Still Life with Robin: Sequels

 by Peggy Robin

This week's column features two follow-ups to previous columns.

1.. Still Life with Robin: Montgomery County Public Schools at the Supreme Court, April 22 (Message #224456, April 19)

Last Saturday I wrote about the rally in front of the US Supreme Court to support the Montgomery County (MD) Public School System in its bid to allow teachers to read books with gay and trans characters (like "Pride Puppy") in the classroom without giving parents advance notice to let them keep their kids out of class, avoiding exposure to LGBTQ characters.

Although reporters inside the courtroom, who heard the two-and-a-half-hour oral arguments, say it's expected that Pride Puppy will lose, there was still an upbeat and enthusiastic crowd there to cheer him on. Here are two photos from the day -- and you can see nine more at the Rally For... photo album.

2. Still Life with Robin: Blooming Flowers, Booming Voices (Message #224008    , April 5)

Three Saturdays ago, I devoted the first half of the Still Life with Robin column to photos of SPRING FLOWERS seen around the neighborhood. I posted a few photos of red & yellow striped tulips, black tulips, purple hyacinths, mixed tulips and daffodils, and forsythia. Those flowers have faded, but now is prime time for azaleas, irises, plus some random yellow flowers that I captured digitially but can't identify (see below). I'm a bit of a flower dunce, so if you can tell me what they are -- and what that white one is, below.... a white rose??) I'd appreciate the information!

Both photo albums -- Rally for..... and Spring Flowers -- are open to list members to upload their own photos. Here are the upload instructions.

1. Go to the PHOTOS section of the CP Listserv.
2. Click on the album you would like to add your photos to - for example: Spring Flowers or Rally for.....
3. Look for the green +Add Photos button and click on it.
4. You will see an option to "drop and drag" or "browse," allowing you to choose how you would like to locate your photos on your computer and add them to the album. Pull up each photo you want to add to the album, write a description in the "description" box, and then click "Add."

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

Get Out! Allons-Y! The French Market in Georgetown is on Fri-Sat-Sun, 11am-5pm all 3 days

 by Peggy Robin

A. It's the FRENCH MARKET, on the streets of Georgetown, every spring for the past 22 years!

Q. What's like shopping in Paris without the 20% VAT?

Here's the what, when, and where for French Market 2025:

LIVE MUSIC

Front patio of Georgetown Lutheran Church, 1556 Wisconsin Ave

SATURDAY, APRIL 26

• 12 – 2 pm / Amis 3 / Hot club jazz and French musette music with a pop of flair  
• 2:15 – 4pm / Bitter Dose / French jazz and swing 

SUNDAY, APRIL 27
12 - 3pm / soufflé / European jazz

FAMILY FUN

SATURDAY, APRIL 26

• 12 – 2 pm / Catch them if you can! Look out for a French unicyclist riding up and down Wisconsin Avenue, in addition to a strolling mime.  
• 12 – 2 pm / Face painting, a balloon twister, and outdoor patio games (Back patio of Georgetown Neighborhood Library - 3260 R St NW)    

SUNDAY, APRIL 27

• 12 – 2 pm / Catch them if you can! Look out for a French unicyclist riding up and down Wisconsin Avenue, in addition to a strolling mime. 
• 12 – 2 pm / Balloon twister, caricature artist, and outdoor patio games (Back patio of Georgetown Neighborhood Library - 3260 R St NW)  

POP UP BOOK SALES

SATURDAY, APRIL 26

• 11 am – 5 pm / Browse thousands of books, CDs, DVDs, and vinyl records at a Carpe Librum pop-up sale in the Chase Bank lot (3217 P St NW), all benefiting Turning the Page - a non-profit linking public schools, families, and our community to ensure students receive valuable resources and a high-quality public education.  
• 11 am – 4 pm / Georgetown Library Friends is selling hundreds of paperbacks for $1 each at the corner of Wisconsin & Reservoir Rd. Then, head up the hill to Georgetown Neighborhood Library for an even bigger sale of donated books.
• 12 – 5 pm / The Carpe Librum pop-up sale continues.  
• 1 – 3 pm / Georgetown Library Friends and Georgetown Neighborhood Library sales continue. 

SUNDAY, APRIL 27

• 12 – 5 pm / The Carpe Librum pop-up sale continues.  
• 1 – 3 pm / Georgetown Library Friends and Georgetown Neighborhood Library sales continue. 

