Thursday, November 30, 2023

Get Out! Go to AT LEAST one holiday market on Saturday, Dec 2!

 by Peggy Robin


Saturday is Market Day....Holiday or Winter Market, that is! Or should I say Markt??!

That would be the John Eaton Elementary School Winter Markt and Tree Sale. Here's your invite:

Please join us in celebrating the holiday season at our annual Christmas Tree Sale and Wintermarkt this Friday, Saturday and Sunday!
 
There will be a huge selection of frasers, firs, and spruces as well as tabletops, wreaths, garlands - and just in time, according to forecasts of heavy snow this season - an array of SLEDS! 
 
Our Wintermarkt will have an arts and crafts table for kids (make snow globes and ornaments), a raffle, used children's books, freshly popped popcorn, hot apple cider, hot chocolate, and new this year - a white elephant, bingo, and a table of gourmet treats from many of our local embassies!
 
Also, don't miss a special visit by firemen in a fire truck at 11AM on Saturday at the front of Eaton. 
 
We hope to see you there!
 
WHERE: Eaton Elementary playground
WHEN: Tree Sale: Friday, December 1st, 3:30-8 | Saturday and Sunday, December 2nd and 3rd, 9am - 5pm
 
***The Wintermarkt is only on Saturday, 10-2*** 
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The Cleveland Park Main Street Winter Market puts the "e" back in Market....and you also get music!!!

Saturday December 2nd, 2:30-7:30pm in the 3400 block of Connecticut Avenue.
Shop local at the third annual Cleveland Park Winter Market.
Hear holiday tunes by saxophonist Nathaniel Gillian starting around 3pm.

For more information please visit: 
 
The Winter Market is brought to you by Cleveland Park Main Street and is part of Holiday Lights. 

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At City Ridge they're calling it an URBNmarket. Not sure why they landed on that term with that funny spelling, but if you go, you'll get live music, PLUS a ride on a holiday train AND a tree lighting!

Hi everyone -

We are excited to announce the tree lighting and weekend market at City Ridge. We will have activities for all ages. Join in the fun with pictures with Santa, ride our holiday train around Ridge Square, enjoy live music and so much more on Dec. 2.

Get some holiday shopping done early too. There will be a URBNmarket pop up market from 3-8pm on Saturday and 11am - 4 pm Sunday on The Great Lawn.

The Tree lighting is at 7pm on Saturday Dec. 2nd.

Learn more at this link

City Ridge
14 Ridge Square NW
Washington, DC 20016

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And then there's the Van Ness Main Street Holiday Pop-up Shops, featuring a holiday hunt for prizes and the Singing Capital Chorus:

The 8th Annual VNMS Holiday Pop-up 2023 returns to Van Ness Main Street, Saturday, December 2nd from 11 AM - 4 PM!!

Everyone's favorite pop-up shopping event is back for its eighth year on Saturday, December 2nd from 11 AM - 4 PM at 4340 Connecticut Ave in Van Ness. This year's event includes 30 local artisans, a Holiday Hunt for prizes, the Singing Capital Chorus (1-2PM) and so much more! 

*Rain date, Sunday, 12/3

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If you've still got the shopping mojo after your visit to our nearby holiday markets, hop on the Metro and head downtown to the big DC Holiday Market at Penn Quarter.....but it's fine to save it for another day.: the big downtown holiday market is open through December 23. Please shop local first!

The 19th Annual Downtown Holiday Market returns :
Nov. 17 thru Dec. 23 : 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. DAILY
Downtown Washington, DC : Centered at 8th and F Streets, NW
(*Closed Monday, Dec 4 )
Preview the Market on YouTube: https://youtu.be/TnNRmn8ccMk
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The Get Out! event(s) of the week is published on the Cleveland Park Listserv and on All Life Is Local on Thursdays.

