Editing Takoma Park, Maryland (section)

==Arts and culture==
[[File:Clock tower in Ward Sinclair Plaza - Takoma Park.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Takoma Park clock at [[Ward Sinclair Plaza]]]]
Takoma Park is known for a variety of cultural events, most notable of which is the Takoma Park Folk Festival, which attracts an audience from across the Mid-Atlantic region.

The Takoma Park Folk Festival is a free annual festival featuring music by local musicians on six stages. Performers range from well-seasoned stage veterans to youngsters on stage for the first time, and the music spans genres from old-time fiddle and bluegrass to acoustic folk-rock to Afro-Latin fusion, and more. The festival also includes  children's activities, a juried crafts show, and community tables where local organizations and politicians reach out to the community. It has been in existence since 1978, founded by Sam Abbott, former mayor of the city and civil-rights activist.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Takoma Park Folk Festival |url=https://www.tpff.org/festival-history |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171028043401/https://www.tpff.org/festival-history |archive-date=October 28, 2017 |access-date=November 1, 2017 |website=tpff |df=mdy-all}}</ref>

Takoma Park is notable for being the home of blues guitarist [[John Fahey (musician)|John Fahey]], who (together with other local music institutions) popularized the city as a haven for folk musicians.  He named his label, [[Takoma Records]], for the city, and many of his songs reference local landmarks. [[Mary Chapin Carpenter]], [[Al Petteway]] (composer of ''[[The National Parks: America's Best Idea|Sligo Creek]]'') and many other prominent local and national artists have made their home in and around Takoma Park. [[Root Boy Slim]] and [[Goldie Hawn]] are from Takoma Park.

Other annual festivals include the mildly [[countercultural]] Takoma Park Street Festival, the Takoma Jazz Fest, the Takoma Park Independent Film Festival, and the Takoma Park Fourth of July Parade, which is attended by residents and neighboring politicians from across the metropolitan region.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Takoma Park Independence Day Parade and Fireworks |url=http://www.takomapark4th.org/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090619060555/http://www.takomapark4th.org/ |archive-date=June 19, 2009 |access-date=July 6, 2009 |website=www.takomapark4th.org |df=mdy-all}}</ref> The parade typically includes ethnic musical troupes representing a wide variety of global cultures, neighborhood performance troupes, and groups supporting causes, such as [[LGBTQ]] and [[fair trade]], reflecting Takoma Park's historic reputation for activism.

Immediately adjacent to the downtown, [[Takoma, Washington, D.C.|Takoma, D.C.]] is home to the A.Salon Building, a large [[art studio]] warehouse and former printing plant, which is home to the backstage office and rehearsal center for the [[Washington Opera]]. Two (currently vacant) freestanding theaters, the Takoma Theater and the Flower Theater, anchor either end of town. Takoma Park is also home to the Dance Exchange (founded by [[Liz Lerman]]) and the Institute of Musical Traditions, a performance society founded by the House of Musical Traditions. Kinetic Artistry, a notable theatre supplier for the Washington area, is also located in Takoma Park. The Takoma Theatre Conservancy is an organization attempting to renovate the 500-seat Takoma Theatre for multiuse purposes.<ref name="gazette">{{Cite web |last=Meno, Mike |date=2008-07-16 |title=Grants offer hope for Takoma Theatre renewal |url=http://www.gazette.net/stories/071608/takonew200357_32368.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522184555/http://www.gazette.net/stories/071608/takonew200357_32368.shtml |archive-date=May 22, 2011 |access-date=September 21, 2010 |website=Maryland Gazette |df=mdy-all}}</ref> The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) awarded a Construction Permit to Historic Takoma Inc (HTI) for Takoma Radio. The hyper-local neighborhood station will be identified on the air as [[WOWD-LP]], 94.3FM, and has plans to debut in mid-2016.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Shay |first=Kevin |title=Takoma group gets permit from FCC for radio station |url=http://www.gazette.net/article/20150323/NEWS/150329814/0/takoma-group-gets-permit-from-fcc-for-radio-station&template=gazette |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20150408202644/http://www.gazette.net/article/20150323/NEWS/150329814/0/takoma-group-gets-permit-from-fcc-for-radio-station&template=gazette |archive-date=April 8, 2015 |access-date=April 8, 2015 |website=Gazette.net |publisher=The Gazette}}</ref>

Takoma Park has been home to a variety of local characters who have contributed to the city's sense of identity and culture, including "Catman" and Motor Cat,<ref>{{Cite web |title=MotownSports Bar and Grill |url=http://www.motownsports.com/forums/motownsports-bar-grill/2165-motorcycle-riding-cat-dies.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100923091438/http://www.motownsports.com/forums/motownsports-bar-grill/2165-motorcycle-riding-cat-dies.html |archive-date=September 23, 2010 |access-date=July 6, 2009 |website=MotownSports.com Message Board |df=mdy-all}}</ref> Roscoe the Rooster,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Takoma Park, MD - Roscoe the Rooster |url=http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/617 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090909182438/http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/617 |archive-date=September 9, 2009 |access-date=July 6, 2009 |website=RoadsideAmerica.com |df=mdy-all}}</ref> The Banjo Man,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-08-18 |title=About the Banjo Man - Frank Cassel |url=http://banjomanfc.com/whoisfc.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130818022242/http://banjomanfc.com/whoisfc.htm |archive-date=2013-08-18}}</ref> and "Fox Man",<ref>{{Cite web |website=PreservationNation |publisher=[[National Trust for Historic Preservation]] |title=My Historic Washington: Takoma |url=http://blogs.nationaltrust.org/preservationnation/?p=2420 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100304224645/http://blogs.nationaltrust.org/preservationnation/?p=2420 |date=January 12, 2009 |archive-date=March 4, 2010 |access-date=April 24, 2024}}{{cbignore}}</ref> a local animal rights activist and founder of the city's Tool Library. Takoma Park also has a year-round farmer's market and two other farmers markets which sell local produce and free range meats.