Street Market Map and List of Participating Restaurants and Stores at:

https://www.georgetownfrenchmarketdc.com/participating-shops-cafes 

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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.

Still Life with Robin: Montgomery County Public Schools at the Supreme Court, April 22

 by Peggy Robin

As a graduate of the Montgomery County Public School System (B-CC class of '71), I am the grateful recipient of a free, first-class public education. Now I've learned there's something else that MCPS has done, much more recently, to earn my gratitude: They are vigorously defending their policy of allowing teachers and school libraries to teach using books with LGBTQ characters, against the wishes of parents who claim a right to advance notification so that they can pull their children from class to prevent them from being exposed to any material they deem offensive to their religious views.

One of the books at issue in this particular case is Pride Puppy by Robin Stevenson, illustrations by Julie McLaughlin. You can look at it here: https://www.amazon.com/Pride-Puppy-Robin-Stevenson/dp/1459837428/ref=asc_df_1459837428

The case is Mahmoud v. Taylor, and it's being argued in the Supreme Court on Tuesday, April 22.

A coaltion of educators, librarians, parents, and supporters of the GLBTQ+ community have planned a rally on the steps of the Supreme Court in support of the Montgomery Country Schools' side of the case  on Tuesday morning. 

DC Area Educators for Social Justice (one of the organizers of the rally) describes its purpose in these words:

As the nation’s highest court hears arguments in Mahmoud v. Taylor, a pivotal case centered on the fundamental right to inclusive education and representation, human rights advocates, educators, students, families, artists, and faith leaders will unite in a bold and joyful demonstration of support for inclusive education.

This is not just about one lawsuit or one school system—it's about the soul of public education in the United States. The rally calls attention to rising efforts to ban books, erase diverse identities from curricula and classrooms; threatening the civil liberties of marginalized students and their families. 

If you would like to attend this event, here are the details:

Rally for Inclusive Education at the Supreme Court

Tuesday, April 22, 2025

8:00 AM  2:00 PM

U.S. Supreme Court (1 First Street NE)

Registration (not required) at https://www.dcareaeducators4socialjustice.org/events/rally-for-inclusive-education-at-the-supreme-court or scan the QR code in the flyer shown below.

I hope to see you there!

I hope to see you there!

 

p.s. The last time I went down to the US Supreme Court on the day of orgal arguments was for Roe v. Wade. My mother, then Executive Director of the National Capital Area ACLU, had a ticket to attend but did not want to use it, and so gave it to me (I was a college student at the time). Things went well that day, I thought -- but am anxious to find out how things will go this time around, in front of a very different set of justices....

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

Get Out! The Easter Bunny Is Coming to Rosedale on Sunday, April 20th, 8:30am

Easter Egg Hunt

April 20 @ 8:30 – 9:30 am

Please join us for the annual Easter Egg Hunt at Rosedale on Easter morning, Sunday, April 20th.

Meet at the Newark Street gate (35th & Newark St) at 8:30am sharp.

Please no pre-hunting early birds.

Bring your own basket, and please leave your four-footed friends at home.

Come see what the Easter Bunny has hidden!

[NOTE: This is NOT the Easter Bunny - it's a location scout

checking out some good hiding places a few days in advance.]

Questions?  Email events@rosedaleconservancy.org [events @ rosedaleconservancy dot org]

Rosedale Conservancy

35th and Newark Streets NW

Washington, District of Columbia 20016

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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.

Still Life with Robin: The Twelve Seasons

 by Peggy Robin

I'm in a Facebook group called Real DC Memories - it's got 47.9K members and can easily have a hundred posts a day -- so I usually will quickly scroll by whatever turns up in my newsfeed. But I had to click the👍button for the post by group member Traci Jones, giving this list of the 12 seasons of DC. 

Allow me to add a few more - including some significant seasonal dates:

• Deserted DC Summer
• Ragweed Fall
• Final Xmas Tree Pickup of Winter
• And of course, my favorite: First Robin of Spring

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

Get Out! The Cherry Blossom Parade is happening on Saturday, April 12, 10am-12:30pm

 by Peggy Robin

The Yoshino cherry trees around the Tidal Basin have flowered and leafed out but the Kwanzan cherry trees (double blossoms!) are just two days past peak, according to the National Park Service.

And it's time for the big parade that marks the end of the Cherry Blossom Festival!

