Food & Wine
Celebrating Chef Jacques Pépin at 90 at L’Avant Garde
News & Politics
Bring on the Cherry Blossoms!
News & Politics
Initiative 82: The Tipped Wage Controversy Continues
Featured
New Leaders for Citizens Assoc., Georgetown BID
News & Politics
VIPs, Locals Merge at Conservative Confab
Mount Zion Kicks Off 200th Anniversary Celebrations
• October 28, 2015
As part of its 200th anniversary celebration, Mount Zion United Methodist Church, one of Georgetown’s historic black churches, held a march to Mount Zion Cemetery, next to Rock Creek Park, Oct. 18. The symbolic walk began at the “Mother Church,” Dumbarton United Methodist Church. Led by Pastor Johnsie Cogman, marchers gathered at the old cemetery for an African libation ceremony, an ancient ritual of pouring water, to honor their ancestors. The cemetery opened in 1808; interments stopped in 1950. Today, it awaits restoration work by the church and other community groups.
Weekend Round Up October 22, 2015
• October 26, 2015
Georgetown Shuck It Beer and Wine Festival
October 24th, 2015 at 02:00 PM | $75 Tel: 202-944-4545 | Event Website
Shuck’n Time! Last chance to get tix to this year’s Shuck It! 3rd Annual Beer & Oyster Festival. Don’t be left saying “Oh Shucks”… get your tix before they’re all shuck’n gone! Enjoy grilled and freshly shucked oysters by local suppliers, whole roast proqueta, steamship of beef, locally brewed beers, local wines, oyster shooters and live music entertainment by rockabilly band, Jumpin’ Jupiter.
Address
Tony& Joe’s Seafood Place; 3000 K ST NW (Georgetown Waterfront)
Disney on Ice: 100 Years of Magic
October 21-25th, 2015 | $35 | wsupport@onlinecitytickets.com | Tel: 844-854-1450 | Event Website
Disney On Ice celebrates 100 Years of Magic Presented by Stonyfield YoKids Organic Yogurt comes to the Eagle Bank Arena in Fairfax, Va
Address
EagleBank Arena; 4400 University Dr; Fairfax, VA 22030
The Sound of Music 50th Anniversary Screening
October 24th, 2015 at 07:30 PM | $20 | wolftrap@wolftrap.org | Tel: 703-255-1900 | Event Website
Lederhosen and veils welcome! Maria, the Von Trapp family, and even the Lonely Goatherd are back to bring you a few of your favorite things—don’t miss the 50th anniversary showing of this classic film starring Julie Andrews.
Address
The Barns at Wolf Trap; 1635 Trap Road; Vienna, VA 22182
A Far Cry: Transamericana
October 24th, 2015 at 08:00 PM | 30-35 | office@dumbartonconcerts.org | Tel: 2029652000, ext. 100 | Event Website
Four amazing works of the string orchestra literature open our season with Boston’s outstanding and innovative conductorless orchestra, A Far Cry. TransAmericana takes us on a journey through North and South America with Philip Glass, Symphony #3 for String Orchestra, Lena Frank’s Leyendas: an Andean Walkabout, Villa-Lobos – Bachianas Brasileiras #9 and Ginastera’s Concerto per Corde.
Address
Dumbarton Concerts; 3133 Dumbarton Street NW
Howl-O-Ween at Market Common Clarendon
October 24th, 2015 at 09:30 AM | 0 | Event Website
Market Common Clarendon has partnered with Homeward Trails and Doorways VA to host the 2015 Howl-O-Ween Dog Walk on Saturday, October 24 from 9:30 AM – 12:00 PM. The walk will start and finish at Market Common Clarendon with trick-or-treating, an exciting pet costume contest, and a dog agility course. Also joining in on the fun, 94.7 Fresh FM will be the official radio partner with The Tommy Show’s, Jen Richer, as host for the day! Be sure to register online at bit.ly/Howl15!
Address
Market Common Clarendon; 2700 Clarendon Blvd; Arlington VA 22201
Sunday Serenity: Fall Yoga in the Park
October 25th, 2015 at 09:30 AM | $5 | education@dumbartonhouse.org | Tel: 2023372288 | Event Website
Sunday Serenity continues through the fall! Join local yoga instructor Lauren Jacobs in the East Park at Dumbarton House, which provides a serene, tree covered outdoor space, for this 60 minute all-levels vinyasa flow class that should be fun and challenging for both experienced yogis and yoga skeptics alike! Bring your own mat.
