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Zachariah Weaver • October 13, 2011

Unlike the words Langston Hughes once used in his poem “Lincoln Theatre,” the movies won’t end.

For the past 24 months the Lincoln Theatre has struggled with financial sustainability and still does. Yet it will not be closing, but is in a state of dire financial struggle. At the press conference held Thursday afternoon, it was confirmed that the theatre is in need of operating funds from the District to keep the doors open past the end of the calendar year.

However, the theatre may not be getting the city funding that it needs and has scheduled a meeting with the mayor to resolve these issues.

Rick Lee, a board member of the U Street Foundation Board which operates the theatre, explained the frustration the theatre is going through.

“We found out that there is $89 million to be [divided] up across the city [for operation funding], and we’re not going to be getting any of it,” said Lee.

According to the board, the mayor has not responded to the request they put forth and the theatre must continue its struggle to maintain sustainability in the constant economic crisis affecting them.

Cynthia Robinson, another board member, stressed how important the resources they get later on in the year are. “In order for a public theatre owned by the District to operate effectively, it must have committed resources to support the operations,” Robinson said.

Robinson detailed how they have been getting the money in the past, saying that they receive their own revenue, rentals, fundraising and finally District funding for operations.

“Most of the money we get is going to go straight to keeping the doors open,” said Robinson. However, there is a staff that must be provided for and also monthly payments to be added in.

The average annual budget for the theatre is $1.7 million and their general monthly operating expenses come out to $60,000 per month. The cash on hand for them as of now is $50,000.

These problems could impact the theatre in different and drastic ways including: the ability to leave the doors open until the end of the year, the power to stage some shows and the inability to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Lincoln Theatre.

Council member Jim Graham of Ward 1 made an appearance at the conference and gave his assurance that the theatre will continue with its doors open. “We are hopeful that once we meet with the mayor, we can discuss a new system and new governance of reconsideration of these [funding] issues. That way we can assure the people that this theatre will continue to function,” Graham said.
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Robert Devaney • October 7, 2011

The completed transformation of Georgetown’s land along the Potomac River was celebrated with an official National Park Service ceremony Sept. 13 at Wisconsin Avenue and K Street. Friends and volunteers came together to salute the completion of Georgetown Waterfront Park and to honor former Sen. Charles Percy (R-Ill.), the park’s most influential advocate and longtime 34th Street resident, who is gravely ill.

The $24-million, 9.5-acre park was a project of the National Park Service, the Friends of Georgetown Waterfront Park and the District of Columbia government. The park was designed by Wallace Roberts & Todd of Philadelphia and completes 225 miles of parkland along the Potomac River’s shoreline, stretching from Mount Vernon, Va., north to Cumberland, Md. It is the largest park to be created in D.C. since Constitution Gardens was completed on the National Mall in 1976. Construction began in 2006.

Once the land of old Georgetown’s wharves and factories, the riverside had deteriorated into parking lots and empty land. In 1985, the District of Columbia transferred the waterfront land to the National Park Service. In the late 1990s, the Georgetown Waterfront Commission made the final, long push for completion, bringing together volunteers, residents, the rowing community, local leaders and the National Park Service as it highlighted the Potomac’s signature sport: rowing.

The park features pathways, granite artwork that tells the story of Georgetown as a port, a labyrinth, a bio-engineered river edge along with the newest and most popular attractions: a pergola, fountain and river stairs.

At the ceremony, Rock Creek Park Superintendent Tara Morrison greeted the crowd as it faced the Potomac, Roosevelt Island and the Kennedy Center and boats, helicopters and airplanes passed by.

“This is a grand day,” announced Robert vom Eigen, president of the Friends of Georgetown Waterfront Park, who thanked all those working for years to change unused industrial lots into parkland, now part of the Park Service.

“No one would have loved more to be here front row and center,” said WETA president and CEO Sharon Percy Rockefeller of her father, Sen. Percy, whose picture is on a park plaque. Revealing that he is ill at Sibley Hospital, Rockefeller choked up as she said, “He would be thrilled to see this magnificent setting. It is his fondest and last best work.”