Saturday, November 25, 2023

Still Life with Robin: Twelve Months of Stumpy, Our Favorite Little Cherry Tree

 by Peggy Robin


I don't normally take up space in this column to recommend gifts or any sort of purchases, but this is one that really spoke to me: It's the 2024 calendar, Seasons of Stumpy, by Washington Post photographer Kevin Ambrose: https://www.dcstormchaser.com/calendars-2024

I first became a Stumpy fan during the cherry blooming days in the spring of 2023 and wrote about it in this space: "Say Hello to My Bloomin' Little Friend"

Around that time I became one of  Keven Ambrose's legion of followers on the Social Media Site Formerly Known As Twitter (we could aconymize it as SMedSiFKAT....or maybe it's better pronounced as So-Med-SiFKa-Twit?). Kevin Ambrose is the one who introduced me -- and thousands and thousands of other cherry tree enthusiasts -- to "the little cherry tree that could."

So of course, the instant I saw that he had assembled a collection of Stumpy shots taken throughout the year into a 2024 calendar, I had to have it.

You can get it here: 

You can view the calendar's 12 months of Stumpy photos here:

(No, I don't get a commission for pushing it! Happy just to have Stumpy get a larger fan-base!)

p.s. This is the photo I took, not one of Kevin's.
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Still Life with Robin is posted on the Cleveland Park Listserv and on All Life Is Local on Saturdays.

Wednesday, November 22, 2023

Get Out! It's the 10th Annual Holiday Tree Lighting Celebration, Nov 25, 5-7pm, at City Center

Join us for our 10th Annual Holiday Tree Lighting!

We invite you to kick off the holiday season and celebrate 10 years of CityCenterDC with us on Saturday, November 25th.

The evening will include a joyful music performance by fan favorite, The Revels, balloon artists, face painters, holiday treats and more. NBC4’s Eun Yang will host the official tree lighting ceremony and countdown.

Enjoy our dazzling 75-foot tree, visit our two resident 25-foot reindeer, and capture the spirit of the holidays with a photo under our Palmer Alley Dream Closet art installation!

25 November 2023
5:00pm – 7:00pm
10th & H Street NW, Washington DC

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The "Get Out" event of the week is usually posted on the Cleveland Park Listserv and on All Life Is Local on Thursdays but we're away for the Thanksgiving holiday, and so have posted a day early. 

Saturday, November 18, 2023

Still Life with Robin: Spot the Station

I’ve just signed up for NASA’s “Spot the Station” alerts, so I will get a notification whenever it’s a good night to view the International Space Station flying through the night sky. It’s like a shooting star, but one made by humans, and it’s a lot closer to earth. Best of all, there are people on it! 

I’ve seen it a number of times in the past, but now I have a way to receive a text alert whenever it’s a good night for viewing. 

Tonight’s the night! Here’s the notice from “Spot the Station”: 

Time: Sat Nov 18 5:36 PM, Visible: 6 min, Max Height: 83°, Appears: 10° above SW, Disappears: 13° above NE 

And the forecast is for clear skies: 5:00 pm Clear 52° Cloud Cover 0% Wind NNW 11 mph Humidity 40% Rain Amount 0 in 

I’ll be out there looking up! 

I recommend getting the app on your smartphone. Open your App Store, search for “Spot the Station,” download for free, and sign up. 

You can also sign up on your computer – go to https://spotthestation.nasa.gov/signup.cfm - but the location finder does not work very well for people who live in Cleveland Park. Let me explain: 

If you sign up on your computer, as I did, right after a friend emailed me about it (thanks, Sue, for the tip!), you will be prompted to enter your state and city. You select DC from the list of states (yes, DC is listed as a state, just as we deserve to be!) and then there’s another drop-down menu for all the towns in that state. For DC there are 100 “towns” listed. That’s a lot of towns, isn’t it? You would think one of them would be the town of Cleveland Park. But no, it’s not among the locations offered. 

