Odds and Ends: Weekend Events

Baseball is Back: The Nationals will play the first official game of the year on Monday. But they will actually return to DC and to Nationals Park on Saturday afternoon. They are playing the Red Sox of Boston at 4:00p in the final exhibition of 2010. Last year the Red Sox proved more popular than the Nats in a 3 game set, but the owners were probably happy; the place sold out. Boston fan, you're almost worse than Philly fan, and that's saying a lot! Well, I'll be there, with my Washington gear on. Go Nats!

Soccer is Back: DC United and the rest of of the Major League Soccer averted a player strike earlier this year and the season began on time as normal. DC United's first home game is this Saturday as well. They will also face a team from Boston, the New England Revolution. United is looking pretty good this year. If my loyalties didn't lie with baseball, I'd be at this game. Along with Barra Brava, Screaming Eagles at good 'ole RFK. Luckily there are 14 more home games this season.

Neighborhood Easter Party: Grace Presbyterian Church of DC is hosting a party for residents of Adams Morgan, Mount Pleasant and Columbia Heights. It's being held in CH, at Girard Street Playground at Girard and 15th Streets NW. There will be an Easter Egg Roll, face painting, crafts and games. All are welcome.

Fireworks: Yep, already! The National Cherry Blossom Festival includes this fireworks show at the Southwest waterfront on Saturday night. The show starts at 8:30pm. The show will happen rain or shine. Of course the actual Cherry Blossom Festival continues, through the end of next week.

Yoga for Allergies: Knock on wood, I do not have allergies! Thank goodness. But I know a lot of you who do! The Benadryl is already starting to fly off the shelves. Well, Mount Pleasant's own Past Tense Yoga is offering Yoga for Allergies this Saturday (1:00p-3:00p). You'll learn poses and breathing exercises that will help lessen the affect of the dreaded, brutal, DC allergens. I really feel of you if you have them!

And you can help Past Tense out even if you can't attend a session this weekend. Owner Kelly DiNardo produced a short video and entered into the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's I am Free Enterprise Contest. Essentially, if the Past Tense video gets the most views they'll move on to possibly be judged and if they're the best, win a prize. The video is below. Take a look. Or two!

Up and Coming: Music and the Arts

October 13 and October 16 @ Verizon Center. Back to the 70s? KISS (13th) and AC/DC (16th) play the Verizon Center. These two mega-arena rock bands rose to stardom in the early 1970s. But they're still rocking DC this week in 2009, a good 35 years later. Who says you have to stop partying. Neverrrr!!!! 7th and F Streets NW.

October 14 @ Asylum Rock and Roll Lounge. Yula Be'eri and the Extended Family are playing this Wednesday. Asylum has been trying, with varying degrees of success, to become a music venue. They chose well this time. Be'eri is a spirited performer who doesn't really fit into any strict genre. Horns, keys, eclectic vocals, guitar. Very intriguing. I'll be there! 2471 18th St NW.

October 15 @ The Phillips Collection. The just opened exhibit, Man Ray, African Art and the Modernist Lens, gets an interpretation from local artist Renée Stout. This series of talks is titled Artists' Perspectives. Also speaking will be Jennifer Wen Ma, whose video installation Brain Storm, opens at Phillips on the same day, October 15. 1600 21st Street NW.

October 17 @ Civilian Art Projects. Last day for Debriscapes, a show by Nikki Painter. This artist is from my hometown of Richmond, VA. Her rather abstract images attempt to explore the relationship between the built environment and the natural world. There will be an artist talk with Ms. Painter on from 6-8pm that evening at the gallery. 406 7th Street NW.

October 23 @ National Portrait Gallery (pictured). Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition 2009: Culmination of an open submission portrait contest. The juried finalists will complete for a $25,000 prize and a chance to have their portrait hang among the permanent collection at this Smithsonian museum. Exhibit through August of 2010. Located at 9th and G Streets NW.

