News & Politics

Georgetowner • November 12, 2012

The Georgetowner’s Holiday Benefit & Bazaar 2012

November 29th, 2012 at 06:00 PM | $45 or $65 at the door | adra@georgetowner.com | Tel: 202 338 4833 | Event Website

Join us for an evening of shopping and holiday delights, as we honor and give back to a shining community star:

THE GEORGETOWN SENIOR CENTER

Shop for unique gifts from select vendors.Warm your senses with seasonal cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. Gather in the joy of giving this holiday season.

Advance tickets can be purchased for $45 or $65 at the door.

Address

Historic Georgetown Club; 1530 Wisconsin Ave NW

Live Jazz at The Henley Park

November 8th, 2012 at 07:00 PM | Free | Tel: 202-638-5200 | Event Website

The Henley Park Blue Bar Lounge presents vocalist Nancy Scimone and her pianists each Saturday night, 7:30 to 11:00. Scimone will sing songs by the greats, including Gershwin, Johnny Mercer, Duke Ellington and Irving Berlin. The bar menu offers gourmet dishes, desserts, cocktails, and international wines and beers.

Address

Henley Park Hotel Blue Bar Lounge; 926 Massachusetts Ave NW

Snooping with the Curator Tour

November 8th, 2012 at 07:00 PM | 10.00 | info@dumbartonhouse.org | Tel: 202-337-2288 | Event Website

This in-depth tour allows visitors see the insides and interiors of some of Dumbarton House’s important objects, including the Baltimore desk, piano forte, and Charleston sideboard, not usually seen by the public. Learn about these wonderful objects and our on-going efforts to preserve the Dumbarton House collection. Scott Scholz, Deputy Director & Curator, will give the hour-long tour. The program begins in the Dumbarton House Visitor Center, located on the Q Street side of the house.

Address

2715 Q Street, NW

Spy at Night

November 9th, 2012 at 06:00 PM | $14.95 | Tel: 202.EYE.SPYU | Event Website

Come to the International Spy Museum for Spy at Night, an experience providing guests with exclusive after-hours access to the museum exhibitions. A night of “intrigue, deception, and cocktails.”

Address

The International Spy Museum; 800 F St NW

Oceans in Focus Exhibit

November 10th, 2012 at 01:00 AM | Free | Tel: 202.483.6000 | Event Website

As part of FotoWeekDC, the Oceans in Focus Exhibit at the Dupont Circle Hotel will showcase spectacular underwater photography from noted photographers David Doubilet, Brian Skerry, Michelle Westmorland and Octavio Aburto.

Address

Dupont Circle Hotel; 1500 New Hampshire Ave, NW

Tea with Mrs. B Holiday Etiquette and Tea Party for the Entire Family

November 11th, 2012 at 01:00 PM | $29-$49 | Tel: 202 736-1459 | Event Website

Children are invited to learn about healthy eating and holiday manners at this fun-filled event. Culinary demonstration focusing on holiday meals and treats. Menu includes: house made finger sandwiches, mini desserts, cupcakes, tarts and fruit kabobs, along with green, black and white herbal teas. There will also be Silver butler service, a Holiday Photo booth, and a Gift bag.

Address

The Fairfax at Embassy Row Hotel, the iconic ballroom

Photographs of Social Life in Washington DC, 1900-196

November 11th, 2012 at 12:00 PM | Free | Tel: 202-347-7978 | Event Website

Part of FotoWeekDC, this offers a glimpse of social life in Washington DC between 1900 and 1960, as documented by the National Geographic Society through photographs.

Exhibit runs through November 30

Address

975 F Street NW

Freshfarm Markets 2012 Farmland Feast

November 12th, 2012 at 05:00 PM | $250 and up | Tel: 202.362.888 |Event Website

10th annual Farmland Feast showcases our Chesapeake Bay farmers and producers. Local chefs will prepare a spectacular six-course anniversary dinner with local food and local wine pairings. Our mission driven, selective auction takes place during the seasonal cocktail hour; a live auction is held during the dinner. This benefit is a prominent part of the local-food movement in the Washington, DC area, and was named “the locavore party of the year” by DC magazine in 2010.

Registration closes: Friday, November 09, 2012

Address

The Ritz-Carlton, 1150 22nd St NW

Hayley Markovich •

The Norman Parish Gallery is featuring famed micro-sculptor Willard Wigan’s “The Half Century Collection.” On Friday Nov. 9, there is a special reception, 6 to 8 p.m., with Wigan in attendance.
Wigan is known for his pieces that sit within the eye of a needle or on a pinhead. His work is so tiny that it cannot be seen without the aid of a microscope.