On behalf of the District, Ward 2 councilman Jack Evans thanked the three most responsible for the final push to get the park done: Ann Satterthwaite, Robert vom Eigen and Grace Bateman.

Paraphrasing Frederick Douglass’s thoughts on visitors to the nation’s capital, Robert Stanton of the Park Service said, “When they visit Washington, D.C., they would be at home. For those who visit Georgetown Waterfront Park, they will be home as well.”

Afterwards, hometown architects Hugh Jacobsen and Arthur Cotton Moore, sitting together at the House of Sweden reception for the park after the ceremony, approved of the new work. Pleased to see parkland and businesses side by side, Moore joked, “Hugh and I are going down those steps [at the river] tomorrow in our swimming suits.”

Sculptor John Dreyfuss, also trained as an architect, summed up Georgetown’s newest creation: “It is a triumph.”

Georgetowner • October 4, 2011

Rebirth of the Cool

September 30th, 2011 at 06:00-9:00 PM| Event Website

Rebirth of the Cool represents a new incarnation of Kehinde Wiley’s popular annual fish fry from Art Basel Miami Beach. Both extravagant and casually hip, it offers guests the opportunity to experience the city and the artistic subculture in a way that Wiley describes as “a truer example of my lived life.” The event’s title refers to Birth of the Cool, an exhibition of works by Barkley Hendricks, an artist in 30 Americans, and is symbolic of the exciting programming coming up at the Corcoran.

If you haven’t already, buy tickets by clicking Here includes BBQ and two drinks.

The Initiative for Russian Culture-Film, Jazzmen

September 30th, 2011 at 06:00 PM | fedyashi@american.edu | Tel: (202) 885-6381 | Event Website

The founding of the Initiative for Russian Culture (IRC) invites you to come see the award winning and popular Russian film, Jazzmen (1983). The film is based on a music student, Konstantin, who gets expelled due to his love for jazz, which at the time was considered to be frowned upon in Soviet Union 1920’s. The student seeks two street musicians to form a band and together they attempt to make a mark on the Russian music scene. Director Karen Shaknazarov set this film during a time when, despite its widespread popularity, jazz was to be frowned upon as a debased form of capitalist art. The movie showcases great Russian jazz tunes as the band tries to prove that jazz music is a revolutionary and popular form of art.

To start the evening cocktails and a buffet will be served and the screening of the film will follow along with a discussion and Q and A. Afterward, Russian coffee and deserts will be served and Igor Bril will close the event with a live performance. Valet parking will be available and the attire will be business. There will be media availability starting at 5:45 PM and media credentials will be required.

Address

The Library of Congress, Thomas Jefferson Building

10 First Street, SE Washington, DC

Art Code: Artworks by Edurne Esponda

September 30th, 2011 at 06:00 PM | gallery@callowayart.com | Tel: 202-965-4601 | Event Website

Susan Calloway Fine Arts is pleased to present ArtCode, a show by Edurne Esponda, which displays the artists’ colorful, playful, and thought provoking oeuvre. Born in Oaxaca, Mexico, Edurne Esponda has traveled the world as both an artist and fashion designer. Her latest work, ArtCode will be on view at Susan Calloway Fine Arts from September 30 through October 29, 2011. An opening reception will be held on September 30 from 6PM-8PM.

Address

Susan Calloway Fine Arts

Book Hill, Georgetown

1643 Wisconsin Avenue NW

Washington, DC 20007

Wine in the Water Park

September 30th, 2011 at 07:00 PM | Free Admission | Event Website

Wine in the Water Park brings the mood-setting, ambient music of DJ Adrian Loving, wine and beer carefully selected by the Washington Wine Academy, and free snacks from Jaleo to the Crystal City Water Park (across from 1750 Crystal Drive). Taking place every Friday in September (September 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd, and 30th) from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., the event gives residents, office workers, and visitors a great place to unwind after the work week.

