Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Get Out! The Events Column, August 22 - 29, 2019

Bei Bei - Smithsonian National Zoo
We wanted to share some events and activities that list members might be interested in. Have a great weekend -- and week beyond, too. If you know of an event that the 18,400+ members of the Cleveland Park Listserv should know about, email us at events @ fastmail dot net.

Peggy Robin and Bill Adler
Publishers, Cleveland Park Listserv
www.cleveland-park.com     

Thursday, August 22 at 9 AM, Bei Bei’s 4th Birthday! Giant panda Bei Bei will be another year older! He will receive a panda-friendly frozen cake specially made by the Zoo’s Department of Nutrition Science on Thursday morning. Visit the David M. Rubenstein Family Giant Panda Habitat to celebrate with us. It won’t be long before Bei Bei leaves us, and moves to China, as stipulated in the Smithsonian Zoo’s breeding agreement. Transporting an animal thousands of miles takes a considerable amount of time and effort to plan. The process is well underway which includes working with other federal agencies, researching travel logistics, coordinating with colleagues in China, and preparing Bei Bei for the move. Come and celebrate with him while you can! Free. The Smithsonian National Zoo is at 3001 Connecticut Avenue NW. More info: https://s.si.edu/2z7y6u2   

Thursday, August 22 at 6 PM, Mayor Muriel Bowser's 5th Annual Women's Equality Day Celebration. Please join Mayor Muriel Bowser, the Mayor’s Office on Women’s Policy and Initiatives, and the DC Commission for Women to celebrate the 5th Annual Women’s Equality Day Celebration, to honor August 26, 1920, when the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution was certified as law, giving women the right to vote nationawide. Attendees are asked to wear something yellow or gold to show your support of Women’s Equality! Register for this free event at http://bit.ly/2z9grlE. At Hook Hall, 3400 Georgia Avenue NW.

Thursday, August 22 from 6 - 9 PM, A Night of Swing at the Omni Shoreham. Blow the night away with the Sax, Trombone and Trumpet, the beat of bass and drums, and hot vocals! The Imperial Palms led by the Incomparable Chou Chou Scantlin – Chou Chou (“Shoo Shoo”) has been wowing audiences with musical nightclub entertainment from the 20’s, 30’s, and 40’s, and has shared the stage with some of the greats like James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Natalie Cole, Gloria Gaynor, as well as notable engagements from Met Galas to royal weddings – are performing in the Omni Shoreham’s Secret Garden Music Series! Free admission. Register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/night-of-swing-tickets-68700339565?aff=ebdssbdestsearch. The Omni Shoreham Hotel is at 2500 Calvert Street NW. Access the Garden via Robert's Terrace.

Friday, August 23 from 5 - 8 PM, Funky Dawgz Brass Band (funk and hip-hop). Catch the last concert of the summer series of  Jazz in the Garden at the National Gallery of Art. Spend an evening among the Sculpture Garden's monumental works of art set to the sounds of Funky Dawgz Brass Band. The Sculpture Garden is at 7th Street and Constitution Avenue NW. During jazz concerts, the Pavilion Café offers a special menu of creative American cuisine and refreshments. Alcoholic beverages may not be brought into the Sculpture Garden but may be purchased at the café. Free admission. Info on the 2019 Summer Jazz Series at: https://pavilioncafe.com/jazz/jazz-schedule/

Saturday August 24 from 11 AM - 4 PM, Guy Mason Recreation Center's 4th Annual Taste of the World Celebration. This festival will highlight the diversity of international communities that live and thrive in the District of Columbia. The festival is divided into 3 areas: Entertainment Area - to exhibit and display traditional music and dances, which include audience participation; International Food Court - to sample native food specialties; and a Market Area – where shoppers will be able to browse and shop through a veritable marketplace of handmade products. Free admission. At Guy Mason Recreation Center, 3600 Calvert St NW, https://tasteoftheworld19.splashthat.com/

Saturday August 24 from 12 - 6 PM, 17th Street Festival. Historic Dupont Circle Main Streets presents the Tenth Annual 17th Street Festival, featuring more than 120 artists and makers selling everything from homemade candles, clothing, jewelry, and paintings. Other exhibitors include area nonprofit organizations, politicians, and local entrepreneurs. And to top it off, the festival is “kid friendly” with a special Kids Zone which will include an inflatable slide, snow cones, and activities. The live music will come from a variety of acoustic entertainers not up on a stage but roving up and down the street all day, including an African band, flamenco dancer, mariachi band, a Chinese lion dancer, and a New Orleans jazz band. Free admission. In the 1500-1600 blocks of 17th Street, NW. More info: http://www.17thstreetfestival.org/

