Summer in the South of France Dinner at Rivers
• August 10, 2011

In anticipation of Washington Women and Wine’s triumphant return to France in 2012, on July 18 the group of bon vivants gathered for a “Summer in the South of France” dinner at Rivers at the Watergate. WWW founder Karen McMullen welcomed back Robin and Paul McKenzie-Smith who had led last year’s tour and came from Fort Lauderdale, eager to return to Florida’s sea breezes. Rivers Executive Chef Michael Smithson oversaw a splendid menu of cold watercress soup, mushroom vol au vent, filet mignon and chocolate hazelnut mousse paired with special wines. French Escapade 2’s March itinerary will include visits to Bordeaux, Carcassonne, Aix-en-Provence and end merrily on the Riviera. [gallery ids="100246,106679,106710,106684,106706,106689,106702,106694,106698" nav="thumbs"]

Happenstance Theater Scores in Capital Fringe Festival
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Back by popular demand, Happenstance Theater presented Manifesto! to rave reviews in this year’s Capital Fringe Festival. The setting is the surrealist Cabaret ReVoltaire where the guests are visionaries. The text is taken from real manifestos penned by Dadaists, Communists and Capitalists in the aftermath of World War I. The words are spoken by the frequenters of a cabaret run by clowns played by Happenstance’s Artistic Director Mark Jaster, his daughter Emma Jaster, Artistic Co-Director and Manager Sabrina Mandell, Gwen Grastorf, Karen Hansen and Matt Pearson. This professional company devises and produces original performer-created visual, poetic theatre that thoroughly engages the audience. [gallery ids="100247,106699,106707,106704" nav="thumbs"]

G’town Biz News Bite: ‘100 Persons for 100 Degrees’
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You know you have a tight group of business leaders, when at least 100 persons show up for your June 20 networking reception at a MacArthur Boulevard dentist’s office in 100-degree weather. Georgetown Business Association members and guests met at the office and patio of Georgetown Smile, greeted by the likeable and professional Avraham “A.J.” Peretz, D.D.S., and his staff. Cold water, wine and soda along with sandwich wraps and pasta salad proved perfect at the end of a hot day. Maybe even better, there was a massage therapist — Janelle Jimason of Eastern Holistic Arts — administering soothing massages in the office’s receptionist space. Georgetown Smile t-shirts were handed out as well as samples from Sonicare and Colgate. One of the raffle winners of the Philips Sonicare toothbrushes was GBA secretary Beth Webster. (Plus: a quick thank you to GBA event chair Sue Hamilton for her headline quote.) [gallery ids="100249,106726,106719,106723" nav="thumbs"]

A Happy Birthday at Press Club: Arianna and AOL
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Less than six months since the biggest merger in online news history, AOL (America Online) chief executive Tim Armstrong and Huffington Post founder Arianna Huffington were the headliners at a National Press Club lunch, July 15 — Huffington’s 61st birthday — to discuss the deal and the future of journalism, on-line and traditional. Since its $315 million purchase of Huffington Post in February, AOL has hired some of the biggest names in journalism while simultaneously eliminating the jobs of hundreds of full and part-time writers, editors and other employees across America. The rebuilding AOL is reshaping the entire news industry with outlets like Patch, Huffington Post and AOL specialty brands such as AOL Energy, AOL Defense and the planned AOL Government. “Self-expression is the new entertainment,” Huffington said. “People want to be part of the story of their times.” Among those at the lunch were former Sen.William Cohen and his wife Janet Langhart, Aspen Institute head Walter Isaacson, formerly of Time and CNN, media guru Tammy Haddad and publicist Jan Duplain. [gallery ids="100250,106724,106730,106728" nav="thumbs"]