Cherry Blossom Parade 2025

Saturday, April 12 

10 AM - 12:30 PM

Constitution Avenue from 7th - 17th Street NW

This year the Grand Marshall is America's Nerd Idol Ken Jennings (host and GOAT of Jeopardy!). Photo: https://groups.io/g/clevelandpark/photo/298538/3904776 

If you go to the Cherry Blossom Parade website, it may leave you with the impression that you need to buy seats in the stands to watch the Cherry Blossom Parade. Not true! You can watch for free standing anywhere along the parade route other than the ticketed seating areas. Bring a lightweight folding camp chair (like this one available at Walmart for just $9 and you can sit in comfort, just like the toffs who paid $40 apiece for the privilege.

Parade Route: The parade route runs for 10 blocks along Constitution Avenue NW, starting at Constitution Avenue NW, between 7th and 17th Streets, proceeding west on Constitution Avenue to 17th Street, ending at Virginia Avenue, 19th Street, and Constitution Avenue.

Here are the ticketed seating areas: 

Telecast (East End) Seating – $40 (+$5.00 per ticket fee)

Located between 7th and 9th Streets NW along Constitution Ave, NW by the National Archives

Finale (West End) – Performance Zone Seating – $30 (+$4.00 per ticket fee)

Located between 16th and 17th Streets NW along Constitution Ave, NW by the Washington Monument

Finale (West End) – Seating – $25 (+$3.00 per ticket fee)

Located between 16th and 17th Streets NW along Constitution Ave, NW by the Washington Monument

Purchase tickets at https://nationalcherryblossomfestival.saffire.com/p/tickets

There's also free viewing from the comfort of your couch: Stream the full two-hour Parade on the Festival's YouTube page (@CherryBlossFest) https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeYqy4jl0vy9XK52FGHKTJw 

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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.

Still Life with Robin: Blooming Flowers, Booming Voices

 by Peggy Robin

Now that I have figured out how to create shared albums so that Listserv members can add their photos, I have just created two new photo albums.

The first one is for our photos of our bloomin' neighborhood -- but not just our neighborhood -- it's for anywhere you've been where you took photos of flowers you'd like to share with this group. Click on the album Spring Flowers -- and please don't take this title too literally: Feel free to upload any good flower photos you've taken, even they're of the bougainvillea you saw on your trip to Barbados in 2015.

The second album is for photos of people in our neighborhood, or from our neighborhood, gathering to exercise their first amendment right "peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." That album is called "Rally for..... " I've kicked it off with some photos I took at today's Hands Off Our Democracy Rally at the Washington Monument, plus a few others I copied from social media posts and from friends. You can add your own photos of this event, or photos of the weekly Klingle Valley "Resistance" Bridge protests, or any other protests you've captured in digital images. We'll get more out of them if you will add a description of the date, place and purpose of the demonstration or rally you have uploaded.

Upload instructions: 

1. Go to the PHOTOS section of the CP Listserv.
   
2. Click on the album you would like to add your photos to - for example: Spring Flowers or Rally for.....
   
3. Look for the green +Add Photos button and click on it.
   
4. You will see an option to "drop and drag" or "browse," allowing you to choose how you would like to locate your photos on your computer and add them to the album. Pull up each photo you want to add to the album, write a description in the "description" box, and then click "Add."
   

If you just would like to see lots of good photos of the rally today, take a look at Washingtonian Magazine's gallery of images: https://www.washingtonian.com/2025/04/05/photos-check-out-these-signs-at-the-hands-off-protest-in-dc/

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

Get Out! Saturday, April 5 is HANDS OFF DEMOCRACY DAY

 by Peggy Robin

Notice anything different about this week's featured event? Yes, you're right: It's the first time an explicitly political event is our chosen event of the week in the Listserv's regular Thursday "Get Out!" column. 

Sure, there were plenty of other non-political events to choose from, including Petalpalooza in the Cherry Blossom Festival, or the innovative Warp Grid Project by percussionist Marty Risemberg (free at the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage); or a free guided tour of the night sky at the Rock Creek Nature Center & Planetarium. But if you've been following the news of drastic cuts to the arts, to our public parks, and to programs that showcase diversity of cultures, you have to wonder if events like these will even exist when the Trump administration has finished taking its chainsaw to government programs, the arts, medical research, national parks..... Has anything been spared? (Well, yes -- Musk's government contracts -- they seem sacrosanct.). 

