News & Politics

Georgetowner • November 7, 2011

Friday, Nov. 4

St. Mark Orthodox Church Ethnic Food Festival & Bazaar

The Ethnic Food Festival serves homemade Russian food specialties such as piroghi, piroshky, halupki, blini, borscht, Chicken Kiev, kielbasa and side dishes. Candy desserts and drinks are available. Dine in or carry out. Shop for religious books, baked goods or Silpada jewelry. Visit the raffle and silent auction or take a church tour. Free admission and 10 percent discounts on meals for seniors. The festival is open Friday through Sunday at 11 a.m. Call 301-229-6300 for more information. St.
Mark Orthodox Church is located at 7124 River Road in Bethesda, Md. 20817.

Artist Reception: Sweet Tides Artworks by Alison Hall Cooley

A D.C. native, Alison Hall Cooley’s work depicts the natural world using overlapping techniques. Her show titled “Sweet Tides” is on view at Thos. Moser’s D.C. Showroom through December 31, 2011. She also has annual shows in Nantucket. Cooley studied at Sarah Lawrence College and continued at the Corcoran School of Art in D.C. She has also won several awards, including the Charles C. McDougall Award for Promising New Artists, and has been printed in several publications. The reception takes place at 6 p.m. at Thos. Moser’s D.C. Showroom, 3300 M St. NW. Call 202-965-4601 for more information.

Saturday, Nov. 5

The Vices that Made Virginia

Arcadia Center for Sustainable Food & Agriculture presents an “outdoor celebration of the region’s finest farmers and food artisans.” The fundraiser will take place on the historic site of the Arcadia Farms Woodland. Enjoy and evening filled with the best commodities Virginia has to offer prepared by some of the best chefs in the business. The proceedings of this event will go to the Arcadia Center for Sustainable food & Agriculture and their continued work. The event begins at 4 p.m. at Arcadia at Woodlawn, 9000 Richmond Highway, Alexandria, Va. 22309. Tickets are $125. Email info@arcadiafood.org for more information.

Fashion Show and After Party with Tim Gunn

Westfield Annapolis is hosting a fashion show and after party with Project Runway co-host Tim Gunn at the Nordstrom Court. Guests that have purchased a Lucky Brand product over $100 between Oct. 30 and Nov. 5 get the opportunity to be photographed with Tim Gunn and receive a signed copy of his NY Times best seller “Gunn’s Golden Rules: Life’s Little Lessons for Making It Work.” Nordstrom Court is located at 2002 Annapolis Mall, Annapolis, Md. 21401. The event begins at 1 p.m. and is free. Call 410-266-5432 for more information.

Sunday, Nov. 6

National Race to End Women’s Cancer 8K/1 Mile Walk

Did you know that D.C. has the highest ovarian cancer mortality rate in the nation? The National Race to End Women’s Cancer 8K/1Mile Walk on Sunday at 9 a.m. will raise awareness and crucial research funding to prevent, detect, tread and defeat these “below the belt” cancers – cervical, endometrial, ovarian, uterine, vaginal and vulval – that are not often talked about but that claim a woman’s live every 7 minutes. The race will begin at Freedom Plaza on 13th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW. Participation costs $40 for the 8/K and $30 for the 1 Mile Walk.

American Youth Philharmonic Orchestra Presents “Orchestral Brilliance”

Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center presents the American Youth Philharmonic with Daniel Spalding, Music Director & Conductor. Jeffery Jacob, piano, appears as a guest artist. A pre-concert lecture will be held at 2:30 p.m. with Jacob. The program includes Brahms: Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80, Jacob: Wanderer Fantasy for Piano and Large Orchestra (Symphony No. 4) and the world premiere of Kodlay: Hary Janos Suite. The event will take place at the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall, 3001 N. Beauregard St. Alexandria, Va. 22331 at 3 p.m. Tickets are $14 for adults and $10 for seniors and students. Call 703-642-8051 for more information.

Jeff Malet • November 3, 2011

Click below for our photo gallery from last weekend’s Penn Quarter Arts on Foot Festival. This annual event is a visual and performing arts festival featuring Washington DC theaters, museums, and arts at a variety of venues in the Penn Quarter neighborhood of Washington, DC. The festival became an art walking tour with area restaurants, theaters, galleries, museums, and more than 100 visual artists participating and dozens of Downtown attractions hosting visual art exhibits, performances, workshops, demonstrations, films, concerts and children’s activities. This year’s event also featured commemorative activities to honor the 10-year anniversary of 9/11 including The 9/11 Arts Project. (all photos by Jeff Malet). [gallery ids="99231,103634,103639,103644,103649,103654,103659,103664,103669,103674,103629,103624,103619,103594,103695,103691,103599,103687,103683,103604,103609,103614,103679" nav="thumbs"]

Jeff Malet •

Rear Admiral Edward K. Walker, Jr., USN (Ret) and the staff of the US Navy Memorial place a wreath at the statue of the Lone Sailor in Washington DC on Tuesday August 9, 2011, in honor of Navy SEALs Team Six killed in action. More than 20 Navy SEALs from SEAL Team Six were among those killed the previous Friday in a helicopter crash flown by a crew of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. SEAL Team Six was the unit that carried out the raid that killed Osama bin Laden in his Pakistan hideout. [gallery ids="100257,106909,106913" nav="thumbs"]

Donna Evers •

It’s hard to believe, but true. When Grover Cleveland was president, his young wife used to pick him up at the White House in a horse-drawn carriage and drive him home to their summer getaway in a leafy rural area that is now Cleveland Park. No Secret Service for President Cleveland, no bullet proof glass, no escort carriages leading or trailing the “presidential carriage.” As they drove home, they would pause to watch the girls at the National Cathedral School playing tennis.