Address

Crystal City Water Park (across from 1750 Crystal Drive, Arlington, VA)

Bowen McCauley Dance at Dance Place

October 1st, 2011 at 02:00 AM | $22 General Admission $17 Members, Seniors, Teachers and Artists

$10 College Students $8 Children (1 | ricki@bmdc.org | Tel: 703-910-5175 | Event Website

Lucy Bowen McCauley, named by Washingtonian as among those “who have helped transform Washington into one of the nation’s liveliest centers for the performing arts,” brings her eclectic musical taste, creative artistic partnerships, and her company of “rising stars” to Dance Place. Audience favorite, Lucy’s Playlist, brings ’80s pop and rock tunes to life with an amped up performance. The energy is infectious!

Address

Dance Place

3225 8th Street NE

Washington, DC 20017

DC Walk for the Animals benefiting the Washington Humane Society

October 15th, 2011 at 10:00 AM | $15-20 | events@washhumane.org | Tel: 202-683-1822 | Event Website

DC Walk for the Animals (Benefiting the Washington Humane Society)

WHEN: Saturday, October 15, 2011

10:00 AM – 5:00 PM

WHERE: Marie Reed Learning Center

2200 Champlain St. NW

Washington, DC 20009

CONTACT INFO: events@washhumane.org

202-683-1822

ADMISSION: $20 for adults, $15 for children ages 3-12, Free for children under age 3

Address

2200 Champlain St. NW

Washington, DC 20009

11th Annual Norton Wine and Bluegrass Festival

October 1st, 2011 at 10:00 AM | Admission is $20 per person at the door, $15 in advance |

kkinne@chrysaliswine.com | Tel: (540) 687-8222 ext. 206 | Event Website

Home to the world’s single largest planting of Norton, the Chrysalis Vineyards is hosting the 11th Annual Norton Wine and Bluegrass Festival on Saturday, October 1 and Sunday, October 2, from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Celebrate Norton, The Real American Grape!® with tastings of America’s authentic premium wine – indigenous to Virginia. Listen to live bluegrass music, hop on a hayride and shop the food and craft vendors. A variety of Norton blends will be available including Mariposa, Estate Bottled Norton, Chrysalis’ ultra premium Locksley Reserve Norton and more. For more information and details, visit www.ChrysalisWine.com.

Address

23876 Champe Ford Road

Middleburg, Virginia 20117

Georgetowner • October 3, 2011

As you pay low prices for your favorite end-of-season pieces and some upcoming season looks at the District Samples Sale, you help Washington Empowered Against Violence.

Sept. 26, M Street will fill up with bargain hunters as DSS arranges its semi-annual charity event. DSS features over 20 top designer clothing and shoe boutiques, according to DistrictSampleSale.com. They also entice Georgetown shoppers with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres from participating restaurants. At this event, designer pieces are sold at liquidation-level prices. Though you can often find good prices at online retailers, “what is unique about the DSS is the experience that we offer. People can actually try on the clothes and interact with the boutique owners…” said DSS co-founder Jayne Sandman in a news release, as quoted in the Georgetown Patch.

DSS is an all-volunteer organization, and 100 percent of its profits go to charity. This fall’s charity event will benefit WEAVE, an organization that works to eliminate partner abuse and gender-based violence through holistic service and empowerment. It offers legal representation, counseling and case management among other services, according to WeaveInCorp.com, which also states that its empowerment model emphasizes the clients’ ownership of their own cases.

WEAVE recently changed its name from “Women Empowered Against Violence” to “Washington Empowered Against Violence” in an effort to eliminate any possible barriers between genders, according to WeaveInCorp.com. Also, there are no income restrictions on clients, making its services available to more people. The organization was founded in 1996 and will celebrate its 15th anniversary this year, which makes this the perfect time “for DSS to select us as their charity,” said executive director for WEAVE, Jeni Gamble, to the Georgetown Patch. She furthers explains that this event might benefit between 50 and 200 victims, depending on the turnout they get.

Tickets for the event are available at DistrictSampleSale.com.

Robert Devaney •

Well, my little cupcakes, make some room. Pie Sisters – a.k.a. O’B.Sweet – will open its much-anticipated first store at 3423 M St. in early November.

