Weekend Round Up November 19, 2015
• November 23, 2015

Family Concert: Let’s Make Music!

November 22nd, 2015 at 02:30 PM | $0-$25 | generalmanager@capitalcitysymphony.org | Tel: 202-399-7993 | Event Website

Each year our family concert is a hit with kids of all ages. And remember, kids’ tickets are free! Our fun, educational and participatory programming includes Bruce Adolphe’s Three Pieces for Kids and Chamber Orchestra. This interactive journey through the orchestra is sure to be fun for all the family. We will also have an Instrument Petting Zoo for 30 minutes before each performance. Come along and discover your new favorite instrument.

Address

1333 H St NE

Ann Taylor Cashmere & Cocoa In-Store Events

November 23rd, 2015 at 12:00 PM | Free | AArvealo@kruppnyc.com | Tel: 212-886-6700 | Event Website

On Monday, November 23, Ann Taylor will host an in-store Cashmere & Cocoa event at the Connecticut Avenue location for a look at this season’s cashmere essentials and winter must-haves.
Find a surprise 20% off code in your cocoa cup sleeve, redeemable for cashmere purchases in-store.

Address

ANN TAYLOR; 1140 CONNECTICUT AVENUE NW,

WOLF KAHN America’s Printmaker: Monotypes and Editions

November 21st, 2015 at 12:00 PM | Free | chris@neptunefineart.com | Tel: 202.986.1200 | Event Website

“Monotypes use both drawing and painting in equal measure. It’s a medium in which I try to use both to their full advantage.” -Wolf Kahn

gallery neptune & brown proudly presents an exhibition of Wolf Kahn’s limited editions and unique monotypes for both seasoned collectors and recent devotees. This exhibition will include both early and recent works on paper, displaying his iconic use of gestural line and compelling compositions. The exhibition runs November 21, 2015 to January 9, 2016.

Address

1530 14th Street NW, (just south of Q Street)

Walking Tour: The Kennedy’s Georgetown

November 21st, 2015 at 01:00 PM | $15 | education@dumbartonhouse.org | Tel: 2023372288 | Event Website](https://www.eventbrite.com/e/georgetown-walking-tours-the-kennedys-georgetown-tickets-15932336046)

Join Dwane Starlin, member of the Guild of Professional Tour Guides, for this delightful meander through Georgetown. Discover the homes and neighborhood spots frequented by President Kennedy and Jackie during their years in Washington. See where the couple became engaged, their Georgetown home, and where Jackie stayed after JFK’s assassination in 1963.

Address

2715 Q Street, NW

Sonny Landreth

November 21st, 2015 at 07:30 PM | $27 | wolftrap@wolftrap.org | Tel: 703-255-1900 | [Event Website](http://www.wolftrap.org/tickets/calendar/performance/1516barns/1121show15.aspx)

Louisiana’s “inventive and unpredictable” slide guitar wizard proves his blues chops and “rolls out his signature swamp-rock and Cajun grooves” (NPR).

Address

The Barns at Wolf Trap; 1635 Trap Road; Vienna, VA 22182

ManneqART SHOW: Sculptures on Human Form

November 20th, 2015 at 08:00 PM | $15-$25 | info@artsoiree.com | Tel: 202-470-2642 | [Event Website](http://artsoiree.com/events/manneqart-show-sculptures-on-human-form/)

Art comes to life at the Ritz-Carlton, Georgetown as ManneqArt Show presents the extravagant world of wearable art, showcasing the best in imaginative hair, makeup, and costuming created from most unconventional materials – metals, paper, spray foam and even melted plastic bags.

