Coming of Age in Maryland

CoA Programs (Coming of Age in Maryland) offers monthly activities, excursions, and special events to members aged 60 and over. Activities include theatre and museum trips, lectures, concerts, and annual signature events such as the health and wellness expo and a New York City overnight trip.Opportunities abound for socializing, learning and entertainment. We hope you’ll join us to make friends and enjoy new experiences, including:

  • Free CoA membership
  • Monthly Cinema J Film Screenings at both the JCC and Leisure World
  • “Food ‘n’ Fun” meals and games at local restaurants
  • Social work support from our partner, JSSA
  • Financial assistance for Bender JCCGW memberships for qualifying individuals
  • Transportation provided for excursions

Programs for Active Adults Around Town | November, 2023 – January, 2024

For more information, contact Frieda Enoch at 301.348.3809 or fenoch@benderjccgw.org.Also visit our Arts & Culture section for author discussions, gallery exhibits, and concerts sponsored by the Bender JCC.

Upcoming Coming of Age sponsored events

Call for Art Submissions! A Lifetime of Perspective: Art by Older Adults Tuesday, March 19th -
CoA Excursion: 2-Day Fun & Fabulous Overnight Trip to NYC! Wednesday, March 27th -
CoA Coffeehouse: Bacharach & Broadway Thursday, April 11th - 7:00 - 8:30 PM
Cinema J: One Life Tuesday, May 7th - 7:00 PM
Yom Ha’Shoah Concert: We Remember Thursday, May 9th - 2:00 PM
Cinema J: Remembering Gene Wilder Tuesday, May 21st - 1:30 PM & 7:00 PM
13th Annual Health & Wellness Expo at Leisure World Thursday, June 6th - 10:00 - 2:00 PM
I Scream, You Scream…ICE CREAM SOCIAL! Monday, June 10th - 1:30 - 3:00 PM
Coffeehouse Thursday, June 20th - 7:30 PM

Submissions accepted through April 12, 2024.
The exhibit will be held May 5 – 22, 2024

Space is limited!
Please contact Kandy Hutman at 301.348.3849 to make an appointment to have a piece selected for the show.

Artists 65 or better may submit recent work in the following media:

  • Painting
  • Wood-Working
  • Print
  • Glass
  • Drawing
  • Metal
  • Photography
  • Fabric Art
  • Sculpture
  • Fine Craft
  • Jewelry

“Oh, the places you’ll go…”

Wednesday – Thursday | March 27-28, 2024
$1,195/pp Double Occupancy; Add-On: $100 for Single Occupancy Room

Join your Coming of Age crew for a 2-day fun and fabulous trip to New York City! Highlights include:

  • Broadway’s The Neil Diamond Musical: A Beautiful Noise
  • Dinner Cruise
  • Museum of the City of New York – private docent-led tour
  • Overnight stay at the Intercontinental Times Square
  • Surprise bonus tour
  • All meals included (boxed lunch, dinner, breakfast, lunch, and snacks)

Choose from two pick-up locations:

  • 8:00 AM | Bender JCC
  • 8:30 AM | Leisure World

Registration opens December 28, 2023. Limited space available – don’t wait! 

*Please note that the itinerary is subject to change.
**Please be aware that there will be walking involved – wear comfortable shoes!
QUESTIONS? Please contact Frieda Enoch or Lindsay Frankel at fenoch@benderjccgw.org, or call 301-348-3832.

CoA Coffeehouse: Bacharach & Broadway

Thursday, April 11th
7:00 - 8:30 PM

Purchase Tickets
$32 | Bender JCC

The food. The ambience. The camaraderie. The MUSIC!

The Steve Washington Quartet presents music inspired by Burt Bacharach and his influence on Broadway. Popular music is forever changed by the impact of composer, arranger, and conductor Burt Bacharach and his songwriting partner and lyricist Hal David. In this intimate salute we will enjoy tunes by the iconic duo as well as music from beloved Broadway shows, such as South Pacific and Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along.

But first, let’s eat:

Heavy hors d’oeuvres, desserts, and wine precede the concert.


Who is Steve Washington? 

Steve Washington has been performing for more than 40 years with humble beginnings in Princeton University singing groups and theatrical productions. After Princeton, Steve performed professionally in local and regional theatre. A highlight was working under the direction of world-renowned producer Cameron Mackintosh himself in a production of “Hey, Mr. Producer.” Shifting focus to music, Steve began cultivating a jazz-infused body of work including standards, big band, R&B, funk, Latin & Brazilian presenting at the area’s most popular venues including Blues Alley, the Atlas Theater, the Carlyle Club, Mr. Henry’s, the Katzen Arts Center, AJACs, etc. In the last 15 years or so, Steve sharpened his focus on jazz & big band, and in late 2015 released “Right to Love” featuring the Thad Wilson Jazz Orchestra which still enjoys international airplay and attention. A full-house CD Release at the famed Metropolitan Room in NYC followed and resulted in an invitation to perform quarterly the following year. In 2018, appearances beyond the DMV included a couple of month-long tours in Russia which resulted in “SkyLark,” a 2018 CD recorded in Moscow with the Sergey Vasiliev Trio.

