Georgetown Farmers’ Market Re-Opens Wednesday

June 29, 2012

Georgetown Farmers’ Market Re-Opens Wednesday

The Georgetown Farmers Market opens Wednesday, May 2, for its tenth season in Rose Park.

The Friends of Rose Park, in cooperation with the D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation, sponsors the Georgetown Farmers Market in Rose Park for another season. The market will be open, rain or shine, every Wednesday until Halloween from 3 p.m. until 7 p.m. near the corner of 26th and O Streets.

“The Friends of Rose Park has been delighted with the neighborhood support for this project in Rose Park, and we hope the Georgetown community will join us on opening day,” according to the group.

The market welcomes newcomers and regulars to the park:

= Two Oceans True Foods: free-range turkeys, chickens and eggs as well as family-caught seafood

= Oh! Pickles: a wide variety of homemade pickles

= Baguette Republic: artisan breads, cookies and more

= Anchor Nursery: fresh vegetables, fresh cut flowers, plants

= Quaker Valley Orchards: berries, honey, apples, peaches, greens

= Praline Bakery: French bakery specialties; dinners-to-go, croissants

= Les Caprices de Joelle: paella, soups, quiche, waffles and other goodies

Neighbors and volunteers interested in helping at the market one day a month and local non-profit groups interested in getting on the calendar at the market should e-mail RoseParkMarket@yahoo.com.

Rose Park is located between M and P Streets, N.W., bounded on the west side by 26th and 27th Streets and on the east side by Rock Creek Parkway. Its facilities include three tennis courts, a basketball court, a baseball diamond, two playground areas and substantial open space. [gallery ids="100757,123127,123121" nav="thumbs"]

5 Years Ago, Fire Almost Took Down Public Library


During lunchtime on April 30, 2007, a fire nearly destroyed the Georgetown Public Library at R Street and Wisconsin Avenue. The flames of the collapsing cupola and roof attracted neighbors and news crews, as the D.C. Fire & EMS Department struggled with low-pressure hydrants and used one blocks away.

That same morning, a fire had swept through Eastern Market, one of Capitol Hill’s most popular food, shopping and meeting spots. Stunned city officials and residents feared the two places would never completely recover.

Today, both buildings have been re-built and made even better — thanks first to the firefighters of Washington, D.C. The library and its Peabody Room are a source of information as well as pride for its neighbors.

Georgetowners, thinking they had lost the history that is contained in the library’s Peabody Room, were relieved to learn that almost all items had been saved. The collection houses books, photographs, maps, manuscripts, newspapers, artwork and artifacts documenting Georgetown’s two-and-a-half centuries.

Here is what Jerry McCoy, Special Collections Librarian, Peabody Room, has to say:

“Today is the fifth anniversary of the Georgetown Branch Library fire. The fire destroyed two-thirds of the second floor of the library. The remaining one-quarter was the Peabody Room. Had it not been for the professionalism of the D.C. Fire & EMS Department more than 250 years of Georgetown’s history would have been lost.”

Named in honor of 19th century merchant, banker and philanthropist George Peabody (1795-1869) and established in 1935, the Peabody Room is a special collections section of the Georgetown Public Library. The Peabody Room is open Monday, 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 pm; Thursday, 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. [gallery ids="100759,123146,123140,123137" nav="thumbs"]

Pre-Elvis ‘Memphis’: Darrington’s Delray


On stage, Delray—the owner of a black underground music bar in Memphis, circa 1951—paces the floor with an eye out for trouble. His sister is on the stage, singing sassy and soulful blues numbers, and all male eyes in the joint are on her, and Delray’s eyes are on them. Delray is an imposing guy. He’s a little scary a times, a serious man who hides his soft spots well, a balled fist at his side.

Delray is one of the mainstays and main characters in “Memphis,” a loud, electric, fast-paced, high-energy Tony-Award winning musical now on its Washington stop through July 1 of a national tour at the Kennedy Center’s Opera House, trying and succeeding in bowling over by its sheer force of energy. Delray is pivotal to the proceedings, which involve a goofed-up young white man named Huey and his discovery of rhythm and blues evolving into the coming of rock and roll—and his discovery of Delray’s sister, Felicia, with whom he’s smitten. Delroy fumes, he doesn’t like it, you can practically see his eyebrows bristles, his fist clench tighter.

Quentin Earl Darrington, who plays Delray understands the man. “I know what he’s about doesn’t mean I’m him, but I know where he’s coming from,” said Darrington, a personable, passionate-about-theater man. “This is the South. You can’t do certain things. There are race laws, and this is termed race music by white people. So, he’s suspicious, especially of a white man getting sweet on his sister.”