Address
2715 Q Street, NW
English Country Dance
October 25th, 2015 at 12:30 PM | $5 | education@dumbartonhouse.org | Tel: 2023372288 | Event Website
English Country Dance is a social, folk dance form, which has earliest documented instances in the late 16th century. English Country Dance (ECD) was popular well into the Baroque and Regency eras. No partner or experience necessary. All that’s needed is a desire to have fun and the willingness to put your best (dance) foot forward!
Address
Dumbarton House, 2715 Q Street, NW
Alan Turing Decoded: An Evening with Sir Dermot Turing
October 26th, 2015 at 06:30 PM | $10 | info@spymuseum.org | Tel: 2023937798 | Event Website
Famous codebreaker and computer scientist Alan Turing’s legend has grown through books and films such as The Imitation Game, and it has become a challenge to discern the real man from the story. Now, Alan Turing’s nephew, Sir Dermot Turing, has taken a fresh look at the influences on Alan Turing’s life and creativity in his new biography Prof: Alan Turing Decoded.
Address
International Spy Museum; 800 F Street, NW
The Holocaust as History and Warning
October 26th, 2015 at 07:00 PM | free | Event Website
Today, fears that were familiar in Hitler’s time are being revived, asserts Yale professor Timothy Snyder. Join us for a discussion of his new book, ‘Black Earth’, which offers a provocative new perspective on the origins of the Holocaust. Snyder’s analysis urges us to learn the lessons of the past—and better understand our own nature—before it’s too late.
Address
U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum; 100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW
Business Ins and Outs: October 21, 2015
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Sid Mashburn Opens on N Street
Over the weekend, Sid Mashburn opened its doors for the men’s side of the Atlanta-based clothing store at 3206 N St. NW in a soft opening in time for parents’ weekend at nearby universities. The women’s side, Ann Mashburn, is being finished up and will open soon. The new store, which stretches from N Street to Prospect Street, has been totally rebuilt in clean lines and full of light. It is part of the Georgetown Court complex and occupies the former space of Neyla Restaurant and a long-closed Chinese restaurant.
Also coming soon, next to Mashburn, will be the Dancing Goats Coffee Bar. The coffee shop will be at the west side of the store, facing the courtyard. The Washington State-based Batdorf & Bronson Coffee Roasters plans to open in November.
Founder Sid Mashburn worked as a designer at J. Crew, Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger and Lands’ End and made his vision of clothing and service a reality in 2007. His wife, Ann Mashburn, was an editor at Glamour and Vogue magazines. She writes that she “knew how to find the incredible among the so-so.”
Here is how Mashburn describes itself (from its website): “Our brick-and-mortar shops are a place to pick up a pair of jeans or get measured for a custom suit, but also to play ping-pong, listen to records, drink a Coke, and be properly taken care of in every way. Caran d’Ache pens and Musgo Real shave creams are stacked below Sartorio suits and Isabel Marant jackets; Danish cattle horns and classic editions of ‘The Secret Garden’ sit next to Laguiole knives and Mason Pearson hairbrushes; Levi’s 501s and Saint James minquiers hang alongside our full line of Sid Mashburn and Ann Mashburn products, leading to a juxtaposition that is really not such a juxtaposition at all — all these things are well-made, iconic, to us, even perfect.”
IN: Curry & Pie on 34th Street
What used to be Eat Enjoy, a fusion of fast food and Turkish cuisine in an old townhouse on 1204 34th St. NW, has transformed into Curry & Pie, a high-energy mixing of Indian and Italian food, which issued this statement: “We love good food, and we know you do too. We wanted to make you amazing Indian food, but thought, why get held down by conventional standards? Our team at Curry & Pie is bringing you combinations of all of our favorite foods in ways you’ve never expected. We started with two classics and turned them into one out-there fusion menu, featuring Indian curries, fresh baked pizzas and even more tasty eats in between.”
IN: Red Toque Cafe Near K Street
The Red Toque Cafe — Kabob Grill has opened a Georgetown location near K Street at 1003 Wisconsin Ave. NW. Its original location is in Shaw. The menu includes sandwiches, goat and lamb biryani and halal meat.