Saturday, August 24 at 1 PM, Documenting Queer History. Join us for a moderated discussion about how queer history in DC is being documented, and why it is important. Hear about the methods and motivations for documenting queer history. Speakers will include: JEB (Joan E. Biren), a photographer, filmmaker and social justice activist who began chronicling LGBTQ+ lives in 1971; Ty Ginter (they/them), a Queer hxstorian and historic preservationist who specializes in intangible heritage and the built environment. They are the co-founder of DC Dykaries, an oral history and documentation project that focuses on documenting and preserving Washington, DC's lost lesbian, Sapphic and womxn's heritage; Jose Gutierrez, a local and national long time human rights and social justice activist, immigration advocate, Latinx LGBTQ historian, artist, writer and a poet; Meg Metcalf, the Women’s, Gender & LGBTQ+ Studies Collection Specialist and Reference Librarian at the Library of Congress. Meg has served in various leadership roles at the Library, foremost of which is her stewardship of the LC employee organization for LGBTQ+ staff and allies, LC-GLOBE. Free and open to all. At the Mount Pleasant Library, 3160 16th St. NW (entrance on Lamont St.) More info: https://www.dclibrary.org/node/64369 

Saturday August 24 from 1 - 6 PM, Community Day Open House at Arena Stage. A great day full of activities, including live music, face painting, pony rides, dance performances, storytelling, delicious cuisine from “Taste of Southwest,” and much, much more!  Don’t miss the props sale (1-5 PM) offering items straight from the stage: pick up the perfect accent item and beautiful pieces from historic Arena Stage productions, including Carousel, Anything Goes, South Pacific, Kleptocracy, Disgraced, Smart People, Mother Courage and Junk. Pricing begins at $1 and includes full dining room table sets, lounge chairs, and specially-priced, handmade prop and set pieces that will be perfect in any living or office space. Another “don’t miss” event: fantastic aerial performances from Wings Aerial Entertainment, acrobatics, stilt walkers and more (2-6 PM). Arena Stage is at 1101 Sixth Street SW. Free admission. More info: https://www.arenastage.org/arena-events/70thanniversaryseason-communityday/

Saturday, August 24 at 8 PM, Dwarf Planet Day. On this sad day in 2006, the planet Pluto, discovered in 1930 by 24-year-old self-taught astronomer Clyde Tombaugh, was stripped of its status as a full-fledged planet by a decree of the International Astronomical Union and demoted to the demeaning category of “dwarf planet.” On the 13th anniversary of this event, The Friends of Pluto the Planet and Animated Disney Dog (FoPPADD) will hold a rally outside the Naval Observatory at Massachusetts Avenue at 34th Street to demand restoration and respect for the undersized but plucky little planet. Without Pluto, the schoolchild’s mnemonic for the planets, “My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas” becomes, “My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Nine….?” And while we’re at it, what about the Kuiper Belt? Let’s have a way to honor all 100,000+ asteroids and planetoids (objects larger than 100km in diameter) in the outer reaches of our solar system. To read the list of planetary demands and add your signature to the online petition, go to http://bit.ly/cpfakeevent.

Sunday, August 25 at 2 PM, Jazz in the Basement: Nicole Connelly plays the work of German trombonist, Albert Mangelsdorff, an innovator known for his improvisational style and use of multiphonics. Musicians: Nicole Connelly, trombone; Derrick Michaels, tenor sax; Max Murray, bass; Dominic Smith, drums. This event will take place at the Goethe-Institut Washington located at 1990 K St. NW (enter on 20th St.) - free - all ages. Seating is first come, first served.  More info: http://bit.ly/2Ze3GF5   

Sunday, August 25 at 3 PM, Commemorations of the 400th Anniversary of African American History. DC will join national parks across the country this weekend in honoring four centuries of African American history with a bell ringing, to mark 400 years to the day that the first ship of enslaved Africans arrived in Hampton, Virginia, then occupied by the British. The National Park Service has asked that parks nationwide ring bells for four minutes (one minute for each century of African American history) at 3 PM EDT. Some of the DC parks and historic sites participating are: The Carter G. Woodson Home: DC Strings will perform at 2:40 PM, followed by the bell ringing and a tour of the Logan Circle site. Frederick Douglass National Historic Site: In addition to the bell ringing, the site in Southeast DC. will host a house tour and a group reading of Douglass’ 1852 speech “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?” Mary McLeod Bethune Council House: The bell ringing at 3 PM will be followed by a tour of the house near Logan Circle. Georgetown Waterfront Park: This commemoration starts at 2 PM, with speakers and a wreath laying at the meditation labyrinth at 33rd and Water Streets NW. Georgetown churches will also ring their bells at 3 PM. DCist has information of these and other events at: http://bit.ly/31Y2zHr