Presenting over 30 incredible creations of designers from around the nation ManneqARTblurs the boundaries of art and fashion. Proceeds benefit ManneqART 501(c)3 nonprofit

Address

The Ritz-Carlton, Georgetown 3100 South Street NW

Sugar Plum Bazaar

November 20th, 2015 at 02:00 PM | $40 | mintern@washingtonballet.org | [Event Website](https://www.washingtonballet.org/event/sugar-plum-bazaar-shopping-silent-auction-caf%C3%A9-food)

Join us for a weekend of merriment, great food and artisanal shopping from up to 25 exclusive vendors to benefit The Washington Ballet’s community engagement programs. Vendors include: Clair Florence, Four You, Ann Hand and Isabella K Jewelry among many others.

Silent Auction – Bid on site or online starting on November 20th.
Cookies & Cocoa – A family event on Saturday, November 21, 3:00PM-4:30PM. Enjoy food, fun and dancer meet & greets. Seating is limited. Tickets $40 per person.

Address

The Washington Ballet Headquarters, 3515 Wisconsin Avenue, NW

Picnic Theatre Company Presents: The 39 Steps

November 20th, 2015 at 06:30 PM | $15 | education@dumbartonhouse.org | Tel: 2023372288 | [Event Website](https://www.eventbrite.com/e/picnic-theater-company-presents-the-39-steps-tickets-18916655225)

Doors open 6:30pm, performance begins 7:30pm

Join the Picnic Theatre Company at Dumbarton House as they present Alfred Hitchcock’s melodrama The 39 Steps. This is a casual cocktail event with wine and refreshments available for purchase.

FEE: $12 in advance, $15 at the door.

Address

Dumbarton House, 2715 Q Street, NW

One Suspected Assailant Arrested in NE “Twerk” Assault
• November 19, 2015

D.C. police have arrested one of two suspects in an Oct. 7 sexual assault case that went viral after video of the attack was posted online and spread rapidly on social media.

The assault occurred back on Oct. 7 at a convenience store on the 1700 block of New York Ave. NE. A man talks on the phone while he waits in line to checkout when the woman in front of him backs into him and begins twerking, a dance move that Urban Dictionary defines as “the rhythmic gyrating of the lower fleshy extremities in a lascivious manner.” Then, her friend approaches the man, grabbing at him and hugging him and not letting go.

D.C. police post videos of crimes like this one on YouTube all the time to assist in finding suspects, but few have garnered as many views and bring about as much debate as this one. At time of print, different iterations of MPD’s video had racked up over a million and a half views on various social media outlets. Viewers wrote thousands of comments, poking fun at the assault and questioning the victim, an area teacher, for pressing charges.

According to [ABC7[(http://abc7.com/news/1-of-2-women-arrested-in-twerking-assault/1079295/), the victim wishes to remain unnamed “because of the backlash he’s seen on social media for filing a police report against the two women.” He added, “They were all over my chest and grabbing me. If I would have done that obviously I would have been arrested, thrown to the ground, probably 20 years in prison, no out. You know, it’s not the same thing.”

Bank of Georgetown to Merge With United Bank
•

On Nov. 9, United Bankshares announced that it is buying the 10-year-old Bank of Georgetown, a privately held bank headquartered in Georgetown, for an estimated $269 million, effectively creating the area’s largest community bank.

Bank of Georgetown has $1.2 billion in assets with 11 branches and three business development offices throughout D.C., Maryland and Northern Virginia. Bank of Georgetown will merge into UBSI’s Virginia chartered bank, United Bank, the largest community bank headquartered in the D.C. metro region.

According to United Bank, “Upon completion of the deal, United Bank will have assets of approximately $8.5 billion and will hold the #1 deposit market share of all community banks in the Washington, D.C. MSA. UBSI’s assets will grow to approximately $13.8 billion after the transaction.?

