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Gary Tischler • September 19, 2011

If asking yourself what’s there to do this weekend, we’ve got an answer for you:

PLENTY! A LOT! SO MUCH THAT IT MAKES YOU CRAZY!

Why, there’s an arts festival, a big neighborhood festival, 9/11 memorial events, the start of the NFL Football Season and the start of the Washington National Opera Season, plus the beginning of the season for a number of theater companies and probably a few other things we just plain forgot about.

Check it out: The Penn Quarter Arts on Foot Festival for 2011 is a neighborhood and city institution that this year has expanded to two days in the buzz-filled, hyper-energized downtown area which encompasses a multitude of restaurants, the Verizon Center, theaters and museums on a daily basis.

As always, the Festival includes an art market, live performances on stages at the festival and a showcase of the work of some 25 area theaters in the elegant Harman Hall, home to the Shakespeare Theatre Company. There will be artist studio showcases, food and wine to buy and food and wine to appreciate by way of demonstrations by top D.C. Chefs and sampling. The weekend will also offer 9/11 commemorative events. Things start at 11 a.m. and run through 7 p.m. on Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday.

A festival of another sort, but with equally strong traditions, is the annual Adams Morgan Day Festival from noon to 7 p.m. on Sunday, in which D.C.’s most diverse and eclectic and ethnic neighborhood showcases its music, its food, its customs and its people from a stretch of 18th Street at Columbia Road to Florida Avenue. Here’s where the streets famous restaurants and clubs like Madam’s Organ and Columbia Station become a part of the scenery. You can smell its heavily spiced foods even before you get there. There’s also a dance plaza, art shows, kid fair and lots of cultural demonstration and no doubt an elected official or two. Listen to the sounds of the rumba, salsa, blues and rock and roll and rap, yo.

On Saturday, the Washington National Opera opens its season—now affiliated with the Kennedy Center—with “Tosca” in the old style: suits, ties, some tuxedos and gowns and grand Puccini music at the KC Opera House.

If Sunday weren’t busy enough, there’s the 5th annual Unity Walk, an inter-faith, cross-cultural commemoration of Sept. 11 with an eye toward peace and understanding. The bulk of the march takes place on Massachusetts Avenue, with stops at synagogues, the National Cathedral and the mosque. Speakers include the Rev. Mpho Tutu and Arum Gandhi.

The National Cathedral will also be holding special events, concerts and services on the occasion of memorializing the 9/11 attacks.

That’s just a taste. Don’t stay in indoors. It’s bound to stop raining sometimes. But if must stay indoors or in a sports bar, the college and NFL football season kicks off officially this weekend, plus there’s the U.S. Open Tennis Tournament and major league baseball, including Nationals, soon may they win.

Check out photos by Jeff Malet from Arts on Foot Festival!

Enjoy!

Georgetowner • September 13, 2011

PETA, the largest animal rights organization in the world whose “Glass Walls” exhibition is currently in place on the Mall, has turned its attention to Georgetown’s Dean & Deluca. The high-end grocery store is one of the few places in D.C. that sells foie gras, which many cherish as a delicacy but which PETA believes is associated with extreme animal cruelty and should be banned across the nation.

According to statements made issued by PETA, the production of foie gras causes great distress to ducks and geese, which are often confined in small cages and force-fed so that their livers grow beyond the average size. PETA states that during their second month of life, birds in foie gras farms are fed foods high in protein and starch, intended to hasten the rate of their growth. Following this period, the birds begin the “gavage” phase, which entails being force-fed up to four pounds of grain and fat each day. This diet causes the birds’ livers to grow 10 times larger than they normally would and drastically increases birds’ mortality rates.

PETA’s investigations of foie gras farms have revealed many tortured animals, including some with holes in their necks from the force-feeding tubes. In New York, a PETA investigation uncovered numerous ducks crammed into under-sized cages, their beaks bleeding from the wired cages and their wings twisted and broken from the overcrowding. According to PETA, the animal abuse associated with producing foie gras is so extreme that the product is prohibited in 15 counties.

In an effort to rally against Dean & Deluca, PETA is urging its supporters to write letters to Dean & Deluca stores around the country, condemning their sale of foie gras. On its website, PETA provides a sample letter for its supporters to send to president of Dean & Deluca, Justin Seamonds, to pressure him to stop selling the delicacy. It reads:

“I was shocked to hear that Dean & Deluca sells foie gras in your U.S. stores, despite the fact that its production is illegal in more than a dozen countries and that your company is fully aware of the extreme suffering inherent in producing it….Please put an end to Dean & DeLuca’s complicity in the torture of birds by removing foie gras from your company’s shelves immediately.”

