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Gary Tischler • September 10, 2014

These days, if you want to talk about immigration, or naturalization, or American citizenship, people are likely to get angry.

Immigration, long a feverish political issue, discussed in terms of amnesty or no amnesty, has become a flashpoint topic that divides the country politically. Several presidents and legislatures have failed to come together on solutions. Recently, a huge influx of illegal immigrants coming from Central American countries has added fuel to the flames of the debate.

All this bellicosity, anger, and paralysis has obscured something essential about the United States. Everybody still wants to come here, live here, work here, and in astounding numbers, wants to become a citizen. Immigration and naturalization occurs every day and every year, in simple, and quite emotional, occasions all over the country. It’s an ongoing process that appears to be little noticed in all the media and political tumult.

In 2012, by May, some 500,000 people from all parts of the world had become citizens through the process of naturalization. Some 600,000 have done so so far this year. Every year, there are special occasions for large naturalization events, celebrating the long standing virtues of the United States¬—that this is a place where—not always, but most of the time—the door has been open for people from elsewhere in the world.
On Aug. 1, 25 children from countries all over the world received citizenship certificates by dint of the fact that their parents had already become citizens. The event was held in the North Garden at Dumbarton House (its director Karen Daly is shown below at a podium) on Q Street with the help of staff from the U.S. Citizens and Immigration Services, and was hosted in conjunction with the D.C. region’s Star-Spangled Summer War of 1812 Commemorative programming.

This was not a political event, but rather a celebration of proud children and proud parents who had become citizens of the U.S. They came from El Salvador, Ethiopia, France, Iran, Iraq, Morocco, Pakistan, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Switzerland, Syria, Togo and Vietnam.

Naturalization events, in which immigrants pledge allegiance to the United States, after passing tests on American history and government, civics and English, were held in large numbers all over the country on the Fourth of July. On September 17, which is Constitution Day and Citizenship Day, similar events will be held at military bases, national parks, presidential libraries and historic sites, including Faneuil Hall in Boston; Glacier Point at Yosemite National Park; National Monument in Grand Junction, Colo.; the Harry Truman Presidential Library in Independence, Mo.; the National Archives in Washington, D.C.; the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas; Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii, and others.
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Robert Devaney •

Georgia Kirk Shallcross died suddenly at her home in Marshall, Va., near Middleburg, Va., August 25. She was well known around Washington, D.C., especially in Georgetown, where she had lived with her family for 22 years — and wrote a column for many years for the Georgetowner.

Shallcross leaves behind her two children, James Halsey Shallcross, 19, and Marina Kirk Shallcross, 15, with her former husband Jim Shallcross. She is also survived by her mother Barbara Copanos, better known to her grandchildren as “Ba Ba,” and by her fatherJohn Demitri Copanos and brother John Copanos. She was 51.

Her mother Barbara talked to the Georgetowner about her daughter, noting her intellectual curiosity, and said, “She was a wonderful mother. And with her love and knowledge of art history, she explained so much to her children.”

Born on Oct. 9, 1962, Shallcross grew up in Baltimore and attended the Friends School of Baltimore and Garrison Forest School. She earned a B.A. in art history at Hollins College and a master’s degree in English literature at George Washington University. She also studied briefly at the Sorbonne in Paris. After college, she was a fellow at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and then worked at the nearby, private Wildenstein Gallery for two years.

In New York, Shallcross met her husband Jim Shallcross. They moved to Georgetown and had two children, James Halsey Shallcross and Marina Kirk Shallcross. Upon their divorce, Jim Shallcross moved to Greenwich, Conn., and the son Halsey attends the Riverview School in Sandwich, Mass. Georgia Shallcross moved to Middleburg, Va., where her daughter Marina attends Foxcroft School.

For 18 years, Shallcross was a contributing columnist to The Georgetowner newspaper. This year, she began a column, called “The Georgetown Insider,” for Washington Life magazine. She also had written for Capitol File magazine. Among her other work activities, Shallcross was a life coach and an advisor on astrology.

“I have known Georgia for more than 23 years,” said Sonya Bernhardt, publisher of The Georgetowner. “She was insightful, creative, articulate, lots of fun and a very good friend. Our mutual interest in art drew us together and never left us. I am saddened beyond words.”

“Georgia was full of energy and full of life,” said John Arundel, associate publisher of Washington Life. “What happened was a true tragedy. She was a beloved person in Georgetown and involved in everything. She wrote with punch and flair. She was a beautiful writer.”

