Around the Town: March 2026

June 3, 2026

Around The ‘Town: March 11 – News in the Corridor

Spring Starts in Tenleytown!

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A note from Tenleytown Main Street’s Executive Director

As we begin to welcome warmer springlike weather, there are many happenings throughout the Tenleytown area to enjoy! Please join your friends and neighbors in our community at these upcoming events. From celebrating the cherry blossoms as part of the National Cherry Blossom Festival, to enjoying menu specials at neighborhood restaurants, there are lots of ways to get out support our local businesses. We look forward to seeing you there!

Spring Events in Tenleytown

This year our community will be getting in on all the spring action as a part of the National Cherry Blossom Festival!

On March 20, The Tile Shop will host a kick-off event from 7-8 pm with live performances from American University student ensembles. The event will also mark the beginning of a community-wide, virtual scavenger hunt featuring spots around Tenleytown which will run for two weeks, until April 3. The hunt will be run through the platform EventZee and registration will open at the kick-off event on March 20. Be sure to join us for this special night and keep an eye out for announcements regarding Tenleytown’s Cherry Blossom Hunt!

View Website Here

New Spring Menu @ Le Chat Noir

“Menu de Pâques”

With the arrival of March comes the return of Le Chat Noir’s special “menu de pâques.” Easter brunch or dinner will also be offered to diners with menus coming soon!

April 5: St. Ann’s Church will host its “Easter Egg Hunt for Kids” on Easter Sunday after 11 am mass, from 12:15-1 pm. Children ages 5 and under are asked to join on the Yuma Street side of the church, while children 6 to 9 will be on the playground side. This is also an amazing volunteer opportunity! St. Ann’s encourages people to come help hide eggs for the hunt at 10:15 am. They are looking for an Easter Bunny volunteer!

Read more here

Celebrating Women’s History Month

March is Women’s History Month and we’re highlighting female-owned businesses in Tenleytown. Our first feature is Balloon Zoom!

Balloon Zoom is a woman-owned Tenleytown local business, owned and operated by Fataima Ahmad. Balloon Zoom caters to clients across the DMV area including a mix of universities, other businesses, as well as group and private events. You may have seen Balloon Zoom’s creation’s at events for the University of Maryland’s football team and the Washington Wizards!

With each client, Ahmad likes to meet one-on-one to look at the space and the vision for the event. She then helps the client decide what they need to make the event come alive. Every order is custom and Ahmad sees to each part of the process herself from inflation, assembly, transportation and installment.

Read full story on our website!

Upcoming Events

March 11: Quarterly Community Liaison Meeting @ American University (6 pm)

March 12: ANC 3E will hold its March virtual meeting Thursday at 7:30 pm. ANC meetings are open to all community members. A tentative agenda is available prior to the meeting. Registration is required and is available online.

March 12: Trivia Night at Guapo’s (7:30-9:30 pm)

March 14: “MidnightRose: A Reading Series of Poetry and Prose” @ Tenley-Friendship Library (1-3 pm) Register Here

March 18: Friendship Place Friends & Neighbors Breakfast (8-9:30 am) Register Here

March 19: Tenley Movie Night @ Tenley-Friendship Library (4 pm) Register Here

March 19: “Listening at the Center: Redefining Political Trust and Civic Culture with Young America” with Sine Institute Fellow Kristen Soltis Anderson (4 pm) Register Here

March 22: St. Ann’s Concert Series: “Around the World with Six Cellos and a Pianist” (3-5 pm) Register Here

March 25: DC Environmental Film Festival Impact Preview Event: “The Way of the Whale” @ American University – Center for Environmental Filmmaking (6:30 pm) Register Here

March 26: Visiting Artists Series: Tania Alverez @ American University (6-7 pm) Register Here

March 26-28: “The Two ‘Gentlemen’ of Verona” @ The Greenberg Theatre (8 pm on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday + additional 2 pm show Saturday) Register Here

April 1: OLLI Concert Series: Rituals @ Katzen Arts Center, American University (4 pm) Register Here

Lunch Special @ Shinwa Izakaya

Everyday from 11 am to 3 pm Shinwa Izakaya is offering their lunch special which includes two rolls for $15.95 or three rolls for $20.95. Be sure to stop by this month and check it out!

View Menu Here

Tenleytown in History

The historic figure behind the name: Alice Deal

Alice Deal Middle School is well known as our neighborhood public school for grades 6-8. But not everyone knows who Alice Deal was and how our neighborhood middle school came to be named in her honor.

Alice Deal (1877-1928) was the first female school principal in Washington, DC. After attending the Women’s College of Baltimore (now known as Goucher College), she began her teaching career in DC at McKinley Manual Training School. In 1920, she moved to Columbia Junior High School, where she served as the school’s principal – making history in DC as the first female school principal in the city.

Throughout her life, Deal was a strong advocate for teachers and progressive changes to the public school system. She served as head of the teachers’ union, fundraised for and organized the first summer school program in the area, and pushed for changes to the structure of public schooling in DC that carved out middle school as a separate junior high experience. At the time, public schooling generally comprised eight years of primary school and four years of high school. As a result of Deal’s advocacy, DC schools changed their approach to six years of elementary school, three years of junior high school, and three years of senior high school.

After her death in 1928, the Alice Deal Memorial Association was created and the new junior high school constructed in Tenleytown – then known as Reno Junior High School – was renamed in 1932 as the Alice Deal Junior High School.

As we look ahead, we welcome your contributions to help us continue supporting Tenleytown and its small businesses. Please consider donating to Tenleytown Main Street to help maintain this thriving community!