Gutsy Montgomery County, their art fair and promoting quality public spaces

Park(ing) Day in San Francisco, 2007. San Francisco Chronicle photo.

Magical Montgomery is the equivalent of Montgomery County's Artscape, an art and crafts fair that also promotes local arts and cultural organizations, and is held in Downtown Silver Spring, on Ellsworth Drive. Here's a gutsy move, promoting the temporary conversion of using public space normally devoted to automobiles for people.

This was pioneered as a "performance art" project of the Re:bar group in San Francisco. I just can't see something this creative being promoted by a government related entity in DC...

From the Public Arts Trust, Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County:

Go green.
Create a PARK(ing) spot at Magical Montgomery!

To celebrate Park(ing) Day 2009, the Public Arts Trust would like to invite individuals, groups and organizations to create temporary "parks" in parking spots on Ellsworth Drive during Magical Montgomery Festival on September 26, 2009.

What can happen in a Park(ing) spot? You name it -- it has probably been done: sculpture park, a poetry reading, a finger-painting studio, a public back porch, a DIY lemonade stand, a lawn bowling course, a public beach, a worm composting demo, a public kiddle pool -- let your imagination run wild! The rules are that it all has to fit within a parking space and be open and free to the public!

AHCMC will have space for 3-4 Park(ing) spots alongside the booths on Ellsworth Drive. Funds are available to help with the cost of materials based upon the proposed parks.

Please visit Public Arts Trust or contact Susie Leong for more details.

And Park(ing) Day 2009 website for more information on the general event.