Revitalization, More Movies + the Radio

***From Mount Pleasant Main Street:

Movies in the Park Series Begins
The first of 2009's Movies in the Park will be the cycling-themed movie "Breaking Away." Mount Pleasant Main Street will host the event on Saturday August 22nd in Lamont Park (Lamont and Mt Pleasant Sts NW). The event starts at 7:00PM with a "Yoga for Cyclists" session by Past Tense, free bike clinic & repair, restaurant specials, and live music. The series will feature a movie each fourth Saturday in August and September.



***From Hear Mount Pleasant:

Small Area Revitalization from the Office of Planning
Did you go to the meeting on June 14th held at Bell High School? Did you go to the ANC meeting on August 4th to talk about the future of Mount Pleasant? It is so important that you make your voice heard in this Office of Planning Neighborhood Revitalization Plan.

The Office of Planning has released an online survey. Take a couple of minutes to check it out.

Mount Pleasant on the Radio
Did you hear the story last week about Mount Pleasant on WAMU's local news segment during Morning Edition? A reporter used Mount Pleasant to illustrate a recent DC Fire Department report that names 34 neighborhoods as "areas of concern." Read the written version. Listen here (WMA player).

Wes Anderson Film Series Starts Tonight @ Asylum

Asylum Rock and Roll Lounge in Adams Morgan has come up with a neat way pass the summer nights. Watching one of Wes Anderson's hilarious films. There is no cover and each movie will be shown on a big screen at the upstairs bar beginning at 8:00 PM. I'm a Wednesday regular, so perhaps see you there. Just don't bother me during the movie, ESPECIALLY during Rushmore. I will cut you. Just kidding. Tonight, Anderson's first full length, Bottle Rocket. A cult, if not a mainstream, classic. The full schedule:

July 8: Bottle Rocket (1996)
July 15: Rushmore (1998)
July 22: The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
July 29: The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)
August 5: The Darjeeling Limited (2007)

Up and Coming

This post was originally scheduled to publish on Saturday morning, but technical difficulties prevented that. Sorry.

Opening and Closing: Women of Our Time: 20th Century Photographs (opened 10/10) and Recognize! Hip Hop and Contemporary Portraiture (closes 10/26). National Portrait Gallery; 9th and F Streets NW.

October 19, 3PM: Lioness (film). Documentary about of a group of female Army support soldiers who became the first women in American history to be sent into direct ground combat. Discussion afterward. DC JCC. 1529 16th St NW. 202-939-0794

October 19, Noon-5PM: Dupont Circle Citizens Association annual house tour. $25. Afternoon tea at Perry Belmont (1618 New Hampshire Ave) dupont-circle.org

October 20, 7:30 PM: Author Brian Fagan discusses his new book "The Great Warming: Climate Change and the Rise and Fall of Civilizations." It's about the effects of the Medieval Warm Period. $18. National Geographic, 1600 M St. NW. 202-857-7700.

October 20, 6:30-9:00PM: Dinner and discussion with author Dedrick Muhammad (40 Years Later: The Unrealized American Dream, about the racial wealth divide). Presented by the Resource Generation. This event will be held at a private residence in Columbia Heights. For information and RSVP call David Krakow at 202-286-1622 or email dcresourcegeneration@gmail.com.

October 21, 6PM: Popular Movie Tuesday at MLK Jr Memorial Library. "The Incredible Hulk" (yes, the 2008 Ed Norton remake). Free. Auditorium A-5. 901 G Street NW. 202-727-0321.

October 19-January 25: "Role Models: Feminine Identity in Contemporary American Photography." Works by artists who helped shape concepts of gender identity over the past 30 years. Admission to the Museum is $10. National Museum of Women in the Arts, 1250 New York Ave NW.

October 29, 6:30PM: Lecture, World Governance with former French Ambassador Jacques Andreani. Appears to be free. Goethe-Institut. 812 7th St NW. 202-289-1200.

Up and Coming

Some Up and Coming picks from the DC North calendar and other sources. Of course they're all accessible from the 42 bus!

July 11 -- Bastille Day Celebration. Alliance Francaise de Washington. Self explanatory. The deadline for advanced reservations has passed. Perhaps if you call them and and attempt to explain that je ne sais quoi quality I've observed in people who adore this holiday for some reason. $45. 7PM. 2142 Wyoming Ave NW. 202-234-7911. UPDATE: This event is SOLD OUT.