Owners of Willard Wigan’s work include Prince Charles, Elton John, Sir Philip Green, Lord Bath, Mike Tyson and Simon Cowell. One of his most recent pieces, The Coronation Crown was requested by Queen Elizabeth II in tribute to her celebration of her Diamond Jubilee.

Wigan’s micro-sculptures are shown in the main gallery. You can view his work for a $5 fee; children are free. The collection is being shown until early January 2013.

The Norman Parish Gallery located in Canal Square at 1054 31st St., NW, represents primarily, but not exclusively, visual artists of significance from Africa and the African Diaspora. It is open Tuesday through Saturday, noon to 6 p.m.
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Jeff Malet • November 9, 2012

The Washington International Horse Show, one of the leading equestrian events in the country, celebrated its 54th year Oct. 23 through 28 at the Verizon Center, attracting leading horses and riders from around the world with more than $400,000 in prize money. Eighteen-year-old U.S. Olympian Reed Kessler took the major prize with a top finish in the $100,000 President’s Cup Grand Prix on Saturday night. The $25,000 Open Jumper Puissance was the highlight class of the preceding evening with a win for 19-year-old Belgian rider Olivier Philippaerts and horse Chicago VH Moleneind. They were the only horse and rider out of six entries to clear a wall of seven feet in height.

View our photo album of the main events of the show by clicking on the photo icons below. [gallery ids="101034,136144,136137,136130,136123,136116,136109,136100,136094,136158,136087,136163,136080,136169,136070,136175,136151" nav="thumbs"]

Emily Lindstrand •

There are several sources though which to get involved if you want to assist the victims of Hurricane Sandy. Many organizations have said that the best way to help is to donate money, and they made doing so as easy as a text message or a few clicks online.

American Red Cross: The Red Cross is accepting blood donations as well as monetary ones. There are a variety of ways to get involved. Text REDCROSS to 90999 in order to donate $10 to American Red Cross Disaster Relief. You can also call 1-800-733-2767 for English and 1-800-257-7575 for Spanish. You can donate money (http://www.redcross.org/charitable-donations) and find information about donating blood (http://www.redcrossblood.org/donating-blood) online.
Also, there’s a link on the iTunes homepage to donate to the Red Cross via your iTunes account. According to Apple, 100 percent of your donation will go to the Red Cross.

Salvation Army: Salvation Army is working to provide meals and shelter to those in need after Sandy. A press release last Tuesday announced that “At this point, in-kind donations, such as used clothing and used furniture, are not being accepted for hurricane relief.” You can text STORM to 80888 to make a $10 donation; to confirm the donation, reply with yes. You can also call 800-725-2769 or donate online (https://donate.salvationarmyusa.org/disaster).

Habitat for Humanity: Habitat is doing its usual work of rebuilding homes. To make a donation, call 1-800-422-4828, and press 0 when prompted.

Catholic Charities: You can donate online by calling 1-800-919-9338.

Humane Society: The Humane Society’s Animal Rescue Team are working to rescue any pets in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast who were unable to go with their owners to safety. You can donate by calling 301-258-8276.

Gary Tischler •

So here we are: the eleventh hour, the last moments, the seal-the-deal times, the end of days, when it comes to the 2012 presidential campaign.

It’s generally conceded that there may by now and at last be more pandas in the world than there are undecided voters. If you haven’t decided by now, you’re probably lying to the last robo-caller and to yourself.

It will be Republican Mitt Romney or Democrat Barack Obama, the incumbent president. Or it may be the other way around. We will know by tomorrow. And maybe we won’t.

According to the polls—snapshot in time, folks, this time, this hour, this day, nothing more, but again, nothing less—the two men after wailing on each other with their own ads and those made by SuperPACs with generic, patriotic but altogether anonymous names are more or less in a dead heat in the popular vote, with some polls showing now a slight edge to the president. I don’t believe a percentage of it. Like exit polls, polls on the day before the election are the kinds of things—frown lines on a loan officer’s face, studying the centimeters of eyebrow raising on your spouse’s face after you came home a little late after the football game—that are iffy, they’re meant to allow news people to make predictions without fear or favor. Fat chance.

The playing field, in any case, has leveled. The toss ups remain, with perhaps the exception of Ohio for reasons not determined—unstable, volatile, fearfully unsettled—and in Florida’s case, as always, like a disturbance in a foreign land.