46th Birthday Party: ‘Onward, Singapore’
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Singapore celebrated its 46th National Day with an Aug. 2. party, which also honored its armed forces. Ambassador Chan Heng Chee greeted dignitaries and guests at the embassy’s International Place complex with a 50th birthday cheer for President Barack Obama — after the U.S. and Singapore national anthems were played — as well as a full and spicy buffet of food and ample drinks. (The city-state island republic was founded Aug. 9, 1965.) Also addressing the crowd were Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) and Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.). Webb saluted “the energy of the people of Singapore, who have performed an economic miracle.” Stearns admired Singapore’s double-digit growth rate. [gallery ids="100260,106934,106946,106939,106943" nav="thumbs"]

K Street Kate Takes the 5th . . . Anniversary, That Is
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Kate Michael, online magazine founder of K Street Kate, celebrated the fifth birthday of her D.C. lifestyle blog, July 27, at the National Press Club ballroom with drinks and music, themed to “Livin’ La Vida Local.” The media entrepreneur thanked her staff and said she sees a bright future for hyperlocal websites. Friends and fans of the popular Michael, a former Miss D.C., congratulated her for hitting the anniversary whose traditional gift is one made of wood. Life is local and ironic, too.

Children Uniting Nations
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As a prelude to a day-long forum at the Capitol Visitor Center where policy makers and academics discussed how our laws can better serve America’s children, on July 27 Children Uniting Nations Founder/Chair Daphna Edwards Ziman hosted a press reception at the City Club. Christine Warnke of Hogan & Lovells, an attorney and mother of two adopted Russian children, introduced Ms. Ziman. She said “she has taken on the whole world of foster care and is now combatting sex trafficking.” In return, Ms. Ziman said “Chris will make sure you are heard in the halls of Congress.” Children Uniting Nations is a proactive non-profit organization created to bring attention to the plight of at-risk and foster youth. As Congress was embroiled in the debt crisis, Nigerian Ambassador Ade Adefuye said the real crisis is “the debt we owe our children.”

Finnish Fond Farewell
• August 4, 2011

Ambassador of Finland Pekka Lintu and Mrs. Laurel Colless hosted a farewell reception at the embassy on June 27 as they prepare for their upcoming posting to Greece. In his welcoming remarks, the Ambassador thanked guests for coming “to wave us goodbye.” The popular couple has been in Washington for over five years during which time their daughter Julia was born. He hailed the “willingness of the American people to engage themselves” and spoke of their “friendliness and openness.” He also recognized the strong support of the embassy staff and of his talented wife “who seems to know everybody.” Mrs. Colless spoke of their pride in the “green” embassy, the first in the United States to receive the prestigious Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Guests departed with an art book chronicling the embassy’s design and numerous events. [gallery ids="100233,106514,106535,106531,106527,106523,106519" nav="thumbs"]

Changing 14th Street
• July 27, 2011

In just two decades, the street formerly dubbed “auto row” has been reborn as the Fourteenth Street Arts Corridor – a hip, fun stretch of road lined with trendy boutiques, cute restaurants and of course, art galleries exhibiting a wealth of talents, styles and expressions.

Irvine Contemporary Art

1412 14th St. NW | (202) 332-8767 | irvinecontemporary.com
Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 11AM-6PM
The Irvine Contemporary Art Gallery celebrates its 10th anniversary with Artists Tribute, its summer exhibition series featuring artists who have shared their talent with the gallery over the years. The gallery supports emerging contemporary artists who specialize in a myriad of styles and media.

Photo courtesy of Irvine Contemporary and the Artist: Oliver Vernon, “Lifelines”, 2011.

Hemphill Fine Arts

1515 14th St. NW | (202) 234-5601 | hemphillfinearts.com
Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 10 AM – 5 PM
It would be impossible to categorize Hemphill Fine Artsin a single word because the breadth of talent and variety of style defies classification, leaving audiences to ponder and explore the diverse subject matter and materials. Its current exhibition, Workingman Collective: Prospects and Provision will run until August 20.