Here are all the “towns” offered within a few miles of Cleveland Park (going as far north as Chevy Chase Circle and as far south as Dupont Circle). Note that some of them seem to be garbled versions of actual places: 

Archbold Parkway (Maybe they mean Glover-Archbold Park? That’s the only thing that comes up on Google Maps)

Battery Kemble Park

Beach Parkway (I’m guessing they mean Beach Drive)

Chevy Chase Circle

Curb Parking (Who knows how this got in there? An A.I. mistake?)

Dalecarlia Parkway

Dumbarton Oaks Park

Dupont Circle

Fort Bayard Park

Fort Reno Park

Francis G. Newlands Park (Google Maps puts the pin down at Chevy Chase Circle – but that’s already listed, see above. Francis G. Newlands WAS the name on the fountain, until, by general consensus that he was unworthy of the honor, the plaque was removed.)

Glover Parkway (Could this be another reference to Glover-Archbold Park?)

Klingle Valley Parkway

Melvin Hazin Park (It’s actually spelled “Hazen”)

National Zoo

Normanstone Parkway

Old Stone House

Pinehurst Parkway (Google Maps says they mean the Pinehurst Tributary of Rock Creek)

Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway

Rock Creek Park

Soapstone Valley

Tenley Circle

Ward Circle

Woodley Park

 

The odd part is, if you choose Maryland as your state, you get a drop-down menu of 60 towns and a few parks, from Annapolis to Westminster, all spelled correctly – and no oddities, like that “Curb Parking” option on the DC menu. 

The phone app, on the other hand, is free of this nonsense. You don’t have to choose your neighborhood; you simply let the app access your GPS and it puts down a pinpoint on your address. 

While you are looking up at the ISS, you can also see how we down here on earth look to the people up there. Go here: https://www.astroviewer.net/iss/en/ 

I hope the ISS crew gets a notification of how many people (like me!) are tracking them as they fly through space!


Peggy Robin

Curb Parking, District of Columbia 20008

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Still Life with Robin is posted on the Cleveland ParkListserv and on All Life Is Local on Saturdays.

Thursday, November 16, 2023

Get Out! And Come to Fair Petworth, Sat, Nov 18, 11am-5pm

by Peggy Robin


I have received the following invitation from our friends in Petworth:

Hello!

We can't wait to see everyone at Celebrate Petworth this Saturday, November 18 from 11am-5pm on the 800 Block of Upshur Street.

This year's festival has...

·  60+ Artisans & Exhibitors (view the vendor list here) - start your shopping for unique gifts.

·  Six incredible acts on the Main Stage, fueled by Washington Gas. MC'd by Drew of Petworth News! Learn more about the Main Stage line-up here

·  An adorable Dog Show, presented by District Vet, with great prizes to local businesses. It isn't too late to register – sign up here.

·  An amazing day omovement, music, and dancing in the Kids' Zone, presented by Tara Hoot! Your kids will love this year's Kids' Stage line-up, which includes Mr. Rob, Teatro de la Luna, and more. Check out the performers here.

·  Activities all day in our Activity Tent: Join us from 11 AM-2 PM to decorate a plant pot and plant a seed (sponsored by Petworth Ace Hardware) and from 2 PM - 4 PM to Create Your Own Character Zine with An Open Book Foundation.

·  Fabulous specials from local Petworth businesses – valid only the day of the festival (check out their deals here).

But wait, there's MORE! This year, we're excited to have an amazing line-up of FREE pre-festival family fun! Join Petworth Peanuts at 8am for a Kids Fun Run at Sherman Circle (for ages 3-10), enjoy a free Stroller Strides class with FIT4MOM DC at 9am, and then hop over to Yoga for Movers and Shakers with Lighthouse Yoga at 10am on the Petworth Playground. 