Sunday, August 25 from 3 - 5 PM, Museum Jam at Sandy Spring Museum. Bring your stringed instrument and join a bluegrass jam at the Museum. Whether you are a relative newbie to jamming or a seasoned musician, you will enjoy the camaraderie as we share favorite songs and learn from one another. All ages are welcome. Listeners welcome, too. Hosted by Mary Burdette of Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival and Bruce Evans of the Fire Hazards. Reserve your spot ($5): http://bit.ly/2HgNOHL. Sandy Spring Museum is at 17901 Bentley Rd., Sandy Spring, MD 20860.

Monday, August 26 from 6:30 - 9:30 PM, Women's Equality Day: "On the Basis of Sex" movie screening. Join Northern Virginia Legislators to celebrate Women's Equality Day on August 26th with a free screening of "On the Basis of Sex." Following the film, there will be a brief panel discussion (starting at 8:30 PM).The film shows how Ruth Bader Ginsburg changed America. Today, Ruth Bader Ginsburg is a long-serving and respected Supreme Court Justice. But her first encounters with the nation’s highest court came years before she was nominated to it. On the Basis of Sex is the story of Ginsburg as a young lawyer and one of her numerous groundbreaking gender-discrimination wins in the Supreme Court. Felicity Jones stars as Ginsburg in a powerful biographical drama that, despite being set in the 1970s, speaks volumes to America today. Register for free tickets: http://bit.ly/2NjJkUu. At the Cinema Arts Theatre, 9650 Main St, Fairfax, VA 22031

Tuesday, August 27 at 4:30 PM, Step Afrika!'s 2019 Summer Step Xplosion at the Cleveland Park Library. Step Afrika! is one of the top ten African American dance companies in the United States. Founded 25 years ago as the first professional company dedicated to the tradition of stepping, the company blends percussive dance styles practiced by historically African American fraternities and sororities, African traditional dance and influences from a variety of other dance and art forms. Step Africa! integrates songs, storytelling, humor, and audience participation. The blend of technique, agility, and pure energy makes each performance unique and leaves the audience with their hearts pounding. Step Afrika!'s one-hour workshop will be an interactive and exploratory experience that focuses on using your body as a drum featuring Master Percussionist David Pleasant and Ethnochoreographer Jakari Sherman. Free and open to all. Cleveland Park Library, 3310 Connecticut Ave NW. More info: https://www.dclibrary.org/node/64833. To attend, please register at
https://stepafrika.secure.force.com/ticket/#sections_a0F0h00000z2yIcEAI. To see all available performances, go to https://www.stepafrika.org/performances/step-xplosion/   

Wednesday, August 28 from 6 - 8 PM, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and The "I Have a Dream" Speech Walking Tour. August 28 marks the 56th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream" speech, delivered at the Lincoln Memorial during the 1963 “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.” We invite you to join us for a FREE guided walking tour to honor the life and legacy of Dr. King. The highlights of this program, presented by DC History and Culture, a nonprofit organization, will include listening to a complete version of the ”I Have a Dream” speech where it was actually delivered by Dr. King, the Lincoln Memorial, and a visit to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. Our program will begin at the Washington Monument Lodge (15th St NW, between Madison and Jefferson Drives). This event is open to the public and all are welcome to attend, including children and groups. Event takes place light rain (sprinkles) or shine. Register here: http://bit.ly/31MX3Ho

Thursday, August 29 from 6:30 - 8:30, City of Jasmine (2019) by Olga Grjasnowa - Book Talk & Author Appearance. The Goethe-Institut Washington and the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany welcome author Olga Grjasnowa for a discussion of her recently translated work, City of Jasmine, an intimate and striking novel that offers real insight into the horrors and inhumanity of war, whilst also focusing on the humanity of the protagonists. Olga Grjasnowa is recognized as one of the most talented and admired young authors working in Germany today. Her first play, Mitfühlende Deutsche (Compassionate Germans), won the Dramatist Prize from the Wiener Worstätten. She has written the novel All Russians Love Birch Trees, and her new novel is City of Jasmine. Free. At the Goethe-Institut Washington, 1990 K Street NW - Entrance on 20th St., lower level. Register at  http://bit.ly/2Ze3OEz        

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