The city will vacuum leaves from neighborhood curbs from April 6-17 in five collection areas throughout Rockville.

An interactive map at www.rockvillemd.gov/leafcollection allows residents to input their address and learn when their leaves will be collected. Unlike the fall leaf collection, which has two collection rounds, city crews make only one pass to collect leaves in spring.

Rake leaves next to, but out of, roadways, gutters and bike lanes, and away from parked vehicles. Leaves should be raked by 6 a.m. on the first day of their collection period, but no earlier than one week before the collection dates to avoid grass damage or fire hazards. Remove sticks and other objects from leaf piles. Avoid parking near leaf piles or other vehicles.

After the collection period ends, use biodegradable paper lawn bags or 32-gallon trash cans (without plastic garbage bags) to set leaves out on your refuse and recycling collection day. Use alternative disposal methods such as mulching or composting. Do not dump leaves, grass clippings or other yard waste into storm drains, along stream banks or directly into streams, where they can cause blockages that contribute to localized flooding or release nutrients that lead to fish kills.

Find out more about your brain’s inner workings and your memory, as well as good nutrition and heart health, this month at the Rockville Senior Center.

Register at the senior center’s information desk by calling 240-314-8800, or online with the course number at www.rockvillemd.gov/registration.

Rewiring Your Brain. From 1-2 p.m. on Thursday, March 5, learn about the brain’s amazing capacity to rewire itself throughout its lifespan, as well as the four basic stages of change that can lead to being life-minded. This free session is presented by Bill Neely, a chaplain at Brooke Grove Foundation, in Sandy Spring. Register with course #12110.

Nutrition Guidelines. Find out about recommended American dietary guidelines to help manage and prevent chronic disease at this free class, from 1-2 p.m. Thursday, March 12. Topics to be addressed at this free presentation include normal salt and sugar intake, healthy meals, and how to understand food labels. Presented by Adventist HealthCare.

Memory Screening. Worried about memory problems? Take a free and confidential memory screening, Friday, March 20, conducted by licensed professionals. While results are preliminary and educational in nature, use them to facilitate a meaningful discussion with your physician. Appointments are required and available between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. by calling 301-355-6578. Presented by Visiting Angels in conjunction with the Alzheimer’s Foundation.

Keeping with the Beat. Atrial fibrillation is an irregular heartbeat or arrhythmia that can lead to blood clots, stroke or heart failure. Edward Heal, a cardiologist, will review the signs and symptoms of atrial fibrillation, as well as nonsurgical and surgical treatment options, at this free session from 1-2 p.m. Thursday, March 26. Register with course #12111.

Stress Reduction/Meditation. Find out about the tools to focus, relax and come to a more peaceful sense of being, with time for meditation and discussion. Betty Figlure has taught meditation, guided imagery and stress-reduction classes for over 30 years.

The class is held from 1-2 p.m. on Mondays. Register with course #11523; the cost is $30 for members and $40 for nonmembers.

Ongoing Skin Care Clinic. Held the second Thursday of each month. Appointments required. Medicare/insurance will be billed. Call 1-877-345-5300 for appointment, see Betty in the health room, or call her at 240-314-8803.

Community members can learn what it takes to be a police officer through the Rockville Community Police Academy or a special course aimed at 60-plus residents.

Registration is now open for the Rockville City Police Department’s free, eight-week Rockville Community Police Academy. Classes will meet 7-9 p.m. Thursdays, March 26-May 14 in the conservatory of Glenview Mansion at Rockville Civic Center Park, 603 Edmonston Drive. Participants 18 and older will learn about all aspects of the department, receive hands-on training and earn a graduation certificate upon course completion. For more information and registration, email Cpl. Kevin McBride at kmcbride@rockvillemd.gov.

RCPD is also offering a free course highlighting safety for the 60-plus population and exploring code enforcement, the K-9 unit and forensic science. Participants will also tour the police station. Classes meet from 10:30 a.m.-noon on Wednesdays, April 1-May 6, in the Azalea Room of the Rockville Senior Center, 1150 Carnation Drive. Register for course #12987 at www.rockvillemd.gov/registration.

Renovations of the lobby and locker rooms at the Rockville Swim and Fitness Center have made the facility more accessible than ever.