And a huge thank you all of our other festival sponsors, including:
Eddie Suarez (Realtor with TTR Sotheby’s International Realty)
Ryan DaSilva (Realtor with The Navigate Group at Compass)
Capital City Co.
Pepco, an Exelon Company
 ANC 4C
 District Vet, sponsor of this year's Dog Show
De Colores Spanish Immersion Montessori

Solstice Smiles
Tara Hoot, Petworth’s neighborhood drag queen
 St. Paul's Rock Creek Episcopal Parish
Petworth News
 Our pre-festival activity sponsors: Fit4Mom DCLighthouse Yoga Center, and Petworth Peanuts

P.S. We still need volunteers to make it happen! Join us celebratepetworth.org/volunteer

Thank you and see you soon,

Petworth Main Street and the CelebratePetworth Team

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The Get Out! event of the week is posted on the Cleveland Park Listserv and on All Life Is Local on Thursdays.

Saturday, November 11, 2023

Still Life with Robin: Still Having Fun with Gene Weingarten

 by Peggy Robin


Today's column is not really my column. Well, it is...in part -- a small part. I'm sending you over to Gene Weingarten's Substack column, The Gene Pool.

First, a little refresher course about the author. You may recall that Gene Weingarten was the regular humor columnist in the Washington Post's Sunday Magazine. The Post shut down its Sunday Magazine about a year ago (last issue was December 25, 2022), but Gene Weingarten was fired about a year before that. The firing offense: Writing a column that made fun of Indian food. No, correct that -- he was not making fun of Indian cuisine, he was making fun of himself for his childishly limited palate and his inability to appreciate the subtleties of Indian cuisine. Seems a few of the top people at the Post didn't see that the joke was on himself....or if they saw it, they didn't like it. Out he went.

His farewell column was in the Post Sunday magazine on September 23 2021.

The Gene Pool
That wasn't the end of Gene's career. His work lives on, independently of traditional newspapers, in his own bit of cyberspace, the aforementioned Substack blog, The Gene Pool, which has no editor telling him his humor is too scatological or puerile. He readily and regularly admits that it is. I'm telling you this so that if go over there and find his writing full of stupid fart and poop jokes, you'll know you're in the right place.

But the real reason I'm telling you all this is that I'm in the most recent column:

This one covers a lot of ground. It starts off with Gene's comparison of Sam Bankman-Fried's unkempt hair and slovenly style of dress with his own messy look, then it meanders over to ranking of the Biden presidency in American history, and  pauses briefly to note something or other about his favorite football team, The NY Giants, before it finally gets to the last, long section, which is where I come in. About a week ago, Gene invited his readers to send in their anecdotes about a time they tangled with stupid bureaucracy. There are eleven stories in that section. Mine is the last. 

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Still Life with Robin is posted on the Cleveland Park Listserv and on All Life Is Local on Saturdays

Thursday, November 9, 2023

Get Out! MLK Library & the US Navy Band Present a FREE Concert in honor of Veterans Day - Fri, Nov 10, 1-4pm

by Peggy Robin

Enjoy a FREE Holiday concert with the United States Navy Band

In Honor of Veterans Day with the U.S. Navy Band
Friday, November 10 · 1 - 4pm EST
Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library
901 G Street Northwest Washington, DC 20001

RSVP: Mobile eTicket

In association with the D.C. mayor’s office and D.C. Public Library, the National Museum of the United States Navy invites you to enjoy a free day of music featuring the United States Navy Band’s dynamic popular music group, Cruisers, and the Concert Band’s 12-member brass ensemble.

About the Cruisers: The United States Navy Band Cruisers, the Navy’s premier popular music group, features eight of the Navy's most dynamic performers. Formed in 1999, the group takes its name from the Navy's versatile, flexible, multi-missioned ship – the Cruiser – and the band lives up to its namesake with the capability of playing a variety of musical genres ranging from jazz standards, rhythm & blues, classic rock, adult contemporary and pop, as well as original material. This elite group has engaged and excited audiences of all ages throughout the United States and abroad with world-class musicianship and high energy, fun-filled performances. In addition to public concerts and educational outreach appearances, the Cruisers are in constant demand by the most senior government and military officials, including the President, Secretary of the Navy and the Chief of Naval Operations. Their show-stopping appearances on Navy birthday concerts, holiday concerts, national tours and summer concert series performances are always a highlight.