Georgetowner • September 8, 2014

Arvind Manocha, president and CEO of Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts, will headline a breakfast discussion on 8 a.m., Thursday, Sept. 11, at the George Town Club.

The event is the latest in the Cultural Leadership Breakfast Series with talks, hosted by the Georgetown Media Group—publisher of The Georgetowner and The Downtowner Newspapers. The speakers are all-stars in their fields as well as being newcomers to the Washington, D.C., arts scene.

The series continues on Oct. 9 with Melissa Chiu, recently appointed director of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. On Nov. 6, Deborah Rutter, new president of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts will meet us for breakfast and a talk.

These informal events for D.C. cultural insiders take place from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. at the George Town Club, 1530 Wisconsin Ave., NW. The cost is $20 per person per breakfast ($15 for George Town Club members). To reserve a place, email richard@georgetowner.com or call 202-338-4833. Please note that space is limited.

Georgetowner • September 3, 2014

Smithsonian Collects Six FFA Jackets to Showcase Nation’s Agricultural Story

July 25th, 2014 at 10:00 AM | meeganl@si.edu | Tel: 202-633-3129 | Event Website

In a special donation ceremony, the National Museum of American History will collect six jackets worn by FFA members, including the one worn by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. The jackets will be on display in the museum’s upcoming exhibition, “American Enterprise,” in a section showcasing the nation’s rich agricultural heritage.

The museum is also collecting the donors’ photos and stories for its Agricultural and Innovation Heritage Archive, an online portal launched in 2013.

Address

Warner Bros. Theater; National Museum of American History Constitution Avenue, between 12th and 14th streets N.W.

Susan Calloway: Caroline Adams Egg Tempera

July 26th, 2014 at 10:00 AM | gallery@callowayart.com | Tel: 202 965 4601 | Event Website

Mix egg yolk with powdered pigment and you have egg tempera, a painting medium that has been used for over 1,000 years. A successful Kickstarter campaign provided the funding for Washington artist Caroline Adams’s project to make 50 paintings in egg tempera. Combining 21st century crowdsourcing with ancient techniques is a natural path for the classically-minded artist.

An artist reception will be held Friday, August 15 from 6 to 8 p.m.

Address

Susan Calloway Fine Arts; 1643 Wisconsin Ave NW

Extraordinary Acupuncture Seminar

July 26th, 2014 at 10:00 AM | Free | info@thegilbertclinic.com | Tel: 301-215-4177 | Event Website

Jonathan Gilbert, acupuncturist extraordinaire and former lecturer at Johns Hopkins and University of Maryland, presents a practical and engaging overview of acupuncture, how it works, what it is used for, and a brief history of the Han dynasty culture that created Traditional Chinese Medicine to answer health and medical questions of its time . . . and ours.

RSVP to (301) 215-4177 or info@thegilbertclinic.com.

Address

The Gilbert Clinic; Bethesda Crossing, Wisconsin Tower East; 7315 Wisconsin Ave, Ste 760E; Bethesda, MD 20814

Free Talk on Lucretia Mott

July 26th, 2014 at 02:00 PM | Tel: 202.727.0233

On Saturday, July 26th the nationally syndicated opinion columnist and Washington, D.C. resident Jamie Stiehm will present “The Triangle of Slave Emancipation: Lucretia, Frederick and Abraham. It took a Friend, an Escaped Slave and an Outsider President to Set Enslaved People Free.” The talk focuses on American Quaker, abolitionist, women’s rights activist, and social reformer Lucretia Mott.

Address

The Peabody Room, located on the third floor of the Georgetown Neighborhood Library (3260 R Street, NW.)

Unlimited Beer at The Block

July 26th, 2014 at 01:00 PM | $40 | ilovebeer@drinkthedistrict.com | Tel: 2026183663 | Event Website

Get your birthday hats and streamers ready… it’s time for Drink the District: Birthday Beer Bash! For a limited time, presale tickets are just $40, so buy them while you can! Come and over 100 national and international beers and select full pour options.

Whether you like to drink or party, the three hour sessions allow attendees to get out of the bars and into the sunshine to socialize with other young professionals, live music, play games and eat from the best food trucks DC has to offer.

Address

The Block; 500 New York Ave NW

Tom Principato

July 27th, 2014 at 05:00 PM | Free | Tel: 703-790-0123 |

Part of the Summer Sunday Concerts in the Park series. Tom Principato is one of the most unique guitarists around, combining his rich blues background with high-energy rock, and a highly charged, emotionally expressive delivery. Concerts will be held in the McLean Central Park Gazebo, located at Route 123 and Old Dominion Drive. Parking available at McLean Community Center.