Business Ins and Outs
•

Via Umbria: Spectacular Make-over

The Italian food store Via Umbria returns with its Dolce Vita and is having a soft opening this week with its interior reconstructed in top design style. Along with ceramics, collectibles and all kinds of food from Italy, the emporium at 1525 Wisconsin Ave. NW will offer a wine room, dining space for sandwiches and pasta, chocolates and coffee. On the second floor, a high-end kitchen is set up for demonstration dinners for small groups. Says owners Bill and Suzy Menard: “Our authentic Italian market is dedicated to the bounty of Umbria, the rustic region known as il cuore verde d’Italia, the green heart of Italy. We’ve been immersed in its rich culture for decades and our deep relationships with local artisans and purveyors give us rare access to products of exceptional quality and authenticity.”

IN: Vegetarian Taco Shop Chaia

After years pleasing their customers at farmer’s markets, vegetarian taco maker Chaia is set to open their first shop this week at 3207 Grace St. NW in the old Morris Steinbraker building.

In: Birchbox at Rent the Runway

Five-year-old makeup shop Birchbox has popped up at Rent the Runway at 3336 M St. NW and plans to there for a year. The beauty box business has one store in New York’s Soho and boasts a million subscribers on its online side. Customers may now create their own makeup set as they shop for new clothes.

In: Down Dog Yoga to Flex at 34th & Prospect

Down Dog Yoga will soon open its fifth location, at 34th and Prospect Streets in a small retail building that housed Govinda Gallery and Cabellos Hair Salon for decades.
Down Dog’s newest space, at 2,700 square feet, is larger than, and barely four blocks from, its flagship and original location at 1046 Potomac St. NW, a former garage next to the C&O Canal. Its other spaces are in Arlington, Bethesda and Herndon.

Founded in 2003, the company offers heated vinyasa power yoga studios — which includes pilates — and is the creation of Patty Ivey, who lives on Dent Place with her husband Scott Ivey, who is also part of the business.
To learn more about Down Dog Yoga and Patty and Scott Ivey, read the cover story of the Dec. 4, 2014, Georgetowner, available online in our archives.

In: Madda Fella, Brings Key West Vibe

“Live life now,” proclaims Key West clothing store Madda Fella, which has popped through Christmas Eve up at 3277 M St. NW in the former space of Capitol Prague Restaurant, and before that, Morso. Selling beach and outerwear, the company touts its adventure-driven purpose with shirts, pants and accessories for “living a life full of sunshine, blue water, friends and fishing.” The company’s namesake comes from Caribbean slang that expresses surprise or frustration. Evoking the spirit of author, adventurer and Key West resident Ernest Hemingway, the writing in its catalogue rivals — because it’s real — that of J. Peterman of “Seinfeld” fame. M Street store proprietor Grace Louden, originally from Maryland, is part of the company founder’s family and brought her mascot, 10-week-old golden retriever Ella, to the store for the retail adventure. The store, with its Key West vibe, has kept the back bar, which is used for special events on Saturday afternoon.

DTR Modern Galleries Celebrates Its Artists

DTR Modern Galleries in Georgetown at 2820 Pennsylvania Ave. NW celebrated its inaugural reception of Matt Devine’s sculptural renderings on Nov. 6. Devine’s artwork utilizes different types of metal, the sculptures maintaining conceptual simplicity and lightness that defy the rigidity and physical weight of the materials used. Fellow artist James Verbicky also attended the opening, his vibrant, resin-coated works proving a stunning contrast, when displayed alongside Devine’s metal structures.

Check Out The Latest Issue of The Georgetowner
• November 17, 2015

Dusty Baker Introduced as Washington Nationals Manager
• November 16, 2015

The Washington Nationals introduced their next manager Dusty Baker to the media at National Park Nov. 5 . It was a 35-minute performance, better known as a press conference, that was all Dusty, who appeared to be the opposite of Matt Williams, the Nats manager last season.

The Nationals, after having gone through a severely disappointing season which ended without a playoff spot, hired the veteran manager who comes with a sterling record and loaded with accolades to be the manager.

The move may have startled a few people—many and any baseball writer, bloggers or broadcasters and seers who had all but anointed for sure Bud Black, the former manager of the San Diego Padres, as signed up for the job.  Apparently,  according to some of the very same people, discussions between the Nationals and Black hit a snag, apparently over money.

