Hundreds Attend Candlelight Vigil at White House for Orlando Shooting Victims (photos)
• June 13, 2016

Participants held signs and the Gay Men’s Chorus sang “We Shall Overcome.”

A Celebration of Pop Culture at Awesome Con 2016 (photos)
• June 8, 2016

Comic lovers, cosplayers, artists and vendors made the Washington Convention Center pop over the weekend at Awesome Con.

Memorial Day Weekend in Photos
• June 2, 2016

Summer rolled in along with the annual parade, concert and rally honoring our nation’s veterans.

Hawaiians Pay Homage to King Kamehameha I at the Capitol (photos)
• May 25, 2016

A large audience attended the annual King Kamehameha I Hawaiian Draping Ceremony at the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center Emancipation Hall on Sunday, May 22. The event, which featured live music, group singing and traditional hula dancing, was sponsored by the Hawai’i States Society of Washington D.C. The event also honored Saint Damien, whose statue represents the State of Hawai`i in the U.S. Capitol. Among the speakers were members of the Hawaiian Congressional delegation, including Senators Brian Schatz and Mazie K. Hirono. Rep. Mark Takai, who is battling illness, was represented by members of his family.

Nainoa Thompson, navigator for the Polynesian Voyaging Society, was a featured speaker. He is best known as the first Hawaiian to practice the ancient Polynesian art of navigation since the 14th century, having navigated two double-hulled canoes (the Hokule‘a and the Hawai‘iloa) from Hawai?i to other island nations in Polynesia without the aid of western instruments. The annual event usually takes place on Kamehameha Day on June 11, but was moved up to take advantage of the visit by Thompson and his crew in D.C.

Under his rule, King Kamehameha I (1758-1819) unified all of the islands of Hawaii by 1810. The statue, by American sculptor Thomas R. Gould, depicts Kamehameha in his regal garb, including a helmet of rare feathers attached to woven plant fibers. His right hand is extended in a gesture of aloha, the traditional spirit of friendly greeting. A procession of elected officials, hula h?laus (schools of Hawaiian culture) and Hawaiian civic groups from across the nation draped the right arm of the statue with meticulously prepared leis of flowers.

View our photos of the King Kamehameha I Hawaiian Draping Ceremony by clicking on the photo icons below. (All photos by Jeff Malet.)

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Honoring Fallen Officers on Police Week 2016
• May 19, 2016

Thousands of law enforcement officers and survivors gathered for Police Week in Washington D.C. to honor police killed in the line of duty. In 1962, President John F. Kennedy signed a proclamation which designated May 15 as Peace Officers Memorial Day and the week in which that date falls as Police Week. National Police Week typically draws in between 25,000 to 40,000 attendees.

Ground has already been broken on a new National Law Enforcement Museum on E Street, NW in Washington, DC. opposite the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial where the names of officers killed in the line of duty are engraved in stone. 252 new names have been added this year. The Memorial is situated near court and police facilities at Judiciary Square, bordered by E, F, 4th and 5th Streets NW and is open around the clock each day of the year.

View our photos of May 13-15, 2016 from the Memorial Service on the Capitol West Lawn, the wreath laying ceremony at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial; the Candlelight Vigil on the National Mall; the Emerald Society & Pipe Band March and Service; and the National Police Honor Guard Competition by clicking on the photo icons below. (All photos by Jeff Malet) [gallery ids="129533,129843,129897,129804,129794,129768,129785,129743,129735,129728,129720,129710,129702,129694,129829,129821,129812,129859,129866,129874,129881,129924,129918,129905,129913,129889,129933,129837,129850,129686,129678,129548,129760,129541,129526,129777,129517,129511,129503,129477,129469,129495,129485,129752,129555,129564,129671,129663,129655,129647,129638,129629,129621,129613,129605,129597,129589,129581,129573,102231" nav="thumbs"]

World War II Veterans Mark 71st Anniversary of Victory in Europe (V-E) Day (photos)
• May 11, 2016

The Friends of the National World War II Memorial and the National Park Service paid tribute to the Greatest Generation during a special Mother’s Day event at the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., May 8, commemorating the 71st anniversary of the Allied Forces Victory in the Atlantic and the end of World War II in Europe.

As part of the ceremony, nearly a dozen World War II veterans laid wreaths at the “Freedom Wall” of the Memorial in memory of the more than 400,000 Americans and 60 million people killed worldwide during the deadliest military conflict in human history.