OUT: M29 at Four Seasons
After five years, tucked into the shopping arcade across the main entrance of the Four Seasons Hotel in Georgetown, M29 Lifestyle shop has closed.
Historic Black Church to Lead March to Cemetery
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As part of its 200th anniversary celebration, Mount Zion United Methodist Church, one of Georgetown’s historic black churches, will lead a march to Mount Zion Cemetery, next to Rock Creek Park, this Sunday, Oct. 18.
Marchers will gather for a libation service, an ancient ritual of pouring water, to honor their ancestors. The cemetery opened in 1808; interments stopped in 1950. Today, it awaits restoration work by the church and other community groups.
The day will begin at Georgetown Dumbarton Methodist at 3133 Dumbarton St. NW. There, pastors and Revs. Mary Kay Totty (Dumbarton Methodist) and Johnsie Cogman (Mt. Zion Methodist) will begin a dialogue and start the march along Dumbarton Street to Mount Zion United Methodist Church at 1334 29th St. NW. A “worship experience” will be at 11 a.m., Cogman told The Georgetowner. There will a press conference at 12:15 p.m. Drummers and singers will commence the march to the cemetery at 27th and Q Streets at 12:30 p.m. After the libation service, marchers will return to the 29th Street church for refreshments and conversation—popcorn included.
Please see The Georgetowner’s cover story about Mount Zion Cemetery.
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Weekend Round Up October 15, 2015
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Crystal Bowersox
October 16th, 2015 at 08:00 PM | $26-$28 | wolftrap@wolftrap.org | Tel: 703-255-1900 | Event Website
“Bluesy and soulful, with a voice incapable of artifice” (The Washington Post), this dynamic singer/songwriter from American Idol performs her brand of emotive folk, rock, and country music.
Address
The Barns at Wolf Trap; 1635 Trap Road, Vienna, VA 22182
Brem, Boots & Bling
October 17th, 2015 at 07:00 PM | $50.00 per person. $65 at the door | bremfoundation1@gmail.com | Tel: 410.491.9360 | Event Website
Join the Party this Saturday Night at Norbeck Country Club and Help Give Cancer the Boot! The evening supports The Brem Foundation to Defeat Breast Cancer, a foundation that funds biopsies for area residents who otherwise could not afford them, conducts research for the advancements of early detection and is there for women in crisis. The Brem Foundation also trains fellows to be top doctors back in their communities across the country. Get your tickets at Eventbrite! Lets kick cancer together.
Address
Norbeck Country Club; 17200 Cashell Road; Rockville, Maryland 20853
Stella and Dot Basics Bootcamp
October 17th, 2015 at 07:00 AM | Lgluck@stelladot.com | Event Website
Join Stella & Dot to learn more about its innovative Social Selling model and to view the latest fabulous accessories collection for the season!
Our social?selling company creates flexible full -time and part- time opportunities with great rewards! It’s a business model that works: to?date, our Stylists have earned over $270 Million in commissions! We’ll chat, answer questions, provide exciting sneak peeks, and all guests will receive one of this season’s most coveted styles!
Address
Crowne Plaza Tysons Corner-Mclean; 1960 Chain Bridge Road; McLean, VA 22102
American Field – October 17 & 18
October 17th, 2015 at 10:00 AM | Event Website
Largest Pop-Up Market of Made-in-America Brands is coming to Georgetown Park October 17 & 18. The event showcases American Made products, food and beverages (alcoholic and non-alcoholic options). American Field allows visitors to meet the people behind the best American brands and labels nationwide all in one location. Get your Americana fix at American Field this October 17 and 18 10am-6pm each day in Georgetown Park.
Address
Georgetown Park; 3222 M Street NW
Sunday Serenity: Fall Yoga in the Park
October 18th, 2015 at 09:30 AM | $5 | education@dumbartonhouse.org | Tel: 2023372288 | Event Website
Sunday Serenity continues through the fall! Join local yoga instructor Lauren Jacobs in the East Park at Dumbarton House, which provides a serene, tree covered outdoor space, for this 60 minute all-levels vinyasa flow class that should be fun and challenging for both experienced yogis and yoga skeptics alike! Bring your own mat.