In 2020, Steve performed three live-stream concerts courtesy of Blue House Studio’s “Covid Sessions” series. More recently, Steve was invited to perform at the 2023 Wilmington NC Jazz Festival as the opening artist, and the following week Steve joined the Thad Wilson Jazz Orchestra at the Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival in Rockville, MD, as featured vocalist. Steve recently appeared at the Barns at Wolf Trap, the Birchmere Music Hall, and Hamilton Live as one of the featured lead vocalists with Newmyer Flyer productions in concerts paying tribute to the music of Burt Bacharach and Hal David and DC’s legendary Cellar Door. With four-plus decades of entertaining behind him, Steve Washington is perhaps busier than ever and continues to share his music with audiences throughout the DMV and beyond. Steve looks forward to more adventures in music and entertainment.


For more information, call or email:
301.348.3832 | fenoch@benderjccgw.org

Cinema J: One Life

Tuesday, May 7th
7:00 PM

Purchase Tickets

English | Docudrama | UK, 2023 | 110 minutes

$12

Screening at the Bender JCC Kreeger Theater
6125 Montrose Road, Rockville, MD 20852

In commemoration of Yom HaShoa, Cinema J will be screening ‘One Life’ starring Sir Anthony Hopkins and Helena Bonham Carter.

The true story of Sir Nicholas ‘Nicky’ Winton, a young London broker who rescued 669 predominantly Jewish children from the Nazis. Nicky visited Prague in December 1938 and found families who had fled the rise of the Nazis in Germany and Austria, living in desperate conditions with little or no shelter and food, and under threat of Nazi invasion. He immediately realized it was a race against time. How many children could he and the team rescue before the borders closed? Fifty years later, it’s 1988 and Nicky lives haunted by the fate of the children he wasn’t able to bring to safety in England; always blaming himself for not doing more. It’s not until a live BBC television show, ‘That’s Life’, surprises him by introducing him to some surviving children – now adults – that he finally begins to come to terms with the guilt and grief he had carried for five decades. With riveting performances by the extraordinary Sir Anthony Hopkins, Helena Bonham Carter and Johnny Flynn, ‘One Life’ is an enthralling movie that tugs at the heart-strings.

Questions? Contact Frieda or Lindsay at 301-348-3832, or email fenoch@benderjccgw.org.

All Bender JCC programs are open to everyone. Contact Kate Falls, Director of Inclusion, at
kfalls@benderjccgw.org or 301.348.3767 to discuss support and accommodations.

Iris Piano Trio

Thursday, May 9 | 2:00 PM | $15
Leisure World Clubhouse I Ballroom, 3700 Rossmoor Blvd., Silver Spring, MD 20906

Join the Iris Piano Trio and Yiddish vocalist Frieda Enoch for an afternoon of music in commemoration of Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day). The musicians present beautiful music that showcases the power of the human spirit despite the darkest of days. Against all odds, faith, hope and music have always strengthened and uplifted us!

Iris Piano Trio:
The Iris Piano Trio, composed of pianist Jiyoung Oh, violinist Joanna Owen and cellist Lauren Latessa, is the core ensemble of Iris Music Project, representing the organization on stages across the Mid-Atlantic. As individuals, they are talented musicians, holding advanced degrees from Indiana University, Eastman School of Music and Northwestern University. They perform at the Bender JCC, the Charles E. Smith Life Communities, as well as at other venues, bringing joy to the community with their music.

Frieda Enoch:
Frieda Enoch is the Director of Bender JCC’s Coming of Age (COA) – Adult Engagement Program. Both of Frieda’s parents were survivors of the Holocaust and Yiddish was the primary language spoken at home when she was growing up. She sings today in honor of her parents’ legacy. She is on a mission to keep this beautiful language and musical tradition alive!

Questions? Contact Frieda or Lindsay at 301.348-3832, or email fenoch@benderjccgw.org.

All Bender JCC programs are open to everyone. Contact Kate Falls, Director of Inclusion, at kfalls@benderjccgw.org or 301.348.3767 to discuss support and accommodations.

Cinema J: Remembering Gene Wilder

Tuesday, May 21st
1:30 PM & 7:00 PM

Purchase Tickets
English | Documentary | USA, 2023 | 92 minutes

Few comedic actors have left a more indelible mark on our culture than Gene Wilder, whose performances in such classics as The Producers, Young Frankenstein, and Silver Streak made him one of the most beloved stars of his era.

