By Patrick Pho
This past weekend I was invited to celebrate Cinco De Mayo with beer instead of the traditional tequila. Sunday afternoon I went down to the Half Street Fairgrounds by Nats Park and walked around the final day of LivingSocial’s BeerFest. Craft beers, crazy party games, and a silent disco certainly made my Sunday Funday a good one.
Take a look at some photos I snapped at the festival below.
Listen to Your Mother Cast / Courtesy LTYM DC
Full disclosure: I went to Synetic Theater on Sunday afternoon firstly to see my friend Lauren perform and secondly because my mom said so. She likes stories about motherhood, and couldn’t be there herself. So mist and cold be damned.
Listen to Your Mother is a national program started by Ann Imig to “give Mother’s Day a voice” by inviting writers to read/perform selected personal essays about motherhood. The 2nd annual DC show took place Sunday at Synetic Theater.
By Ben H. Rome
The first American team ascends Mount Everest in 1963. (Photo courtesy National Geographic)
National Geographic Live’s spring programming winds down in May with several great events. As usual, our friends at the National Geographic Museum are offering two pairs of tickets to our readers. To be considered for the random drawing, enter your name and which two events you’d most like to see in the comments area. On Tuesday, April 30 at noon we’ll draw two names and get you set up with one of your chosen events. (Note that there are two events listed below that are ineligible for the drawing; the evening with Buzz Aldrin and the Beer Tasting.)
For those unable to attend these great programs, you can now view them online a few days after the live event. All programs are at the Grosvenor Auditorium at the National Geographic Museum on 17 and M Street, NW; parking is free for program attendees after 6 pm.
Isabel Allende: A Portrait in Sepia ($22)
May 1, 7:30 pm
Spend an evening with one of the world’s greatest writers when Isabel Allende, author of The House of the Spirits and most recently Portrait in Sepia, comes to National Geographic. A Chilean author whose books established her as a feminist force in Latin America’s male-dominated literary world, Allende spins stories of family, politics, and human rights that transfix audiences. She’ll converse with National Geographic Traveler’s Don George, editor of the new travel anthology, Better Than Fiction: True Travel Tales from Great Fiction Writers, which features her work.
By fedward
At this point you know how we feel about Dale DeGroff, Derek Brown, Garrett Peck, and the Museum of the American Cocktail. You also know how we like fancy parties with good drinks. So I’ll be brief: all those people (and more) are organizing DC Toasts the Black Mixology Club, a benefit for the Museum, May 10 at the Howard Theatre. The Chuck Brown Band will perform.
The discount for early ticket sales has been extended through tonight. Regular tickets at the early access price are $65; VIP tickets with early admission are $90. For more information, check out the Washingtonian’s Best Bites Blog, this Kojo Nnamdi interview with some of the organizers, or the event’s about us page.
That is all.
By Ben H. Rome
There are pirates in Washington.
If you doubt, head over to the National Geographic Museum between now and September 2; the Jolly Roger flag hanging from the flagpole should convince you. If you need more persuasive evidence, head inside and wander through the museum’s latest exhibit Real Pirates.
From fore to aft, this exhibit rolls up the past, present, and future of the pirate vessel Whydah. Originally designed and used as a slave ship along the American-African slave routes, the Whydah was captured by pirate captain Sam Bellamy and used in his fleet to pillage more than fifty prizes across the Carribean. On a course for a New England harbor, the Whydah, her captain, and her crew ran into a violent nor’easter near Cape Cod and sank beneath the waves. With it went a hold full of pirate treasure and most of the men on board.
National Geographic chose to feature the Whydah exhibit for a number of reasons. According to Richard McWalters, Director of Museum Operations, the story of the Whydah crosses three seafaring trades: slavery, piracy, and recovery. Through the shipwreck’s history, visitors are exposed to the realities of the slave trade and its vessels, the life of a pirate crew during the eighteenth century, and the technology, dedication, and innovation of today’s salvage explorers. Continue reading
By Patrick Pho
Yesterday I spent the night with Helen and she did not disappoint. For many in the DC theater scene, the past week was spent searching for dresses (especially those with pockets), getting manis & pedis, and making sure that hair was nothing less than perfect. It was all for the 29th Annual Helen Hayes Awards, Washington’s biggest night in theater where the arts community honors the past year of shows.
If you want a list of the winners you can find those here. Instead I offer you a tradition three years running: my complete breakdown of my day (and night) with Helen.
By Rebecca
Photo credit: Moshe Zusman
Cute critters, cupcakes, celebs and clothes, oh my! If you’re looking for something spectacular to do this weekend, then The 2013 Fashion For Paws runway show this Saturday, April 13, 2013 at the National Building Museum is your ticket.