Address
2715 Q Street, NW
An American Tale
October 18th, 2015 at 05:00 PM | $0-$25 | generalmanager@capitalcitysymphony.org | Tel: 202-399-7993 | Event Website
This concert celebrates American composers. We’re excited to perform the world premier of Charlie Barnett’s Mid-Century Mambo; it’s all about rhythm and joy. We will also play Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring, an iconic piece of Americana that still feels fresh and new. Leonard Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story complete the program. It includes everything from the wild dance numbers to the touching romantic theme.
Address
Atlas Performing Arts Center; 1333 H St NE
Washington International Horse Show
October 20th, 2015 at 07:00 AM | $10-$150 | info@wihs.org | Tel: 202-525-3679 | Event Website
The Washington International Horse Show (WIHS, the nation’s premier indoor metropolitan equestrian event, celebrates its 57th year in 2015. The show features show jumping, hunter and equitation competition, special exhibitions, boutique shopping and hospitality. Includes a free-to-the-public Kids’ Day and the world class $125,000 President’s Cup Grand Prix among other highlights.
Tickets: On sale Aug. 14 at Ticketmaster, or can be purchased at Verizon Center before and during the show.
Address
Verizon Center; 601 F Street, NW
Lunch & Learn with Nancy Feve
October 21st, 2015 at 12:30 PM | Free | pdubroof@iona.org | Tel: 2028959407 | Event Website
Our Lunch & Learn program offers guests the chance to learn from our featured artists in the Gallery at Iona. Join us at Iona for a free boxed-lunch and hear about Nancy Feve’s artistic process, tour our gallery, and much more.
To learn more about Nancy Feve, visit her website: http://www.fevequilts.com/
Address
4125 Albemarle Street NW
Weekend Round Up October 1, 2015
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Friendship Betrayed
October 1st, 2015 at 07:30 PM | Pay What You Will | wsc.tix@gmail.com | Tel: 703.418.4808 | Event Website
WCS Avant Bard presents this 17th-century play by María de Zayas y Sotomayor, which, like Sex and the City, explores what happens to female friendships while women look for and find love. Kari Ginsburg sets her production in the 1920s, a time when women were beginning to explore their sexual curiosities and passions.
Address
Gunston Arts Center, Theatre Two; 2700 South Lang St., Arlington, VA
Smithsonian Craft2Wear: Show and Sale of Wearable Art
October 2nd, 2015 at 10:00 AM | $8 | austrpr@si.edu | Tel: 888.832.9554 | Event Website
Explore the top tier of American craft artistry at the Smithsonian show of wearable art.One-of-a-kind articles of clothing, jewelry and accessories will be on exhibit and for sale. Update your look, purchase unique gifts for everyone on your list, and support the Smithsonian and the National Zoo.
Address
National Building Museum; 401 F Street, NW
Eric Lotke & Kelly Ann Jacobson at the Fall For the Book Festival
October 2nd, 2015 at 10:30 AM | Free | festivalmanager@fallforthebook.org | Tel: 703-993-3986 | Event Website
Eric Lotke is an author and activist, and has followed his novel 2044: The Problem isn’t Big Brother, it’s Big Brother, Inc. with Making Manna, a modern Horatio Alger story. Kelly Ann Jacobson has written several novels, including Cairo in White. Her newest novel, The Troublemakers, has been called “a feisty, funny celebration of friendship and grown-up girl power” by author Carrie Russell. Books will be available for purchase and signing at this free event, open to the public.
Address
Sandy Spring Bank Tent, Johnson Center Plaza; George Mason University; 4400 University Drive, Fairfax, VA 22030
SerbFest DC
October 2nd, 2015 at 05:00 PM | Free | Event Website
The First Annual SerbFest DC is presented by Saint Luke Serbian Orthodox Church and takes place on Friday, October 2 from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and Saturday, October 3 from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
In its inaugural year, SerbFest DC aims to fill the void in the greater Baltimore/DC area for authentic Serbian food and culture. Saint Luke Serbian Orthodox Church is the epicenter for Serbian culture in DC and is proud to share ethnic cuisine, customs, and culture with the Capital!