Approximately 60 WWII veterans were in attendance, all in their 90s, including veterans visiting the memorial with the Puget Sound Honor Flight. The Civil Air Patrol, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary, took part during the ceremony as well. Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States Valeriy Chaly presented a special memorial wreath on behalf of his country. Leon Harris of ABC7 News Channel 8 served as master of ceremonies.

Another V-E observance followed, this one by the Russian community of the U.S. on behalf of the men and women who defended Russia against Nazi aggression. After marching past the White House, dozens descended on the World War II Memorial holding signs carrying placards with photos of ancestors who died in WW II. Organizers hope to make this an annual event.

View our photos from V-E Day at the World War II Memorial by clicking on the photo icons below. (All photos by Jeff Malet)
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Photos from the White Hourse Correspondents’ Dinner Red Carpet
• May 2, 2016

The 102nd White House Correspondents’ Association (dubbed the nerd prom) once again hosted leading members of the press, the government, and the sports and entertainment worlds for its annual event at the Washington Hilton on Saturday April 30, 2016. The dress code was black tie, and floor-length evening gowns were ubiquitous . The procession along the red carpet is always a show in itself.
View our photos from the red carpet here by clicking on the photo icons below. (All photos by Jeff Malet) [gallery ids="131348,131293,131285,131278,131271,131263,131255,131248,131240,131232,131224,131216,131209,131301,131309,131317,131403,131397,131410,131373,131389,131381,131356,131416,131365,131340,131333,131325,131201,131193,131186,131056,131048,131041,131033,131024,131016,131008,131000,130992,130984,130965,130974,131065,131073,131081,131157,131166,131180,131173,131149,131141,131132,131124,131114,131106,131097,131089,102213" nav="thumbs"]

Full Circle With the Bard (photos)
• April 25, 2016

I went to help celebrate William Shakespeare’s 452nd birthday Sunday, taking a without-incident Metro ride to Union Station and walking past Senate buildings and the Supreme Court, where a man proposed to his fiancée, accompanied by two half-bichons and a photographer.

This particular bit of whimsy and romance seem entirely in line with celebrating the Bard’s birthday, an event that took place at the Folger Shakespeare Library, the headquarters of all things Shakespeare in the United States. True, Shakespeare was English-born — about which there is no controversy, though the debate about who wrote the plays and the sonnets remains alive among certain scholars, essayists and forsoothers.

Few people at the birthday party brought the subject up, never mind the ones who seemed to be enjoying the day the most: children of all ages, accompanied by their parents. Children seem often to take to Shakespeare’s plays in performance as naturally as dogs swim, in spite of the many adults — especially those who write syllabi and curricula — who insist that Shakespeare is too hard, and then prove the point by making the study of Shakespeare boring and impenetrable.

When you encounter Shakespeare in the building that houses most of the lore and the plays and the studies, see the books, the paintings, the exhibitions and the busts, you’re likely to be impressed in a kind of academic, so-much-knowledge way. But on this Sunday afternoon, children arrived with feathers on and soon got busy inscribing, painting, drawing and putting on costumes, making faces all the while.

Casey Kaleba, who stages the battles, swordplay and duels for Folger performances, demonstrated the role of weapons in Shakespeare’s plays. Hundreds gathered around a makeshift tent and stage where Kaleba explained that “there is violence of some sort in almost every Shakespeare play,” using swords long (but not broad), pikes, knives, lances and bare hands. “There are beheadings, knife wounds, appendages chopped off and eye gouging,” he said. The crowd learned that the swords used as props are not quite as heavy as they look and appear, also that when it comes to depicting fights and duels and battles, artifice is all.

“Let’s go see the books,” one father suggested. “But what about the pizza?” he was asked, assuring us that we are in the 21st century after all.

The Folger — which is celebrating not only Shakespeare’s birthday but 400 years of Shakespeare under the umbrella of “The Wonder of Will” — is the kind of place where the Bard’s words and life cast a spell over all who enter there, or just hang out.

This is the place which is a kind of official record of Shakespeare’s life and works, where during the week scholars pore meticulously over books from the 1600s, including the First Folio, and write books and essays themselves, giving off the odor of a long time ago.

This is a place where the best way to encounter Shakespeare — on the Elizabethan stage — does its magic too.

This is a place where the Elizabethan garden seems to mimic gardens of the past, and where, on his birthday, the queen — that would be Queen Elizabeth I, her magnificent redheaded majesty herself — walked the grounds and presided over the proceedings, including the cutting of a birthday cake. Quite a few folks dressed up as courtiers (some with wristwatches) and there were many Juliets and smaller princesses on hand.