This enrapturing and heartfelt documentary takes a close look at the life and career of this American original, from his Jewish upbringing in Milwaukee, to his early stage work, to his breakthrough collaborations with Mel Brooks and Richard Pryor, to his marriage to Gilda Radner and beyond. Using a variety of touching and hilarious clips and outtakes; never-before-seen home movies; narration from Wilder’s audiobook memoir; and interviews from a roster of brilliant collaborators including Mel Brooks, Alan Alda, Carol Kane, Harry Connick Jr., Rain Pryor, Karen Wilder (Gene’s wife), and Peter Ostrum, who portrayed Charlie in one of Gene’s most memorable roles, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Ron Frank’s film shines a light on an essential performer, writer, director, and all-around mensch.


Choose from two Screenings:

Cinema J @ Leisure World
Tuesday, May 21, 2024 | 1:30 PM | $10
Clubhouse II, 3300 N. Leisure World Blvd., Silver Spring, MD 20906

Cinema J @ The Bender JCC
Thursday, May 23, 2024 | 7:00 PM | $12
Kreeger Theater
6125 Montrose Rd., Rockville, MD

Questions? Contact Frieda or Lindsay at 301.348.3832, or email fenoch@benderjccgw.org.

All Bender JCC programs are open to everyone. Contact Kate Falls, Director of Inclusion, at kfalls@benderjccgw.org or 301.348.3767 to discuss support and accommodations.

Leisure World, Clubhouse II | 3300 N. Leisure World Blvd., Silver Spring
Outdoors – Rear Parking Lot (near tennis courts)*

FREE & open to the public

The Bender JCC Coming of Age’s annual, highly anticipated Health Expo will engage, educate, and empower attendees to maintain a healthy and happy lifestyle. Intentionally designed to appeal to those 60 and over, the Health Expo includes:

  • FREE admission. FREE tote bags. FREE “goodies”
  • Health-and-wellness providers
  • Health Screenings (ending at 2:00PM)
  • Vaccines: COVID-19 and other boosters
  • Interactive Workshops
  • ‘Capture a Memory’ with a picture of you and your friends
  • ‘Head-to-toe’ massages
  • Fantastic raffle prizes

Grand Finale Concert: Beatles Tribute with The Magical Mystery Girls

Thursday, June 6 | 3:00 PM | Leisure World Clubhouse II | $15/advance | $18/door

PURCHASE TICKETS:

More details and information coming soon!

Exhibitor and Sponsorship Opportunities are Still Available!

Thank you to our benefactors! To inquire about sponsorship or exhibitor opportunities, please contact Coming of Age at 301-348-3832 or email fenoch@benderjccgw.org

Questions? Contact Frieda or Lindsay at 301-348-3832, or email fenoch@benderjccgw.org.

All Bender JCC programs are open to everyone. Contact Kate Falls, Director of Inclusion, at kfalls@benderjccgw.org or 301.348.3767 to discuss support and accommodations.

I Scream, You Scream…ICE CREAM SOCIAL!

Monday, June 10th
1:30 - 3:00 PM

Monday, June 10 | 1:30 – 3:00 PM

Kick off the summer and celebrate the Shavuot holiday with Coming of Age! Say hello and schmooze while you cool down with a sweet treat. If you’re not familiar with our program, please come and learn more about it:

Coming of Age! offers monthly activities, excursions, and special events to members aged 60 and over. Activities include theatre and museum trips, lectures, concerts, and annual signature events such as the health and wellness expo and a New York City overnight trip.

A limited number of chairs will be available, so we encourage you to bring your own!

FREE (While the ice cream lasts)

Leisure World, Clubhouse II
3300 N. Leisure World Blvd., Silver Spring Outdoors – Rear Parking Lot (near tennis courts)

In the event of rain, we will reschedule for another date.

Questions? Contact Frieda or Lindsay at 301.348.3832, or email fenoch@benderjccgw.org.

All Bender JCC programs are open to everyone. Contact Kate Falls, Director of Inclusion, at kfalls@benderjccgw.org or 301.348.3767 to discuss support and accommodations.

Coffeehouse

Thursday, June 20th
7:30 PM

Purchase Tickets

Oldies, but Goodies, featuring the Daryl Davis Trio

$32 | Bender JCC Social Hall
The food. The ambiance. The camaraderie. The MUSIC!

Join us for Boogie Woogie, Blues, and other classic tunes. The joint will be jumpin’ with the Daryl Davis Trio.

Chicago native, Daryl Davis graduated from Howard University with a degree in Jazz. He is an international recording artist who has toured all 50 States and around the world. Davis has received rave reviews for his music, as well as winning several WAMA (Washington Area Music Association) awards for Best Artist in the Roots and Blues categories. In addition to being a vocalist, guitarist, and composer, Daryl is a keyboardist extraordinaire. He has performed with such iconic artists as Chuck Berry, The Legendary Blues Band, Elvis Presley’s Jordanaires, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Coasters, The Drifters, Bo Diddley and Percy Sledge, to name a few.

But first, let’s eat:
Heavy hors d’oeuvres, desserts, and wine precede the concert.


For more information, call or email:
301.348.3832 | fenoch@benderjccgw.org