Several local newspapers have served the community including ''The Voice''<ref name="The Voice">{{cite news |title=The Voice |url=http://tpssvoice.com/|url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140710065711/http://tpssvoice.com/ |archive-date=July 10, 2014 }}</ref> and the satirical ''Takoma Torch.''

===Nearby libraries===
* Takoma Park Maryland Library is one of the few [[municipal]] libraries in suburban Maryland.
* Takoma Park Library, part of the [[District of Columbia Public Library]] system, was the first neighborhood library in Washington, D.C. and a [[List of Carnegie libraries in the United States|Carnegie library]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2009-07-23 |title=Takoma Park Library History |url=http://www.dclibrary.org/node/738 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100928030454/http://dclibrary.org/node/738 |archive-date=September 28, 2010 |access-date=September 21, 2010 |df=mdy-all}}</ref>
* Long Branch Library in [[Silver Spring, Maryland#Libraries|Silver Spring]] is part of the [[Montgomery County, Maryland|Montgomery County]] Public Libraries.

===Institutions===
The Sam Abbott Citizens Center, Takoma Park's former city auditorium, has been refurbished as a community theater and gallery.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2009-12-17 |title=Exhibition Program |url=http://www.takomaparkmd.gov/committees/arthum/exhibition.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121207155638/http://www.takomaparkmd.gov/committees/arthum/exhibition.html |archive-date=2012-12-07}}</ref> The municipal center, which includes the Takoma Park City Hall, Citizens Center and the Takoma Park Maryland Library, was expanded into a [[community center]] from 2003–2007. A gymnasium was requested by the city's youth sports leagues after lobbying from [[Steve Francis]], the NBA basketball player, who grew up in Takoma Park; but funding was not identified.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Community Center Updates |url=http://www.takomaparkmd.gov/communitycenter/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100808022231/http://www.takomaparkmd.gov/communitycenter/index.html |archive-date=August 8, 2010 |access-date=September 21, 2010}}</ref> A small fenced-in basketball court has since been built adjacent to the community center.

In 2010, the Seventh-Day Adventist Church received authorization to relocate the regional Washington Adventist Hospital from the center of town to an outlying area of nearby [[Silver Spring, Maryland]], alongside its international headquarters and the Adventist Book and Health Food Store, which had also been located within city limits. This had followed an effort by county officials to close or relocate the city's fire station, located on the side of a steep hill. Due to resulting controversy, the City Council lobbied to retain the old Hospital facility as a "health campus."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hicks |first=Mitti |date=January 23, 2018 |title=Takoma Park Officials 'Stunned' to Learn Hospital's Plan to Reduce Health Facilities |work=MyMCMedia |url=https://www.mymcmedia.org/takoma-park-officials-stunned-to-learn-hospitals-plan-to-reduce-health-facilities/}}</ref> The hospital had been in operation for over a century, having been founded as the Washington Sanitarium overlooking Sligo Creek in 1907.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2007-06-13 |title=From the Sanitarium to a future beyond the city |url=http://www.gazette.net/stories/061307/takonew211848_32389.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924040447/http://www.gazette.net/stories/061307/takonew211848_32389.shtml |archive-date=September 24, 2015 |access-date=2014-02-04 |publisher=Gazette.net}}</ref> Officials also successfully lobbied to retain a university located on the same campus, which has been renamed [[Washington Adventist University]].

In the 1970s, the city experienced controversy over plans to expand or relocate [[Montgomery College]], which has a campus located in the historic district of North Takoma, an area of large old homes adjacent to [[downtown Silver Spring]]. This debate was subsequently resolved when the County agreed to preserve the existing campus, and expand in the direction of downtown Silver Spring by building a bridge across the B&O railroad tracks. It was renamed the "Takoma Park-Silver Spring Campus," focused on health, nursing and the arts. The expanded campus included a major new arts center located in South Silver Spring, near the boundary between the three jurisdictions.{{Citation needed|date=September 2010}}   After more than 100 years in Takoma Park, a city on the northern edge of Washington DC, Washington Adventist Hospital has relocated to Silver Spring, Maryland and has been renamed Adventist Healthcare White Oak Medical Center.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.adventistworld.org/washington-adventist-hospital-has-a-new-name-and-a-new-home/#:~:text=After%20more%20than%20100%20years%20in%20Takoma%20Park,,been%20renamed%20Adventist%20Healthcare%20White%20Oak%20Medical%20Center.|title = Washington Adventist Hospital Has a New Name and a New Home|date = September 13, 2019}}</ref>

The Takoma Park-Silver Spring Food Co-op is one of the Washington area's largest [[food co-op]]s. The Takoma Park Presbyterian Church has been a bulwark of civic activism throughout its history. The TPPC helped to found [[CASA de Maryland]].

In the late 2000s, regional and national debate occurred over the decision to close [[Walter Reed Army Medical Center]] in Takoma, D.C., and relocate its operations to the [[Bethesda Naval Medical Center]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2010}} Takoma Park Soccer Club is the sponsor of many youth soccer teams in the Takoma Park area; such as the TAPK United, coached by professional Brazilian coach Manilton Santos. A successful team, they have earned the affectionate nickname Tapioca United.{{Citation needed|date=September 2010}}