Silver Spring Arts And Entertainment District Hearing This Week

SILVER SPRING, MD — Two arts and entertainment districts are up for review this year in Montgomery County and hearings will be held this week and next for residents to share their thoughts and hopes for the districts.

"Every 10 years, the State requires a new application be submitted for review to be redesignated as a state Arts and Entertainment District," the county said in a news release. "This year, both Silver Spring and the Bethesda Urban Partnership are submitting applications to continue their work making the arts a viable and exciting part of Montgomery County."

The point of designating a district is to give arts and entertainment enterprises and qualifying resident artists tax and other financial benefits, the county said.

"Prior to the pandemic, Silver Spring would host festivals almost every weekend from April through October," said Elizabeth Gallauresi of the Silver Spring Arts & Entertainment District in an email to Patch. "We don't expect to have quite so many this year, but 2022 is shaping up to be a good outdoor festival and events season in Silver Spring."

Before the pandemic, the Silver Spring district would host around 500 events per year, she said.

"Going through redesignation as we come out of a pandemic means that a lot of our efforts this next year will be geared toward helping the venues, organizations, and businesses attract residents and tourism back into their spaces," Gallauresi continued.

The Silver Spring Arts and Entertainment hearing will be during the Silver Spring Citizens Advisory Board Meeting 7 p.m. on Monday, March 14. During the meeting, district representatives will talk about the offerings in Silver Spring.

"We will also be asking for comments and opinions on what the community is looking for downtown, and what areas of growth they envision for the arts district," said Gallauresi. "I will also be curious to hear if the community members are ready to go into traditional spaces or if they are more likely to attend outdoor programming this year."

The Bethesda Urban Partnership and Bethesda Arts and Entertainment District will talk about the success of their district during the Western Montgomery County Citizens Advisory Committee Meeting at 7 p.m. on Monday, March 21.