Social Activities and Shared Interest Groups - Bethesda Metro Area Village

HomeSocial Activities

Full calendar of Social, Cultural and Educational events

     Our social program includes access to a full calendar of events for members, including lunches, coffees and happy hours at local restaurants or members’ homes (or by Zoom), outings to museums and theaters, classes, a guest speaker series, and more.

    Examples of the many events members have enjoyed are: guided tours of area museums, complimentary outings to Hillwood Estate, Phillips Museum, and Glenstone, architectural and garden walking tours, virtual docent tours and educational talks, and Tech Tutors sessions with high school students.

     BMAV also sponsors workshops and speakers with Connie Morella Bethesda Library or at other locations in the neighborhood that are often open to the public - from talks on books, history, and current events, to technology, filmmaking, and cultural interests.

Shared Interest Groups

Bethesda Metro Area Villagers lead interesting lives and have varied interests, reflected in the interest groups they’ve started! All our members are encouraged to start up groups based on their interest, with help from village leadership. The groups offer opportunities to get to know other village members and form new friendships. BMAV members are encouraged to attend as many special interest group events as they’d like.

If you are interested in checking out an interest group meet-up before deciding to join the village, please contact us.

Aging Well discussion group

The Aging Well discussion group's goal is to make the most of life as we grow older and to live life to the fullest. We have fun meetings each month on Sunday evenings with engaging speakers on topics like: decluttering, keeping fit, advance directives, and hospice care. We are learning together how to age gracefully and die well. Please join us at a future meeting!

Arts

This group has put together many outings to area museums for tours, including Glenstone, American University Katzen, the National Gallery, SAAM and GWU's Textile Museum. Members who are interested in meeting up to visit galleries or museums, or take a class or paint together, are encouraged to let us know.

Armchair Travelers

Travel virtually with friends! Hosts share photos from interesting trips via Zoom each month. So far we have "traveled" to Mongolia, Israel, Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, Rwanda, Lebanon, Sweden, and South Korea, among others.

If YOU have photos from an interesting trip you'd like to share, let us know!

Book Clubs

BMAV hosts two book clubs. One has a traditional format where members select a fiction or non-fiction book to read each month, then meet to discuss informally and socialize. Our second book club meets via Zoom once a month to discuss their current book recommendations or chat with authors. You can join either or both!

The Biking group has enjoyed rides on the Capital Crescent Trail, Anacostia Trail, Rock Creek Trail, and the C&O Canal. The length and location of the rides depend on the level of the riders. Some of the more experienced members are a great resource in planning our fun bike routes in the DMV area. Each ride has a leader and a sweep who makes sure no one is left behind. If you don't own a bike but want to join us on a ride, bikes can be rented at Griffin Cycle and for those rides where we leave from non-local locations we can carpool.

Bridge

This group meets for relaxed, non-competitive afternoon games whenever there is a foursome that wants to play – with multiple options each week. We meet on most weekdays for friendly, social bridge games - sometimes in person and sometimes on the computer.

Bird walks

Bird identification, by plumage, behavior, and song, can be a challenge. Improve your ID skills and understanding of the natural world with a local birding expert and photographer, as he leads occasional bird walks both in the Edgemoor neighborhood of Bethesda and in nearby parks and natural areas. Beginners welcome.

Dining Out Together

Once a month BMAV members pick a local restaurant and descend en masse – partly for a fun meal out, partly to sample new places (or new choices from old places!), and partly to get to know each other better. We start early to go easy on the restaurant and get a little extra attention, and provide name tags to help.

Film Fans

This group shares by email names of recommended films, attends films together and holds monthly meetups to review films together. At our meetups we get to know each other and discuss, debate, and critique two movies of the month which members have selected. The theme varies month by month. Ten to twelve film fan regulars don’t hold back providing their assessments of the reviewed movies, both positive and less positive. All are welcome!

Gardening

This group meets to share gardening tips and go on garden tours. We have learned about all kinds of gardens - from vegetable to flowering to how to create gardens for the bees, as well as shared many resources via an email list which keeps us connected even in the winter.

Hardy Hikers

Once a month on a weekday morning we carpool to a state park or someplace similar that's within a half hour or so to hike for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. The hikes have been easy to moderate and quite beautiful. No one is in a rush and conversation flows. We would love to have you join us.

Knitting, Needlework and Friends

At our bi-monthly get-togethers, in one of our member's homes or by Zoom, we chat, provide help with each others projects, and share ideas for future projects. We all look forward to our fun and relaxing sessions and welcome you to join us with any knitting or needlework projects you might enjoy. No experience is necessary as we have several very experienced knitters that are happy to provide guidance. Each winter some of our knitters make items to be donated to charitable organizations.

Ladies Lunch Out

LLO, which has grown from just a few at the first outing in 2018 to more than 20, meets at Bethesda restaurants or member's homes each month for free-form social interaction: catching up with current friends and meeting and learning more about members they don’t know well.

Mahjong
Beginners and experienced players meet up regularly to play this popular game in each other's homes.

Men’s Lunch Out

MLO meets twice a month - alternating at local restaurants in Bethesda and on Zoom - for fellowship and good food. The first half of the lunch is a free-for-all in which the men discuss whatever comes to mind. The second half focuses on a specific topic, like the implications of elections, the history of Gold, the sharing of travel experiences, and what we are doing to stay busy.

Walkie-Talkies

Every Tuesday morning - barring rain, snow or temperatures over 85 degrees, we walk-and-talk on a leisurely 30-45-minute circuit in area neighborhoods. Get to know your neighbors in this delightful group.

Wine Tasting

Our wine tasting SIG meets monthly in members' homes to explore various types of wine and share expertise. A nominal donation each month offsets the cost of the wine. We welcome everyone with an interest in helping to select wines and getting together to socialize.