Address
St. Luke Serbian Orthodox Church, 10660 River Road, Potomac, MD 20854
New Orchestra of Washington opens 2015-16 season with Fusion
October 2nd, 2015 at 07:30 PM | $30 in advance, $35 at the door; students 13-18 $15; 12 and under free | info@neworchestraofwashington.org | Tel: 240-235-5088 | Event Website
Concert features 5 works inspired by a different contemporary style – Rock, Pop, Grunge, and Soul:
Elastic Band by Joel Friedman (World premiere reduced orch)
Rush Hour by John Mackey
Imagine:Reimagined by Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez
Soul Garden by Derek Bermel
X Concerto by Scott McAllister
Address
Georgetown University, McNeir Auditorium; 37th and O St., N.W.
Paint the Town Red
October 2nd, 2015 at 08:00 PM | $85.00 | Jesse.garchik@heart.org | Tel: 703-248-1735 | Event Website
Paint the Town Red is a special evening that will feature cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, music, dancing, and a silent auction. The event supports the mission of the American Heart Association to build healthier lives free from cardiovascular diseases and stroke — the number one killers of women and men in this country, and its work to fight the growing epidemic of childhood obesity in this country.
Address
The Whittemore House, 1526 New Hampshire Ave NW
Potomac Country House Tour
October 3rd, 2015 at 01:00 PM | $30 advance ticket sold online, $40 day-of | PCHTinfo@gmail.com | Tel: 301-365-2055 | Event Website
Four exceptional homes are featured on the House Tour, which runs from 1-4 on Oct. 3-4. The homes include Hye Land House, Villa dei Leoni, English Country Manor House, and Holiday Carriage House. Boutiques offering the latest in gifts, accessories, home décor, jewelry and art and a silent auction at St. Francis are open to the public Oct.3-4 from 11AM-5PM. All proceeds are distributed to help fund programs addressing homelessness, hunger, children and women’s issues, and elderly care.
Address
10033 River Road, Potomac, MD 20854
Sunday Serenity: Fall Yoga in the Park
October 4th, 2015 at 09:30 AM | $5 | education@dumbartonhouse.org | Tel: 2023372288 | Event Website
Sunday Serenity continues through the fall! Join local yoga instructor Lauren Jacobs in the East Park at Dumbarton House, which provides a serene, tree covered outdoor space, for this 60 minute all-levels vinyasa flow class that should be fun and challenging for both experienced yogis and yoga skeptics alike! Bring your own mat.
Address
2715 Q Street, NW
The Blessing of the Animals at St. John’s Georgetown, 2 p.m., Sunday
Bring your pet to the traditional Blessing of the Animals Service at 2 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 4, on the front lawn of St. John’s Church on the corner of O and Potomac Streets. (If it rains, we’ll have it inside our large parish hall.) Bring your friends, and their pets, too. We’ll also be sure to say a special prayer for those pets that we have loved, but that are no longer with us—so, bring a picture if you’d like. There will also be treats for ALL of God’s creatures—provided by Cheeky Puppy (pets) and G’Town Bites (humans and pets).
Save Sight with a Say Hello to Fall Picnic
October 4th, 2015 at 02:00 PM | 75 per person, 150 for family (2 adults and 1 child) | cbaerveldt@iefusa.org | Tel: 1-240-290-0263 ext 118 | Event Website
Help the International Eye Foundation save sight with a fall picnic at the scenic farm of Dr. & Mrs. A. Raymond Pilkerton in Potomac. Embark on a culinary adventure with Argentinean grilled specialties by The Gauchito Grill while enjoying the toe-tapping sounds of King Street Bluegrass. Make your reservation now.
Address
Dr. & Mrs. A. Raymond Pilkerton; 15111 River Road; Potomac, MD 20854
Georgetown Concert Series: “The Phantom of the Opera”
October 4th, 2015 at 06:00 PM | $30.00 each Students @ $25.00 each | Tel: 202-338-1796
Start your Halloween early with a viewing of the original 1925 silent-movie, “The Phantom of the Opera.” Internationally acclaimed organist Todd Wilson will provide a hair-raising, improvised accompaniment on the magnificent Casavant pipe organ. See Lon Chaney as the Phantom in one of the greatest thrillers of the silent era and share the excitement as we watch it on the big screen. Popcorn for kids of all ages!