Darrington is a serious guy, serious about his role as an actor, about being on stage, about being on the road, about race and economic and racial divides in the country, about his responsibilities—and the joys thereof—of being the father of three young boys, about his future.

Like many young boys who idolize their kin, Darrington wanted to be a football player like his brother but instead started getting into acting at the high school he attended in Lakeland, Fla. “Mr. Hughes, my teacher, he stuck by me, encouraged me,” he said. “My folks weren’t that keen on the idea.”

“This show, it’s more than just about the music,” he said. It’s about the times, how music figured in all of that, how it burst out onto the national scene. There really was a guy like Huey who was a local deejay here in Memphis who played our rhythm and blues and rock and roll. He had a TV show, and he was a forerunner, like the guy who discovered Elvis and Dick Clark in Philadelphia. The music was jumping out and it was important because it brought people together, whether they liked it or not.”

Darrington is coming back to the Kennedy Center and the memories of his last trip here were all good. He had the stirring, difficult role of Coalhouse Walker in the Kennedy Center-mounted production of “Ragtime,” a second-go at the musical version of E.L. Doctorow’s novel about America on the move into modernity in the early 1900s. Walker was a man with a mission, he wanted to marry the woman he loved, he was a charistmatic man with huge pride and style, he wanted to show off his Model T, he wanted to do good and shine in the world, until his run with some New York firemen totally changes his life.

“That was such a great experience, such a game-changer for me,” Darrington said. “It was a big role, but it was complicated. You had to think about his life, and your own life, and what he wanted and the country. It makes you grow, it made me grow, and going to Broadway with it was absolutely terrific. You know, it’s the kind of thing that really made you think, about who you are and what kind of man you want to be.”

One of the things he wants to be is a good father, the best father. He’s used to the road and uses it—to reach out to the communities, where “Memphis” is playing, and take part, but he wants to stay close to his children.

“You’ve got to think about things like that,” he said. “I love acting, what I do, who I am, but you’ve got to think of other things, too. And the stage—you’ve got to expand. Coalhouse in “Ragtime” made him think about that. “It’s funny. I think about him almost every day, he comes to mind a lot.” Darrington thinks a lot about going back to school, which he plans to do next. “I want to teach others someday,” he said. “I want to open doors, for myself and others.”

Meanwhile, Delray paces the stages, his fists clenched.

“Memphis” will be at the Kennedy Center’s Opera House through July 1.

It’s Official: ANC Formally Approves New Campus Plan


At a special June 14 meeting, Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E unanimously agreed to Georgetown University’s 2010-2020 campus plan, as revised by neighborhood groups and university leaders. Thus ended at least two years of sharp debate between the two, beginning a new era in town-gown relations.

The most significant outcome, besides restricting students from living in the neighborhood and promising to create a more vibrant on-campus main campus, is the Georgetown Community Partnership. It will be a standing group of residents and university officials along with student representation to discuss progress and problems as they happen.

“We are all Georgetown here,” said commissioner Jeff Jones. “We have to trust each other.”

Biz Group’s Annual Boat Ride on the Potomac

June 27, 2012

The Potomac River breezes surely helped with the heat, and the sights were iconic, as the annual boat ride for the Georgetown Business Association left Washington Harbour. Cruising under Key Bridge and then down under Memorial Bridge, the group enjoyed food from Dean & Deluca and got a chance to check a new river boat line, Boomerang Tours. [gallery ids="100874,127379" nav="thumbs"]

Weekend Roundup June 21, 2012


The Castleton Festival

June 22nd, 2012 at 07:30 PM | info@castletonfestival.org | Tel: 866-974-0767 | Event Website

The Castleton Festival’s fourth season June 22-July 22 brings classical performances, musical theater, opera, bluegrass and fine dining to the rolling hills of Castleton, Virginia (65 miles from DC) with 21 performances featuring The Barber of Seville (June 23 and 29, July 1), Carmen (June 30, July 6 and 8), A Little Night Music (July 13-16), concerts of Beethoven, Mahler, Bach, Gershwin and more.

Address

The Castleton Festival Theatre, 7 Castleton Meadows Lane, Castleton, Virginia, nestled in the rolling hills of Rappahannock County, 60 miles southwest of Washington, D.C.

