Sonya Bernhardt • April 12, 2023

Tory Burch – The starting point for spring/summer 2023 was two seemingly opposing instincts: to pare everything back and to experiment freely. On the runway, these notions came together seamlessly. […]

Sonya Bernhardt • October 23, 2014

Sixty years after the first edition of our star-bannered community newspaper hit the streets of the village, The Georgetowner is proud to be a continually growing part of this very special neighborhood. The jump to the internet, Facebook, Twitter, and other types of social media presently available, have been a natural evolution for the paper. Your continued interest has made these advancements an effortless joy. These virtual presences are vital to our future, but we feel strongly about the physical offices we lease in Georgetown, that allow you to stop in and say “hi,” and the physical product we print that you can hold, read, ponder, save as a keepsake or recycle at your leisure. The ever-growing loyalty and long term relationships with our readers, advertisers, and supporters confirm for us that these traditional staples are a part of the recipe that has kept us thriving at a time when many newspapers are not and an expense we are happy to bear.

Our belief in working with community non-profits, our presence at community events, and our documentation of social happenings confirm our genuine interest and commitment to you. We recently joined the George Town Club to provide yet another venue in which we can continually listen to you, gather and converse. Come join us there on Thursday mornings at The Georgetowner’s Cultural Leadership Breakfast series.

I consider publishing this independently owned community newspaper my life’s work, and it makes me smile every day. Come talk to me about your business, come talk to me about an event that we can help you with, and wave to me on the street when you see me. Thank you, Georgetown, for letting me be a part of you during this working lifetime, as we send the paper into its next 60 years of star-bannered success.

Sonya Bernhardt •

The 46th Annual Meridian Ball held on Friday, Oct. 17, proved again to be one of Washington’s most elegant evenings. The ball was held at the Meridian House, Eugene Meyer’s home while raising daughter Katharine Graham, both past publishers of the Washington Post. The Meridian International Center’s mission of education on global leadership through the exchange of ideas, people and culture. The evening brought together more than 800 party-goers. Check out the Georgetowner’s photos from the evening’s celebration — and see them in the Oct. 22 print edition. [gallery ids="101889,136736,136740,136744,136747,136753,136751" nav="thumbs"]

Sonya Bernhardt • October 9, 2014

I recently had the pleasure to meet with Angel Cervantes, a well-known bartender at the Rye Bar located inside Capella Hotel. Our mission: to create a special cocktail using Agricole Rhum products in honor of our 60th anniversary. True to his name, Cervantes is not only a seasoned bartender, but a creative mixologist and a spice flavor expert. His creative origins go back many years. He’s worked in some of the industry’s top places including Michel Richard’s Citronelle and Red Sage. Agricole rhum is of French origins, produced in Martinique and imported by Nikolai Konick, who sponsored our celebration. It differs from regular rum in that it is squeezed from sugar cane juice instead of molasses. Nikolai lent his hand to our cocktail experiment.

At first, I wanted to celebrate our anniversary with one light-colored cocktail and one dark-colored drink. Trained by tradition, I had my mind set on vodka for the light but was less sure about the dark cocktail. So, a friend and I tried one of Cervantes’ agricole rhum drinks. We were immediately impressed (and craved more of the delicious liquor). The drink we concocted is served in a tumbler with an oversized ice cube and an aromatic shaving of fresh ginger. Simply put, it’s the best version of the classic dark and stormy I have ever had.

Then, the white rhum martini arrived. The drink took our breath away, and the concoction even impressed Nikolai, who was astounded by the delicacy. The sophisticated, mature rhum met its match with the sweetness of the martini’s lavender infused simple syrup, and a splash of champagne.

Here are our two celebratory recipes, which I will treasure for years to come.

The Roffman
1 1/2 ounces of Clement Rhum Vieux Agricole Select Barrel
Dash of bitters
1/2 ounce fresh ginger shavings
Serve with over-sized ice cube

Amy’s Agricole Martini
1 1/2 ounces of Clement Premiere Canne Rhum
½ ounce of fresh lemon juice
½ ounce lavender infused simple syrup
½ ounce of Campari
Splash of Champagne
Serve ice cold

Sonya Bernhardt • February 20, 2013

The 15th Annual St. Jude’s Gourmet Gala: “Mardi Gras for the Kids” took place Feb. 12 at the National Building Museum. The event raises funds for children suffering from catastrophic and life-threatening diseases. The gala featured chefs from local restaurants and live and silent auctions. The Gourmet Gala is organized by a committee that has helped raise more than $3 million for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital and has helped support various programs including gene therapy, bone marrow transplants, immunology and AIDS vaccine research. [gallery ids="102584,119732,119702,119710,119717,119725,119736,119747,119742" nav="thumbs"]

Sonya Bernhardt • June 18, 2012

In this issue of The Georgetowner, we celebrate Father’s Day, remember our fathers and honor the qualities and virtues of fatherhood.

It’s an especially poignant time for us at the Georgetowner because my sister, Susan, and I lost our much loved father, Owen G. Bernhardt. Dad died on March 24 after a long, arduous and pain-filled, but also life-filled, struggle with leukemia. It has not been long enough to acquire a distance from his passing and to continue to acquire inspiration from his life and his role as my father.

When you think about the loss of a loved one and try to talk about it, it seems almost surprising to see just how rich, unique and original a tapestry he had created with his life. He was always our father, and we tended to look at him, respond to him and see him in that way.

He was also a husband to our mother, Pilar, with whom he shared a remarkably deep and enduring 43-year marriage. She passed away at 62, much too young to lose, in 2002. Together, they formed an enduring marriage and partnership and made each other complete.

He was an absolutely doting grandfather to Elisa, now 13, and Stefan, now 11, my niece and nephew, my sister’s children.

He was more than that: of Swiss, German and Russian stock, he grew up on a farm in the small-town world of heartland Kansas with a childhood spent during the American Depression. He had some of that quiet, almost stoic, demeanor that might be typical of both his background and generation, but he was also warm, energetic, optimistic and strong and steady. His was the voice I knew that would listen to my plans, my hopes and fears, and he would hear me out, offer advice, and be totally supportive, no matter how crazy the idea or project. That included my foray into newspaper publishing by acquiring the Georgetowner newspaper. I know in my heart that the success we’ve had would not have happened without his support, without that steady voice on the phone, in person and now in spirit.

His own career was varied and — combined with his first enduring marriage to my mom —original and even colorful. He came from a large family of 11 children. At first, he dutifully took on the role of managing the family farm but ruefully discovered that perhaps he was not meant to be a farmer. Instead, he enlisted in the Air Force, a decision that landed him in Spain attached to the Air Ministry in Madrid in 1956 where he met my mother. He was an enlisted man but operated among the highest ranks. He served in Vietnam and acquired a Bronze Star. At the Pentagon, he had a successful career that made him travel to most places in the world.

My father had a keen curiosity about people, about everything he came in contact with. He was one of those hidden experts who knew a lot about some very specific things, and at least a little about most other things, a good quality for the father of two daughters to have. He played tennis with passion and loved sports, and his favorite football team remained the Kansas City Chiefs.

Mostly, I miss his expertise about life. Even when he was struggling with his illness, which at one point left him without a viable immune system, he remained a visible presence in his own life—and ours. Until the end, he had that unique skip in his gait that told everyone that everything was going to be fantastic.

On Father’s Day, I miss my dad, Owen Bernhardt, a lot. I know that everyone else who knew him more than casually does, too.

On Father’s Day, I remember my father and here at the Georgetowner, we remember and celebrate the life of all the dads, ever, and ask you to do the same.

— Sonya Bernhardt, publisher