Address

McLean Central Park Gazebo; 1468 Dolley Madison Blvd; McLean, VA 22102

Summer Concerts: Washington Performing Arts Children of the Gospel Choir

July 27th, 2014 at 02:00 PM | Free | marcommintern@nbm.org | Event Website

Free. This youth choir showcases uniquely talented voices in its distinctive style of high-energy performances.

Address

National Building Museum; 401 F St. NW

Robert Devaney • August 28, 2014

Private car hire service Uber began a product delivery service Aug. 19, only in Washington, D.C.

Its “Corner Store” will be available, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Friday, within certain D.C. neighborhoods. There is no service fee and no minimum-purchase requirement for products delivered to your door, as drivers make use of some of their down time.

Announced Uber on its blog: “No need to race to the store after a long day at the office — now you can request allergy medicine, diapers, toothpaste and over 100 other items through the Uber app. This limited-time-only experiment will run for a month.”

Uber’s grocery delivery area is limited and includes Georgetown, Foggy Bottom, Adams Morgan, Upper Northwest, downtown around the White House and Capitol Hill. (No fresh produce is expected to be delivered.)

Other companies that offer same-day delivery include Amazon’s AmazonFresh, a grocery service it offers in Seattle and California. Google offers its Shopping Express, another delivery service which pulls from Costco, Whole Foods and others and operates in San Francisco and being expanded to Los Angeles and New York.

Uber will see how its experiment goes and may later extend and expand the service.

Robert Devaney •

The 200th anniversary of the capture and burning of Washington by British forces during the War of 1812, “America’s Second War of Independence,” was marked at several spots in D.C. on Sunday, Aug. 24.

Perhaps, one of the more poignant activities of the day was the flag lesson by the National Park Service at the White House Ellipse. With the south lawn and White House in the background, visitors and ordinary citizens got to learn about the War of 1812 and the Star-Spangled Banner, as they held and unfolded and re-folded a full-sized replica of the 30-foot by 42-foot U.S. flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to write what became our national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Dressed as Key, park ranger Vincent Vaise of Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine explained the meaning of the flag and the importance of the War of 1812 in America’s growth to greatness.

Some persons walking by the huge flag stopped to hear the talk by Vaise and wound up helping to hold the flag. It was an unexpected history and civics lesson for several. The White House was burned by British troops 200 years ago to the day on Aug. 24.

Meanwhile, in Georgetown, it was Dolley Day at Dumbarton House, to where first lady Dolley Madison fled from the White House on Aug. 24, 1814. Children and parents enjoyed old-time games, crafts as well as Dolley cake and ice cream, which Mrs. Madison popularized.

Georgetowner • August 25, 2014

Summer Block Party Late Night

August 21st, 2014 at 05:00 PM | marcommintern@nbm.org | Event Website

Enjoy extended Museum hours to visit exhibitions, navigate the BIG maze, and nosh at Hill Country’s Backyard Barbecue.

Address

National Building Museum; 401 F St. NW

EPL at RiRa Georgetown

August 21st, 2014 at 07:45 AM | $4 Heineken, Newcastle and Strongbow during every game! | Tel: (202) 751 2111 | Event Website

All the action on our big screens! $4 Heineken, Newcastle and Strongbow during every game!

Aston Villa vs Newcastle: 7.45am Swansea vs Burnley: 10am Southampton vs West Brom: 10am Chelsea vs Leicester: 10am

Address

Rí Rá Georgetown; 3125 M STREET NW

Georgetown Family Festival

August 23rd, 2014 at 10:00 AM | info@dumbartonhouse.org | Event Website

Dumbarton House invites you to a weekend full of events that are fun for the whole family. Programs include, Georgetown walking tours, ice cream making, a Dolley cake, and Federal period games and crafts. Events begin Saturday, August 23rd at 10am and conclude Sunday, August 24th at 4pm.Admission to the museum is free this weekend.

Address

Dumbarton House; 2715 Q ST, NW

Sunset Yoga & Pilates in the Park

August 26th, 2014 at 06:00 PM | Event Website

The Georgetown BID, in partnership with Georgetown yoga and pilates studios, will host free one-hour sunset yoga and pilates sessions in the park throughout the summer. Sessions will begin at 6 p.m. in Georgetown Waterfront Park near the intersection of Potomac Street and K Street (Water Street). Please check in upon arrival at the information booth and pick up free water and light refreshments. You must bring your own yoga mat! Space is limited, and RSVPs are required. Namaste.

