The National Village Gathering 2023 was held in

The Village to Village Network (www.vtvnetwork.org) is a national organization dedicated to supporting existing villages and encouraging new ones to get started. Several VoK Board members attended the conference.

October

The first part of the gathering was a virtual conference on October 3rd and 4th . Access to these online sessions is available on the VoK website. They cover topics such as Vibrant Villages, Empowering Communities, and Executive Transitions.

An in-person conference, co-hosted with Washington Area Villages Exchange (WAVE) took place at the Silver Spring Civic Center on October 17th . About 250 participants attended, mostly from Villages in the DC area.

Several VoK Board members attended the conference and took part in sessions on a range of topics including technology, volunteering, fundraising, leadership, and community connections. They shared the following information about what they found most interesting at the event.

In-Per

The Opening Session featured a presentation about Blue Zones. Amtul Malik, MD Family Physician, Geriatrician, Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellow George Washington University, spoke about these areas that are considered the healthiest in the world. One of the 5 areas is in Loma Linda, California; the other 4 are in other countries. In these communities, people eat well and exercise as a part of daily life. They foster a culture of well-being. As a result of this lifestyle, the areas’ residents live longer, maintain a healthy weight, are happier and more content than is typical for their age group. Learn more about Blue Zones at https://www.bluezones.com/

A session on Business Sponsorships emphasized the importance of establishing two-way connections with businesses. Instead of just asking for a check, these connections benefit Village members and the business.

For example, one Village teamed with a wine store to offer mid-day tastings. These took place at a time when the store was not busy and the members found it easier to attend without having to go out at night, when tastings are usually held.

Another Village worked with a local business that is part of a large makeup chain. The store provided makeup lessons tailored to meet the needs of older ladies.

The VoK Board will follow up to identify Village programming ideas that could be adapted for our community.

Village Members are Featured in Village Reels an Intergenerational Filmmaking Project

During the spring of 2023, the Villages of Kensington (VoK) participated in Village Reels, an intergenerational filmmaking program from Docs in Progress. VoK members Isabel Langsdorf and Carol Henig were featured in individual documentaries created and produced by teams of Wheaton High School students.

Isabel shared her experience of being born during World War II and being adopted as a child. She shared how members of her family, including her birth mother, were killed in a concentration camp during the Holocaust. Isabel has lived in Kensington for more than 40 years. In her documentary, Isabel shared her story, including visiting Germany as an adult.

Carol discussed her experience as a foster parent of many children. During the 1980s, Carol and her husband Les became involved with the resettlement of Vietnamese refugees and ended up becoming foster parents of a 17-year-old Amerasian girl. More kids followed, some American born, and many with stories of abuse. Racism dominated the children’s narratives. Carol and Les also took in 3 grandchildren. Children have been a major part of their lives, and the growing of food became vital to the physical and emotional health of these kids. Learning to cook the cuisine of every hurting child to welcome them was vital to show that food was real, accessible, and healthy

The short documentaries are amazing. Here is a link to the documentary featuring Isabel: www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLlk2CMLwc8. Here is a link to the documentary featuring Carol: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Og-lwi0AQHU.

The teams from Wheaton included 3-4 students with each team member leading an aspect of the filmmaking process – story and research, production/camera, or editing/post-production. The student teams were assisted by Village Reels Teaching Artist Jolene Carter on behalf of Docs in Progress, and Wheaton High School teacher Kristen Bouve. The Village Reels project by Docs in Progress also included three teams of students from Blair High School that produced documentaries of three members of the Silver Spring Village.

On June 13, 2023, all five documentaries were presented to an audience of nearly 100 at the Silver Spring Civic Building. Here is a link to the complete set of documentaries: www youtube.com/docsinprogress

Docs In Progress is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that seeks to educate, inspire, and transform the way people view their world through documentary film. Everyone has a story to tell. Learn more at www.docsinprogress.org. The Villages of Kensington looks forward to working with Docs in Progress next year to enable more VoK members to share their life experiences. The organization has invited us already to participate in the creation of more short documentaries. Information on that project will be made available as soon as we receive it.