E! News Now anchor and E! News correspondent Ashlan Gorse returns to host over 1,700 guests for a four hour open bar and runaway show to support the Washington Humane Society. Which, by-the-way, is where I got my adorbs orange tabby Archie.
At this year’s event, Congressmen Jim Moran (D-Virginia) and John Campbell (R-California) will be honored with the 2013 Humane Hero Award, which recognizes individuals in media, politics and entertainment who have displayed a passion for animal welfare.
So whether you’re an animal <3er or a fashion enthusiast, get your ticket now!!!
By Ben H. Rome
From “Roman Frontiers”; used with permission. The Porta Nigra, or “black gate,” still dominates Trier, Germany. A hundred feet tall, it was built in the second century as part of a wall system four miles long. Trier was a major city in the late Roman Empire, even serving as a regional capital under several emperors. “The light was so good from my hotel room that I put up a tripod and started taking pictures. The gate is surrounded by modern elements like power lines and a gas station, so I captured a variety of ways of looking at it. This was a way of combining both the old and the new.”
ROBERT CLARK – ROMAN FRONTIERS, SEPTEMBER 2012
Tonight, National Geographic is pulling back the curtain of sorts. One of the organization’s acclaimed draws is its fantastic use of photography to illustrate various articles and exhibits. Many photographers, from amateur to professional, dream of a day when they see one or more of their photos published in the iconic gold-bordered magazine.
National Geographic magazine Senior Photo Editor Alice Gabriner will share with a select crowd at the museum’s Grosvenor Auditorium her process. (The program is sold out for the evening.) Guests will discover firsthand the work that goes in to curating a National Geographic photo show through an insiders tour, as well as a private viewing of Beyond the Story: National Geographic Unpublished 2012, an upcoming photography exhibition featuring unpublished images by photographers on assignment for National Geographic magazine last year.
I had the opportunity to talk briefly with Gabriner before the program this evening. She graciously took a few moments to answer some questions and shared some photos from upcoming projects. Continue reading
By Ben H. Rome
Essick discussing his photo in the special Nat Geo exhibit upstairs
courtesy of BurnAway
The National Geographic Live series began a couple weeks ago, so our apologies for getting this to you a little late. Nonetheless, the good folks over at the NG Museum are giving away two pairs of tickets to our readers for (almost) any one of their great programs over the next few weeks. Entering is easy: in the comment field below, give us your name and two of the programs from the following list you’d like to see. We’ll randomly draw two commenters and provide each with a pair of tickets to one of the programs they selected! The drawing will occur around noon on Tuesday, 2/19 and winners notified that afternoon.
All events are at the Grosvenor Auditorium at the National Geographic Museum, located at the corner of 16th and M Streets, NW. Parking is free for programs starting after 6 pm. If you’d like to attend and don’t win, you can contact the box office to purchase tickets.
Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness ($22)
Feb 20, 7:30 pm
Spend an evening with Alexandra Fuller, an award-winning writer and National Geographic contributor who has converted the experience of growing up amidst war and revolution into a powerful literary voice. Raised in Zimbabwe by English expats, Fuller’s coming-of-age experience during that country’s independence struggle provided material for two compelling memoirs, Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight and Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness. Join us for a moving exploration of Africa—and beyond—in a conversation hosted by National Geographic Traveler editor at large Don George.
By Alexia
The lineup for the 2013 Sweetlife Festival was announced yesterday, and features internationally acclaimed acts Phoenix, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Passion Pit, as well as up-and-coming artists, including DC’s own Shark Week! Today We Love DC is giving away a pair of GA lawn tickets to the festival, before you can buy them! The festival will be held at Merriweather Post Pavilion on May 11th. (#sweetlife2013)
For your chance to win a pair of tickets to the 2013 Sweetlife Festival, simply leave a comment on this post using a valid email address until 4pm today. One entry per email address, please.
For the rules of this giveaway…
Comments will be closed at 4pm and a winner will be randomly selected. The winner will be notified by email. The winner must respond to our email within 24 hours or they will forfeit their tickets and we will pick another winner.
Tickets will be available to the winner at the will-call window of the Merriweather Post Pavilion on the day of the festival. The tickets must be claimed with a valid ID. The winner must be old enough to attend the specific concert or must have a parent’s permission to enter if he/she is under 18 years old.
Comment away!
By Patrick Pho
We all know Washington, DC is a city that likes to drink and party. Add The President and you have a good reason to grab a tux or gown and brave the cold. That’s what many of our We Love DC crew did as they hit up the Official and Unofficial parties celebrating the Inauguration of Barack Obama. Here’s what they saw and heard.