For the future of events like these -- and much more -- I've chosen the Hands Off Democracy Rally as the event of the week. 

HANDS OFF OUR DEMOCRACY will take place on Saturday, April 5 at the Washington Monument. Buses are bringing people from all over, gathering at 11 am. The program of speakers begins at noon. 

There are also rallies planned in cities all across America - and around the world.

What are some of the "HANDS OFF" demands?

• Hands off the DC government! Let us spend our own taxpayers' money as we, the voters of DC, see fit.
  
• Hands off Congressionally-mandated federal agencies. Let the FDA protect our food and medicines; let NIH continue their life-saving research studies, let the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau go after predatory lending and fraud; let the EPA protect our air and water from polluters; let the Department of Education give students from all backgrounds a shot at higher education....and so much more!
  
• Hands off independent, artistic decision-making by a non-partisan board at the Kennedy Center
  
• Hands off evidence-based prosecutions of corrupt officials. End the firing of those who won't sign off on using the threat of prosecution to coerce certain officials into supporting the administration's explicitly political goals
  
• Hands off our Board of Elections as they seek to increase participation in our democracy. Don't force them to adopt restrictive voting laws designed to suppress the vote or overturn elections when the outcome isn't what Trump wants.  
  

I could list many more such bullet points, but that's enough for now. If any one of these points is important to you, I hope you will come out to the rally and add your voice to the throng. 

More information at: https://www.mobilize.us/handsoff/event/764186/

Date & Time: Saturday, April 5  12 – 3:30pm EDT

Location: Washington Monument - nearest Metro station - Smithsonian

Bring family, friends & neighbors!

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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.

Trump's Sweeping New Executive Order: Takeover of DCPS

 Dear List Members,

I woke up this morning to see a series of astonishing posts on X from Elon Musk, starting with this announcement:

"DOGE is gonna do a complete overhaul of the crumbling DC school system - will be epic!" Followed by: "Taking the DOGE chainsaw to readin, 'riting & 'rithmatic, gonna teach 'em Working for a Living! And NO MORE FREE LUNCH!"

The Mayor and DC Counciil members were caught off guard by this lastest, sweeping move by DOGE. A follow-up tweet from Musk gave a link to a press release from Education Secretary Linda MacMahon announcing that in the early hours of this morning, April 1, President Trump had signed an Executive Order giving his administration immediate and complete control of the entire DC public school system.

The President took to his own social media platform, Truth Social, to blast the DC public school sytem: "It's a total failure, all these schools -- they're all sh*tholes, turning out nothing but losers and suckers. We're wasting TRILLIONS of dollars on the whole system. Time to fix it, as ONLY I CAN FIX IT."

That was followed by another flurry of tweets on X from Elon Musk, announcing the following actions: 

"All DCPS teachers and adminstrators are fired, effective today. They have one hour to clear out their desks."

"All school buildings will be auctioned off to developers for conversion to condos and office buildings, and other private uses, including a Trump hotel and  a WWE sports arena. We have already lined up some of the finest American steakhouses and seafood restaurants, as well as luxury retailers -- think Tiffany's -- to open businesses on the ground floor. of the converted former school buildings. And of course, there will be Tesla dealerships."

The Education Secretary's press release included a link to a 47-page document detailing how the Trump adminstration will "transform public school education in DC into a hands-on practical work experience:

"All children from as young as age 5 to age 18 will be trained in useful life-skills by working in factories, workshops, assembly lines, and Amazon warehouses, turning out American-made manufactured goods, cheaply and efficiently -- items such as low-cost clothing, running shoes, computer chips, health and beauty items, furniture, lawn and garden equipment, firearms -- all things American want and need, and at wages lower than those of Chinese children -- and they will graduate, having learned the old-fashioned American values, such as...

• speed
  
• manual dexterity
  
• punctuality
  
• diligrance
  
• humility
  
• respect for authority"
  
  

The press release also included this statement on the current state of DCPS:

"DC schools now are just indoctrination factories, pumping children full of anti-American sentiments and left wing propagranda. In history class they learn only one side of the civil war and they end up with a wholly negative view of the very efficient labor system of the Antebellum South; in science class they are taught the hoax of climate change; in geography classes they are using outdated maps referencing the non-existant "Gulf of Mexico" and incorrectly labeling the Donbas region of Russia as part of Ukraine."  

