Social Dancing in the Washington Metro Region

One of the advantages of living halfway between Baltimore and Washington, DC is the wealth of things to do, some of them fairly unique to the area. 

You might be surprised to learn that the Washington, DC Metro region has one of the largest social dancing communities in the country, with a particularly strong presence in various types of swing.

Maryland's Gregory Scott (a WCS and Country champion) at Swing Fling

DC is often regarded as the birthplace of a style of swing dance known as Hand Dance, but today there are also very active communities in West Coast Swing (WCS), Lindy Hop, Ballroom, Salsa, Country Line & Couples Dancing, and Hip Hop as well as some smaller niches such as Hustle (and even Scandinavian Folk Dancing!).

Here's a sampling of some local dance communities:

• West Coast Swing (WCS)
• Lindy Hop
• Country Line & Couples

Notes: Emerson HOA Meeting 2/17/15

Summary of the Emerson HOA meeting which was rescheduled from January 2015:

1. Board selects its 2015 Emerson HOA Officers
2. Town Halls to engage residents on issues and initiatives - perhaps as early as April
3. Activities
1. Children's events went well but want to have activities for older children and adults
2. Picnic planning beginning, to include interactive events for residents
4. Clubhouse Renovation
5. Security
6. Architectural Covenants
7. Finances
8. Miscellaneous
1. Parking
2. Tennis Courts
3. Playground Replacement
4. Stormwater Pond Management
5. Pool Contract

Details:

Snow Emergency Declared in Howard County

(Update 7 AM: It appears the snow was on the low side of predictions in our neighborhood, closer to 2 inches, but trash collection has been cancelled and it remains very cold at 15 degrees.)

Right now it appears that forecasts for the most significant snow of this season (as much as 5 inches, depending on the forecaster) may be accurate. A list of closings will be updated here:

• Howard County Public Schools are closed for Tuesday, 2/16. All evening activities are cancelled.
• Howard County Libraries are closed Tuesday. Most County offices will open late at 10 AM.

Autumn Walk Winter Pruning

While you were sleeping (or at work) on Thursday, one of the Autumn Walk landscaping services was performed for you.

The winter pruning of the common area shrubs and rose bushes was performed by our landscaping contractor...and, because we all elected to participate in the extension of the contract to our own homes:

Local History: Freestate Raceway

Has it ever occurred to you to wonder why Lincoln Center, the shopping center off Gorman Road and Freestate Drive where Weis Supermarket stands today, displays cutouts of a jockey in a harness racing cart (called a "sulky")?

Why Is Emerson Using VOLO Village?

(Update 2/26/15: Emerson has clarified that your email information is not automatically transferred into your VOLO Village account, and they are requesting your help.

Please log into your account so they can get rid of the old mailing list. It will make it much easier for the management team to keep you informed and you will also have the option to get real-time alerts about emergency situations, such as gas leaks.)

Please contact CMC Management in the Emerson Clubhouse if you have lost your login information (sfelder at cmc-management dot com).

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You should have recently gotten a letter from Emerson HOA with login information for VOLO Village. To clarify the purpose of this service:

• VOLO Village allows Emerson to quickly and efficiently send out emails, text messages, and phone calls to everyone in the community
• You only need to log in to choose which types of messages you want, and update your contact information. It's not a portal you need to log into frequently.

It's just a fast means for Emerson to pass information to you, especially emergency notifications (e.g., tornado warnings) which you can also choose to receive through the automatic Thundercall service.

We suggest you do the following:

Of Foodies and Food Trucks

Not so many years ago, this area's cuisine could be better described as "hearty" and "good value" than gourmet, but in recent years we've seen the arrival of some excellent restaurants as well as a burgeoning food truck scene.

(Though if you still want crab cakes with huge mounds of crab meat, we still have those in this area too!)

Bistro Lunch Box offers blackened crab cakes, spicy Sriracha lamb
sandwiches, ahi tuna fruit wraps, and cheese fondue fries

Food Trucks
Los Angeles (or as we "hipsters" would say, "L.A.") is generally credited with starting the national food truck trend, serving very good, distinctive and sometimes unusual food out of the window of a large mobile kitchen (often without a corresponding brick-and-mortar restaurant).