Address

Georgetown Waterfront Park

Salamander Resort & Spa Celebrates its First Year Anniversary with a Birthday Bash Weekend

August 29th, 2014 at 06:30 PM | $30 | Tel: 800.651.0721 | Event Website

– Salamander Resort & Spa is celebrating its first anniversary with a fun-filled Birthday Bash over Labor Day Weekend featuring numerous activities, contests and packages. – the resort will host a Birthday Bubbles celebration from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Filled with bottomless sparkling wine, birthday sweets and live entertainment, the event will take place on the Grand Terrace and Lawn. Admission is $30 per person.

Address

500 North Pendleton Street; Middleburg, VA 20117

Robert Devaney •

Sunday marks the 200th anniversary of the Capture and Burning of Washington by British forces during the War of 1812, “America’s Second War of Independence.”

On Aug. 24, 1814, Gen. Robert Ross and his troops set fire to the U.S. Capitol, Treasury, White House and other public buildings. No private property was put to the torch. Nevertheless, many Washington residents fled to Georgetown, D.C., and then to the wilds of Virginia and Maryland. Days later, President James Madison and first lady Dolley Madison returned to Washington, D.C., only to see a burned-out Executive Mansion. The capital resolved to rebuild, and America began its drive to greatness as a nation.

To commemorate the bicentennial of this long-ago British invasion, events abound in D.C. and Maryland. They include a “Flee the British” 5K at Congressional Cemetery, Dolley Day at Dumbarton House in Georgetown, an unfurling of an original-size Star-Spangled Banner replica on the Ellipse, a 1812-style Sunday service at Christ Church on Capitol Hill and a dinner at Martin’s Tavern from the White House menu of Aug. 24, 1814 , “The Meal That Was Never Served.”

Aug. 23 to 24 — War of 1812 Family Festival & Dolley Day

Walking tours, ice cream making, Dolley cake, Federal period games, and crafts from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Dumbarton House, 2715 Q St., NW. Tickets are $10. For details, call 202-337-2288.

Aug. 23 to 24 — The Battle of Bladensburg Commemoration and Monument Unveiling

A day-long festival of events including a reenactment, musical performances, children’s village, Food Truck Rally, and fireworks at Waterfront Park, 4601 Annapolis Road, Bladensburg, Md., following the unveiling of the new Battle of Bladensburg Monument. 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Admission is free. For details, call 301-887-0777.

Aug. 24 — Flee the British 5K at Congressional Cemetery

Commemorate the 200th anniversary of the British invasion of D.C. with a 5K run at 8 a.m. at the Historic Congressional Cemetery, 1801 E St., SE, among graves of many of the key players in the War of 1812 — www.CongressionalCemetery.org/flee-British-5k — 202-543-0539.

Aug. 23 — Meet Dolley Madison at the Ellipse

At President’s Park, the White House Ellipse, Washington, D.C.– 10 a.m. and noon. The United States Park Service will feature a park ranger dressed as Dolley Madison, with a 30-minute presentation about the first lady’s role in the War of 1812.

Aug. 24 — Full-Sized Star-Spangled Banner at the Ellipse

At President’s Park, White House Ellipse, visitors will get to hold — 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. — a full-sized replica of the 30-foot by 42-foot U.S. flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to write “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Chief of Interpretation Vincent Vaise will highlight the British capture of Washington, D.C., the burning of the White House and the successful Defense of Baltimore. Visitors will understand how the events of August and September 1814 shaped how many Americans currently see the flag as the symbol of the spirit of the American people and how that spirit of resilience led to the rebuilding of the Capitol and White House after the War of 1812.

Aug. 24 — The Key Story

At President’s Park, White House Ellipse, 1:30 p.m., meet Francis Scott Key, author of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” as he is portrayed by a park ranger. Learn about Key’s life as a father and lawyer in Georgetown, Key’s role in defending Washington, the series of events that led to his writing the song that later becomes the national anthem and his active role in Washington politics after the War of 1812. A lively question and answer session will follow the formal presentation.

