(7/30) This summer Fox 5 Morning News took their show on the road for their fourth season of Zip Trip! Fox 5 Zip Trips expose their viewers to communities within the DC, Maryland, and Virginia areas that are great getaways within an hour of the DC metropolitan district. Thurmont was chosen this year as a Fox 5 Morning News Zip Trip, after applying to Fox 5 in the summer of 2017. Thurmont was spotlighted July 13 to hundreds of thousands of viewers for Zip Trip!

Fox 5 personalities that hosted the Zip Trip in Thurmont were Meteorologist Tucker Barnes, and Anchors Maureen Umeh and Annie Yu. Zip Trip was live every fifteen minutes with segments that included an interview with Mayor Kinnaird and Thurmont trivia, a First Responders interview with the Guardian Hose Company, Thurmont Ambulance Company, and the Thurmont Police Department. Thurmont’s Gateway Brass Band played at Mechanicstown Square Park, National-Award Winning Esp Dance performed twice during the broadcast, and three local restaurants and their cuisine were spot-lighted: Bollinger’s Family Restaurant, Rocky’s Pizza, and Simply Asia.

Other segments included the Fox 5, Five-Year-Old of the Day, Hannah Lawrence, a Junior Reporter with Warren Schafer doing a weather hit with Tucker Barnes, and a segment sponsored by the Washington Nationals titled the "Hometown Team" where the Thurmont Little League was showcased. Another highlighted interview for Zip Trip was the "Hometown Hero" segment, which was Mr. Ed Schildt who is making a difference in addiction after the passing of his son Christopher. The "5 Must Stops" to see when visiting Thurmont, a pre-recorded segment, played throughout the broadcast featuring The Main Street Center, Timeless Trends Boutique, The Eylers Stable Flea Market, Cunningham Falls, and the Catoctin Wildlife Preserve and Zoo.

It was an amazing day for Thurmont to be featured on Fox 5 Morning News Zip Trip, but what made the day so amazing? Many of the town’s non-profit organizations came out in force and setup tents and their displays at 5 a.m. to showcase their organizations and pride for their town. The non-profits and local residents who came out were an incredible cheering section showing all viewers how much fun and spirit Thurmont has to offer! Thurmont is in a prestigious group of cities chosen by Fox 5 to visit for the 2018 Zip Trip series such as Laurel, Silver Spring, Bethesda, Frederick, Alexandria, Woodbridge, Reston, Winchester, Leesburg, and the National Harbor. If you missed Thurmont’s Zip Trip you can view the sponsored segments by googling Fox 5 Zip Trip Thurmont. Fox 5 Zip Trips are broadcasted live every Friday from 6-11 a.m. and run from Memorial Day through Labor Day.