Address
St. John’s Episcopal Church, Georgetown Parish; 3240 O St. NW
Special Breast Cancer Research Benefits in October
Attend this year’s Girls and Pearls, a Shuck It! Soiree, “celebrating all the Girls behind breast cancer awareness and all the Pearls behind oyster recovery”—6 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 14, Tony and Joe’s Seafood Place, 3000 K St. NW, at Washington Harbour. Mix and mingle with Mother of Pearl, Nycci Nellis of The List Are You On It and WTOP’s Foodie and the Beast, while enjoying a raw bar with fresh shucked oysters and other signature hors d’oeuvres paired with local wines, local beers, and cocktails. Twenty percent of ticket sales to benefit the Nina Hyde Center at Georgetown University’s Lombardi Cancer Center; $55 per person—www.GirlsandPearlsDC.com.
Come to Norbeck Country Club for a night of Boots & Bling on Saturday, 7 p.m., Oct. 17, in support of the Brem Foundation to Defeat Breast Cancer. 17200 Cashell Road, Rockville, Maryland; www.bremfoundation.com.
Honor the memory of Michele Conley at the 11th Annual Living in Pink Lunch—11 a.m., Friday, Oct. 23, Columbia Country Club, 7900 Connecticut Ave., Chevy Chase, Maryland; www.LivinginPink.com.
[gallery ids="102318,126342" nav="thumbs"]Democratic Debate Parties Aplenty Tonight in D.C.
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While the Republicans have had two candidate debates already for the 2016 presidential campaign, Democrats hold their first presidential primary debate Oct. 13. The debate will feature Democratic presidential candidates former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), former Gov. Lincoln Chafee (D-R.I.), former Gov. Martin O’Malley (D-Md.) and former Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.).
CNN will begin its coverage of the debate at 8:30 p.m. Eastern time. Anderson Cooper will be the moderator of the two-hour debate; Dana Bash and Juan Carlos Lopez will also ask questions. Don Lemon will present questions via Facebook.
The following events include some of the debate watch parties in and around the nation’s capital.
= The National Press Club hosts a watch party for the debate at 7:30 p.m. Check out these six-dollar, candidate-appropriate cocktails: “The Hillary, Brooklyn Lager brought to you by a remote server”; “The Bernie, Stolichnaya, with a drop of Vermont Maple Syrup”; “The O’Malley, Irish Coffee (decaf)”; “The Webb, Old Dominion Pale Ale”; and “The Chafee, Sea Breeze.” National Press Club, 14th and F Streets NW, conference rooms. Contact Ruth Mohamed, rmohamed@press.org (Tickets are $15 for non-members and $10 for members.)
= D.C. Democratic State Committee Presidential Debate Watch Party, hosted by Anita Bonds and other Democratic leaders, 8:30 p.m., Barcode, 1101 17th Street NW (free); contact dcdemocraticparty@gmail.com.
= D.C. Young Democrats hosts a watch party at 8 p.m. Local 16, 1602 U St. NW; 202-607-3367 or info@dcyds.org.
= The Rye Bar at the Capella Hotel on 31st Street in Georgetown will be serving an appropriately themed “Pin the Tail” cocktail, which is similar to a Jack Rose. (The cocktail is priced at $16.) Starting at 8 p.m., the bar will be live streaming the Democratic debate.
= Two meetings, one place, one night: 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., the D.C. Latino Caucus host representatives from the new Cuban Embassy on 16th Street for a neighborhood discussion as well as a debate watch party afterwards. (Tickets are $25.) Haydee’s Restaurant, 3102 Mt. Pleasant St. NW.
= Yes You Can Movement Mixer and Democratic Debate Watch, 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., at Open Gov Hub, 1110 Vermont Ave. NW Suite 500. Contact: https://www.facebook.com/events/899780323391029/.
= Democratic Action 2016 (supporters of Hillary Clinton) hosts a watch party at 8 p.m. and asks for a $20.16 donation to the Democratic Action 2016 political action committee. Hotel Harrington, Harriet’s Restaurant, 436 11th St. NW (202-628-8140) Contact John Zottoli at 703-343-5186 or john.zottoli@gmail.com or Sterling Henry, 202-460-2439 or sterlinghenry52@gmail.com.
= Supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders will hold a watch party at 8 p.m. and say, “D.C.-area Bernie supporters to cheer our guy on and listen to what he and the other representatives of the non-crazy party have to say.” The Manor D.C., 1327 Connecticut Ave. NW; 202-506-7776.
