Bill Adler and Peggy Robin
Publishers, All Life Is Local
Cleveland Park Listserv
www.cleveland-park.com
Friday, April 19 at 3:15 PM, The Great Zucchini invites
all neighborhood kids to a benefit performance at Lafayette Elementary School.
The Great Zucchini is well known in the DC area for his unique blend of magic
and comedy that keeps the kids laughing! This performance is geared mostly for
the 4 - 6 year old set. A light snack will be served. Tickets are only $10 and
all proceeds benefit Lafayette. See http://www.lafayettehsa.org/event/great-zucchuni-party/
Friday, April 19, "ColorStruck: With the Skin I'm
In!" by the Northeast Performing Arts Group. A thought-provoking musical
expression of history, human behavior, images of color and change. See how
today's youth overcome the destructive forces of color bias and create hope for
embracing humanity. This musical is told through the eyes of young people ages
3 - 25, in 2 performances: 11:30 AM (for schools, seniors, and city officials -
tickets $7) and 7 PM (tickets $15 in advance/$20 at the door). At Woodrow
Wilson Senior High School, 3950 Chesapeake Street NW. More info at http://on.fb.me/XUaEdy
Friday, April 19 from 10 AM - 5 PM and Saturday, April
20, 10 AM - 5 PM: Georgetown’s Book Hill Neighborhood holds its 10th annual
French Market, with music, food, children’s activities and more. Free. Along
Wisconsin Avenue between P Street & Reservoir Road. More info at http://www.georgetowndc.com/events/french_market/
Saturday, April 20 from 8 - 11 AM, Shred It & Forget
It, a free spring clean-up and shredding event, sponsored by Damian Buckley and
Martha Piesto of the Buckley Group, 301-907-7600. At Blessed Sacrament School
& Church Parking Lot. Entrance on Western Avenue, east of Chevy Chase
Circle.
Saturday, April 20, 9 AM - 3 PM, Car Wash to Support
Oyster-Adams 8th Grade Trip to Costa Rica. The Oyster-Adams 8th grade is going
on a trip to Costa Rica in May as part of a community service and cultural
exchange program. While there, the students will be planting trees and tutoring
Spanish-speaking children in an after-school program, as well as participating
in other community-service projects. Cost: $20 per vehicle (includes outside
wash & dry and inside vacuuming). Location: Driveway of Oyster-Adams
Bilingual School at 29th and Calvert Streets.
Saturday, April 20, 10 AM - 12 Noon, Rock Creek Park
Extreme Clean-up. The Rock Creek Conservancy and the National Park Service hope
you will join your neighbors to save park trees from the chokehold of English
ivy, an invasive vine that grows up tree trunks and will eventually weaken and
kill the tree. Volunteers will cut ivy from tree trunks using hand tools.
Tools, gloves, and training on how to identify and cut English ivy will be
provided. Ages 16 and up to use tools. Meet at the intersection of Normanstone
Drive and Rock Creek Drive, NW. Go to http://bit.ly/11iZRYR
to register and find out what to wear and what to bring.
Saturday, April 20 from 12 Noon - 4 PM, The Junior League
of Washington hosts its annual Kitchen Tour, starting at Lime Fresh in Columbia
Heights, then on to U Street for a tour of homes, focused on the heart of any
home - the kitchen. The Tour will conclude with a Happy Hour at Vinoteca. The
Tour also includes some neat extra perks, such as tastings, goodie bag items,
and door prizes. From floral arrangements to wine tastings, learn to how to make
big ideas happen in even the smallest of spaces. Tickets are $30 in advance
through http://bit.ly/17tFn08 and $35 on
the day of the event.
Saturday, April 20 at 1 PM, Cathedral Wildflower Walk,
led by horticulture manager Deanne Eversmeyer. Wear sturdy waterproof
shoes.Free. At the Washington National Cathedral -- meet at Garfield and 35th
Streets. For more information visit www.allhallowsguild.org/what/walk_schedule.html
Sunday, April 21, 11 AM - 4 PM, Kensington Day of the
Book Festival, featuring George Pelecanos, popular author of DC-based
hard-boiled detective novels, who will read from his latest novel with musical
accompaniment by The Nighthawks (sometime between 2 -3 PM). Live music by The
Nighthawks, Atomic Swing Club, Silver Creek, Stancill's Guitar Studio, Side by
Side, and Interstate Rivals. Over 100 authors, poets, publishers, and community
groups will line Howard Avenue (street closed) from Armory Avenue to Montgomery
Ave. Children's program includes magical readings by Mayor Pete Fosselman, and
Delegate Al Carr, a miniature horse, eat your Math, learn to draw a magical
creature, storytellers and young poets. And a scavenger hunt! Free rare book
evaluations by professional book appraiser Dale Sorenson. Food court with four
fabulous food trucks. All activities are free. More info at www.dayofthebook.com.