In anticipation of more use, instructional staff at the swim center, including swim instructors and volunteers, attended an in-service training in January on serving customers with disabilities in the facility’s learn-to-swim programs.

The training was offered through a partnership with the Montgomery County Recreation Department. A therapeutic recreation specialist delivered information on providing services to individuals with disabilities to more than 40 staff and volunteers.

The training included a review of requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act, inclusive practices, and ways to modify instruction to suit individual needs.

The Mayor and Council will hold a dedication ceremony to formally mark the opening of the new lobby and locker room at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 1.

See how the lobby and locker room project developed at www.rockvillemd.gov/rsfcrenovations.

Contact the swim and fitness center at swimcenter@rockvillemd.gov or 240-314-8750. The Rockville Swim and Fitness Center is a full-service aquatics, fitness and recreation facility located at 355 Martins Lane. For hours and other information, visit www.rockvillemd.gov/swimcenter.

Save the Date for Hometown Holidays

The city’s 76th annual Memorial Day Ceremony and Parade will take place from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Monday, May 25, in Town Center. Applications to participate in the parade are available at www.rockvillemd.gov/HTH. The deadline to apply is Friday, April 10.

The city is seeking speakers for the Memorial Day ceremony. Rockville and Montgomery County residents who have retired from, or currently serve in, the United States military are eligible to take part in the ceremony. Volunteer speakers must be comfortable speaking in public and must prepare a five- to seven-minute speech about their experiences in the armed forces, including what it means to serve and to honor those who have served.

Contact Amanda Knox at aknox@rockvillemd.gov or 240-314-8604 to participate or learn more.

The parade and ceremony will cap off a weekend that includes the Hometown Holidays Music Fest in Rockville Town Center. The 32nd annual free festival will feature four stages of entertainment, the Taste of Rockville and activities for kids, from noon-8 p.m. Saturday, May 23 and Sunday, May 24.

Find more details, as they are announced, at www.rockvillemd.gov/HTH and “City of Rockville Hometown Holidays” on Facebook.

Adult sports during the spring are: men’s softball; co-rec softball; co-rec basketball; co-rec volleyball (indoor and beach); and co-rec soccer. Game nights vary.

Registration deadlines for adult league players and teams are in late March.

Youth sports for spring are youth coach-pitch baseball, T-ball, soccer, and track and field. Practices for youth track and field begin at the end of March, with meets beginning in mid-April. Practices for youth soccer, T-ball, and coach-pitch baseball begin in early April, with games beginning mid-April.

The registration deadline is Thursday, March 5. Coaches are needed for teams in spring youth sports leagues. If you’re interested in taking part, contact sports@rockvillemd.gov.

Visit www.rockvillemd.gov/recreation/sports for league details and registration information or call 240-314-8620.

Performances representing world cultures, some of which have found a home in Rockville, return Friday, March 20 to the stage of the F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre.

International Night is a celebration of the living, breathing example of Rockville’s success as a truly cosmopolitan city, one that respects and encourages people of all cultures, creeds and colors.

At this free event, attendees will be able to see clothing displays and sample unique and traditional foods, experience performances from different cultures, engage with people from different countries and learn about their customs.

Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Event begins at 6 p.m. No tickets or registration are required, but seating is limited. Free parking is available directly behind the F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre.

For more information, visit www.rockvillemd.gov/internationalnight or contact yyeboah@rockvillemd.gov. The F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre is located at 603 Edmonston Drive.

The final performance of “Pirates of Penzance,” a trip to Spain and a classic Tchaikovsky ballet are all on stage this month at the F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre.

“The Pirates of Penzance,” presented by the Victorian Lyric Opera Company. 2 p.m. Sunday, March 1.

Gilbert and Sullivan’s beloved comic opera tells the story of Frederic, a boy mistakenly apprenticed to a softhearted band of pirates. Features many of Gilbert and Sullivan’s wittiest and most engaging tunes, including the immortal “I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General” and “Poor Wand’ring One.” Directed by Amy Sullivan; choreographed by Jacklyn Rogers; music directed by Joseph Sorge.

Tickets cost $28; $24 for seniors 65 and older; and $20 for students.

