Tag Archives: national harbor

Entertainment, Special Events, The Features
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Summer 2012 Guide to Outdoor Movies

Photo courtesy of Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie
DSC_1556.jpg
courtesy of Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie

Summertime in the city–the daylight lasts longer, the outfits get shorter and the city has so many things to offer you outdoors. We’ve rounded up the outdoor movies in the DC area and put them into one comprehensive guide. Break out the popcorn and blankets and get ready to see what films are rolling this summer.

Washington, DC:

Screen on the Green
Where: On the National Mall, between 7th and 12th streets, NW
When: Begins at sunset
Movie Lineup:
Monday, July 16th: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Wednesday, July 25th: It Happened One Night
Monday, July 30th: From Here to Eternity
Monday, August 6th: Psycho

Follow @SOTGinDC for updates and more information.

Capitol Riverfront Movies
Where: Tingey Plaza (behind U.S. Department of Transportation), New Jersey Avenue and Tingey Streets, SE
When: 8:45 PM/Sundown
Movie Lineup:
Thursday, June 14: National Treasure
Thursday, June 21: The Goonies
Thursday, June 28: Raiders of the Lost Ark
Thursday, July 5: City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly’s Gold
Thursday, July 12: O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Thursday, July 19: The Da Vinci Code
Thursday, July 26:  Muppet Treasure Island

Follow @CapitolRvrFront for more information.

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Featured Photo
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Featured Photo

Photo courtesy of
‘National Harbor 2011.11.26 3.jpg’
courtesy of ‘JasonianPhotography’

A long exposure can make for an excellent photo. By keeping the shutter open for a few seconds, a photographer is able to pick up a wider range of lighting than in a fraction of a second shot. It can also give some great lighting effects, like the starbursts from the very bright street lights and spotlights. JasonianPhotography certainly shows us what kind of lighting is around National Harbor and the Awakening statue, does it to great effect.

And, of course, the photo helps us get into the Christmas spirit!

The Features, Tourism
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Ice Ice Baby

IMG_1498ICE! penguins by Corinne Whiting

I’ll be the first to admit that planned communities and “town center” mini-metropolises aren’t really my thing. I find them rather soulless and frankly a little creepy, so I tend to steer clear. But on a recent snowy Saturday, I was lured over to Maryland’s National Harbor—that relatively new complex of colossal convention centers and hotels, shops, eateries and a man-made “beach,” site of the relocated Awakening sculpture that I loved to crawl atop as a kid (at its former Hains Point home).

The draw this past visit? A mini-city of ice created by forty Chinese artisans flown over to sculpt 5,000 blocks that cumulatively weigh two million pounds. I was intrigued. Despite fears of rambunctious tots dominating this surreal ice world, the experience was a pleasant one. Visitors purchase timed tickets to enter Gaylord National’s ICE!, housed in a tent on the resort’s property that contains a 15,000-square-foot “cold room.” To combat the nine degree inside temps, guests borrow XXL blue parkas before entering, turning the masses into a sea of super-size Smurfs (wee ones shriek in horror as they attempt to wiggle free; adults belly laugh, delighted by the silly scene). Groups then get their photo snapped by staff as if about to board a cruise ship, before slipping beyond the warmth into the winter wonderland. The vibe’s a bit cheesy, but charming all the same.

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Featured Photo
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Featured Photo


The Awakening #41 by andertho

One of my earliest memories of DC was when I visited The Awakening statue as a kid.  I have bad snapshots of me as an awkward looking teenager sitting in a giant hand coming out of the ground, proof that we’re all tourists at some point.  Looking at those photos now makes me feel old, and never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would live here.  Rarely do people dream of living in Washington DC, but rather places like Los Angeles, New York City, or Seattle.  But as fate would have it, here I am, over twenty years later living smack dab in the capital of America (f@&% yeah!), just nanoseconds from being obliterated by a nuclear bomb.  I digress.

Sadly, as most of us know, The Awakening no longer resides in DC but rather at National Harbor in Maryland where it was moved last year.  Photographer Tom Anderson, a fellow Fotoweek finalist, does a great job of capturing the giant in his new location.  I like his use of black and white here to accentuate the negative space between Goliath and the unsuspecting little girl as well as the sinister looking clouds in the background.  Where does this story end?  Does the bearded giant pluck the girl up and eat her like a gummy bear, or does she escape his grip only to move back to the area years later to become a K street lawyer or a nonprofit worker?  We’ll never know.

Food and Drink, Fun & Games, Special Events, The Features, The Great Outdoors, We Love Food
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We Love Food: Food & Wine Festival at National Harbor

Food and Wine Festival

Summertime is festival time, and I’m not complaining. After attending Savor a week ago, I had no idea what to expect going into The Food and Wine Festival at National Harbor. Would it be fancy? Would it be lame? Would they have enough food and wine to keep me happy? Actually, does anyone ever have enough food and wine to keep me happy? Is there enough food and wine in the world to keep me happy for life? Ah! So many existential questions, but I digress. Basically, Jasmine and I headed over to National Harbor with zero expectations, and wound up extremely happy, totally entertained, bellies satisfied, heads full of wine.

We took the water taxi over from Alexandria, quite nice. Pretty views of Alexandria and National Harbor, and I generally just love boats. Period. If you’re a regular reader, you already know that if there is an event or location near, on, or around water, I’ll like it. It’s a guarantee. So National Harbor already had that going for it, as the festival exhibitors lined the boat docks, so we were on water the entire time. Combine that with wine, and food, and I think you’ve got a total winner. Continue reading →

Food and Drink
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Tourism: National Harbor and The Gaylord

national harbor

Last weekend was sunny, warm and the perfect day to spend on the waterfront, so my boyfriend decided to surprise me with a trip to National Harbor. We have tickets later in November for Kooza, which will be set-up on a lawn somewhere at the Harbor, so Matt thought it would be nice for us to walk around and visit before it gets too cold. So we headed on over.

National Harbor would be smart growth defined (if only it had public transit included) – it’s home to restaurants, hotels, the obvious harbor, condos, a troubled farmer’s market, shopping, and office space. And it’s perfectly manicured. I’m positive that somewhere in their marketing and advertising literature someone calls it ‘luxury living defined’. Which also makes it just a touch creepy. (I sometimes have a problem with perfection. Weirds me out.) But hey, on a day designed for us to play tourist, it’s perfect. Continue reading →