= Supporters of former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley will host a watch party at 8 p.m. at Stetson’s Bar, 1610 U St. NW, upstairs, Blue Sky room. Contact Haley Morris at 301-221-5005.
= Hillary for America Debate Watch Party, 8 p.m., Black Finn, 1620 I St. NW; free.
= The Fairfax County Democratic Committee hosts a party 8 p.m. at Walker’s Grille, 6909 Metro Park Drive, Alexandria, Va. Contacts: info@LeeDems.org or 571-969-2079 or FairfaxDemocrats.org.
= The Democratic Party of Virginia hosts a watch party at T.J. Stone’s, 608 Montgomery St., Alexandria, Va. Contact Morgan Finkelstein at 804-335-0967 or morgan@vademocrats.org.
DC Jazz’s Sumter Makes the Morning Sunny
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Sunny Sumter, the executive director of the DC Jazz Festival, kicked off the Georgetowner’s second season of its Cultural Leadership Breakfast programs at the George Town Club on Oct. 8.
She came. She talked.
She sang.
A singing speaker is a first for this cultural speaker’s event, but it’s not a rare event for Sumter. She started out as a singer, although been with the festival, now in its 10th year, almost from its beginning with founder Charles Fishman, who was Dizzy Gillespie’s manager for many years. Fishman noticed that Washington, D.C., which had a rich tapestry of jazz history to its name and an abundance of talented jazz musicians and singers, didn’t have a jazz festival worthy of the name and did something about it. He founded the festival in 2005, and Sumter came on board three years later in 2008.
“Somebody said it might be a good idea if I sang something,” she said with a slight coy note to her voice on Oct. 8. As if somebody would have said no. “All right then.”
She sang “Better Than Anything,” an upbeat—in tempo and feeling—1963 song by David Buckwheat and lyricist Bill Loughborough, and suddenly Sumter put on her jazz singer mantle, and with casual vibrancy waltzed through a song that, after many witty comparisons, comes up with the not unfamiliar notion that it’s love that’s better than anything. The song has been sung and recorded by many legends, Lena Horne and Natalie Cole—with Diane Krall—among them, but for a small part of a sunny Thursday morning with sunlight streaming through the window, Sunny Sumter owned it. She was better than anything.
Her singing revealed that this Washington lady once had aspirations to be a jazz singer and became one—and a very good one at that, moving from Visitation Prep to Duke Ellington School of the Arts to begin a career as a singer. It’s worth talking about a little. In 1997, Washington Post jazz writer Mike Joyce, writing about her debut album “Getting to Know You” said that Sumter had “impressive interpretative gifts” and that her rendition of the Hoagy Carmichael song “Skylark” was “tender and lovely, very much the dreamy reverie it was intended to be.”
Sumter set out to be a singer much to the dismay of her father, but the pleasure of her mother, who always came to hear her sing. Yet it was obvious that Sumter wanted more and wasn’t content to live the life of a jazz singer alone, with all of its uncertainties that don’t always reward pure talent the way they should. She got a degree from Howard University in the business of music, focusing on jazz, and she worked at the Aspen Institute, the National for Teaching Entrepreneurship, the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, the Smithsonian Associates, the Rhythm and Blues Foundation and the Trellis Fund. She’s been executive director of the DC Jazz Festival since 2010. She lives in Kensington, which she “absolutely loves,” and she’s raising two young children, a daughter Layla, 14, and a son, Kobi, 9.
“Sarah Vaughn was my idol,” she said. “Hearing her sing made me want to be that person. I’ve never really stopped singing, and maybe one day, you never know.”
The singing thing gives her persona an authentic jazzy gloss, as well as an outgoing, attractive and appealing persona. It seeps into the way Sumter talks about jazz, by way of intimate experience. During what seemed like the relatively short time she spoke, she talked about the importance of jazz as a Washington cultural contribution, about the many venues and players, the musicians, how big the world of jazz really was all over the world. “This is our music, this city’s music,” she said. “And we as a festival are trying to make it a part of the regular, day-to-day life of the city. Education is a key component to everything we try to do. We have the Charles Fishman Young Artists Series, we have the afternoon school program at Jazz at Sitar and we have our own education program with the public school system.”