Regardless, the sports press seemed elated to be in the big presence of the 66-year-old Baker, who was full of quips and quotes. He had sports reporters scrambling to scribble it all down—and they loved doing it.

“This is my fourth and final team,” Baker said. “Beyond compare, this is the best talent. That’s why I was excited about coming here.”

In the process, the Nationals also saved Major League Baseball a little embarrassment by hiring Baker, who becomes the only African American to currently hold a managerial job in baseball. 

This wasn’t a politically correct decision, though.  Baker comes eminently qualified for the job, which meant in the end that the Nats had opted for experience—which Williams, although he was named Manager of the Year in his first year—did not have.  The Nats, in fact, underachieved in a major way this year—picked by many to be major World Series contenders—probably by the same people who had Black in a Nats uniform—and they failed to make the playoffs in spite of big-name talent and a top-notch pitching staff, falling to the New York Mets in the National League East division race.

Baker managed in the major leagues for 20 years, with 3,176 games as a bench coach, was a three-time manager of the year, won division titles with the Giants, Cub and Reds and guided the San Francisco Giants into the 2002 World Series. He has not won a World Series as a manager, although he did as a player with the 1981 Los Angeles Dodgers.

Last week, Mike Rizzo, general manager of the Washington Nationals, said, “Dusty’s experience, as a winning player, coach and manager, is vast and varied. We are excited to bring him to Washington and put his steady demeanor, knowledge and many years in the game to work in our favor.”
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Woodley Park House, Site of Quadruple Slayings, Sold
•

The house in which three members of the Savopoulos family and the housekeeper were discovered slain in May was sold over the weekend for just over $3 million, according to the Washington Post. The 10,800-square-foot house on the 3200 block of Woodland Drive NW has five bedrooms and seven bathrooms and was on the market for $3.25 million

Daron Wint, 34, was charged with first-degree murder of businessman Savvas Savopoulos, 46, his wife Amy, 47, their son Phillip, 10, and housekeeper Veralicia Figueroa. Two daughters, Abigail, 19, and Katerina, 17, were away at boarding school at the time of killings. Wint and possibly accomplices are alleged to have held the group captive overnight while waiting for a $40,000 ransom to be delivered. He once worked for American Iron Works, one of Savopoulos’s businesses. Wint’s DNA was found on pizza crust in the home.

The mansion sold with hefty price tag despite being heavily damaged by a fire set after the crime.

Bowser Goes to China; Leads D.C. Delegation
•

Mayor Muriel Bowser is leading a D.C. delegation on an economic development mission through China, Nov. 7 to 14. The two major stops are Beijing and Shanghai.

Bowser met with Beijing Mayor Wang Anshun Nov. 9 to discuss Chinese investment opportunities in the District.  The mayors renewed a Sister City agreement between the two nation’s capitals.
 
“It was an honor to meet with Mayor Wang Anshun as we look to grow our cities’ economies and strengthen our partnership,” Bowser said. “Our delegation made it clear to Beijing that the District is open for business and now is the best time for them to invest in the nation’s capital. The extension of the Sister City agreement will also build on our shared priorities – arts and culture, technology, education, and tourism.”

Bowser also met with U.S. Ambassador to China Max Baucus — a former senator, who lived in Georgetown for many years — and discussed, along with diplomacy in China, D.C. business opportunities.

“This mission will demonstrate to our partners in China that the District is a thriving economy and a great investment,” Bowser said before the trip. “Our delegation represents the best of the nation’s capital, and we have an opportunity to both strengthen ties abroad and create more pathways to the middle class here at home. Our goal is to attract more direct foreign investment, generate jobs for DC residents, further diversify our local economy and bolster tourism in the nation’s capital.”