Bakers and businesswomen Alli, Cat and Erin Blakely, who hail from Great Falls, Va., and are parishioners of St. John’s Church on O Street, are known for their pies for weddings and social and charitable events. They and their baking talents, a lifelong family affair, have been pitched as a “reality” show on a cable network. The sisters said they chose the site because of its closeness to Georgetown University and its visibility – you can’t miss it turning off Key Bridge from Virginia – and that “the location is not too small and not too big.”

“Their product is irresistible,” said Richard Levy, the new shop’s landlord and managing principal of the Levy Group, a real estate investment and property management company, which runs Regency Row on M Street at Key Bridge. “These three very energetic sisters convinced me. They have a lot of business savvy.”

Construction of the pie shop is underway, and it is expected to open before Thanksgiving, according to Levy. Another new business, a small eatery, is planned for next door.

As for that cable show, Erin Blakely said, “We put that on hold. It’s still possible. We want to get the store open.”

The sisters sell pies in three sizes, the hand-held “cuppie,” seven-inch and nine-inch, and flavors include apple caramel crunch, pecan, key lime and banana, coconut or chocolate cream. They will also be offering gluten-free pies for the first time. The big pie can cost up to $35, but return the glass plate for $5 off next purchase – which appears inevitable. Georgetown surely has a sweet tooth.

“The manager at Revolution Cycles is psyched,” Levy said. “She loves pies.”

Visit PieSisters.com for more information.

Kyle Lundberg •

In the midst of a society that is dominated by mass consumption and synthetic food substances, one D.C. organization is speaking up for organic food and the protection of the American farmlands that produce it.

Founded in 1980, the American Farmland Trust is a D.C.-based organization dedicated to protecting farmlands across America from destruction caused by urban development. On Wednesday, the AFT kicked off their second annual Dine Out for Farms week, which will take place Oct. 16 through 22. Various restaurants in the D.C. area and throughout the U.S. will participate in the event by informing customers about the importance of farms in providing them with the food they eat, and by donating to the AFT.

On hand at the kick off event, which took place at the Founding Farmers restaurant, was Mike Isabella, celebrity chef and owner of Graffiato, a participating restaurant in this year’s event.

“Working with local farmers supports their business and the economy, hopefully making it more affordable for more Americans to eat locally sourced, fresh and healthy food,” Isabella said in a press release.

AFT President Jon Scholl encourages restaurants to support local farms and cook their food with local ingredients.

“The restaurant community’s support of local farms is crucial, given that the Mid-Atlantic States have been losing more than 200 acres of farmland a day to sprawling development,” Scholl said in a press release. “Between 1982 and 2007, that totaled about 2 million acres, or an area bigger than the entire state of Delaware.”

Also on hand at the kick off was Bev Eggleston, owner of EcoFriendly Foods, a Virginia-based network of buyers and growers that supports family farms and small businesses. According to Eggleston, a lack of farmland leads to a lack of farmers, which makes it more difficult to buy locally.

“Ninety percent of the farmers I knew when I moved back to Virginia in 1990 are no longer farming,” Eggleston said. I’m working with ten percent of the original farmers.”

According to Chef Isabella, buying local is not just an issue of being green, it’s an issue of quality as well.

“The more we help the farmers out, the better product we get at the table,” Isabella said. If the product is local and seasonal, the flavor is there.”

During Dine out for Farms week, participating restaurant owners will promote local farmers by serving special dishes, donating a percentage of sales or making straight donations to AFT. Isabella believes the best way to show customers the benefit of fresh food is not through rhetoric, but through the food itself.

“My way of teaching them is by evolving my menu,” Isabella said, “and not just being at the table explaining to them why, but them tasting it and understanding. I think that’s the best way for me to do it.”

In addition to Graffiato and Founding Farmers, other D.C. restaurants participating during the week include America Eats Tavern, Café Milano and Pinkberry. For a complete list of participating restaurants, go to FarmLand.org/Dineout.

Georgetowner • September 26, 2011

Learn how to download free eBooks, audiobooks, music and video when D.C.-area libraries and the National Book Festival host Digital Bookmobile National Tour Event Sept. 20 through 21 and 24 through 25.