By Patrick Pho
Four years ago I trudged down to The Mall and stood in the cold to see Barack Obama get sworn in as President of the United States of America. This time around I avoided The Mall and checked out the Inaugural Parade instead. I still ended up waiting outside in the cold but it wasn’t that bad.
Read on for lots of photos from the parade route.
By Ben H. Rome
Courtesy Sarah McNair-Landry and National Geographic
On December 6, an adventurous brother-sister team visits the National Geographic Museum to share about their experience kite skiing over two thousand miles through Canada’s arctic archipelago. Eric and Sarah McNair-Landry grew up with the Arctic Ocean and sled dogs in their backyard and have trekked across the polar regions since they were teenagers. Their journey saw them fend off polar bears and coping with extreme weather conditions along the way.
Their expedition traces the 1906 Roald Amundsen route through the Northwest Passage. That was the first time that it was actually successfully navigated by anyone following centuries of explorers hoping to discover a way through from the Atlantic to the Pacific north of Canada. The journey began in Tuktoyaktuk, located in Canada’s Northwest Territories and traveled east through Kugluktuk, Cambridge Bay, Gjoa Haven, Taloyoak, and Arctic Bay, before finally reaching the finish line at Pond Inlet on Baffin Island.
Sarah stopped by WeLoveDC to talk about their experience. Continue reading
By Patrick Pho
Whenever something big happens politically, locals always have an urge to flock to The White House. Even though President Obama was in Chicago to celebrate his victory over Mitt Romney in last night’s Presidential Election, people from all over decided that the best place for them to celebrate was at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Sure other neighborhoods celebrated with dancing and fireworks, but there’s nothing like reveling in front of the home of the President. When Obama clinched the Electoral College I grabbed my camera and drove down to see the crowds and they did not disappoint. Most of them were young, probably intoxicated college students who held up signs and climbed trees. Phones were out either for calling loved ones, taking photos, or checking in on Foursquare. Over 200 people were checked-in at The White House when I checked-in.
Here are a few images I took as I swam through the crowds.
By Ben H. Rome
Emperador courtesy of Enzofloyd
As the year winds down, so does the Fall National Geographic Live programming. This fall has been packed with great programs and showcases, with still more to come. Thanks to National Geographic once again for offering two pairs of tickets to our readers, providing access to any one of the great programs listed below. To enter, simply put what two programs you’d most like to see in the comment section; make sure you use a valid email address and use your first name. Entries will be taken through Friday noon and winners will be chosen at random and contacted Friday afternoon.
Unless otherwise indicated, all programs are at the Grosvenor Auditorium, located in the National Geographic Museum building at 1600 M Street NW. Parking is free after 6 pm for those attending evening programs.
GUERRILLA GEOGRAPHY ($25)
11/13; 7 pm
Think geography is just reading maps and memorizing names of places? Don’t tell that to Daniel Raven-Ellison. A self-described “guerrilla geographer” and Nat Geo Emerging Explorer, Raven-Ellison believes in encouraging people to experience the world around them in a more meaningful, surprising way, such as taking a photo every eight steps as they travel across the urban landscape. His Mission: Explore books challenge kids to take action to improve their worlds. Come along for the adventure, as this innovative, entertaining educator redefines what you think geography is—and shows how “guerrilla” artists, explorers, gardeners, and others use geography to find solutions. Reception follows. Continue reading
By Patrick Pho
Tech Cocktail’s DC Mixer @ DCWeek | 11.10.11
courtesy of TechCocktail
This past weekend the 2012 Digital Capital Week kicked off here in Washington. For those that aren’t familiar with DCWeek, it is the city’s annual festival organized by the folks at iStrategyLabs and Tech Cocktail that focuses on many different sections of the tech scene. Anchored by keynote speeches on Wednesday and a conference Thursday at the Artisphere, the week also includes a multitude of hackathons, presentations, meet-ups, networking events, and parties. Lots of parties.
If you are a badge holder or just someone looking for some cool events to hit up, here are a few items that caught my eye as I combed through the DCWeek schedule:
Vote by cookie! courtesy of Pianoman75
Nothing screams democracy quite like election-day food specials. In true Capital fashion, DC restaurants are getting in the swing of things and offering a host of President-worthy deals, giving you further incentive to get up and get heard. Shake Shack in Dupont Circle has partnered with Rock the Vote to offer “Shack the Vote”. On November 2nd, the burger mecca will be setting up a Pledge to Vote table, where you can pledge to rock it while also receiving a coupon for a free Presidential Caramel Custard, redeemable on Election Day. #brainfreezefordemocracy anyone?