Bowser is being accompanied by other District officials. Among them are Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans, Brian Kenner, Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, D.C.’s chief financial officer Jeff DeWitt and John Falcicchio, the mayor’s chief of staff.

The delegation also includes representatives from Children’s Medical Center, D.C. Chamber of Commerce, D.C. Economic Partnership, Destination D.C., Federal City Council, Georgetown University and the Greater Washington Board of Trade.

Meanwhile, the Washington Post reported that Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh criticized Bowser Nov. 5 for being a little too cozy with a few contributors and developers, namely Buwa Binitie and Richard Lake, whose company purchased the Wisconsin Avenue and P Street property, which Marvelous Market and Neams Market once occupied. Both are part of the D.C. China delegation.

The Bowser delegation heads next to Shanghai.
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Weekend Round Up November 12, 2015
•

James Terrell at Living Room Live (Blues & Urban Folk)

November 12th, 2015 at 07:00 PM | 0 | info@artsoiree.com | Tel: 202-470-2642 | Event Website

Crossing cultural lines an innovative and multi talented singer James Terrell incorporates urban folk, country, gospel and blues, into a music performance that stimulates the mind and soothes the soul.

Get up close and personal with the best of D.C.’s music scene during Fall Living Room Live Series. Seating starts at 7pm & Performance at 8pm (seating on first come basis)

Address

The Ritz-Carlton, Georgetown; 3100 South Street NW

Meet the Artists Reception

November 13th, 2015 at 05:00 PM | Free | pdubroof@iona.org | Tel: 2028959407 | Event Website

Meet local artists Nancy Feve and Phil Brown in a special reception celebrating their artworks on display in the Gallery at Iona. Featuring live music and light refreshments.

Address

Iona Senior Services; 4125 Albemarle Street NW

The Most Good You Can Do: A Conversation with Peter Singer & Mandy Moore

November 13th, 2015 at 06:00 PM | 0 – 20$ | lauryn@turner4d.com | Tel: (202) 994-6800 | Event Website

As people turn their attention to end-of-year charitable decisions, thought-provoking philosopher and best-selling author Peter Singer will appear on Friday, November 13th at 6pm at the GWU Lisner Auditorium at an event organized in partnership with global health organization Population Services International (PSI) and Giving What We Can DC. Acclaimed singer-songwriter-actress Mandy Moore, a PSI Ambassador, will also share her first-hand account of life-saving work in resource poor communities.

Address

Lisner Auditorium; 730 21st St NW

Washington Bach Consort presents “Chips Off the Old Bach”

November 13th, 2015 at 07:00 PM | Tickets $35, Students 18 and younger $10 | contact@bachconsort.org | Tel: 202-429-2121 | Event Website

Washington Bach Consort presents “Chips Off the Old Bach”

J.S. Bach (1685-1750): Brandenburg Concerto No. 4, BWV 1049

W.F. Bach (1710-1784): Concerto in D for Flute

J.C.F. Bach (1732-1795): Sinfonia D Minor

J.C. Bach (1735-1782): Concerto No. 4 in G for Harpsichord

Tatiana Chulochnikova, violin

Colin St. Martin, flute & recorder

Meg Owens, recorder

J. Reilly Lewis, harpsichord

All programs are subject to change without notice.

Address

First Congregational United Church of Christ; 945 G Street, NW

FASHION FIGHTS POVERTY (FFP) CELEBRATES 10 YEARS OF DRESSING RESPONSIBLY

November 13th, 2015 at 07:00 PM | $150 seated $100 standing | Domanique@sinbno.com | Tel: (240)-446-8148 | Event Website

Fashion Fights Poverty (FFP), celebrates its 10th Anniversary “Dress Responsibly Gala” on Friday, November 13, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the French embassy (4101 Reservoir Rd NW). In partnership with the United Nations Association-National Capital Region the Dress Responsibly Gala will raise awareness about social responsibility, raise funds to support projects that create income-generating and micro financing opportunities for artisans in developing countries.

