News Buzz: Ice Rink, Obamas, Jazz at EvermayOctober 17, 2012

**Ice Rink Ready Before Thanksgiving**

After inaugurating and showing off its newly re-worked fountains with water spouts,
Washington Harbour has shut it down and begun the seasonal conversion of the elliptical space into an ice rink?to be ready for skaters before Nov. 22.

According to Washington Harbour?s owner MRP Realty, ?The 11,800-square-foot
Washington Harbour Ice Rink?larger than the rinks at Rockefeller Center in New York City or the National Gallery of Art?s Sculpture Garden in Washington?will be ready to welcome its first skaters before Thanksgiving. In addition to offering open skating, discounts to college students and the opportunity to skate with Santa Claus, the rink will accommodate parties and special events, such as birthdays, family gatherings and
corporate events.?

Hours of operation for the ice rink will be noon to 9 p.m., Monday through Thursday; noon to 10 p.m., Friday; 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday; and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Sunday. Admission is $9 for adults, or $7 for children, seniors and mili-
tary. Skate rental is $5, and skating lessons are
available.

**West Heating Plant: Oct. 25 Meeting; Auction Next Month**

Property hunters can now learn more about taking part in the upcoming auction of the
Georgetown Heating Plant at a meeting on Oct. 25. Jones, Lang, LaSalle is marketing the federal property, owned by the General Services Administration.

The meeting will be at the main auditorium of the GSA National Headquarters Building, located at 1800 F Street, N.W. Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m. The building will be open for site tours from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Speakers at the meeting include Bill Dowd, the Acting Regional Commissioner for GSA. Tim Sheckler, the Director of GSA Real Property Utilization and Disposal Division for the National Capital Region, will also be speaking, as well as a representative of the District of Columbia Office of Planning.

Topics to be discussed at the meeting are the acquisition, the GSA online auction and the
terms of the sale. Neighbors, local groups and Ward 2 councilman Jack Evans have called for use of the included open space that part of the
sale to be set aside as parkland for public use.
The West Heating Plant is at 1051 29th Street, next to the C&O Canal and north of K Street NW. Built in 1948, it was used as a steam generating plant for federal building until 2000. The opening and closing dates, minimum bid and bid increments for the sale have yet to be set. The site is scheduled to go to auction in November.

**D.C. Jazz Fest, S&R Team Up for Performances at Evermay**

The D.C. Jazz Festival and the S&R Foundation have partnered to host the DCJF Annual Trustee Reception on Nov. 14.

The reception, including a performance entitled Jazz Meets the Latin Classics, will feature legendary musician, 10-time Grammy Award-winner and National Medal of the Arts recipient Paquito D?Rivera and his Latin jazz trio. DCJF and the S&R Foundation will also jointly host jazz performances by Yotam Silberstein on Nov. 2 and Cyrus Chestnut on Nov. 9 as part of the Overtures Holiday Concert Series. The events will be held at the Evermay Estate, the S&R Foundation?s headquarters. For his Jazz Meets the Latin Classics performance, D?Rivera will perform alongside the extraordinary Yotam Silberstein and Alex Brown. D?Rivera will bring his unparalleled virtuosity to the DCJF Annual Trustee Reception to celebrate the rich tradition of jazz in the nation?s capital.

?A great jazz performance energizes the spirit and stirs the soul,? said Sachiko Kuno, president of the S&R Foundation. ?The S&R Foundation is delighted to collaborate with the D.C. Jazz Festival for what promises to be three spectacular evenings of jazz.? Tickets to the first two performances of the Inaugural Overtures Holiday Concert Series can be purchased for $50 at www.OverturesSeries.org, and include refreshments and on-site valet parking.