One of my favorite wine bar’s, Vinoteca, if offering an all-day Happy Hour Party, featuring $5 wine and food specials, if you have the “I Voted” sticker. Vinoteca’s 7-day-a-week happy hour usually runs from 5-7pm, but will be extended on November 6th to celebrate all those who voted.
The Park Hyatt Lounge (also home to Blue Duck Tavern) is offering Presidential cheese, literally. Two blue cheeses representing the Democratic candidate and two red cheeses, representing the Republican candidate will be available nightly, nothing gets better than being political over cheese.
Photo courtesy Heather Freeman PR
Capitol City Brewing Company will host a thirteen-hour All Day Election Day Happy Hour from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 midnight on Tuesday, November 6, at both their downtown and Arlington locations.
701 is offering a special three-course fixed price Bipartisan lunch until Monday, January 21, Inaugural 2013, with a special lunch menu consists of an appetizer, entree and dessert priced at $25 per person, tax and gratuity not included.
Over in Old Town, Jackson 20 Chef Brian McPherson has created an Andrew Jackson-inspired prix fixe menu, available for $20 on Election Day for those wearing an “I Voted” sticker. The three-course, colonial-inspired menu pays homage to the restaurant’s namesake, President Andrew Jackson, and the foods he enjoyed.
There is nothing more patriotic than coming together to exercise your right to vote, demand your voice be heard, and party (and eat) together with your closest law-abiding citizens… Enjoy!
The bespectacled and beloved Chris Kimball of America’s Test Kitchen, along with the show’s science editor, Guy Crosby, gave a little chat last week in conjunction with the Smithsonian’s preview of an upcoming exhibit, “FOOD: Transforming the American Table 1950-2000.”
Among the highlights, Kimball explained that unlike other cooking shows, he embraces showing failure on America’s Test Kitchen in order to remove any fears about cooking. “You never see food shows go, ‘This sucks!’” he said. The mission is often to find out why bad things happen to good recipes, he added. Throughout the presentation, Kimball made the case for why recipes should be tested scientifically and why he chooses to use his head rather than his heart when cooking. Additionally, the duo answered the audience’s cooking questions and dispelled various cooking myths such as searing the meat locks in juices and marinating meat makes it more tender.
After the presentation, we caught a sneak preview of the FOOD exhibit (see a few photos after the jump) that is currently being installed at the National Museum of American History and set to open to the public on November 20th. The 3,800-square-foot exhibit will examine major changes in food production, distribution, preparation and consumption in America from 1950 to 2000.
By Rebecca
If you’re looking to make your Halloween costume go beyond the 31st, then Penn Quarter’s 901 Restaurant is your place to make that happen, because this Wednesday, October 17th at 9pm, they’ll be hosting a sultry Halloween soiree with trick-o-treat inspired sips.
Show up in your Halloween-inspired attire and you’ll get a complimentary drink ticket for either a Bloody Bang, a mixture of Emperor Imperial, homemade raspberry puree and champagne, served up on the rocks topped with fresh raspberries and a lemon peel, or a Midnight Aura, a savory mix of Belvedere, lemon, home spiced Asian pear puree, ginger and lemon bitters served in a martini glass.
Tunes will be provided by DJ Steve Starks of Nouveau Riche and 901′s marble tabletops, lounge couches, veiled curtains and candle lit ambiance should make for the ideal setting to get in the Halloween mood.
By Ben H. Rome
Old Naval Hospital – 1
courtesy of Tony DeFilippo
Labyrinth Games & Puzzles shop is doing another mystery party. “The Mystery of Aorta Springs” unfolds on Sunday, October 21 from 5 to 8 pm at the Old Naval Hospital in Southeast DC.
“Lately the town of Aorta Springs, Maryland has been plagued with terrifying trouble. But the crazy rants of a few townsfolk about ‘real’ vampires aren’t stopping Buffy Chaste, the homecoming queen, from celebrating her Halloween birthday! She’s invited you to celebrate with her at a fabulous BBQ at the home of her boyfriend, the reclusive rock superstar Killian Killagan.”
Kathleen Donahue, owner and proprietor of Labyrinth, says the party “is like a live-action Clue mixed with vampire rock and light horror.” When you purchase your tickets, you’ll be given a character role so players can prepare and dress appropriately. During the event, players will receive clues to share and are encouraged to work with other party-goers to solve the mystery. Prizes will be given for Best Costume and Best Mystery Solver. Food will be served, courtesy Inspire BBQ.
For more information or to purchase tickets, contact Labryinth Games at 202.544.1059. If you mention you saw this article here on WeLoveDC, they’ll even knock $5 off the ticket price of $45! Don’t wait too long; the last mystery party Labyrinth hosted completely sold out.
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