Downtown, Food and Drink, People, Special Events, The Daily Feed

New Vintage Wine Tasting on Monday

Photo courtesy of
‘Sonoma Wine Bar’
courtesy of ‘InspirationDC’

The New Vintage is hosting another charity wine event on Monday evening.  Castello Banfi, an Italian vineyard, will be showcasing a number of their wines at Cork Wine Bar, which is booked solely for this even. Tickets, which must be purchased ahead of time, are $50 ($25 is tax deductible) and benefit the American Heart Association. The event is a great way to meet and network with younger, philanthropically minded people.  Yours truly will be there, and I suggest that you come to.  After all, it’s nice to experience the softer side of charity, every so often.

Music, News, The Daily Feed

9:30 Club Says Fight the Merger

Photo courtesy of
‘Sold Out’
courtesy of ‘Kevin H.’

Last night I got an email from the 9:30 club. Usually, their emails are about the sweet shows they get, and about DC Music, but this one was about something else entirely: the LiveNation/Ticketmaster merger that’s in the works. Specifically, they’re hoping that it won’t go through, because it would be bad for DC:

As a concertgoer you have already felt the pain, and if Ticketmaster and Live Nation get their way, it’ll get worse. In the last 12 years, since Live Nation and its predecessor started its widespread takeover of the concert industry, concert ticket prices have shot up 82% while the consumer price index has gone up just 17%*. We are concerned that if the two concert industry behemoths, Live Nation and Ticketmaster, are permitted to merge, the variety and quality of artists coming to local venues will be affected, and your costs could rise further and faster.

And it’s signed:

The 9:30 Club, I.M.P., Merriweather Post Pavilion, Jam Productions, Metropolitan Talent, Another Planet Entertainment, Frank Productions, Stone City Attractions, Rams Head Live, The Black Cat … and independent concert promoters and venue operators nationwide.

If you want to learn more, you can check out TicketDisaster.org and read up on the merger, and how to object as a concert-goer. Me, I think those bastards at TicketMaster can die in a fire, so I’m all for tanking this. “Convenience” Fees my ass…

Special Events, We Green DC

Party Time: It’s a Green Holiday

Photo courtesy of
‘pine tree’
courtesy of ‘pink_fish13’

It’s time for another green holiday here in DC, and the area’s eco-friendly groups are gearing up to celebrate the season. Join in this slew of fun events, help curb global warming — and let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

Toast Another Year
Wednesday, Dec. 2

6 – 8:30 p.m.

End of the Year Joint Happy Hour
DC
Local 16, 1602 U St., NW

LiveGreen will be joining DC Net Impact, Young Non-Profit Professionals Network, and DC Public Private Partnership to celebrate the holidays and the end of 2009, and to look forward to the year ahead. Nosh on complimentary hors d’oeuvres and belly up to a cash bar.
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Entertainment, Special Events, The Daily Feed

Care for a Little Green Rock n’ Roll?

Photo courtesy of
‘zip’
courtesy of ‘NCinDC’

What do Zipcar and Rock n’ Roll Hotel have in common? This evening I got an e-mail from Zipcar with the subject line: You’re invited to the First Ever Zipcar Talent Show. Intrigued,  I opened it to find out that Tuesday June 30th, Zipcar will be putting on its own talent show at the “World Famous” Rock n’ Roll Hotel in the increasingly popular H St NE neighborhood of DC.

A quick visit to RnR Hotel’s online calendar reveals that Zipcar has held 3 auditions in June at its DC offices for “performers, singers, dancers, comedians, magicians, ventriloquists, contortionists, etc.” The most impressive acts as decided by zipjudges will perform tomorrow night. Doors open at 6pm and entry is free for Zipcar members, $5 for non-members. Supposedly going to have free food and drink for all. Might be worth checkin’ out! Only question I have is why Zipcar only gave 24 hrs of notice…..that doesn’t make much sense.

We Green DC

We Love DC Green: Events Guide

Photo courtesy of
‘Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens Pond’
courtesy of ‘Mr. T in DC’

As the first day of summer rapidly approaches and even more rain drops from the sky, our world is turning green. Green with leaves, and with green-related events! Here’s a quick roundup of ways you can enjoy and help the planet in the next two weeks:

Thursday, June 18

Celebrate the Solstice.
7 to 9 p.m., Arlington, Bluemont Park, Wilson Blvd. and N. Manchester St.