The exhibition “America’s Shakespeare,” on view through July 24, shows how the Bard is as much ingrained in our own country as it is in England and Great Britain. Avon, you may have noticed, is a popular name for American towns.

On a day like this, as you walk through the building, see the books, the busts and the paintings, listen to Elizabethan music and the clang of swords, you think of the plays — not just as words in a book, but alive. You think of how people first encounter Shakespeare. I had to study “Julius Caesar” in high school, and was suitably unimpressed and bored. But a few years later, in college, I encountered a production of “The Taming of the Shrew” at the University of Oklahoma, where football was and remains king. It starred old-timey actors George Grizzard and Barbara Baxley and was full of energy. I became and remained an acolyte.

The plays are gifts that keep on giving, because they are both old and modern at the same time, like a time machine that carries all the information you might ever need to know about what it means to be human.

Shakespeare all but invented theater as we know it and still practice it. “The Taming of the Shrew” will be done by the Shakespeare Theatre Company in May. With the Bard, we always come full circle.

View Jeff Malet’s photos of the event by clicking on the photo icons below. [gallery ids="102421,122009,122017,122024,122031,122039,122046,122054,122061,122069,122081,122093,122087,122002,121995,121921,121930,121907,121914,121937,121945,121952,121960,121967,121974,121981,121988,122076" nav="thumbs"]

Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments on Obama’s Immigration Plan (photos)
• April 19, 2016

Demonstrators gathered en masse on Monday, April 18, 2016 in Washington D.C. as the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a challenge to President Obama’s plan to protect millions of immigrants from deportation and allow them to work. DAPA refers to a 2014 policy put on hold by lower courts, known as Deferred Action for Parents of Americans. If the shorthanded court deadlocks 4-4, Obama’s policy would effectively be frozen.

View our photos from the base of the Supreme Court steps by clicking on the photo icons below. (All photos by Jeff Malet) [gallery ids="122371,122481,122473,122465,122457,122449,122441,122433,122425,122417,122489,122497,122379,122553,122559,122545,122536,122529,122521,122513,122505,122409,122401,122303,122296,122288,122281,122259,122251,122273,122267,122573,122310,122317,122394,122386,122566,122365,122357,122349,122342,122333,122325,102405" nav="thumbs"]

Smithsonian Receives John Coltrane Saxophone to Kick Off Jazz Appreciation Month (photos)
• April 11, 2016

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History kicked off the 13th Annual Jazz Appreciation Month with donations from the family of the late jazz great John Coltrane and from notable jazz photographer Chuck Stewart at a special donation ceremony in the museum’s Warner Theater on March 26. The date also marked the 50th anniversary of John Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme,” widely considered one of the greatest jazz albums of all time.

John Coltrane’s Selmer Mark VI tenor saxophone, made in Paris about 1965, the year “A Love Supreme” was released, will join the Smithsonian’s jazz collection. The saxophone was one of three principal saxophones that Coltrane that (1926-1967) played and will be on view in the “American Stories” exhibition at the Smithsonian starting June 17. The museum will also be displaying Coltrane’s original score of his masterpiece. The Smithsonian’s jazz collection includes such treasures as Dizzy Gillespie’s trumpet and Herbie Hancock’s cordless keyboard, currently on display. The museum also houses 100,000 pages of Duke Ellington’s unpublished music.

“Today, a cherished and beloved Coltrane family heirloom becomes a national treasure and through Stewart’s never-before-seen images, our view of Coltrane expands,” said John Gray, director of the museum. “These generous donations help us preserve not only the legacy of individual artists, but of jazz music as a whole and its integral role in the history of music in America.”

Jazz photographer Chuck Stewart was on hand to personally sign over some of his rare photographs from the “A Love Supreme” recording session. These come from recently discovered long forgotten negatives. Stewart is best known for his photographs of popular jazz artists, such as Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis and Ella Fitzgerald.

This year’s Jazz Appreciation Month programs include free talks, workshops and performances. During the donation ceremonies, visitors were treated to a live performance from the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Quintet and a discussion workshop on the life and meaning of John Coltrane led by Cornel West with educator Christine Passarella. A full schedule of JAM 2014 events at the Smithsonian and links to resources are available online at http://smithsonianjazz.org.

The Smithsonian Museum of American History is located at 14th Street and Constitution Ave., N.W., in Washington, D.C., and is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m..

View our photos of the March 26 donation ceremony by clicking on the photo icons below.

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