Address

French Embassy 4101 Reservoir Rd NW

Kuok-Wai Lio and Zoltan Fejervari

November 13th, 2015 at 07:30 PM | $35 | wolftrap@wolftrap.org | Tel: 703-255-1900 | Event Website

The young piano duo that made a huge splash at the Marlboro Music Festival in 2014 comes to The Barns days before their Carnegie Hall Debut—hear these award-winning musicians present captivating solo and partner arrangements.

Address

The Barns at Wolf Trap; 1635 Trap Road; Vienna, VA 22182

Author Event

November 13th, 2015 at 10:00 AM | $15 | Event Website

Author and photographer Ken Conger will be part of the annual Waterfowl Festival. The festival begins Friday, November 13th, and ends Sunday, November 15th. Conger will be displaying and selling his art at the festival, including copies of his new book, Wildlife’s Greatest Connection: A Mother and Her Young, a compilation of stunning images celebrating the diversity of the special bond that forms between mothers and their young across the animal kingdom.

Address

Easton, MD

Saturday Showing – “Secretariat”

November 14th, 2015 at 01:00 PM | Tel: (540) 687-6542 | Event Website

We invite you to join us for a showing of Secretariat in the Founder’s Room. Admission is free and Popcorn Monkey will be on hand selling popcorn to accompany the film!

Address

National Sporting Library & Museum; 102 The Plains Road; Middleburg, VA 20117

Congressman John Lewis Speaks at Georgetown Presbyterian Church

November 15th, 2015 at 09:30 AM | Free | info@gtownpres.org | Tel: (202) 338-1644 | Event Website

Congressman John Lewis speaks at Georgetown Presbyterian Church on the topic of race and the church. He will be joined by Andrew Aydin, co-author of Lewis’s graphic novel trilogy March, and moderator Susan Page, USA Today Washington Bureau Chief and GPC elder. The panel discussion begins at 9:30 a.m. Free and open to the public.

Address

3115 P Street, NW

Jackson Art Center Open Studios

November 15th, 2015 at 12:00 PM | Free | nancysmurphy@aol.com | Tel: 240-601-7185 | Event Website

Wander the old Jackson School on R Street, home (since mid ’80s) to 40+ artists who paint, draw, sculpt and work in photography, ceramics, and assemblage in the old classrooms. New:

• Shop a table of original art. 100 percent of costs donated toDC’s Homeless Children’s Playtime Project.

• Join a children’s fall mural: East courtyard, 3-4 pm. Come one, come all, nice weather only.

All free and open to everyone. Live music, refreshments.

Address

3050 R Street, NW

THE KING’S SINGERS

November 15th, 2015 at 05:00 PM | $40.00 | sam@stjohnsgeorgetown.org | Tel: 202-338-1796 | Event Website

The Georgetown Concert Series presents THE KING’S SINGERS. This remarkable sextet has delighted audiences worldwide for more than 40 years with incomparable musicianship, charm, and wit. They are counted among the world’s most elite classical performers, celebrated for their commitment to perfection in blend, balance, and intonation.

Address

St. John’s Episcopal Church; 3240 O St. NW

Fashion Group International Presents Men in Motion

November 16th, 2015 at 07:00 PM | $20-$35 | heather@fifthandmainpr.com | Event Website

The Men in Motion workshop will be a panel discussion talk on the male’s perspective of the predominately female-dominated fashion industry moderated by Michael McCarthy from DC Modern Luxury Magazine and complimentary gourmet bites to enjoy.

Panelists will include

Tobiah Taylor, Under Armour

Renatto Balladares, Urban Outfitters

Gary Williams, Masterwilliams Photography

Mike Gilman, Grooming Lounge

FGIDCMen

Address

The Loft at 600 F; 600 F Street NW

Free Chamber Concert

November 17th, 2015 at 12:00 PM | Free | education@dumbartonhouse.org | Tel: 2023372288 | Event Website

Join us for a free chamber concert of music circa 1800 with the Friday Morning Music Club. Concerts are held in the museum’s Belle Vue ballroom. Please enter into the ballroom through the lower terrace. Groups are welcome. Seats are first come, first served.