According to The Digital Bookmobile’s website, DigitalBookMobile.com, the Bookmobile is a 74-foot, 18-wheel tractor-trailer which tours the country to promote public libraries’ digital download services. The high-tech update of the traditional bookmobile offers an engaging experience with the host library’s digital download service, said a press release from OverDrive, which operates Digital Bookmobile and powers download websites at more that 15,000 libraries worldwide.

If you own an iPhone, an Android, a tablet or any other similar gadget, this is the time for you to explore digital download possibilities. According to the press release, the Digital Bookmobile holds a gadget gallery featuring different devices, which will help visitors discover portable devices that are compatible with the digital download service.

The Digital Bookmobile will visit George Mason University Tuesday, Sept. 20 from 1 to 7 p.m. and the Arlington Public Library on Wednesday, Sept. 21 from 1 to 7 p.m. During the weekend, you will find the Digital Bookmobile at The National Mall visiting the National Book Festival, Saturday, Sept. 24 from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 25 from 1 to 5:30 p.m.

These free events will offer interactive demonstrations to readers of all ages, showing how to use the digital download service from your local library. The same press release states that the download service is available 24/7 on the library’s website. From there, you can browse and download digital titles, transfer them between your mobile devices and enjoy. At the end of the lending period, the titles will automatically expire without any late fees. Anyone with a library card can find a digital library by visiting Digital Bookmobiles’ website, DigitalBookMobile.com, and typing in a local zip code.

Georgetowner •

Saturday, Sept. 24, Everard’s Clothing on Wisconsin Avenue will be hosting a trunk show for men and women featuring Romanian-gone-New-York-designer Yoana Baraschi and Italian designer Daniel Dolce. 10 percent of the proceeds from the event will be donated to the USO, a non-profit organization dedicated to “lifting the spirits of America’s troops and their families.”

Everard’s Clothing is an upscale, full boutique, serving both women and men with designers from all over the world. According to his website, Louis Everard has 15 years of experience in the clothing industry and has won numerous industry awards for his work.

Daniel Dolce, according to his website, aims to design timeless and unique pieces that complement the well-dressed gentlemen. His latest campaign features model Shane Duffy, a U.S. military veteran. Duffy was scouted by a model agency in New York and quickly signed to work for Daniel Dolce. At the trunk show, both Dolce and Duffy will make an appearance.

Yoana Baraschi has been in the industry for 20 years working for designers like Betsey Johnson, and for the last nine years she has been designing her own line of women’s wear including dresses and jackets. Baraschi’s New York Fashion Week show featured androgynous Serbian-Australian model Andrej Pejik, famous for his feminine looks. Representatives from Yoana Baraschi will also be at the trunk show to showcase her Fall 2011 and Holiday 2011 collections.

The trunk show will take place on Sept. 24 at Everard’s Clothing on 1802 Wisconsin Ave., NW, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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Gary Tischler •

The children of American politicians — especially those politicians who loom large in the public imagination and history books — are always bathed in a kind of reflective light that lasts longer than perhaps it should and is more intense than it might be for the children of less famous parents.

When those children pass away unexpectedly and too soon, memories are recalled. When we lose two in the space of a weekend, the memories are larger and thicker. The deaths of Kara Kennedy, oldest child of Sen. Ted Kennedy, and Eleanor Mondale, daughter of former vice president and presidential aspirant Walter Mondale, both at the age of 51, come as a shock and invoke memories of their families, historical and political times, and most of all each of the women’s singular spirits.

Kara Kennedy, who had apparently beaten back the threat of lung cancer with tough, draining treatments, reportedly died after working out at a health club. Her brother, Patrick, acting as the family’s spokesman, was quoted as saying “her heart gave out.” She was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2003.

Kara Kennedy was a filmmaker, a video and television producer, a board member of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate, and a director and national trustee of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation.

She is survived by her brothers Patrick and Edward Kennedy, Jr., her mother Joan Kennedy, her husband Michael Allen and two teenage children, Grace and Max, and the rest of the extended Kennedy family.

There is no escaping that part of her story — she was born in 1960 when her father was campaigning for his brother John F. Kennedy in his heated race against Richard Nixon for the U.S. Presidency, and not too long thereafter her father won a tough Senate race. She was born to a life where politics and history were only a breath away. She and her brother Edward helped run her father’s senate campaign in 1988.

