When officials at Rewild considered hosting an annual party, they thought of the Wild West.
The local boutique houseplant chain opened its first shop in 2018 and has grown to locations across the Capital Region, including Cabin John. Its central warehouse sits in Hyattsville (5500 Lafayette Place). After years of consumer demand, it has accumulated an abundance of succulents and cacti.
“It seemed like a fun idea to do a desert fair,” said Joe Ressler, CEO of Rewild. “It’s fun to buy a trunkful of cacti and succulents from the West Coast.”
While what’s on offer and the name, Rewild West, remain, Ressler and his team have put aside some of the more evocative frontier vibes, such as live emus and bull riding. This year’s edition, which will go on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m., will focus on the community it has built around Hyattsville.
Material Things Studio will have ceramic planters for sale. Shady Lane Records is slinging vinyl. Manifest Bread will have sandwiches and treats on offer. “We’re big consumers of Manifest at the Rewild warehouse,” Ressler, a Bethesda resident and North Potomac native, told The Banner.
Competition for plants can get testy. But Ressler, 38, perhaps taking cues from Eastern traditions, wants people to keep an open mind.
“We’re just in the plant business; it’s very chill,” Ressler said. “If the plant they want is sold out, or it sold before they came, life will go on. There will be more plants. Plants at the end of the day are subject to entropy.
“This whole area that we live in seems so stressful the past year or two years. It’s nice to just be the rose in the desert.”
Here are other events happening around the region.
From a porch to the stage
Friday, 8 p.m.
One of the region’s most vibrant stages in recent years has been a porch. Rapper Noochie has hosted artists from across the region, such as Backyard Band, and beyond — including recent performances from Snoop Dogg and Jill Scott — to perform in front of his family’s D.C.-area home.
He beams it all online for tens of thousands of viewers, but he’ll put on a more traditional show at the Theater at MGM National Harbor that will include special guests. Tickets start at $53.
Gaithersburg Book Festival
Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Bohrer Park hosts the city’s annual all-day celebration of books. Authors will give talks and sign books alongside writing workshops, a food court of local vendors and other festivities.
Admission and parking are free.
Preakness watch parties
Saturday, 2 p.m.
Maryland’s beloved Preakness Stakes lands in Laurel Park this year because of renovations at Baltimore’s Pimlico Race Course. Venues in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties will host fans who can’t make it to the track.
Pike & Rose shopping center in North Bethesda will put on a bar crawl starting at 2 p.m. including a horse stick race and shot glass necklace. Upper Marlboro’s Free State Distillery is asking attendees to dress in “Preakness chic,” and a $20 ticket gets you admission and a black-eyed Susan cocktail/mocktail.
Clarksburg park reopens
Saturday, 2-4 p.m.
Montgomery Parks will cut the ribbon on the refreshed Ovid Hazen Wells Recreational Park. Officials have been working since summer 2024 to build a new carousel, skate park and playground, among other amenities.
Admission is free.
Voices of the past
Saturday, 4-5 p.m.
Laurel’s Montpelier Arts Center will showcase an overlooked subject of America’s colonial history: the music of enslaved Africans. Musicians from the Coalition for African Americans in the Performing Arts will play period instruments and folk songs.
Admission is free.
Bowie farmers market
Sunday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
If you’re itching to get more locally produced goods in your home, the annual farmers market begins Sunday at Bowie High School. Items available include coffee, handmade soaps and plenty of produce.
Admission is free, and the market runs through October.
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