PETA has also released a video on its website showcasing the mistreatment of birds on foie gras farms. The video contains footage revealing the conditions in which the birds live and showing farmers placing long feeding tubes down the birds’ throats.

Dean & Deluca has not met with PETA’s demands and does not plan to do so. The general manager of the Georgetown’s Dean & Deluca, Eric Forsythe, believes the store must continue to cater to the many D.C. residents who rely on his store to buy foie gras.

Forsythe also states that the store is committed to “looking for the best quality” foie gras, and receives its product from a variety of different farms depending on its quality.

Robert Devaney •

An ice skating rink has been talked about at Washington Harbour almost since its creation in 1987. Sounds like a great idea, even to Washington Harbour’s original architect, Arthur Cotton Moore, who also created Canal Square on M Street and 31st Street and renovated the Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress, the Old Post Office building and the Phillips Collection, among others.

At the Aug. 29 Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC 2e) meeting, the current owners of Washington Harbour, MRP Realty, displayed plans for the lower plaza, which includes the water fountain, pool and tower – and an outdoor ice skating rink. Plans for the office-condo complex with its prime spot on the Potomac, seek to “reduce seasonality,” said Charles McGrath of MRP Realty, and make it “more family-friendly” along with minor design changes in the structure itself. Adding white noise to the retail parabola, the fountain would be re-done with programs for water shows as well as become – between November and March – a skating rink (with the Zamboni machine stored in the re-designed base of the tower). Designers of the 11,000-square-foot rink look to ideas from those at the Sculpture Garden, Reston Town Center and Rockefeller Center; it would be the largest ice sheet in D.C. Dockside restaurants will get new cantilever awnings for outdoor bars. Increased foot traffic was a concern, to which McGrath quipped: “Beers are going to have to be more expensive to offset the costs.”

However, while favoring an ice rink at Washington Harbour, architect Moore brought his own artwork and argued, “Everything can be done without demolition.” In some re-designs, he cited “terrible proportions” and the “uglification of the tower.” Some architectural features of the complex would be removed.

Generally, condo owners and businesses at the complex welcomed the ice rink and other plans — happy that an owner would be willing to revive and reinvest in the landmark destination. The over-all renovation is estimated at $30 million. Restarantuer Greg Casten was supportive, while condo owner Marty Sullivan disagreed, saying it is “out of scale and out of character” for the place.
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Georgetowner • September 12, 2011

As an extention of Georgetown’s Fashion Night Out, The Georgetowner & THE Agency are in search of “Georgetown’s Top Model.” Here are some of the lovely ladies who came to our photo shoot last Thursday, but the search is ongoing! Follow us on Facebook to for updates.

The judging panel for the contest includes THE Agency, noted fashion photographer Yvonne Taylor, and The Georgetowner’s editorial staff. All images will be uploaded to The Georgetowner’s Facebook page and image with the most likes along with the judge’s votes will win a professional photo shoot and be featured on the cover of The Georgetowner. All other photo entries will be seen online at Georgetowner.com.

Robert Devaney • September 9, 2011

While Hurricane Irene spared the District and Georgetown from her full force, residents still felt the storm’s wrath from around mid-day Saturday, Aug. 27, to the early Sunday morning of Aug. 28, when they started cleaning up. Branches and debris were strewn around homes and yards. A few had to deal with downed trees or tree branches on fences and cars. Otherwise, by lunchtime, Sunday was bright and sunny with people out on the streets, visiting friends and going to restaurants. [gallery ids="100279,107227,107239,107232,107236" nav="thumbs"]

Georgetowner •

Rumors are spreading that the Georgetown Barnes & Noble will be closed by the end of the year. According to the Washington City Paper, the company is feeling the economic strain and the lower demand for printed books and has let its M Street lease run out.

What will take the book super store’s place is not yet confirmed, but the new tenants will allegedly be paying $65 per square foot in rent, which, although it’s an average price for Georgetown, is steep considering the stores three stories of space.

Gary Tischler •

I didn’t know there was so much to know about the ukulele , or how many people were crazy about it.