Fete de la Musique

June 22nd, 2012 at 06:00 PM | Free | marine.cornuet@francedc.org. | Tel: (202) 234-7911 | Event Website

For the past 30 years, June in France has been characterized by hundreds of amateur and professional musicians invading public spaces across the country to share their music. From jazz to electro, the Fête de la Musique has evolved past the point of local festival to become a nationwide tribute to all genres of music.

Address

3401 Water Street, NW

Coldwell Banker’s Art Exhibition & Sale

June 22nd, 2012 at 05:00 PM | mnute@cbmove.com | Tel: 202-333-6100 | Event Website

Established Artists Supporting Emerging Artists
Georgetown Coldwell Banker office is hosting an Art Exhibition and Sale to benefit Duke Ellington School of the Arts. June 22-23.
A group of local artists are contributing their work with a portion of sale proceeds to be donated to the school’s art programs through CBRB Cares, the charitable arm of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage.
Wine and cheese reception Friday June 22nd from 5–8:00 pm. Exhibition hours 12–7 pm on Saturday and Sunday.

Address

3050 K Street, NW, Plaza Level, Boardwalk Entrace, Overlooking the Potomac River

Creative Opera Ensemble: Hansel and Gretel

June 23rd, 2012 at 09:30 AM | Free | information@nationaltheatre.org | Tel: (202) 783-3372 | Event Website

The classic Brothers Grimm fairy tale of two lost waifs who stumble upon a delicious gingerbread house deep in the woods, is brought to life in an imaginative musical production set to Engelbert Humperdinck’s enchanting score. Kids are invited to sing, dance and even act in this fun-filled performance that introduces opera in a friendly and engaging atmosphere guaranteed to entertain the entire family!

Address

The National Theatre, 1321 Pennsylvania Ave., NW

2nd Annual Thai Village in Georgetown

June 23rd, 2012 at 12:00 PM | Free | nipatsornk@thaiembdc.org | Tel: 202-298-4790 | Event Website

Ambassador Chaiyong Satjipanon, Thai Ambassador to the United States, is hosting the 2nd Annual Thai Village in Georgetown. The event will feature a broad range of popular dishes from all four regions of Thailand, along with Thai drinks, and soft beverages. Cultural performances will include a demonstration of Muay Thai (Thai boxing), music and dances.

Address

Grace Church (Across from Thai Embassy), 1041 Wisconsin Avenue, NW

Walking Tour – “Mr. Nourse’s Neighborhood: Georgetown c. 1800”

June 24th, 2012 at 01:00 PM | 10 | info@dumbartonhouse.org | Tel: 202-337-2288 | Event Website

Join Dwane Starlin for this stroll through Georgetown’s streets, circa 1800, the way Joseph Nourse would have viewed his neighborhood from Dumbarton House.

$10 per walker (ages 3 and under free) Meet at the corner of Q and 27th Streets, NW Tour starts at 1:00pm Rain or shine 1 hour tour 3 years and younger are free, must be in a stroller No pets allowed Wear comfortable shoes and clothing No reservation required (cash or check only at door), but pre-paid reservations welcome

Address

2715 Q Street, NW

Nordic Jazz Festival

June 26th, 2012 at 06:00 AM | $25-$50 | rsvp-hos@foreign.ministry.se | Tel: (202) 467-2645 | Event Website

This year’s Nordic Jazz 2012 presents seven outstanding jazz acts from the five Nordic countries-presenting some of the best performers the Nordic region has to offer.

On June 26, jazz bands from Iceland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark will take the rooftop stage at House of Sweden.

Address

Twins Jazz, 1344 U Street Northwest

House of Sweden – Embassy of Sweden, 2900 K Street, NW

Embassy of Finland, 3301 Massachusetts Avenue, NW

Congressional Hearing Held at Heating Plant Property Makes Its Point


Hundreds of congressional hearings are held in Washington each year. Administration officials and others sit before House or Senate inquisitors answering each as fully and dutifully as they can. These hearings usually occur on Capitol Hill and often make for some drama or political theater.

On June 19, one particular congressional hearing was in held Washington — but away from the Hill in Georgetown. Not only was it in Georgetown, it was in a place which evoked the opposite of what most think about when considering Georgetown real estate: an empty, broken-down heating plant, now for sale by the federal government.

The hearing in the West Heating Plant on 29th Street was a bit of political theater, staged by Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.), Chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.), Chairman of the Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management Subcommittee. Its title was “Sitting on Our Assets: The Georgetown Heating Plant.” Reviews have been generally favorable.

The representatives — including Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) and Rep. Richard Hanna (R-NY) — set up tables and chairs within the massive plant and grilled one witness: Flavio Peres, the deputy assistant commissioner for Real Property Utilization and Disposal at the General Services Administration (GSA).

