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Wednesday, December 3, 2014
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Beyond the Christmas carols Germantown man brings humor to seasonal music
BY
SAMANTHA SCHMIEDER STAFF WRITER
Steven Gellman of Germantown is releasing a new type of holiday CD on Sunday with “Songs of Winter’s Cheer,” a compilation of original and traditional Hanukkah, Christmas and winter-themed songs. “This is the seventh CD that I’ve put out so I’ve been doing this for a while,” Gellman said with a laugh. “I play traditional folk-style acoustic music; songs that tell a story.” Gellman said he loves holiday music and always looks forward to playing it around this time of year. While he always entertained the idea of recording a holiday album, it was never the right time and he stuck to his usual folk roots. “[A holiday CD is] something that I’ve always wanted to do and I’ve been saying it for years, and all the stars aligned. I never thought I would actually do one and then everything started falling into place,” Gellman said. Gellman recorded the album live, playing guitar and singing, at Hill Chapel in New Market, Md., with Doug Poplin on cello and Margaret Wolfe on harmony vocals and percussion. “We brought in recording engineers to record the show and it came out so well we were able to release it,” Gellman said. Gellman said he was inspired by an album by Peter, Paul and Mary called “A Holiday Celebration” released in the late 1980s. “I’ve never seen something quite like that since then. It was a folk album, but it wasn’t just for Christmas or Hanukkuh, there was something there for everybody. You don’t see these records where it’s all encompassing,” Gellman explained. With that idea in mind Gellman, who is Jewish, decided to record some traditional Hanukkah and Christmas songs, but also
County hosting walk on Saturday about $3M project n
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Free workout group forms for multitasking Montgomery County mothers BY
SAMANTHA SCHMIEDER STAFF WRITER
Keeley Barker-Connelly of Germantown and a group of Montgomery County moms meet as frequently as their jobs, children and busy schedules allow in order to work out together as part of a free “No Excuse Moms” workout group inspired by a photo that went viral last year. The photograph depicted Maria Kang, a fit, strong-looking woman, posing in a sports bra with her three young sons under text
On Saturday, residents of the Gunners Lake area in Germantown will have a chance to learn more about a $3 million county dredging project in their neighborhood expected to start in February and last eight months. The project will involve hauling about 30 truckloads of sediment a day to a landfill chosen by the
See LAKE, Page A-9
Condo/HOA bills in pipeline PHOTO BY CONNI LEIGH JAMES
Steven Gellman of Germantown will release his unique holiday album, “Songs of Winter’s Cheer,” on Sunday with a CD release show at Jammin Java in Vienna, Va. wanted to record something a little more unique and original. “It was really hard at first because I knew I wanted to write a holiday tune, but I didn’t know what it was going to be about. I immediately went to all those cliches about snow and the sounds and sights of the season, but it was really difficult to write about these things because it’s been done so much before,” Gellman said. In order to avoid rewriting something that had been written before, Gellman decided to look at things from a different perspective. “I was frustrated. One day I sat down and I thought, ‘It hardly ever snows here on Christmas, it usually just rains,’” Gellman said.
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that read “What’s your excuse?” While some were offended, calling what Kang posted “fat shaming,” Barker-Connelly was inspired. “That’s not was she was saying,” she said. “She wanted to help people who actually want to work out.” Kang used her newfound fame to launch a website that is used to connect moms who have similar goals. Barker-Connelly formed a Montgomery County group mostly made up of Gaithersburg and Germantown women last spring. Though it lost momentum because some of the women in the group became pregnant, it has picked up substantially in the last few months. “There’s a website, noexcuse-
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From that idea, he wrote what he calls a “light-hearted, tonguein-cheek, humorous song” about his experience as a Jewish person living in Maryland on Christmas. According to Gellman, that song, “Jewish Christmas,” has spread by word of mouth and people always ask to hear it when he performs live. Marylanders in particular can relate to his sarcastic remarks on traffic on the Capital Beltway and those who celebrate Hanukkah understand the Christmas day journey for Chinese food and a movie. “I wrote about what Christmas was to me growing up Jewish. I always loved those things about Christmas we didn’t have like a tree and Christmas songs,” Gellman
moms.com, where you can find groups in your local area,” BarkerConnelly said, adding that her workout group also used social media to keep in touch. “We have a Facebook group where everyone can motivate each other, give ideas and talk about when to meet up.” From the Facebook group, which has more than 100 members, some of the moms branched off with women they met through the site with whom they have more in common. There now is a separate walking group and some use the site to find moms with children in a similar age group as their own for play dates during workouts. “I’ve been part of mommy workout groups, but they were expensive,” Barker-Connelly said. Barker-Connelly explained
EMBRACING GREATNESS Middle and high schoolers bring comedy to life.
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VIRGINIA TERHUNE STAFF WRITER
said, explaining that everything about the season got sort of stirred up and put into this song. On Sunday, Gellman will host a record release concert at Jammin Java in Vienna with Poplin and Wolfe joining him, as well as Dan Binstock on piano. Tickets and information can be found on his website, www.hiddenpoet.com. Gellman said that his favorite part about performing live is the spontaneity. He stopped using set lists years ago. “I love that. I love living on the edge. You never know what’s going to happen,” Gellman said. sschmieder@gazette.net
No excuses for this very busy Germantown mom n
Germantown lake due for dredging
Training for new boards discussed in Germantown
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BY
VIRGINIA TERHUNE STAFF WRITER
Two pieces of legislation working their way through the County Council likely will affect more than 1,200 registered condominium and homeowners associations in the county if approved next year. Bill 44-14, sponsored by Democratic at-large members George Leventhal of Takoma Park and Nancy Floreen of Garrett Park, would require the owner of a unit to be within 30 days of paying outstanding condo or HOA fees before renting the unit to a tenant.
See HOA, Page A-9
Group examining schools’ child abuse procedures
that the group meets twice a week in the morning and twice a week at night in order to accommodate the schedules of both working and stay-at-home moms. Their workout consists of muscle strengthening and cardio, often based solely on what equipment can be found in a playground. They meet at a playground so the moms are able to let their children play with one another while they work out on the equipment or on the outskirts. The children that are too young enjoy watching their moms from the comfort of their strollers. “Maria [Kang] gives us some workouts and with my recent interest in fitness, I use magazines.
A Montgomery County Public Schools work group is aiming to improve the district’s regulations and processes around child abuse, including staff training, parent and student awareness, and communication when incidents occur. The group’s goal is “to take a holistic view of this and come back with a more built-out and robust program” around the issue of child abuse, said Andrew Zuckerman, the school system’s chief of staff who is leading the group. One work group member, however — whose
See WORKOUT, Page A-8
See ABUSE, Page A-9
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One member calls work group ‘a complete farce’ n
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LINDSAY A. POWERS STAFF WRITER