Celebrate the year’s longest day with an active evening in the park. Choose from multiple service projects, including invasive plant removal, stream cleanup, neighborhood cleanup, and storm drain marking. Gather afterwards for snacks. Register.

Get Happy.
6 p.m., Arlington, Guarapo (near Courthouse Metro).

Come to what’s billed as HUGE happy hour, with specials on appetizers and drinks. Meet other greenies from CarbonfreeDC and other community groups including the 20’s & 30’s Going Out Group, the Kick A$$ Professionals, the DMV Ladies, NoVa Singles and DC Simplicity.
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Entertainment, Food and Drink, Life in the Capital, Night Life, Penn Quarter, Special Events, The Daily Feed

Savor In Review

Photo courtesy of
‘savor’
courtesy of ‘needlessspaces’

The buzz inside the National Building Museum Saturday night was near deafening. Glasses clanked, people’s discussions echoed through the great hall, and music floated through the air. From jeans and tee shirts to high heels and cocktail dresses, the crowd at the American Craft Beer & Food Experience known as Savor was in full swing when I arrived around 8 p.m.

With 136 craft beers from 68 breweries, plus food pairings, I have to admit, it was a bit overwhelming. But in the best possible sense of the word. Continue reading

We Green DC

Celebrating Earth Day

Photo courtesy of
‘Hains Point Trees’
courtesy of ‘Mr. T in DC’
Fast on the heels of the cherry blossoms, here come Earth Day! Starting this evening, there will be green events all around town. You can find volunteer activities and fun events through the Earth Day Network, and you can sign up to join a Town Hall in your area through Focus the Nation.

Here’s a smattering of the Earth Day celebrations around town.

Thursday, April 16

Attend Doggie Happy Hour:
5:30 p.m. – 8 p.m., Alexandria, Hotel Monaco.

Join Aveda and Potomac Conservancy for a special cocktail hour, raffle, and specialty drinks, such as the Pink Poodle and a Dirty Water Martini. Benefit for the Potomac Conservancy.

Saturday, April 18

Clean Up the Anacostia River:
8:30 a.m. – noon, at more than 30 sites in the District and Montgomery and Prince George’s counties.

Help clean the second river in the United States to be so clogged with litter that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency classified it as “impaired by trash.” You’ll get a free 2009 Earth Day reusable tote bag and can join a party until 2 p.m. at Bladensburg Waterfront Park in Bladensburg, MD.
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Adventures, Downtown, Entertainment, Essential DC, Fun & Games, Life in the Capital, Special Events

DC Loves the Holidays

Photo courtesy of FredoAlvarez
Union Station Wreaths, courtesy of FredoAlvarez

Ok, I confess.

My initial intent with doing a “Holiday Happenings” article was to hit the majority of the cool stuff happening in the area. But as I did more and more research, the more amazed (and flummoxed) I became with the sheer volume of cool holiday stuff to do around here.

This’ll be my third Christmas in the area and my first real foray into finding out what all is going on to sate my holiday appetite. Normally we just hit the area neighborhood to ‘oooh’ and ‘aaah’ over light displays but this year? We wanted to really take advantage of the season.

Hence wanting to take this project on. Boy, am I ashamed to say I was utterly ignorant on the goings-on around here during December.

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History, Special Events, The Daily Feed

Union Station at 100

Union Station: 1921 (via Shorpy)

Today (Sat 4 Oct 2008) marks the 100th anniversary of DC’s Union Station, and also the 20th year since its reopening as a mixed retail and transport hub. Union Station and Amtrak will be celebrating with exhibits, memorabilia, and tours of historic train cars and locomotives.

More from Post’s Get There blog, DCist, and USA Today. Via Rebuilding Place in the Urban Space we get a link to Now Arriving Washington: Union Station and Life in the Nation’s Capital, an extensive dissertation in progress, with a wonderfully voluminous history section.

So be there. Bring cameras.