First-Ever Vaccine Clinic

Villages of Kensington (VoK), working in cooperation with neighboring North Bethesda Village, offered our first ever vaccine clinic for members, volunteers, and friends of VoK on Friday, October 6. The clinic was at the Jewish Council for the Aging offices on Parklawn Drive in Rockville. We had 5 volunteers from VoK and more than a few VoK constituents came in to receive Covid and or flu vaccines.

The amazing leaders at North Bethesda Village invited VoK to collaborate with them on the event. It took a few weeks of planning and lots of emails to the VoK community to inform our group about the event. The end result helped North Bethesda Village and VoK provide more than 100 doses of COVID and flu vaccine to more than 80 individuals.

The vaccine clinic was made possible by participation of 3 pharmacists from Giant Pharmacy and the clinic director from Giant who oversaw the vaccine administration. The Jewish Council for the Aging staff provided easily accessible and comfortable space for the event. Organizers and volunteers kept attendees moving smoothly from check-in to the pharmacists to receive the vaccine.

How exciting to see VoK members and volunteers coming together for such an important purpose that was made even better by joining forces with the team from North Bethesda Village.

Village-Sponsored Events: Recent and Upcoming

VoK’s Lunch Arounds are growing in popularity.

On Friday, October 27, 2023, VoK members got together for their most recent luncheon, called a “lunch around.” It was held at Baby Cat Brewery, with 15 attendees, the largest group since the lunches resumed earlier this year. At this luncheon, VoK treated all luncheon guests to a round of drinks.

On September, 13 people met for lunch at Dish and Dram. It was also noteworthy that there were five first-time diners.

Since its rebirth, the lunch group has visited Java Nation, Stella Point, Carlee’s Deli, Knowles Station, Flinn Park for a picnic with sandwiches from the Village Market, and Dish and Dram on two occasions. Thus, the members have sampled a good cross-section of Kensington cuisine. The best part of the lunches for the members, even more than the good food, is the opportunity to sit and talk with so many interesting people. Kensington and its people are full of great stories, and the lunches and other outings provide an excellent opportunity to hear them and also to offer your own. The Village will continue to offer the lunches—typically on the 4th Friday of the month. This schedule will begin in January, 2024.

Social events and activities are also offered by VoK. Recently a group toured the Josiah Henson Museum and Park on Old Georgetown Road. This site is the former plantation property of Isaac Riley where Reverend Josiah Henson was enslaved. Henson’s 1849 autobiography, The Life of Josiah Henson, Formerly a Slave, Now an Inhabitant of Canada inspired Harriet Beecher Stowe’s landmark novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin. The museum and park are part of the National Park Service Underground Railroad Network. Learn more about this site at https://montgomeryparks.org/parks-and-trails/josiah-henson-park/

The following activities are planned for the months ahead:

November 21: Fine Arts in Miniature at Strathmore Mansion, Rockville Pike. (This is a VoK event.) The Miniature Painters, Sculptors, and Gravers Society (MPSGS) sponsors this free exhibition of more than 700 mini masterpieces. Meet at the Mansion at 1 p.m.) Questions? Send a message to president@villagesofkensington.org.

December 9: Cider by the Fire, at the home of Laurie Pross and Jim Blatt , 3607 Littledale Road, Kensington, MD 20895, from 2:30 to 4:30 pm, enjoy light refreshments and the company of fellow VoK members and volunteers. Rsvp to sharon.parver@gmail.com

December 15: Garden of Lights, Brookside Garden, Wheaton Regional Park. Registration for this event is now closed. VoK provided 2 tickets upon request to members interested in seeing this annual event. We’re looking forward to a lovely evening among the twinkling lights.

VoK events are announced through email and on the VoK website. We hope to see you at events in the future. Look on the website for links to other organizations that announce or sponsor events and activities in the DC area.

Important Safety Tips

For walkers: While mailing a package, I met a fellow-Kensingtonian who had added strips of reflective tape to her coat. The tape was her way of staying visible—and safe—when walking at dusk or later This seemed like a great way to be visible to cars. Look for adhesive reflective tape, which is easy to place and remove. It costs less than $10 and is available online and at local hardware stores.