**Obamas Celebrate 20th Wedding Anniversary at Bourbon Steak**

The Obamas — the president and the first lady ? celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary at Bourbon Steak Restaurant in the Four Seasons Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue Oct. 6. Because of his debate with Mitt Romney, President Barack Obama had missed the true date of the nuptials, Oct. 3. Chef Adam Sobel was happy to serve the first couple and tweeted an image of the menu ? which included
potato blintz with fried quail egg, creme fraiche and oscetra caviar, Chesapeake rockfish crudo with apple, radish onion, seared diver scallop with cauliflower tempura, risotto, and sweet potato soup with cabbage, seared foi gras and maple syrup. He later deleted that tweeted photo of the menu. The president gave Sobel a box of Presidential M&M?s; the press was kept across the street at at Le Pain Quotidien; the Obamas? waiter thanked the president for keeping his mother alive with Obamacare (it is not yet fully
operational).

**DDOT, GGW Host Live Chat on Parking**

The District Department of Transportation and Greater Greater Washington will host an online live chat at noon, Oct. 18, to solicit public input on the future of parking in the District. To date DDOT has held a series of a series of community conversations, called Parking Think Tanks, to gauge the state of parking and solicit public input on parking in the District. This live chat will offer an additional opportunity for anyone who visits, lives or works in the District to provide their input on parking. The comments received from the public will help shape future parking policies and programs to create a more efficient use of parking resources.

Following the Parking Think Tanks and the live chat, DDOT will host a public summit to report on the input received from the public; how the input may potentially shape the outcome of comprehensive curbside parking management plan; and the agency?s next steps. Additional information about this summit will be posted online at ddot.dc.gov/ParkingThinkTanks.

**COMMUNITY CALENDAR**

Oct. 25, 7 p.m. ?Dumbarton Oaks Park Conservancy: lecture by Judith Tankard on her book, ?Beatrix Farrand: Private Gardens, Public Landscapes.? Georgetown Public Library, 3260 R St., N.W.

Oct. 26, 7 p.m. ?Georgetown Gala: Putting on the Glitz; Citizens Association of Georgetown. Embassy of the Russian Federation, 2650 Wisconsin Ave., N.W.

Oct. 27, 10 a.m. ?Georgetown Public Safety Meeting, at Georgetown Safeway Cafe, sponsored by Citizens Association of Georgetown. Discuss safety and crime issues with Officer Atkins; bike registration demonstration.

Oct. 29, 6:30 p.m. ? ANC2E Monthly Meeting. Georgetown Visitation Prep, 35th Street. Halloween Happenings Georgetown Theatre Company will read poetry and short stories by the master of macabre, Edgar Allan Poe. A ?horrors d?oeuvre? reception will follow the reading, and a supernatural surprise is guaranteed. A $10 donation to
the Georgetown Theatre Company is requested. Oct. 27, 8 p.m. Grace Episcopal Church, 1041 Wisconsin Ave, NW.

**HALLOWEEN HAPPENINGS**

Paul Bakery has taken a different spin on Jack-O-Lantern making. They?ll be carving bread rather than pumpkins, and they invite you to join them at their Georgetown Bakery and Caf?. Cost is $15 per person; this includes a large pumpkins shaped loaf of bread, a stencil to carve a design, and a drink and treat. To reserve a spot email paulb03@paul-usa.com. Oct. 22 and Oct. 29, 10 a.m. to noon, 1078 Wisconsin
Ave., NW.

Smith Point will have its 11th annual Halloween celebration, featuring two options for open bars. From 9:30 p.m. through 12:30 a.m. the open bar will be $40, and from 11:30 p.m. through 12:30 p.m. it will be $20. Costumes encouraged, and tickets are first come first serve at the door. Oct 30, 9:30 p.m., 1338 Wisconsin Ave., NW.

Many families will be gathering in Glover Park for a Halloween parade. The event will begin at Stoddert Elementary School and will go down 39th Place, left on Benton Street down to 39th Street, Oct. 31, 4:45 p.m. Thunder Burger & Bar will celebrate Halloween with a costume contest. Prizes for Best Male Costume and Best Female costume will be awarded ? each will win a $50 Thunder Burger & Bat gift certificate. Oct. 31, 10 p.m., 3056 M St., NW.