What I learned about the ukelele came later, on Wikipedia, where else. I learned that it had come from Hawaii, which I sort of knew, that it originated in the 19th century as a Hawaiian interpretation of the cavaquuinho or braguinha and the rajao, which meant nothing to me, but they were both small guitar-like instruments which came to Hawaii by way of Portuguese immigrants and that the name “ukulele” translates out to something like “jumping flea”. Queen Lili’uokalani, the last Hawaiian monarch said it meant “the gift that here.” Either way is fine by me.

I’ve never touched a ukulele in my life until last week when I went to the last concert in the annual free outdoor summer concert series held on the lawn by a gazebo at the Strathmore Mansion, adjacent to the Music Center at Strathmore, and now, it appears, a new and classy housing development down the way a bit.

This was Strathmore’s Third Annual UkeFest, and all I can say is, who knew? There were, by an admittedly very rough guesstimate on my part a couple of thousand people spread out on the Strathmore rolling law, near a thousand of them carrying ukes of all sizes and designs with them. Like I said, who knew?

Strathmore’s Shelley Brown handed me this little itty bitty thing that looked like a toy. “It’s easy, try it,” she said. “Play the C note.” I played the C note. The earth did not move—that was the day before. But I was pleased, in a silly, stupid sort of way, as if I had done something really cool.

A fellow by the named of Michael Al Rosson understood perfectly. He had a mighty beard and looked and overalls and looked exactly like a uke player to me, those that don’t appear to be Samoans. “I work in the mail room at a research center,” he said. “I took it up about six years ago, and I got the fever, the uke fever. Never stopped. It’s easy to play. You can play just about anything. It’s fun. It has history. You can entertain people including yourself. And it’s really great to be here.”
Now he bills himself as a singer/songwriter/charactervoice perfsormer and Ukulele Enthusiast.

Just about the spiffiest cool looking ukulele dude there was ChristyLez Bacon, a self-described progressive hip-hop artist, but also a ukulele player. He had a cool hat, suspenders, his clothes looked ready-made from London by way of some dude shop in LA. He was as thin as a reed, with energy to burn.

So did this kid about five years old, who handled his little ukulele like it was a Rick James rock and roll and funk guitar. His sister looked at him skeptically, but he struck the pose and vogued his little self and played: something.

It was one of those things in a week of earthquakes and hurricanes and the usual slew of politics that could make you forget your cares and woes and play “Bye Bye Blackbird”. You can on the uke. Rudy Vallee, when he wasn’t holding a megaphone, played the uke in the Roaring Twenties when it was mysteriously popular in the United States.

That ended with the Depression, but the uke has resurfaced in a big way in the aftermath when Hawaiian musician Israel Kamakawiwo’ole made it popular all again with uke renditions of “Over The Rainbow” and “What a Wonderful World”, which went viral on the Internet in a good way, making people laugh and cry at the same time.

At Strathmore, they were trying to break the Guinness Book of World Record uke record for the largest Ukulele Ensemble ever, which stood at 851. The gathered thousand or more easily swept by that with well over 900, all of which raised high in the air, as if the night was the ukulele Agincourt, which it probably was.

That record lasted a little because news on the Guinness website said that some Swedes had set a new mark well over a thousand.

Silly Swedes

Such news, in the uke world, don’t mean a thing, because it don’t have that swing. Because the instrument produces sounds, plays songs, and music that make you in the dark of the night pretty happy or at least not lonesome.

It showed in the family-like sun-setting fervor of the Uke Setting, where the Riders, amateur musicians from the Riderwood Retirement Community showed up and played in Hawaiian shirts, and youngsters fromn the Piney Branch Kids Ukulele Ensemble layed as Gerald Ross, blending humor jazz and blues, the terrific ladies duo of The Sweater Set, and hosts Marcy Marxer and Cathy Fink led the crowd in a rendition of “This Land is Made for You and Me”, as the smell of fried chicken wafted in the air.

That magnificent C Note. If only we all had one. [gallery ids="100280,107237" nav="thumbs"]

Robert Devaney •

Local and international designer, artist and furniture maker, Jan Marfyak has set up shop, Uncommon Furnishings, at 35th and N Streets. “It’s got a different buzz,” says Marfyak approvingly of today’s Georgetown. He has been around D.C. for years as well as the New York and L.A. arts scene and has worked with Krupsaw’s, Antony Childs, Miller & Armey and Muleh.