Almost everyone agrees that Hurricane Sandy has played its part—probably because President Obama could be President Obama and get a hug from New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. Christie, a Republican is still voting for Mr. Romney, but resented criticism of his let-us-now-praise-the-president, bipartisan mode. Romney had little to do, except to hand out food and dodge questions about what he would do with FEMA.

It is hard to figure out what’s going on in the sense of vox populi, because this has been a very dispiriting campaign on which enough money was spent to probably turn on the entire East Coast power grid, alleviate the damage and help every one that suffered a material loss. That, in and of itself, is dispiriting. Even Brian Williams of NBC News had a frown for the cost of the ad campaigns of the two candidates.

There is not a single phrase that I heard during the course of the campaign that was not negative in some way—that was rhetorically inspiring—not even “Forward,” which is, after all, the same phrase the commander of the Light Brigade used, according to Lord Tennyson. Of course, the suspicion remains that Romney has a hundred slogans, including a “Brighter Future,” “America Strong Again,” and so on, all pointing to 1955.

Even now, the two sides are still snarking and sparring—the president at one point in an aside to a reporter appears to have called Romney a b-ser, not the worst thing that’s been done in this campaign. And after there were boos in a crowd after hearing Romney’s name, the president reportedly said, “Don’t boo. Vote. Voting is the best revenge.” Romney promptly and often criticized him for urging voters to vote out of revenge.

It’s worth looking back—not too much, else the strangeness of it all affect voter turnout—on the campaign. You could, for simplicity’s sake, break it down: Phase One, the Republican Nomination Campaign, which consisted of a series of primaries and a series of debates, in which Romney outlasted and outspent and made fewer mistakes than his many, many opponents, none of whom merited even the thought of measuring as presidential. In the second half of this phase, Romney earned a victory from his labors which consisted of bullying Newt Gingrich, trying to move to the right of Rick Santorum and thankfully never quite succeeding, outsmarting Rick Perry—how hard is that?—and ignoring everyone else, except for fellow Mormon John Huntsman for working in the Obama administration.

Phase Two were the Republican and Democratic conventions, the former preceded by Romney’s sage choice of Wisconsin congressman Paul Ryan, the party’s budget whiz kid, as his running mate. The convention itself was not quite the super bowl event it could have been—Ryan wowed, everyone praised Ann Romney for her speech in support of her husband, and everyone talked about Clint Eastwood’s conversation with an empty chair. If Romney could not do that to himself, perhaps Clint did.

The Democratic convention was not a triumph for Obama, but it was a winning event, especially when former President Bill Clinton took the stage, doing more to explain and boost the achievements of the administration that had hitherto been managed by the candidate himself.

There was a bounce and then an apparent surge, which the president, at the start of Phase Three, the all-important-to-the-media debates, single-handedly threw away and turned the race into the deadlock that it is now by a still-mystifyingly poor, detached and passive performance in the first debate. The rest of the campaign has been spent with the president climbing slowly, but apparently successfully, out of the hole that had loomed as a total disaster.

Mind you, although news kept coming of the Middle East and the economy inched its way upward but not out of stagnation, it was a great television show—at least to the electronic media, which treated each debate (there were four), as the deciding factor in the election.

The economy was Obama’s burden to defend and Romney’s whip. Neither did enough to change the political climate, which was a barrage of negative ads across the country. There is now a worrisome feeling in the air, not exactly jump-for-joy, but a certain relief that it will be over.

Maybe. None of the great issues were discussed, and none of the more urgent lesser ones made it to the table in the debates, either. Everyone talked about the looming financial cliff; few offered a solution.

The campaign this year was conducted in a time of horrific, and consistently regular, mass shootings, using semiautomatic weapons, most dramatically at a midnight showing of a Batman movie in a Colorado suburb. The campaign was also conducted in a time when there were more unseasonable, dramatic and severe weather—a devastating drought, out-of-season and destructive tornadoes and wildly wind-filled and flood-inducing storms, forest fires spectacularly destructive, and most recently, Hurricane Sandy. Neither gun control nor climate change nor global warming came into the discussion in any significant way.

Romney made it a trademark to speak inelegantly, to struggle to define himself as a warm human being. That inelegance produced “$10,000 bet?” and most dramatically, the 47 percent and and the embrace/desertion of stands on issues that made flip-flop seem too elegant a phrase.

