The Power of Partnerships
Burtonsville Day showcases Strathmore’s commitment to bringing the arts directly to Montgomery County communities
By Barbara Ruben
On September 20, marching bands, floats, and local luminaries will step off from Paint Branch High School in Burtonsville and make their way down Old Columbia Pike to the Marilyn J. Praisner Library and Community Recreation Center. At the Burtonsville Day festival grounds, parade participants will be greeted by dozens of local organizations, businesses, and food trucks. On the performance stage, Strathmore Artist in Residence alum Dante’ Pope will kick off the celebration.
“I don’t know exactly what I’ll perform yet, but as a soul artist and drummer, it’ll be a cross genre performance that speaks to all generations,” says Pope, who has toured with the Americana strings band Old Crow Medicine Show.
Like Pope’s music, which aims to reach a wide-ranging audience, Strathmore’s involvement in Burtonsville Day reflects its mission to provide meaningful arts experiences that enrich individuals and strengthen communities.
Strathmore’s partnership with Burtonsville Day started in 2015, the same year it launched its East County Strings program and Step Up to College program with Paint Branch High School. “One of our values is to be engaged not just on our Music Center campus, but throughout the county,” says Pablo de Oliveira, Strathmore’s education and community engagement manager. “We prioritize being present in East County to co-create quality arts experiences with these communities.”
This philosophy extends beyond traditional arts programming, with Strathmore participating in events like MoCo Green Fest to build connections across all sectors. The strategy reflects meeting people where they are, rather than expecting residents to travel to North Bethesda.
Each year, Strathmore provides the sound system and advises Burtonsville Day organizers on artist selection. This year’s lineup includes Pope and 2013 Artist in Residence alum Deborah Bond, a celebrated singer and voice-over artist.
Since 1991, Burtonsville Day has united East County’s diverse communities, according to festival director Peter Myo Khin. While the event began as a celebration of Burtonsville itself, it has grown to encompass neighboring areas such as Hillandale, White Oak, Briggs Chaney, Colesville, Cloverly, and Spencerville. This year’s theme, Building a Better Community Together, underscores that mission. Attendance has grown to more than 5,000 residents annually, and Khin says Strathmore has been pivotal in helping broaden the festival’s musical offerings. Before partnering with Strathmore, the music selection was one-dimensional, but now festivalgoers enjoy a range of styles—from hip-hop to rock and everything in between.
“We discuss the needs of the community in terms of arts,” de Oliveira explains. “We find artists and formats that serve their needs. At last year’s Burtonsville Day, we also incorporated local dance troupes, so they’re part of the performance and feel special. It’s a collaborative effort that speaks to their tastes but still has a Strathmore flavor to it.”
In addition to impacting the community, Strathmore’s boots-on-the-ground approach also transforms individual lives. De Oliveira recalls connecting a parent of a child with autism at Burtonsville Day to Strathmore’s sensory-friendly programming and free ticket programs. The family now regularly attends performances at the Music Center, gaining access to arts experiences that wouldn’t otherwise be available to them.
For de Oliveira, these types of partnerships succeed because they put a human face on Strathmore for East County residents who might otherwise see it as distant or exclusive. “We are in North Bethesda, a very wealthy region, and the name somehow conveys like we’re in England,” de Oliveira jokes. “But when people get to talk to our staff at these festivals, when they see we have a sense of humor and are community-oriented, it makes a difference. It puts a friendly face to the organization—a connection they may not have otherwise understood to be there.”