Another area of significant savings to the taxpayer, the statement said, will come from the elimination of the "ridulously extravagent school lunches" that Musk said are now standard fare in DC's public school cafetrias: "They're wasting millions of your hard-earned dollars feeding kids Iranian caviar, Nova Scotia smoked salmon, and French escargot, all washed down with Cuervo Gold from Mexico -- often served with a side of fentanyl smuggled in by the drug dealing immigrants who make up a sizable percentage of DCPS employees.

But no more. Under the newly announced school budget and work-study schedule, a ten-minute lunch break will be taken on the factory floor, with one single serving of of American grown & GMO-modified grain-based gruel per child. Any child who says, "Please sir, I want some more" will learn the lesson embedded in that great English classic, Oliver Twist: Children who try to get more than their due or seek advatage, not based on their own hard work, but on a false sense of entitlement or claim to pity due to their race, class, gender or age, will no longer be coddled or promoted but will be subject to "swift and sure RERIBUTION in the form of Corporal Punishment."

Parents have until 11:59 PM, TONIGHT, APRIL 1, to opt out of the new DCPS work-study program, the alternative being to home-school their children or sign them up for federally-supported Christian Nationalist charter schools.

The opt-out form is available at this link.

Posted by:

Peggy Robin

Cleveland Park Listserv Moderator

ClevelandPark+Owner@groups.io 

April 1, 2025

Still Life with Robin: Big changes coming to the National Zoo?

by Peggy Robin

I hope by now you've heard the news that President Trump has assigned VP Vance to root out instances of "woke" culture at the National Zoo.

As the Zoo occupies a large plot of land between Cleveland Park to the north and Woodley Park to the south, I view the zoo's denizens, both animal and human, as our neighbors.

That's why I was so pleased to see the video below from a concerned zoo-goer, Kyle Whitmire, who took it upon himself to visit the zoo to determine just who's "woke" and who's not.

Here is his report on YouTube (also available on Instagram at  https://www.instagram.com/p/DHwfyYuRtfu/?hl=en): 

Not sure he's right? You are welcome to visit our animal neighbors at 3001 Connecticut Avenue NW, WDC, 20008, and see for yourself. 

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

Get Out: And Go Fly a Kite!

 by Peggy Robin

Free!

BLOSSOM KITE FESTIVAL!

When: Saturday, March 29, 2025 10 - 4 PM
Rain Date: March 30, 2025

Where: Washington Monument Grounds

More info: https://nationalcherryblossomfestival.org/event/blossom-kite-festival/

Join us at the Washington Monument Grounds with soaring activities, music, competitions, and performances. Kite enthusiasts, beginners, families, and friends are all welcome.

Get ready to enjoy kite demonstrations and competitions, arts & crafts, and so much more. 

2025 BLOSSOM KITE FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

COMPETITION & DEMONSTRATION FIELD

Welcome Remarks: 10:00 AM  

National Anthem & Patriotic Kite Fly: 10:05 to 10:25 AM  

Featured Fliers Demo #1: 10:30 to 11:00 AM  

Hot Tricks Showdown: 11:05 to 11:35 AM  

Mass Professional Ascension: 11:35 to12:25 PM  

Featured Fliers Demo #2: 12:30 to 1:00 PM  

Adult Kite Makers Competition: 1:00  to 2:00 PM  

Master Mikio Toki Kite Fly/Demo: 2:00 to 2:30 PM  

Rokkaku Battle: 2:30 to 3:30 PM  

Featured Fliers Demo #3: 3:30 to 4:00 PM  

Awards and Kite Arch: 4:00 to 4:30 PM  

FAMILY FIELD STAGE PERFORMERS

*DJ/Host Wes Felton: 10:30 to 3:45 PM  

Practice Fly for Youth Kite Makers: 10:15  to 10:45 AM  

*Iya & The Kuumba Kids: 10:30 to 11:05 AM  

Youth Kite Makers Competition: 11:00 to 12:00 PM  

*Pat Smith: 11:10 to 11:20 AM  

*The Frizz: 11:35 – 12:00 PM  

Youth Kite Makers Awards: 12:15 – 12:45 PM  

*Unknown Artist: 12:45 – 1:05 PM

Bol Races: 1:00 – 1:45 PM  

*Orquestra Manplesa: 1:15 to 2:00 PM  

Bol Races & (Music): 2:00 to 4:30 PM  

*Kenny Allen/Wes Felton/Dante Pope: 2:15 to 3:45 PM  

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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.