Their questions hit on why it has taken so long to put up that for-sale sign for this highly valuable property, just south of the C&O Canal and the Four Seasons Hotel. (The sign went up the day before the hearing.) The 1940s-era structure once generated energy for federal buildings and then stood as a back-up. It has been totally shut down since 2000 and has cost the government $3.5 million in maintenance fees.

Denhan and Mica want other unused federal property to get on a faster track to be sold by the GSA, as urged by the Obama Administration. They aptly used their site-of-the-day to make that point to GSA and to the public. They have held hearings off Capitol Hill before and threaten to hold more around the country, if necessary.

Peres took his hits from Mica, who said of his testimony, “We don’t know if [the plant] was turned on. We don’t know if it has an operating license. We had other places to store what was stored here … It just doesn’t seem like anyone is minding the store or taking care of the assets. This is a pretty valuable piece of property.”

Denham asked: “How is GSA going to ensure that this time we are going to get the highest value on this property that is the biggest piece of acreage in downtown Georgetown?”

Peres said that the market was strong and that developers and planners knew of the impending sale. He said that the online sales auction for the heating plant property would likely be in late September.

As for the GSA, it holds 142 properties, compared to other agencies that hold 14,000. And, yes, a GSA official spoke to Georgetown’s Neighborhood Advisory Commission about the impending sale last year. There are plans, set by financiers and architects and ready to roll, as evidenced by the Levy Group’s designs. Neighborhood groups want to make sure that some land within the mixed-use site can be used for public parkland, connecting Rock Creek to the riverfront. The huge building itself must be gutted and restructured for condos and the like.

After the hearing, Mica, Denham, congressional aides and media went to the plant’s rooftop with its commanding views of Georgetown, Cathedral Heights, West End, Rosslyn and the Potomac River. Dramatic? Yes, political theater plays well in this town.

The Historic Tudor Place Receives Preservation Award


For its intensive site-wide archaeological survey, Tudor Place Historic House & Garden has been awarded the District of Columbia Historic Preservation Office’s Ninth Annual Award for Excellence in Historic Preservation.

The museum’s executive director and trustees and representatives of Dovetail Cultural Resources, which carried out the work, accepted the prize for archaeology June 21 at the Sixth and I Historic Synagogue. Seventeen other prize categories included stewardship, design and construction, publications and affordable housing, among others. Former Historic Preservation Review board chairman Tersh Boasberg received a Lifetime Achievement Award.

“We are thrilled to be recognized for this foundational survey that informs interpretation of the site and the larger scholarship on how suburban estates of the early 19th Century functioned,” said Leslie Buhler, executive director of Tudor Place. “Archaeology is a critical component of our research. We look forward to what further excavations will reveal.”

CFO NATWAR GANDHI: KEY TO D.C.’S SUCCESS


I was pleased by the Mayor Gray’s decision to reappoint Natwar Gandhi to another term as the District’s Chief Financial Officer. I have said many times I would not trade the District’s financial position with that of any other city, county or state in the country. The District had a $1.1 billion cumulative general fund balance in fiscal 2011, an increase of $215 million over the previous year. This is $1.6 billion above the District’s lowest fund balance level, which was minus $518 million during the control board period in 1996. Our audit last year was the District’s 15th consecutive clean audit, and our recently passed fiscal 2013 budget is the District’s 16th consecutive balanced budget.

Much of our success in maintaining fiscal discipline can be attributed to Gandhi. While the mayor and members of the District Council have at times criticized Gandhi’s conservative revenue forecasts, I believe having a surplus at the end of the year is better than finding ourselves with a deficit and the potential reintroduction of a control board. Particularly during this time of instability in our government, it is critical to have an independent CFO with a demonstrated commitment to maintaining integrity in financial projections, regardless of political pressure.

I have seen firsthand how difficult it is to bring efficiency into a government bureaucracy. This makes it all the more impressive that our Office of Tax and Revenue has modernized its systems and can issue income tax refunds in three to five days for electronically filed returns, and just ten days even for paper filings.