Photo courtesy of Workingman Collective and Hemphill Fine Arts: Workingman Collective, Provisions (installation view), 2011

Gallery Plan B

1530 14th St. NW | (202) 507-8165 | galleryplanb.com
Hours: Wednesday – Saturday 12-7 PM, Sunday1-5 PM
A newer presence on the corridor,Gallery Plan B thrives on the diversity and experimentation of its artists’ work. This freeness of style coheres with the casual, relaxed atmosphere of the gallery itself. Gallery Plan B is currently hosting an exhibition by Lauren Sleat, which will continue through July 24.

Photo from gallery website: Drawing by Lauren K. Sleat, 2009

DC Loft Gallery

1926 14th St. NW | (202) 507-8165 | dcloftgallery.showitsite.com
The assorted art on exhibit at the DC Loft Gallery reflect the ever-changing trends and styles of D.C. society. The gallery is new to the corridor, having just opened in September 2010, and welcomes the work of local artists and art students. The owner himself, Joseph Teshome, is not an artist but a software developer, making innovation a common theme in both aspects of his life.

Photo from dilipart.com: DilipSheth, “Circle of Life”, 2011

Hamiltonian Gallery

1353 U St. NW | (202) 332-1116 | Hamiltoniangallery.com
Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 12:00 – 6:00 PM
The building that houses the Hamiltonian Gallery was originally built as a stable in 1988. The building might have a long history, but the artists promoted by the gallery have only just begun to write theirs. Zoë Charlton is curating the current exhibit, Fellows Converge: Broadly Thinking, featuring work by the gallery’s newest fellows and encouraging them to analyze and critique each others work.

Photo from gallery website: Jenny Mullins “Mountian Dew Presents The Dew Love Dharma Tent”, 2011

Transformer Gallery

1404 P St. NW | (202) 483-1102 | transformergallery.org
Hours: Wednesday – Saturday, 1-7 PM
The Tranformer Gallery strives to promote and cultivate the talent and reputation of new artists, and encourages them to push the boundaries of traditional art styles and media. The gallery’s summer exhibition, E8: Sculpture, is one of a series of exhibitions by emerging artists as part of the program Exercises for Emerging Artists. E8 will spotlight sculptors Oreen Cohen, Sean Lundgren and LindsyRowinski individually.

Photo courtesy of Transformer Gallery: Oreen Cohen “Running Drill”, 2011

Adamson Galleries

1515 14th St. NW | (202) 232-0707 | adamsongallery.com
Hours: Tuesday -Friday 11:30-5:00 PM,?Saturday 12:00-5:00 PM
Exhibitions at the Adamson Gallery feature everything from fine art prints to sculpture, with particular interest in photography and work by established artists.The gallery and the affiliated Adamson Editions – originally a lithography studio – were founded by Master Printer David Adamson, who was also one of the world’s first digital ateliers in the 90s.

Photo courtesy of Adamson Gallery: Portrait of Kate Moss by Chuck Close – “untitled” ( Kate)
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RAMMY’s “Carnevale da Cuisine”
• July 26, 2011

The Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington’s 29th annual gala took place June 26 at the Marriott Wardman Park. Masks were encouraged to reflect the theme of the D.C. restaurant scene as a veritable carnival feast. The event unites the entire restaurant industry for a fabulous evening that began with a reception featuring Virginia products followed by a 16-category awards ceremony. RAMW President Lynne Breaux and Gala Committee Chair Kristin Rohr of Guest Services, Inc. bid everyone welcome to “the best party of the year because you know how to party.” World renowned innovator José Andrés received the Duke Zeibert Capital Achievement Award. The ceremony culminated with the Chef of the Year Award bestowed upon Todd Gray of Equinox, who accepted alongside his beaming young son to a standing ovation. An overspill crowd proceeded to a resplendent feast that included the cuisines of Australia, Chile and Mexico before dancing the night away. [gallery ids="102568,102569,102570,102571,102572,102573,102574" nav="thumbs"]