July 12 -- Intercambios at Dos Gringos. A conversation exchange. Themed gatherings where participants can practice foreign languages and meet new people from different cultures. 6-9PM. Every Saturday. Dos Gringos 3116 Mt Pleasant St NW.

July 12 -- Mount Pleasant Films in the Park Series. This week its Shrek. Starts at 9PM. Free. At Lamont Park.

July 12 -- White House Summer Garden Tour. Surprisingly, open to the general public. See the Rose Garden and more. Get tickets at the Ellipse Visitor Pavilion (15th and E NW) Distribution begins at 8AM: first come, first served. First garden tour starts at 10AM. Another begins at 4PM. Unauthorized flower pickers subject to court marshall. Free. 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW.

July 15 -- Popular Movie Tuesday. "Popular" is a loosely defined term this week. The movie is 10,000 BC. 6PM. Free. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, Auditorium A-5. 901 G St NW.

July 16--Art and Coffee. Smithsonian American Art Museum. Actually each Wednesday-Sunday. Starts at 1:30PM each day. Meet inside at the F Street Lobby. Go upstairs and browse the storied pieces of the Luce Foundation Center. Then have coffee in one hidden gem of an interior. Astonishing and beautiful. SAAM. F Street NW between 7th and 9th.

July 25 -- Open Mic at the Potters House. Music and spoken word. All ages and free. 7PM. 1658 Columbia Rd NW.

August 5 -- First Tuesdays in Adams Morgan. Shopping and dining deals at most establishments. Great restaurant deals! 18th St from Columbia to Florida and Columbia Rd from 18th to Wyoming. Every first Tuesday of the month.

Up and Coming

Some Up and Coming picks from the DC North Calendar. Of course they're all accessible from the 42 bus!:

Today! May 6--First Tuesday in Adams Morgan. The 42 Bus will be there once again, still have yet to pick a location to visit... Get food and drink discounts at AM restaurants and 10-30% off at participating retail establishments.

May 7-June 1--Mt Pleasant Youth Arts Fair. At the Mount Pleasant Branch Library. 3160 16th Street NW.

May 7-May 11--Art and Coffee. Smithsonian American Art Museum. Starts at 1:30 each day. Meet inside at the F Street Lobby. Go upstairs and browse the storied pieces of the Luce Foundation Center Then have coffee in one of the hidden gems of an interior in all of Washington. SAAM. F Street NW between 7th and 9th.

May 8--Neighborhood Story Time. Mount Pleasant Branch Library. 10:30AM. 3160 16th Street NW.

May 15--MidCity Third Thursday. Similar to First Tuesday. From 5-8PM retail stores around 14th and U offer discounts and specials. Includes Home Rule, Pop, Pulp, Garden District, Pink November, Whole Foods and others. A little bit of a walk from the 42 bus.

May 20--Mount Pleasant Beer Tasting. At Marx Cafe (Mt P Street at Lamont) from 7-10. Officially a Mount Pleasant Main Street Social.

Up and Coming

Some Up and Coming picks from the DC North Calendar. Of course they're all accessible from the 42 bus!:

• Ghost Story Tour of Washington at Lafayette Square. October 19, 20, 26, 27, and 28. Cost: $10
• Lincoln Assasination Walking Tour at Lafayette Square. October 20, 27 at 7PM. Cost: $10
  
• Open Mic at the Potter's House. Potter's House is located at 1658 Columbia Rd. October 26. Cost: FREE
• "Life and Nothing Else" Photography exhibit of young Afghan artists. At the Goethe-Institut; 812 7th St NW. Through October 30. Cost: (Appears to be) FREE
• Reel Affirmations 17: International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. Films show at E Street Cinema, Goethe-Institut, and Lincoln Theatre (on U St). October 11-20. Cost: $10-$40.
• Neighborhood Story Time for kids 1-4. Mt Pleasant Library, 3160 16th St NW. 10:30 AM every Thursday. Cost: FREE
• Feed Me, a new play at DCArtsCenter. Its a dark drama. Looks interesting! DCAC is located at 2438 18th St NW. October 18-November 11. Cost: $20