Museum Open Houses

Aug. 24 — Family Day at National Museum of the U.S. Navy

It is Family Day at the Washington Navy Yard on August 24, noon to 4 p.m. — and to commemorate two of the most important events of the War of 1812: the Battle of Bladensburg and the burning of the Washington Navy Yard, the National Museum of the United States Navy will open the new exhibit “Defeat to Victory: 1814-1815” — 202-433-6897 or 202-433-6826 — www.history.navy.mil/NMUSN.

Aug. 24 — Decatur House Open House

The White House Historical Association invites all to a War of 1812 Open House at Decatur House, commemorating the 200th anniversary of the burning of Washington — 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Aug. 24 — Octagon House Open House

Visit the home where the Madisons lived, following the burning of the White House on Aug. 24, 1814. The museum, now a part of the American Institute of Architects, will be open from noon to 4 p.m. to the public.

Aug. 24 — Commemorative Services at Christ Church on Capitol Hill

Join worshippers at historic Christ Church on Capitol Hill to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Burning of Washington, D.C. on Aug. 24, 1814. At both its 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. services on Aug. 24, Christ Church will be worshiping in the 1806 building in which its congregation would have worshiped in 1814, using the same Episcopal service that would have been used the Sunday after the Burning of Washington. The rector of Christ Church on that historic day, the Rev. Mr. McCormick, was involved in dealing with the British after they marched into the city and started the burning.

Historic Walking Tours

Aug. 24 — Washington Is Burning! 2-Part Walking Tour

The Aug. 24, 1814 conflagration ignited by British troops invading Washington, D.C. is the subject of a two-part walking tour offered by Washington Walks, a D.C.-based walking tour company. Guides will lead participants along the route British soldiers took as they marched through America’s capital city, setting ablaze key government buildings and military targets. Many of the sites are included on the “Star-Spangled Banner Trail,” a 560-mile land and water route that tells the story of the War of 1812 in the Chesapeake Bay region. Part one of the walking tour takes place in the morning, visiting the Sewall-Belmont House, U.S. Capitol, former sites of the U.S. Patent Office and Washington Daily National Intelligencer newspaper, amongst others. Following a break for lunch, the second half of the walk takes in War of 1812 history in the vicinity of the White House; the former site of Rhodes Tavern, U.S. Treasury building, Dolley Madison house, and the White House itself are a few of the featured stops. The tour concludes at the Octagon, one of the oldest houses in Washington, D.C., and site of the treaty signing that ratified the end of the war. Here tour participants will encounter first lady Dolley Madison, who became the Octagon’s most famous resident when it served as temporary home for President James Madison and his wife, following the destruction of the White House. Washington Walks has partnered with the History Warehouse, an organization that provides living history performers for commemorative events. History Warehouse founder and professional actor Leigh Jameson specializes in portraying Dolley Madison — www.washingtonwalks.com/tours/washington-is-burning-august-1814.

Aug. 24 — Georgetown During the War of 1812

Meet 10 a.m. at Dumbarton House’s East Garden at the corner of Q and 27th Streets, NW, for a two-hour walking tour of historic Georgetown devoted to the events of the War of 1812. Join Dwane Starlin, a member of the Guild of Professional Guides of Washington, D.C., for a tour de force of Georgetown during the “Second Revolutionary War,” Visit and view that areas of Georgetown that were part of the conflict, which finally established the United States as a country and not a just a former British colony. The tour ends at the Francis Scott Key Park.

Aug. 20 to 25 — Pride of Baltimore II Tall Ship at the Navy Yard

Tour and demonstrations of the Pride of Baltimore — 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. — at the Washington Navy Yard in Southeast.

Aug. 24 — Wreath-Laying at Navy Memorial

To remember those who fought at the Battle of Bladensburg 200 years ago, there will be a wreath laying ceremony at 4 p.m. at the Navy Memorial Plaza, 701 Pennsylvannia Ave., NW. In attendance will be representatives from the U.S. Navy, United States Marine Corps, Great Britain, and Canada.

Aug. 23 and 24 — National Park Service Freedom Plaza Programs

Walking tours and re-enactments, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Pennsylvania Avenue and 14th Street, NW.

Aug. 24 — White House Dinner at Billy Martin’s Tavern

Martin’s Tavern in Georgetown (1264 Wisconsin Ave., NW) will be serving “The Dinner That Was Never Served” (at the White House on Aug. 24, 1814, when British troops burned the Capitol and White House) 200 years later, on Sunday, Aug. 24, 2014. The menu consists of what the 40 guests might have been served, as President James Madison’s cabinet and military officers intended to toast what they assumed would be a victory at the Battle of Bladensburg on Aug. 24, 1814.