Perhaps most important to me is the District’s bond rating. The District must issue bonds to finance important infrastructure improvements, such as schools, libraries and parks. I cannot emphasize enough how adept Gandhi and his team are at communicating with the credit-rating agencies at our annual meeting in New York. These rating agencies determine how expensive it will be for us to borrow money. Meetings such as these help us to secure our Income Tax bond rating of “AAA” by S&P and “Aa1/AA+” by Moody’s and Fitch. Our general obligation bond ratings, which were considered “junk bonds” in the control board period, are now in the A+ and double-A range. The District has been recognized for its new highly-rated Income Tax Secured Revenue Bonds that help to ensure ongoing access to the financial markets with low interest rates. The initial issuance of these bonds gained recognition as one of the Bond Buyer newspaper’s “Deals of the Year” in 2010.

The credit-rating agencies now have a very positive view of the District’s financial position, and our bond issues are routinely oversubscribed and pay among the lowest interest rates among major cities. So I’m not just talking about a general sense I have as to Gandhi’s value – Gandhi’s work has led to tangible savings for the District. For example, the use of variable rate bonds has saved us more than $100 million. Finally, Dr. Gandhi has earned the respect of Capitol Hill. Members of Congress, which in many ways control the District’s finances, have great respect for him.

I am chairing a hearing of the Finance and Revenue Committee on Gandhi’s nomination on June 28 at 10 a.m. in room 500 of the Wilson building. I welcome any of you to testify or to submit written comments for the record. ?

Our Summer of Waiting for the Other Shoe to Drop


Around here, and everywhere else, people spend an awful lot of time waiting for the other shoe to drop. Shoeless Joe Jackson did it all his life.

No, it’s not going to rain Christian Louboutins tomorrow.

It’s just that feeling you get that some- thing big-bad or just big, or just dumb and stupid is going to happen very soon — after something big-bad, or just big, or just dumb and stupid has already happened.

So, we thought we’d give some notice of possible shoe droppings. I mean shoes have already dropped on or been dropped by Kwame Brown and Harry Thomas, Jr .

Still waiting to hear from the feds and what’s left of their investigation into Mayor Vincent Gray’s election campaign after two of his aides have pleaded guilty and blabbed to the feds. If I had anything to do with that campaign, I’d walk around town with a shoe-deflective umbrella.

One big shoe’s going to drop Thursday. That’s when the Supreme Court delivers its decision on Obama’s Health Care Reform plan. What are the odds that the shoe will fall on the mandate? If I were a betting man, and I’m not, but still, I’d say they’re pretty good.

How many more shoes are going to drop on the hopes of the Washington Nationals? There’s Zimmerman (Ryan), the hitter, not the pitcher, and his anemic, un-franchise-player-like batting average, there’s Zimmermann (Jordan), the pitcher and his lack of support from his teammates, there’s Werth, out with an injury, there’s Ramos, out with an injury, there’s the top reliever, out with an injury, there’s the 0-7 in a Yankee game by future franchise Harper, and now our ace hits a guy on the noggin and unravels.

But we’re still in first place. Amazing.

Elections campaigns are, of course, the big shoes altogether. Who will have both of his shoes on after the election — I’m betting it’s Romney because he has so many to spare.

Here’s a shoe for blue jeans. Win or lose, how long will Mitt Romney go on wearing blue jeans in public and then cause the blue jean industry to collapse after he stops, causing the loss of 100,000 jobs and pushing the unemployment rate over 10 percent?

Big-time shoe:

That’s when the Ken Cuccinelli presidential campaign begins.

Shoe time:

The day Lindsay Lohan as Elizabeth Taylor debuts on Lifetime Television.

Shoe time two:

The next time Lindsay Lohan goes into rehab.

Shoe time:

When the Republicans sweep the House of Representatives, the Senate, the presidency and the nationwide cupcake concessions.

Shoe time:

When the Nationals win the World Series, in spite of all the shoes that have dropped on them, shocking the world.

Shoe time:

When the new Redskin rookie sensation throws seven interceptions in the first half of the season opener, is replaced by Rex Grossman, who throws seven more, setting an NFL record, whereupon the Redskins fire Shannon, try to get the Joe Gibbs man back into harness for $20 million.

Shoe time:

The race between Vincent Orange and Phil Mendelson for City Council Chairman ends in a tie after ten recounts of all of the 1,399 votes cast. The final results: someone wins by a shoe.

Rumored shoe drop:

There are rumors that plans exist to make Avengers II with 350 superheroes, including the Katzenjammer Kids, Homer Simpson, Little Lulu, Mutt and Jeff, the Range Rider and Brenda Starr, thus resulting in a possible film in which every comic character every drawn will be in a movie.

And last, but not least, the biggest shoe drop of all.

There is, of course, December 21 on the Mayan calendar. (Are do new archeological discoveries say otherwise?)

Still, you know the drill. It’s all over, Baby Blue. ?