Sunday, April 21 from 1 - 3 PM, Earth Day at Tudor Place,
A Family Celebration. Bring your family together to celebrate our earth in one
of Washington's greenest spots. The afternoon's activities include games, a
scavenger hunt, and painting flower pots and planting them with seeds from the
historic garden. Eco-friendly
refreshments will be served. Tickets $5 - $8 at http://bit.ly/XUaOlb
Sunday, April 21 at 2 PM, historian Mara Cherkasky presents
Mount Pleasant’s history through maps and images. Free. At the Mount Pleasant
Library, 3160 16th Street NW. For more info go to http://www.dclibrary.org/node/34203
Sunday, April 21, Rock Creek Waterfront Walk (4 PM) and
Trash Bash ( 5 PM). Explore and see some spectacular views of the spot where
Rock Creek flows in the Potomac River by the Kennedy Center and Georgetown
Waterfront. At Thompson s Boat House, 2900 Virginia Avenue. Then meet up for
the 5th Annual Trash Bash at Tony & Joe’s on the Georgetown Waterfront.
Admission to the Trash Bash is $10, which includes a drink ticket and food.
Register at http://bit.ly/116m1f3
Monday, April 22, 1 - 3 PM, free program, “Reverse
Engineering a Supermarket Line.” Reverse engineering is taking a product, disassembling
it, and figuring out how it works. We’ll do that with a supermarket line so
that you can find out what makes a line move fast. We’ll visit three
Washington-area supermarkets and examine checkout lines in each. You’ll learn
to spot people like coupon-users, check writers, and those who are just plain
unlucky and pick items that don’t have scannable bar codes. After this seminar
you’ll be able to pick the fastest lane in a supermarket 75% of the time.
Location: Social Safeway parking lot. Or not, because this is the weekly fake
event.
Monday, April 22 at 7 PM, Think Globally, Act Locally: an
Earth Day panel discussion with Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh and Reid
Detchon, Vice President for Energy & Climate at the UN Foundation. At
Seabury at Frienship Terrace, 4201 Butterworth Street NW. Free, reservations
requested at wholenessforhumanity.com or http://bit.ly/15EuJCK
.
Wednesday, April 24 at 7 PM, “Return of a King: The
Battle for Afghanistan, 1839-42” book discussion with author/historian William
Dalrymple. Free. At Tenley-Friendship Library, 4450 Wisconsin Avenue NW. More
info at http://bit.ly/10YHBCC
Thursday, April 25 at 6:30 PM, “From Obedient Wives to
Fierce Furies: Women's Changing Lives in the Early Republic.” Although women
lacked political power in the Republic's early days, the talk of
"rights" and growing education of women opened new doors for them.
Author and historian Natalie Wexler will discuss the four women at the heart of
her novel of early America, “A More Obedient Wife.” $15 - 20, tickets at http://bit.ly/13scpkp
Thursday, April 25, 6:30 – 9:30 PM, Illuminate: A Light
It Up Blue Cocktail Reception hosted by AS2YP Benefiting Autism Speaks. Please
join us for an evening of hors d'oeuvres, beer, wine, soft drinks, music and a
beautiful spring night overlooking the Potomac River. With ticket purchase, you
will also receive access to the event’s After Party with drink specials at
Mason Inn on April 25th! At the House of
Sweden, 2900 K Street NW. Tickets for 21-40 yrs old: $50; $100 for 41+yrs old
at http://bit.ly/14Xcj1v
Thursday, April 22 at 7 PM, Author Rebecca Gail discusses
her novel, Trying, at the Tenley-Friendship Library, 4450 Wisconsin Ave NW.
More info at http://www.dclibrary.org/node/33629
Thursday, April 25 at 7:30 PM, The Cleveland Park Library
hosts a Q&A with author Glen Weldon about his book, "Superman: The
Unauthorized Biography", which chronicles how over the past 75 years, the
way Superman has been portrayed -- and how he has been perceived -- has
steadily changed to reflect the culture around him. Glen writes about books and
comic books for the NPR blog Monkey see, and he is also a founding member of
the NPR podcast Pop Culture Happy Hour. More info at http://www.dclibrary.org/node/35183
First off, those familiar with William Dalrymple's earlier works, notably 'White Mughals' and 'The Last Mughal' will not be disappointed with 'Return of a King'. The book contains what most of his readers will have now come to expect from a Dalrymple book - (1) meticulous research, (2) characters whose virtues and vices are duly brought out, (3) anecdotes (all stemming from his extensive research) , and (4) a style of story telling which ties in his research and the characters beautifully.
ReplyDeleteTo those interested in this genre, but who have not yet read Dalrymple's work, I strongly recommend you to buy this book, as well as 'The Last Mughal'. You will find them most enjoyable.
While the story takes up about 500 pages of the book, it should be able to keep readers engrossed (I finished reading my copy in 3 days). The pace picks up at key moments and slows down whenever the story demands. As reported in various media, the book will draw parallels to the current occupation of Afghanistan, and viewers will not fail to see why.
All in all, William Dalrymple's 'Return of a King' is a good read and is highly recommended.