“We’re still growing—the first festival had something like 12 concerts, now we have 125,” Sumter continued. “Our Jazz in the Hoods program is now in 16 neighborhoods, and we’re doing cooperative things with all sort of venues.
“The thing is, we want people to come to D.C. for this festival, for the jazz, all the year around. Jazz is always changing. It’s built for change, in all of its numbers and songs. The heart of jazz is improvisation, but it’s open to almost any kind of music. We had Common, the rapper last year. We are doing the same thing everybody is thinking about—finding out what the new audiences wants. They like Esperanza Spalding, who was a big hit last year. They love Trombone Shorty.”
It’s clear that Sumter wants the festival to be an identifier of the city, jazz as a city’s heart and soul. Fishman once noted that every city of note had a jazz festival—why not here? “Look at the history here—the Lincoln Theater, Howard, Duke Ellington and others,” she said. “We had our own stars, like Shirley Horn, who were respected everywhere, but in some ways it didn’t resonate the way it should.”
Sumter presents well, reflective of the time when jazz stars were sent out into the world as jazz ambassadors—Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Ellington out and about in Europe and Africa and Moscow.
“It’s our own invented, purely American music,” she said. “I think we all recognize now how international jazz has become. I know we know this at the festival, and we will reflect that, for sure. Jazz has become an incredibly diverse experience.”
Listening to her talk, you hear her connect the dots into making Washington a jazz town every bit as jazzy as New Orleans, which still lives on its musical reputation. “We can do that,” she said. The festival is assembling—the schools, the neighborhoods, places like the stellar Bohemian Caverns, the Hamilton, Blues Alley, Twins, the new performance site for the last two years at the bustling waterfront site.
She’s got all the talking points for a shining city on a hill that also swings. But underneath the talking points and drawing plans, there remains Sunny Sumter, scatting, taking wing at a note’s notice. Better than anything. [gallery ids="102326,125962,125973,125968" nav="thumbs"]
Ben Bradlee, Lion of American Journalism, Dies at 93
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He looked every inch the man who was executive editor of the Washington Post, the powerful newspaper which brought down Richard Nixon, the President of the United States.
There are a myriad of photographs of Ben Bradlee in the newsroom—sometimes feet up on a table, the high-end striped shirt, the suspenders, the aristocratic-but-craggy handsome face, the gray hair, the kinetic look—that document the years of Watergate, when Bradlee, backed up by publisher Katharine Graham, trusting and pushing the work and harried investigation of young reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, snared the Watergate scandal and rode it all the way to the president’s resignation and beyond. Jason Robards, who played Bradlee in the film version of “All The President’s Men,” had nothing on him.
Born on Aug. 26, 1921, Benjamin Crowninshield “Ben” Bradlee, who had gone into hospice in the past few weeks, died at his home Oct. 21 at the age of 93.
The images and what he and the Washington Post accomplished in those times will endure just about forever for as long as there are newspapers, or in the future, files and folders of newspapers on the internet.
His memory endures in Georgetown, where he and his wife Sally Quinn and son Quinn Bradlee made their home, where they graced the covers of our publication, and where they were large presences in the village at their N Street residence.
Like Graham, Bradlee died on The Georgetowner’s deadline night, Tuesday, prompting editors to change pages at the last moment before sending final pages to the printer.
His wife was a star reporter, often for the Style section, an innovation which Bradlee turned from the women’s pages to a lively, readable section, full of lively, stylized writing by gifted writers.
In many ways, he had some of the quality and back story of his friend, John F. Kennedy, both Boston-raised, U.S. Navy heroes and combatants in World War II in the Pacific. Both had aristocratic style, mixed in with sometimes profane Hemingway-style manly and intellectual cool. Both lived in Georgetown—on N Street. They had a way about them. Women found them more than attractive. Men wanted to work with and for them, and to be like them.
When Bradlee became top editor, he and Graham — by hiring well, hanging tough, and pursuing their goals as journalistic holy grails — pushed the Washington Post into the forefront of national newspapers alongside the New York Times.
He called his autobiography “A Good Life: Newspapering and Other Adventures.” Bradlee could have called it a wonderful life, but we can be sure that goes without saying. He had style and gravitas, and he was loved by friends and family and respected in the village and honored by his peers. A good life, indeed. [gallery ids="101890,136732" nav="thumbs"]