About the Concert Band: The United States Navy Concert Band, the premier wind ensemble of the United States Navy, presents a wide array of marches, patriotic selections, orchestral transcriptions and modern wind ensemble repertoire. As the original ensemble of the Navy Band, the Concert Band has been performing public concerts and participating in high-profile events for more than 95 years.

Collaboration with celebrities has become a hallmark for the Concert Band. The band was featured with Arthur Godfrey of NBC radio fame in 1927. Gene Kelly was guest star for the first episode of "The Navy Hour" radio program in 1945, which the band produced for an astounding 23 years. More recently, the band featured guest artists Tony Curtis and Gregory Peck. In 2002, the band was filmed performing "America the Beautiful;" the performance was broadcast by the NFL prior to each game during opening week. In addition to national concert tours and an extensive local concert season, the Concert Band has been featured internationally at military tattoos and festivals. Recognized as one of the finest wind ensembles in the world, the Concert Band is in constant demand by the nation's foremost musical education organizations, such as the American Bandmasters Association and The Midwest Clinic.

About the National Museum of the United States Navy:
The National Museum of the United States Navy was established in 1961 and opened to the public in 1963. As one of 14 Navy museums throughout the country, it is the only one that presents an overview of United States naval history. Exhibitions and programs commemorate the Navy's wartime heroes and battles as well as its peacetime contributions in exploration, diplomacy, navigation and humanitarian service.

Known for 40 years as the Navy’s flagship museum, The National Museum celebrates a legacy of educating the public. In the tradition of its predecessors on the Washington Navy Yard beginning in 1865, the current museum features a collection that dates from 1800. The museum's collection moved twice before Admiral Arleigh Burke established the current museum in 1963 to create an American naval history museum comparable to those in Europe. The National Museum continues to embody Burke's vision of sharing the Navy's history and traditions with the world.

Let us know you’re planning to attend by registering on Eventbrite, or email us at  paul.h.perry4.civ@us.navy.mil 

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The "Get Out!" event of the week is posted on the Cleveland Park Listserv and on All Life Is Local on Thursdays.

Saturday, November 4, 2023

Still Life with Robin: Halloween is over but you can still enjoy the pumpkin pix!

by Peggy Robin

Let's start with my favorite local blogger, Popville:


Here are the pix I took during a quick walk around Cleveland Park on Halloween. (OK, a few are from Georgetown, taken a week earlier):

Now that Halloween is over, you have the entire year ahead to plan your pumpkins for Halloween 2024. Take some tips from a professional pumpkin carver (yes, that's a thing!):

Want to do something less ambitious/more in the amateur league? Some of the pumpkin carving ideas on this Pinterest page are clever and not all that hard to carry out:

You have 362 days to work on it!
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Still Life with Robin is posted on the Cleveland Park Listserv and on All Life Is Local on Saturdays.

Thursday, November 2, 2023

Get Out! And Swap Clothes at CP's Own Femme Fatale - Sat, Nov 4, 1-5 PM

by Peggy Robin


FALL CLOTHING SWAP


• Saturday, November 4, 2023
• 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM
• Femme Fatale DC - 3409 Connecticut Avenue NW 


Give thanks to the surplus of textiles on our planet. Help fight filling the landfills by recycling clothes with friends for a fresh look!

We’re bringing you a free event to encourage low-waste knowledge-sharing, community and collaboration.

Come swap your clothing, accessories, and shoes with the community to refresh your wardrobe! All sizes, genders and ages!

Swap Time: 1:00- 5:00 PM

Clothing Drop-Off time (A time when you can drop off your items for sorting and organization so that you can swap hassle-free!) |11 AM - 1 PM

Swap Details:
  • All items can be swapped, no matter the style or size. Anyone and everyone is welcome!
  • Please bring at least 5 unstained and undamaged items to swap.
  • BYO refreshments and snacks
  • Used Socks, undergarments, and promotional T-shirts will not be accepted.
  • Walkable from Cleveland Park metro, on Connecticut Ave nw. Limited street parking.
  • Indoor venue, masks encouraged. No stairs.

