Please join us this Saturday for fun and exploration practically in our backyard!  The Northwest Branch of the Anacostia River has a rich human history, and the African-American legacy is particularly poignant. Between the African-American museums upstream in historic Sandy Spring and downstream in North Brentwood, and the home of Frederick Douglass overlooking the river’s mainstem, there’s much to learn and see within just miles of your neighborhood.

WHEN:  Saturday, March 17, noon

WHERE:  Woodlawn Manor Cultural Park, Norwood and Ednor Roads.

From Woodlawn we’ll hike along the Underground Railroad Trail – an easy loop trail that is under an hour.  We’ll view the actual Sandy Spring, one of the NWB’s points of origin, and check out conservation landscaping near the Friends Meeting House. For lunch, you can bring your own or eat at nearby Urban Barbeque or Passion Bakery Café before we drive up the road to the Sandy Spring Slave Museum and African Art Gallery, tour this unique local facility, and end the afternoon with a lively Steel Drum performance.

Later in the summer, date yet to be determined, we’ll organize a trip to the Prince Georges African-American Museum and Cultural Center in North Brentwood, within walking distance of the confluence of the Northwest and Northeast Branches.

And, for those who’d like the complete experience, 2018 is both the “Year of the Anacostia” and the bicentennial anniversary of Frederick Douglass’s birth. So there’s no better time to drive further downstream and visit the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site at his home, Cedar Hill, overlooking the Anacostia River.