Westfield Montgomery mall in Bethesda presents its first annual Culture Pop, a three-week celebration of local cultures and artistry opening Friday and running through Oct. 9.
The event features a live-art exhibition curated by No Kings Collective, a local production company, plus installations and performances at the mall located at 7101 Democracy Blvd.
A few years ago, the momentum for Culture Pop was already in full swing following the launch of Culture Fest in 2018 by Westfield Montgomery, which highlighted various cultures around the world, said Zeina Davis, marketing director for Westfield Montgomery.
Davis said Westfield Montgomery wanted to honor and celebrate the growing diversity of its patrons and retailers.
“We are definitely inspired by the Culture Fest of previous years, but we’ve turned it a little bit and we really wanted to just honor the local artistry and cultures of the community we serve here,” she said.
Friday’s opening night will feature the live painting beginning at 5 p.m. of a mural spanning more than 100 feet of Nordstrom Court and into the mall’s Center Court by a group of local artists. On Saturday and Oct. 9, there will be a Montgomery Makers & Mini Makers series, which will be a guided art class.
On Sunday, Beatbox Dads with Max and Root will perform at 10 a.m. Other attractions throughout the coming week include a Musical Petting Zoo with Bach to Rock Bethesda where attendees can try out musical instruments, a screening of French film Breathless, and Kid Fest with Koo Koo Kangaroo and B-Boy/B-Girl Battle, which will feature break dancers from around the world.
For a full list of Culture Pop events and to RSVP for select events, visit the mall’s website.
Although Culture Pop is currently slated to be a large event, Davis said she can see it continuing to grow in the future.
“I think that the sky is the limit. I think this is an opportunity for us to engage with various customers. It’s already such a large event that I think caters to all types of demographics in our area,” she said. “In terms of connecting to the community, it’s just the start and this is such a wonderful introduction for us to reintroduce the facts that we really want to be a community hub for people.”