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The "Get Out!" event of the week is posted on the Cleveland Park Listserv and on All Life Is Local on Thursdays.

Saturday, October 28, 2023

Still Life with Robin: The Best of WaPo

by Peggy Robin


For the past several days Listserv members have been complaining about the Washington Post: its declining interest in covering purely local news; failure to follow up on initial news reports, and for at least one reader, the last straw: dropping local obituaries. These are all legitimate complaints.  

I'm usually quick to lend my voice to a chorus of complaint (and I have my reputation as a curmudgeon to uphold!) -- but in this case, I feel a bit of a contrarian impulse. There are things about the Post I want to praise. In some ways, it's improving.

Take, for example, its new morning e-newsletter, called "The Seven."

Try it out: You will get one email each morning from the Post with seven news stories of note.

Then there are two regular features in the paper that I not only praise but love, love, LOVE ❣️

1. The Washington Post's Capital Weather Gang. How does anyone write about a quotidian topic like the weather without being any of the following: repetitive, overly technical, boring, and of course, all too often wrong in the prediction? I really don't know how they do it -- but the Capital Weather Gang manages to avoid all these pitfalls in their daily weather reports. When it comes to the forecast, they're frank about their limitations; they always tell you upfront their "degree of confidence" so they're not giving false assurances of what the weather will be, when it could go either way. Capital Weather Gang's page is usually the first thing I look at in the morning. Great Twitter feed, too! (And BTW, don't write in to tell me it's no longer called Twitter; I will simply reiterate my pledge not to let the Musk-Rat bully me into calling it "X".)

2. The second best thing about Post is "John Kelly's Washington." That man has my dream job! He gets to write about whatever strikes his fancy, with a focus on our city and its local lore. He tells offbeat stories about local people or places: the history behind an odd place name; a treasured item lost and then found after so many years; all kinds of bizarre coincidences, and of course, the tales of his travels, his band (the Airport 77s), his various dogs, his daughters, and of course, his Lovely Wife. For me, one of the true highlights of the year is his Annual Squirrel Week. This week I have an extra-special reason to sing his praises - I'm in the column! In the Monday print edition, John Kelly writes about people willing to fight the good fight against grammatical errors, and let me tell you, I am one of them! My particular "hill to die on" is the fight against the use of "I" in prepositional phrases (it's "between you and ME," folks -- never, ever "between you and I"!) 

Hey, WaPo, keep sending me the good stuff and I'll keep up my subscription, despite all the nay-saying (even as I occasionally find myself in the chorus of nay-sayers).
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Still Life with Robin is published on the Cleveland Park Listserv and on All Life Is Local on Saturdays.

Thursday, October 26, 2023

Get Out! Halloween Edition, 2023

 by Peggy Robin


🎃 Halloween?!! So much going on I can't begin to list it all here! I'll start with our two Cleveland-Park-centric events:

🧙‍♀️ Cleveland Park Halloween Parade, Costume Contest, and Pizza Party
October 31st, 3:30 - 4:30 PM starting at Macomb St Playground
Full details at Message 

🧛 Halloween Treats at Your Favorite Cleveland Park Businesses on Tuesday October 31st. 
Find each listed business and treat-times on the Cleveland Park Main Street Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/cleparkmainstdc/ 

For a whole spook-tacular array of city and region-wide events, try these sources:

🦇 DC Department of Parks and Recreation:
Easier to read dates-at-a-glance listings at:

🕸️ DCist:

😱  Washington Post:

Washingtonian Magazine listing of dog-friendly Halloween events:
https://www.washingtonian.com/2023/10/20/dog-friendly-halloween-celebrations-around-dc/ (and yes,4 out of 5 are  called "Howl-o-ween") (the 5th is Tricks and Treats ??)

🏚️ Happy Halloween ! ! !

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The Get Out! Events column is published on the Cleveland Park Listserv and All Life Is Local on Thursdays.