Displaying decorative objects for homes – polished petrified wood, calcium slabs and mill stones, to name a few intriguing pieces – Marfyak pulls from his warehouse in Montgomery County and his world travels. His designs involve unusual textures, forms and colors with residential and commercial applications. If you are looking for unique framings or yet-to-be-authenticated petrified crocodiles from China – or not – stop by and say hello to Marfyak. Each of his art pieces tells a story, and he can tell quite a few of his own. He is well worth the trip. Uncommon Furnishings is at 1301 35th St., NW, 202.422.6695.

Samantha Hungerford •

As it became clear that the rain clouds hanging over D.C. aren’t going to be blowing over soon, the C&O Canal Trust announced that emergency flood preparations are to be made this week. The towpath, Visitor Centers and all lockhouses will be closed and visitors are being warned about rapidly rising flood waters. The public preview of Lockhouse 10 is postponed until further notice.

The C&O Canal Trust has also issued a call for emergency volunteers to help sandbag around Lockhouse 6 this Thursday afternoon. For assignment details, call the Trust at 301-714-2233. More information about closures and further updates will be available at CanalTrust.org and on the Trust’s Facebook page and Twitter feed.

According to the Trust, this year’s flood is expected to cause more damage than the flood of 2010 and they urge people to use extreme caution.

Robert Devaney •

As the 10th anniversary of September 11 is upon us, we remember another anniversary of a foreign power attacking the U.S. It was the War of 1812. Sept. 14 is Star-Spangled Banner Day.

After the burning of public buildings in the new capital, Washington, D.C., in August 1814, the Royal Navy and British army prepared to attack the bigger city of Baltimore in the days before Sept. 14. Meanwhile, as the British roamed around Chesapeake Bay and Maryland, they had captured a town leader, Dr. William Beanes, from Upper Marlboro, prompting a presidential group to seek his release. President James Madison had asked Georgetown lawyer Francis Scott Key to meet the British and negotiate. While with British officers on their ship near Fort McHenry, which guarded Baltimore harbor, Key could not leave and witnessed the bombardment of Fort McHenry. After the British push on land to Baltimore City was stymied, the navy stayed out of range of the fort and hit it repeatedly but failed to pass its defense.

Ending an evening of terrible explosions, lights and sounds, the British gave up the fight and withdrew in the morning. As “the dawn’s early light” revealed that Fort McHenry had stood its ground, Key was elated to see “that our flag was still there.” A large American flag – the Star-Spangled Banner – waved atop the fort. It was a moment of profound relief for the Americans to know that their former rulers would not split the young nation in two with the demise of Baltimore. This war revealed one of the first times that Americans had acted as Americans – a fresh national identity – and not as Marylanders, Virginians or New Yorkers. Key wrote these sentiments into his poem, “The Defense of Fort McHenry,” quickly renamed “The Star-Spangled Banner.” It become an instant hit, an army musical standard and finally the national anthem.

Key lived with his large family in Georgetown, D.C., from 1804 to around 1833 with his wife Polly and their six sons and five daughters. Their land was across from what is now the Car Barn (3500 block of M Street) and their backyard went all the way to the Potomac River (the C&O Canal did not yet exist). The accomplished lawyer, truly a gentleman, scholar and fine orator, was involved in church and community in the small town of 5,000 Georgetowners. He was the district attorney for Washington under the Jackson and Van Buren administrations.

Years later, business leaders and the Georgetowner newspaper founded “Star-Spangled Banner Days” to celebrate the flag, the anthem and its author, a hometown hero. On Sept. 14, 1993, the Francis Scott Key Foundation paid for, completed and dedicated the park on M Street – one block from his famous home, demolished in 1947 – between 34th street and Key Bridge. The Francis Scott Key Foundation is still active providing additional maintenance of the park, such as a fresh flag periodically. It plans more events for the park, now part of the National Park Service, and history lessons for Mr. Key’s neighborhood.

Francis Scott Key Park and the Star-Spangled Banner Monument is a D.C. and national salute to the flag, the anthem and the man with its percola, bust of Key and a flag pole which flies a Star-Spangled Banner. That original flag, which inspired Key’s song, is on display about 25 city blocks away at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. Passers-by can rest and meet at this Georgetown oasis and recall a time when a young city and country had confronted its own years of war and lived through it to thrive and create a great nation.