tue) (6–8 PM): Green Outreach Within Hispanic Neighborhoods

• 5/19 (Tue) (7–8 PM): Work Session of the Mayor and Council

• 5/20 (Wed) (10 AM–2 PM): District 47’s Breakfast II & Health and Safety Awareness

• 🦟 5/24 (Sun) (2–4 PM): Mosquitopalooza – Show up at the Mayor Miles Building parking lot to pick up a free bucket, dunks, and instructions to help cull the mosquito population in Mount Rainier.

• 5/25 (Mon) (7–8 PM): Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Meeting

• 5/28 (Thu) (6:30–7:30 PM): Recreation Committee Meeting

North Brentwood: 

• • 5/15 (Fri) (6–7:30 PM): Seniors Town Hall – Seniors Town Hall at Sis’s Tavern.

  • 5/18 (Mon) (7:30 PM): Town Meeting – Town meeting via Zoom and Facebook livestream.

🎒 School News

PGCPS Calendar

🦅 Mount Rainier Elementary

If you haven’t heard, the MRES Community Carnival is on Friday (5/15) from 5-8pm. Food, fun, and games for ALL Community members -students, prospective students, friends of students, people who live in the same city as students - please come celebrate another academic year with our Mount Rainier Eagles!

Since the last newsletter, we thanked and honored our amazing teachers with thank you cards, pot luck lunches, and gifts for Teacher Appreciation Week. Families showed up for National Walk, Bike and Roll to school day, and reduced our vehicular traffic at school drop-off 43% on Wednesday 5/6. A week later, more than a dozen community members showed up on career day to discuss midwifery, rockets, maps, cooking, coaching, and much more.

The end of May and beginning of June will be a time for field trips, field days, and promotion ceremonies as students get ready for the summer. Stay on top of the permission slips coming home in your student’s backpack!

• 🚴‍♀️5/15 (Fri) WABA Bike to Work (School Day)

• 🎡 5/15 (Fri) – Community Carnival

🐅Thomas S. Stone Elementary 

It’s award ceremonies, field trips, Field Day, and promotion season at Thomas S. Stone Elementary School! As we prepare to bid farewell to our amazing 5th graders as they move on to middle school, we are also wrapping up another wonderful school year together.

Join us for our final PTO meeting of the school year on June 2nd from 5:00–7:00 PM, in partnership with the school, for our “End the Year with a Blast / No Sliding Zone – Summer Learning & Resources” event in the gym and outdoor learning space.

Families will learn fun and practical ways to help prevent the “summer slide,” along with helpful educational resources and strategies to use throughout the summer months. This will also be a great opportunity to interact with other families, students, and staff while celebrating the end of the school year together.

A special welcome is extended to new and incoming families!

📍 Location: Thomas S. Stone Elementary School
🕔 Time: 5:00–7:00 PM
📅 Date: June 2

Donations to support the event and our families are greatly appreciated. Contact:thomasstonees.pto@gmail.com

🌎 Stay Local

The Fix Community Darkroom (www.thefixdarkroom.com) has opened its doors at Red Dirt Studio in Mt.Rainier, offering a shared space for analog photography enthusiasts to develop and print their work. After several months of planning, building, and hands-on effort, the space has come together with strong support and contributions from the local photography community and now has a full cohort of inaugural members. Photographer Colin Gore has also moved into a neighboring studio at Red Dirt, where he creates wet plate collodion portraits and other alternative process photography. Organizers hope to expand offerings in the future, including classes and workshops for photographers of all levels. For now, visitors are encouraged to stop by, explore the space, and connect with others passionate about film photography.

🎭 Neighborhood Happenings

• 🌳5/16 (Sat) (10:30 AM–Noon): Tree ID Walk – Meeting location: 38th Ave Neighborhood Park.

• 🍍5/16 (Sat) (2–4 PM): Edible Art Workshop - Brentwood Arts Exchange

• 📚 5/19 (Tue) (6:30 PM): Solidarity Stories Cinema Love 

  • Community Led Book Discussion

• 5/16 (Sat) (7 PM): Fretter’s at MiXt

• 🎵5/23 (Sat) (5–10 PM): Sonic Frontiers Experimental Electronic Music Festival – Brentwood Arts Exchange.

• 🎨5/30 (Sat) (Noon–2 PM): Pull, Slide, Spin! Make Your Characters Come Alive Workshop

• 🛍️5/30 (Sat) (Noon–4 PM): Fabric Stash Sale Fundraiser – Brentwood Community Center.

☮️ Volunteering and Mutual Aid 

• 🤝 5/17 (Sun) (4–6 PM) – Give Back To Your Community

  • Station 3510, Mutual Aid Gathering 4-6 PM 

• 🆘 PGIRC Families in Need of Support Sheet — Spreadsheet of PGIRC ICE-Impacted Families currently in need. Donate and share if and when you can.

• 💃 5/17 (Sun) (4:30–7:30 PM) – The Movement is for Everyone Family Dance Party benefiting PGIRC

🧑‍🌾 Gateway Farmer's Market 

🧺 The outdoor market is officially open! To see this week’s roster, follow the Gateway Farmer’s Market Instagram.

🩰 Joe’s Movement Emporium 

🩰 Mount Rainier Public Library 

It’s almost time for summer reading! The theme of this year’s summer reading program is “Unearth a Story” so get ready for dinosaur-themed programs and events all summer long. Starting this Monday, May 18th, Register online or stop by your local library to sign up. Participants will earn prizes like T-shirts, books, and tickets to either a Washington National’s baseball game or a Washington Spirit soccer match! This program is not just for kids - adults are welcome to play too!

Join us for our May book club meeting at miXt Food Hall on Tuesday, May 19th at 6:30 PM. This month, we’re reading “Cinema Love” by Jiaming Tang. More info about this event can be found here. Interested in attending this summer? Check out our upcoming selections for June and July.

If you have any questions about library services or suggestions for future programming, please feel free to contact caitlin.clark@pgcmls.info.

🗺️ Nearby Happenings

• 🎈5/30 (Sat) (11-3:30PM): We the People Block Party - Bowie

  • You are invited to the PGC250 We the People Block Party on Saturday, May 30th!  This event is part of a series of events that will celebrate Prince George’s County’s history, arts, culture and more as we commemorate and observe the United States’ Semiquincentennial – the 250th Anniversary of the Signing of the Declaration of Independence.  At the We the People Block Party, you will enjoy performances, live music, film screenings, panel discussions, activities, games, demonstrations, food and drink local to Prince George’s County and the DMV region! Be sure to pick up a PGParks Pastport here!  We hope you will join us for an inclusive observance of the 250th Anniversary that recognizes all Marylanders’ struggle for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness before, during, and after the Revolution. Prince George’s County’s history is American history!

☕ Etc.

Native Berry Galette

Recipe by Marylee Haughwout

• Your favorite sturdy pie crust

• 4 cups of serviceberries & mulberries

• ½ cup sugar

• Juice of 1 lemon

• 1 TBS tapioca granules

1. Pick berries (ideally same day you make the galette)

2. Make crust of your choice

3. While crust is chilling, macerate berries in sugar, lemon juice, and tapioca (30 minutes recommended)

4. Preheat oven 400F

5. Rollout crust onto parchment for either 1 large or 2 smaller rounds and put berries in center, fold over sides to create a free form galette

   1. I usually do 2 smaller galettes rather than 1 large

6. Dot with butter

7. Put in hot oven for 30 minutes or so until crust is golden and crisp. Juices will spill over so put on a cookie sheet with edges.