Her battle with illness and her deep interest in Very Special Arts, which was founded by her aunt Jean Kennedy Smith, speak to the Kennedy name and its triumphs, tragedies and compassionate efforts.

Ted Kennedy, who had a failed presidential run but was deemed the “Lion of the Senate,” was the last of the four great brothers – Joe, John, and Robert. Joe was killed in World War II, and John and Robert were assassinated while Ted died of a brain tumor. Kara Kennedy accepted the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her father in 2009, shortly before he passed away.

Those facts don’t begin to tell the Kennedy saga: They’re like its sharpened, jagged outline. It seems every time we lose a Kennedy, we mourn them all again and reflect on their achievements and lives as individuals and as part of the family.

Eleanor Mondale was in her twenties, vivid and as sparkling as a glass of champagne when her father, a huge political figure in Minnesota and former vice president under Jimmy Carter, decided to challenge Republican President Ronald Reagan in 1984. Mondale won the nomination and made Geraldine Ferraro his running mate, the first time a woman had been so picked. The choice was a ground breaking event, and enlivened what sometimes seemed like a doomed result, which was a crushing defeat for Mondale.

Eleanor Mondale, blonde, smart, charming and lively, gamely campaigned for her father and in the aftermath carved out her own career in the media as a radio show host and entertainment writer. She also did some acting including small parts in “Dynasty” and “Three’s Company” as well as being a constant focus for paparazzi. She was one of those people who seemed to attract the light without trying too hard — she was witty and photogenic, and more than one media type had dubbed her a “wild child.”

That may have had something to do with her personal life. She was married three times and tended to be attracted to athletes and rock stars, marrying Chicago Bears lineman Keith Van Horne, DJ Greg Thunder and Chan Poling of the rock group The Suburbs. She and Poling, whom she married in 2005, lived on a farm in Prior Lake, Minn.

Eleanor Mondale was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor in 2005.

Zachariah Weaver •

Approximately 45 minutes after the convicted cop killer, Troy Davis, was executed, protestors outside the Supreme Court were already speaking out about what’s next to come in their battle against the Death Penalty.

At 11:08 p.m. Wednesday night, Troy Davis was executed for the murder of a Savannah off-duty police officer, Mark MacPhail, in 1989.

Protestors stood at the bottom of the steps of the Supreme Court even into the early minutes of Thursday morning, Sept. 22. They had been out front nearly all Wednesday giving their support to Davis’ case, according to Jack Payden-Travers, one of the protestors wearing a blue shirt that read “I am Troy Davis.”

“I think what’s happened tonight and today, in the whole Troy Davis affair, has been years in the making,” Payden-Travers said as he reflected on his time spent there in front of the Supreme Court building. “I think that tonight’s execution may be the end of the death penalty.”

Many protestors have argued that there was simply not enough evidence to be sure Davis was guilty and many of them bring up the fact that seven of the nine witnesses against him had recanted their stories, according to sources in a CNN report.

However, the MacPhail family feels quite opposite about the innocence of Davis.

The Associated Press talked with MacPhail’s mother, Anneliese MacPhail, after the execution was complete. She dismissed Davis’ claims of innocence and said that the family feels that justice had finally been served.

Demonstrators outside the prison where Davis was to be executed began hugging, crying, praying and gathering around Davis’ family after the Supreme Court commented on their decision to not free him of the execution, the Associated Press wrote.

Davis claimed that he was innocent during the moments leading up to his execution and also made a statement, according to the Washington Post, that “the incident that happened that night is not my fault.” He left his supporters with the words “continue to fight the fight,” referring to the fight against the Death Penalty the Washington Post also wrote.

For protestors such as Jack Payden-Travers, “The Death Penalty will end,” he said, “it’s just a matter of when.” Payden-Travers hopes that for the people that turned out for Troy, the Death Penalty ended tonight.”

Late on Wednesday evening in front of the Supreme Court, Payden-Travers led the crowd of people in what he described as a custom that is used in Latin America when someone dies. The crowd shouted in the silence, “Troy Davis! Presente! Troy Davis! Presente! Troy Davis! Presente!”
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