Address

Dumbarton House, 2715 Q Street, NW

The Benghazi Trials and the Other Washington
• November 12, 2015

There are times when Washington really becomes Washington—you know, the center of the world, the exercise of executive and legislative power and prerogatives, the supreme decisions from on high, always accompanied by the circus of media coverage.

The so-called Bengazi hearings and investigations of the conduct of presidential Democratic candidate and ex-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by a Republican-led House Select Committee on said Bengazi, is such an occasion—a purely white-pillared and pilloried convergence of politics and policy.

The much-anticipated appearance of Clinton before that committee came as Clinton caught her stride—she had all but halted Bernie Sanders rush to the top of the polls after what even her critics called a stellar debate performance. What’s more, Vice President Joe Biden—often rumored to be running in what would be a last chance to gain the presidency he had coveted for a long time—had decided not to run.

All that was left was the Bengazi hearing—her testimony went on for over ten hours without eliciting much new information.

If you listen to the testimony over the radio, you detected a tone—it resembled something like a court proceeding. It had aspects of insistency, like someone trying to get somebody to confess something which they will never do. The Democrats on the panel, on the other hand, either handed out softball questions or did their own version of expressing moral outrage. Sometimes, you got the feeling that these people should be wearing robes-black for judges, or red for priests.

The committee promised to go on and on for as long it took to get the truth, which apparently has not been found as yet. Finding the truth in Washington is a little like buying a big money lottery ticket at a 7-11. It would be rare.

Weighty as the event was in portent and potential, it remained securely located on the Hill, as a Washington event—the one the whole world sees. Those rooms, those people, are a part of the city as only in Washington, but in another way not. They are removed from where we live here in our neighborhoods from, Georgetown to Anacostia and all hoods in between.

This is the time of festivals in the city as fall grabs hold of us all, tinting the trees with colors, parking pumpkins in our yards and on our tables. Every neighborhood worthy of the name had something going on—in Adams Morgan at the corner of Columbia Road and 18th Street, people gathered for an apple festival, complete with—what else—an apple pie contest and judges.

At Lanier Heights and elsewhere in the neighborhood, the locals put on the annual Porch Fest, in which local musicians, be they solo guitarist or gospel group or singer-songwriters, park themselves by the steps, on a porch and sing for wandering audiences going from place to place with the family of man—mom, dad, children and fido in tow.

These things can produce magic or whimsy and the sense of the season that while our town is full of things important and official and the flaying of candidates, our streets gives us breadcrumbs of song, of checking out the changes on the street where new condo projects are nearing completion. Here was a 14-year-old grandson of a friend, riffing deliciously and like a grown blues man on Clapton and B.B with an electric guitar. Here was a guy, beguiling the young ladies with his soft voice about heartache and promise. Here were groups like the Tchaikovsky Ticklers, Kentucky Jim, Gracious Me, Mute Benders, the Tumbleweeeds, the Originators, the Sound of Something.

Here were the Recovering Angels, at Joseph’s House, the hospice which services the homeless at the corner of Lanier and Ontario, near day’s end. They were dressed in go-to-meeting black, with red flowers, and tie and they sang the gospel of Jesus and sang the Lord’s prayer and lifted people up and they sang, and they said “today, we were at a wedding and a coming home and a birthday,” which is just about the circle of life in a day, and they had led a life on the streets before this and it became a head-shaking,isn’t it a beautiful five o’clock kind of moment, people coming around, having a cookie and cider a long way from Bengazi, a little like life its own self.

Night time and outside, someone was putting up a skull, a scary pumpkin, getting ready for next Saturday a week away.