“Spanish Roadtrip,” presented by the Rockville Concert Band. 3 p.m. Sunday, March 8.

Enjoy a musical road trip exploring and discovering the diverse regions and towns of Spain. No tickets required; $5 suggested donation.

“Swan Lake,” presented by the Rockville Civic Ballet. 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 14 and 2 p.m. Sunday, March 15.

The tragic tale of Prince Siegfried and the Swan Queen.

Tickets cost $17; $13 for children 12 and younger and seniors 60 and older.

For tickets or more information, visit www.rockvillemd.gov/theatre, call the box office at 240-314-8690, or email theatre@rockvillemd.gov. F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre is located at 603 Edmonston Drive.

Peerless Rockville marks Women’s History Month in March with a presentation on remarkable Rockville women, takes a closer look at Rockville’s role in the Underground Railroad and highlights the flight to freedom of five boys sold into slavery.

Great Escapes: Journeys on Maryland’s Underground Railroad • 6 p.m. Friday, March 20, Red Brick Courthouse, 29 Courthouse Square

Historian Anthony Cohen presents a preview of the upcoming book “Great Escapes: Journeys on Maryland’s Underground Railroad.” A project of The Menare Foundation, Inc. and Heritage Montgomery, the book explores the people, places and social forces that created a pathway to freedom, forged by self-emancipating slaves and their allies from the 1830s to the brink of the Civil War. A Q&A session will follow.

Lunch & Learn: Rockville Women Who Dared • Noon, Wednesday, March 25, Red Brick Courthouse, 29 Courthouse Square

Ann Maria Weems, Frieda Fromm-Reichmann and Vivian Simpson are just a few of the remarkable women in Rockville history. In this Women’s History Month presentation, Mary van Balgooy, executive director of the Society of Women Geographers and former Peerless Rockville executive director, will highlight the lives and achievements of Rockville women of different eras and backgrounds, detailing how the determination of these women to improve their lives led them to step out of women’s traditional roles and even risk their lives. Bring a lunch. Seating is limited. Contact Peerless Rockville at 301-762-0096 or Info@PeerlessRockville.org to reserve a seat.

Stolen: The Story of Free African Americans Kidnapped into Slavery • 2-3:30 p.m., Sunday, March 29, Rockville Memorial Library, 21 Maryland Ave. in Rockville Town Square

Richard Bell, an associate professor of history at the University of Maryland, College Park, will present his book “Stolen: Five Free Boys Kidnapped Into Slavery and Their Astonishing Odyssey Home,” the true story of five free black boys who – lured onto a ship with the promise of food and pay, then smuggled from Philadelphia to the Deep South – were able to escape and initiate a manhunt to bring their captors to justice. (Note: This event was originally advertised for February.) Cosponsored by Friends of the Library, Rockville Memorial Chapter. Admission is free. For tickets and more information, visit Peerless Rockville Historic Preservation, Ltd. on Facebook or bit.ly/PeerlessStolen.

“Great Escapes” and “Stolen” are presented in association with Peerless Rockville’s new exhibit, “Forging Freedom: Endurance, Escape, and Rockville’s Underground Railroad,” which features the brave fugitives who fled slavery in Rockville, the abolitionist network that helped and the endurance of the enslaved community. The exhibit is open 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday through Friday, in the historic courthouse.

The City of Rockville Landlord-Tenant Affairs Commission is seeking two tenant representatives to join the board.

The commission plays a vital role in the city as a quasi-judicial body created to resolve landlord-tenant complaints, and has the power to hold hearings, and issue decisions and orders, that have the force of law.

Assistance from the commission’s staff liaison, and having the case heard before the commission, is a free alternative for resolving disputes, and often preferable to a court case.

The Landlord-Tenant Affairs Commission consists of 10 members — two landlords and one alternate, two tenants and one alternate, and three members of the public and one alternate — who must live within the city or, in the case of landlords and operators, own or operate rental facilities within the city.

For more information about serving on the Landlord-Tenant Affairs Commission, contact staff liaison Crystal Gorham at 240-314-8320 or cgorham@rockvillemd.gov.

Visit www.rockvillemd.gov/boardscommissions to see vacancies on the city’s boards and commission, and learn more about the application process.