FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

GERMANTOWN, MD (May 2, 2019) – Due to the high probability of rain in the forecast, BlackRock Center for the Arts has preemptively decided to move its free, inaugural BlackRock SpringFest indoors on Sunday, May 5.

All elements of the event will remain the same as originally planned, but moved inside BlackRock’s building at 12901 Town Commons Dr., in Germantown Town Center. SpringFest will be celebrated from 2-6 p.m., and all of the performances will proceed as scheduled in what promises to be a fun-filled afternoon with traditional music, dance and more featuring local musicians and entertainers, craft vendors, food trucks, and 100 performers from Washington Revels. BlackRock SpringFest is presented by the FirstEnergy Foundation.

The highlight of SpringFest will be May Revels, Washington Revels’ long-running family-friendly performance that revives old spring traditions from the United Kingdom. Festival-goers can look forward to a boisterous, colorful parade and the crowning of two “Monarchs of the May” to preside over the spring frivolity, including traditional music, dances, and a silly “Mummers’ Play” filled with slapstick humor and bad puns galore! As with all Washington Revels activities, May Revels will include several opportunities for audience participation. Attendees will be invited to sing along on the timeless spring song “Wild Mountain Thyme” and to try their hand at reciting all the rapid-fire lyrics to the musical memory challenge “Rattlin’ Bog.” After the performance, children from the audience can join the Revels cast in a Maypole dance.

BlackRock will be giving away three $100 gift certificates during the event, which are valid for performances, classes, camps and rentals at BlackRock. Two of these are only available to attendees that RSVP online before the event, which can be done at the SpringFest website: https://www.blackrockcenter.org/special-events/2019-blackrock-springfest/ Winners must be present to claim their prize, and guests can enter to win other drawings at BlackRock’s information table.

As an added bonus to the event being moved indoors, BlackRock’s acclaimed Kay Gallery will be open to the public, which currently features an exhibition by artist Dottie Campbell, titled “Amped Up: Movement Abstraction in the Photographic Medium.” It features colorful, large-scale prints of abstract photography, created with a moving-camera technique.

Washington Revels’ appearance at BlackRock SpringFest is the culminating event of the Germantown performing arts center’s inaugural Spring festival, which features performances by BlackRock Creative Consortium partners Kuchipudi Dance Academy, celebrating in dance the colorful ancient disciplines of a traditional Indian art form and Story Tapestries, weaving the power of dance, storytelling, theatre, and music together. Other local performers include Culkin School of Dance, whose spirited step-dance performances preserve Irish traditional music and culture, and The Maryland MacMillan United Pipe Bands bringing the bagpiping at its finest.

PRESS CONTACT: Bobby Bartlett | 240-912-1064 | bobby@blackrockcenter.org