BETHESDA, Md. (April 25, 2012) –The days of sweet suspense for the Bethesda-Silver Spring community will soon be over, as the Bethesda Häagen-Dazs Shop today announced the much-anticipated mural unveiling which will take place from 4-8 p.m. on Tuesday, May 8, 2012, at the local shop located at 7237 Woodmont Ave. in Bethesda, situated on Bethesda Row next to the movie theater.
Celebrating the historical and cultural tradition of the community, the local Häagen-Dazs Shop will host a ribbon cutting ceremony, complete with free ice cream and guests and performances.
“The initial idea for the mural came about when we decided to relocate our Häagen-Dazs Shop to its current location,” said Francine Segal who co-owns the Bethesda location with her husband, Jerry and business partners, Tommy and John Hughes. “Bethesda and the surrounding areas are rich in historical and cultural tradition and we wanted to celebrate the community by creating an artistic 36 by 6 mural map reflecting these notable landmarks.” Representatives from the cultural landmarks depicted in the mural will help celebrate the event with performances, poetry readings, historical anecdotes and music.
Performance artists and speakers at the event include:
4:30 p.m.: A Clara Barton House historian from Echo Park who will speak about the late American Red Cross founder Clara Barton.
5 p.m.: Nancy Grace Roman, first female chief of Astronomy for NASA and one of the inventors of the Hubble Telescope will share her journey as one of the most influential astronomers of the century. Ms. Roman is affectionately called “The Mother of the Hubble”.
5:30 p.m.: Imagination Stage, located in Bethesda, and known as the largest and most respected, multidisciplinary theatre for young people in the region, will perform an excerpt from one of its plays.
6 p.m.: Ceremonial Ribbon Cutting of Art Mural—President of Häagen-Dazs Shops Dawn Uremovich will dedicate the mural. Christian Kanienberg, artist, will discuss his process in creating the mural. Swann Karandikar, Bethesda Häagen-Dazs Shop architect, will speak about creating a space that is indigenous to the community.
6:30 p.m.: Poet Lore, the oldest continuously published poetry magazine in the United States which was established in 1889 in Bethesda, will have poetry read by members of The Writer’s Center.
7 p.m.: Mattie Stepanek, one of Oprah’s favorite guests, N. Y. Times bestseller, and advocate for peace will be represented by Jennifer Stepanek, who will share recordings of Mattie’s “Heartsongs” poetry.
In addition to these performances, Round House Theatre, one of the most acclaimed professional theatre companies in the metropolitan Washington DC area will be participating in the celebration. The Häagen-Dazs Shops will host ticket giveaways from some of the contributing organizations.
The mural was conceived by Francine, theatre artist and educator, who conducted extensive research on the history and arts organizations in Bethesda, Silver Spring and Montgomery County. Francine then commissioned Christian Kanienberg of Wish Painting and Sculpture and collaborated with Swann Karandikar, architect, to create a mural within an inviting environment that would function as a Häagen-Dazs Ice Cream Shop in this unique community. Kanienberg approached the mural as a gallery-ready piece of art, creating a multi-dimensional mural map, which include educational blurbs of each historic location.
In addition to its signature irresistible ice cream creations, the internationally recognized brand offers a unique selection of sorbets, frozen yogurts, frozen beverages and a variety of indulgent frozen desserts including delicious fruit smoothies and Dazzler ice cream treats.
For more information about Bethesda Häagen-Dazs Shop, please call (301) 652-9394 or visit haagendazs.com/shops/. In addition, Francine will be available on-site the day of the event and can be contacted at (504) 723-4604 or email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
About Häagen-Dazs Shops
The first Häagen-Dazs Shop opened in 1976, giving consumers a new outlet for Häagen-Dazs pure, super-premium ice cream. Today the Häagen-Dazs Shop system in the United States is made up of more than 250 Häagen-Dazs Shops, franchised by The Häagen-Dazs Shoppe Company, Inc., which proudly offer top quality indulgent desserts that start with Häagen-Dazs products. For more information, please visit haagendazs.com/shops/, join the company’s fan page at facebook.com/haagendazsshops, follow the brand at twitter.com/haagendazsshops or e -mail .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
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