All notwithstanding, here we are. Tomorrow, we—all who choose to—get to have our say. Regrettably, there is no electoral box to check or click that can indicate: “We want our money back,” “None of the above,” “Abraham Lincoln” or “the Joker.”

Casey obrien • November 8, 2012

Election Day is upon us. We should soon learn who will run the country for the next four years: Barack Obama or Mitt Romney. Make sure you cast your vote. To check for polling places near you, visit DCboee.org. After you vote, why not relax for the night cheering on your candidate of choice?

The Republican National Committee holds an election night reception at the Ronald Reagan Building, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, beginning at 7 p.m.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee hold an election night reception at the Liaison Capitol Hill Hotel, 415 New Jersey Ave., NW. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., DSCC chair, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and DCCC chair, Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., are expected to attend.

At the Ritz-Carlton, Georgetown: Degrees Bar and Bistro will serve a Romney Massachusetts Cape Cod Cooler, and Obama Hawaiian Mai Tai. Both cocktails are accompanied by presidential cocktail pairings of New England clam chowder or Hawaiian Pineapple and Ham Flatbread. Bar snacks will include Garrett’s Popcorn from Chicago, and Cape Cod Chips from Massachusetts. 3100 South Street, NW.

ClotureClub.com at George, 8 p.m. to midnight: By responding to its Facebook event, from 8 to 9 p.m., patrons may enjoy the open bar. Sam Adams products will be served, as well as signature drinks, Stoli-Obama and Romney Lemonade. George is located within Georgetown Court at 3251 Prospect Street, NW. Visit ClotureClub.com/calendar for more information.

At the National Press Club, you can spend election night in a nonpartisan atmosphere. The event will be open to club members in the Truman Lounge and open to the public in the First Amendment Lounge. Admission is $10 for club members; $15, for non-members. Hors d’oeuvres will be served. 529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor.

Election Night Jam at the Grand Foyer of the Kennedy Center: Join the jazz party, beginning 6:30 p.m., and spend Election Night with Jason Moran & the Bandwagon Welcoming those of all political stripes, the Kennedy Center presents a free election night Jam, complete with large-screen monitoring of the election results. Dance the night away regardless of whether your candidate wins or loses. 2700 F Street, NW.

Election Night Party at the historic Howard Theatre for a historic night. From 5 p.m. to 1 a.m., enjoy two levels with two large projection screens and multiple flat screens, while enjoying a full menu and happy hour drink specials. 620 T St., NW.

At Lincoln Restaurant, Vermont Ave., NW., the election night reception will announce the winner of its cocktail election: will be the red Elephant or blue Donkey drinks? At the menu are Mitt’s Meatloaf and Kahula Pork Belly. 1110 Vermont Ave., NW.

At the Ritz-Carlton, Washington, D.C.: Lobby Lounge & Bar, serving their own signature drinks, with half-priced Red or Blue cocktails (depending on the outcome) as state results come in. The Blue Bourbon Baracks can be paired with a Vice Presidential slider of Dogfish Head Raison D’Etre and Delaware Rockfish Sliders for Vice President Joe Biden. The Romney drink will be a Grand Old Fashioned of bourbon, with a Paul Ryan menu of Leinenkugel “Leinie’s” IPA beer and Beer Bratwurst Sliders from Wisconsin. 1150 22nd St., NW.

At Morton’s the Steakhouse, 1050 Connecticut Ave., NW, 7 p.m. to 1 a.m.: A Victory Party sponsored by the Susan B. Anthony List and National Organization for Marriage.

Liberty on the Rocks D.C. at BlackFinn: Election Night Watch Party at BlackFinn, 1620 Eye Street NW, from 6:30-11:00 p.m. There will be free giveaways, free drink tickets to a select number of attendees, live updates of the election results, and drink specials. BlackFinn will be running earlier for patrons who wish to grab something to eat before the party begins

D.C. Latino Caucus at El Rincon Espanol, 7:30 p.m.: The Election Victory Party will serve complimentary hors d’oeuvres and non-alcoholic drinks. A cash bar and special menu will be available; this event is free and open to the public. 1826 Columbia Road NW, visit dclc.org for more information.

Georgetown University will host an Election Night Watch Party and Forum sponsored by Electronic Media and Politics and gnovis, two online research journals associated with the university’s Communication, Culture and Technology graduate program. The Election Night Watch Party and Forum takes place in the CCT Lounge, CCT Studio and Room 317 of the Car Barn (3520 Prospect St., NW), For more information, contact Jennifer Young, managing editor of Electronic Media and Politics at 202-818-4409 or jen.oldyoung@gmail.com

American University Watch Party, 7:30 to 11:30 p.m.: American University’s School of International Service will host its Election Watch Party, featuring complimentary food and drink, a jazz duo, an on-site coffee spot and a balloon drop. Located at the intersection of New Mexico and Nebraska Avenues, NW; parking is free.

George Washington University will hold election night watch parties, beginning 7 p.m. The G.W. Graduate School of Political Management (GSPM) “Elections 2012” class hosts an election night viewing party. (Students in the class have been tracking the presidential race and key congressional races. Students “will be able to provide analysis and insightful commentary as results come in.” Tonic Restaurant, 2036 G St., NW, Washington, D.C. GSPM students will host another watch party at the Elephant & Castle restaurant, 1201 Pennsylvania Ave., NW. G.W. College Democrats and College Republicans host election night viewing parties at the Marvin Center, 800 21st St., NW. (College Democrats will be in the Grand Ballroom; College Republicans will be in the Continental Ballroom.)

Join Boqueria, 1837 M Street, NW, for an Election Night & Unlimited Tapas and Drinks. enjoy a menu of unlimited tapas and drinks for $40.00 per person plus tax and gratuity. Reservations are required for menu and seating in the official screening room is limited. The menu will be available from 7:30 to 11:30PM/ Please call 202 558 9545 for reservations.

Jeff Malet • November 6, 2012

The Supreme Court heard a challenge to its long-standing ruling that race may be considered as a factor in the college admissions process (affirmative action) on Oct. 10. Justices debated the case of Fisher v. University of Texas. A white student, Abigail Fisher, brought the case after her application to the University of Texas-Austin was rejected in 2008. In her lawsuit, she questioned whether the university’s admissions system uses race unnecessarily. The outcome could have major implications for higher education.

View photos of the activity outside the Supreme Court Building by clicking on the photo icons below. [gallery ids="101017,135570,135562,135554,135548,135542,135534,135526,135583,135589,135517,135594,135599,135576" nav="thumbs"]

Emily Lindstrand •

Residents and visitors will have a rare opportunity to view the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal by twilight this Saturday, Oct. 13. The canal is sponsoring its second annual Park After Dark fundraiser. With proceeds supporting the Canal Trust, the park’s official nonprofit, the event will allow visitors to spend a night in the park, which traditionally closes at dusk.

Last year’s benefit was a sold out success and brought 250 guests to the C&O Canal. Around $60,000 was raised to support programs at the park, including Canal Quarters and Canal Discoveries. This year’s benefit is shaping up to be another big event – attendance now allows for up to 300 guests. The event will feature stargazing, live music, chili and cornbread, beer and wine, live and silent auctions, campfires and a Civil War encampment.

The C&O Canal dates back to the 19th Century with a groundbreaking ceremony in 1828 by President John Quincy Adams signaling the start of construction. One of its primary purposes was to carry mail between the District of Columbia and West Virginia. The canal was taken over by the National Park Service in 1971 and receives more than 3 million recorded visitors per year.

Tickets to this year’s Park After Dark fundraiser are $150 each and must be purchased in advance; $115 of this price is tax deductible. Tickets can be bought online at www.canaltrust.org.

The event will take place at the Great Falls Tavern Visitor Center, 11710 MacArthur Blvd., Potomac, Md — 301-767-3714 — Oct. 13, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
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Casey obrien •

Hurricane Sandy has posed a problem for early voters along the East Coast, delaying absentee ballots from reaching their destinations and preventing polls from being opened. D.C. was no exception, closing its polls because of the bad weather.

The D.C. Board of Elections re-opened its early voting, opening polls on Oct. 31. The board has extended voting hours until 9 p.m. at every early voting location and has provided additional equipment in preparation for a heavy turnout. Each voting site’s hours of operation will run each day through Nov. 3, 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

“We want to ensure that every voter has the opportunity to cast a ballot in this General Election. We have added extra voting machines at every vote center and extended the hours of operation,” said Clifford Tatum, the Board of Election’s executive director. “We also want to remind voters that if there are long lines at the Early Vote Center in their home ward, that they can go to any other early voting site to cast a ballot in shorter lines or can go to their polling place on Nov. 6.”

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 6. If you have not yet registered to vote, you still can sign up to make sure your vote is heard. Citizens can register to vote at early voting sites or at their Election Day polling place. Polls in D.C. will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. To find a location, visit the D.C. Board of Elections website, dcboee.org.