Theirs was the only presidential wedding to ever take place in the White House, and even more unusual, the beautiful bride was 28 years younger than the bachelor president. When asked why he waited so long to marry, Cleveland said he had to wait for Frances Folsom to grow up.

As young as she was, Frances was the perfect First lady. She thrilled Washington society by observing the social season with exquisite parties and receptions. Besides, she was an accomplished pianist and photographer, and she read Latin and spoke German and French. Best of all, her political instincts were first rate. Aware that many women were entering the work force, Frances instituted Saturday Open Houses at the executive mansion, so the working women could drop by on their day off and shake hands with the wife of the President.

Like a lot of other people, the President and his wife felt they needed a place to escape the heat of Washington summers. They found respite in a 27-acre stone colonial in what is now the 3500 block of Newark Street. They transformed the home into a fairy-tale Victorian with double-decker porches and a roofline full of turrets, towers and gables. Frances named the home “Oakview” but the reporters called it “Red Top”, because they kept at a distance from the house and all they could spot through the trees were the fanciful red roofs. The house is gone now, but the neighborhood that kept the Cleveland’s name still sports an enviable supply of elaborate Victorian houses.

It’s not unusual that a First lady as pretty as Frances Folsom Cleveland was the darling of the press, whether she wanted the attention or not. Reporters referred to her as “Frankie”, a name she disliked as much as Jacqueline Kennedy was said to dislike “Jackie”. Worse yet, her photogenic face appeared on soap and cosmetic products. A political opponent of Cleveland’s once said, “I detest him so much, I don’t even think his wife is beautiful.” But he was in the minority.

While we know that Grover Cleveland was the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms, history books don’t tell us about the prescience of the President’s wife. When they were leaving the White House after Cleveland lost his bid for a second term, Frances said her goodbyes to the servants, but told them to take good care of everything, because they would be back in four years. And they were.

Robert Sacheli •

The June 1970 memo that records Air Force General Peter R. DeLonga’s first staff meeting as Deputy Chief of Staff, Materiel at Tan Son Nhut Airfield in the Republic of Vietnam includes a section that clearly sets out the expectations of the new leader.

“The General will be rough and questioning,” it begins. “He will play the ‘Devil’s Advocate.’ Though things will get hot he will not hold a grudge. He expects the truth and facts — no B.S. He wants a straight YES or NO.”

The no-nonsense tone continues through more admonitions (“Be sure your brain is in gear before you activate your mouth” is one) and concludes with, “when I ask something to be done I mean NOW.”

The memo provides a snapshot of a dedicated, demanding but fair officer with high standards, and that’s how his son Steven DeLonga remembers his father.

“Military was first in his mind,” he recalls, although, he adds, “he was one of the few military officers who did not speak of his past successes.”

In DeLonga’s case, those successes were notable. With a distinguished career that spans the China-Burma-India theatre of operations in World War II, the Berlin Airlift, Vietnam, and beyond, Peter R. DeLonga achieved the rank of major general and was the Deputy Inspector General of the Air Force. In that post he provided the Secretary of the Air Force and chief of staff evaluations of the effectiveness of Air Force units and monitored worldwide safety policies and programs. He also directed the counterintelligence program and was responsible for security policy and criminal investigation within the Air Force.

A roster of decorations — including two Air Force Crosses, the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters and Air Medal with five oak leaf clusters, among others — attests to Major General DeLonga’s career achievements.

Despite his father’s professional responsibilities, Steven DeLonga remembers “We’d have dinner every night at six.” At those dinner tables, no matter where in the world the family was stationed, he learned valuable life lessons.

“My father would put a quarter on the table and ask us what it was,” DeLonga says. The object was to think before answering. “Once you made a statement,” according to his father, “you made sure it’s 100 percent correct. Your credibility is on the line, and you may never be able to get it back.”

That emphasis on integrity and honor was the foundation of his father’s philosophy, and part of the code of what DeLonga describes as “a John Wayne era when your handshake was your bond. It was a different world from what we have today.”

DeLonga closely observed how his father treated the people under his command. “My dad was known as an enlisted man’s general,” who believed they were the backbone of the Air Force. “He was very considerate” of those men.

Steven DeLonga still marvels at his 24-year-old father’s resourcefulness and courage in April 1945 when he was forced to spend 16 days in the Himalayan jungle after his plane was disabled during one of the 86 missions he flew during World War II. “He thought of other people before himself and had the presence of mind to rescue two fellow crew members,” says Delonga.

He’d parachuted into the “Tin-Tin Jungle” — so called because the terrain was strewn with the remains of American and Japanese planes. “He ate lizards, snakes, rats and talked himself out of being eaten” by tribesmen. (“Headhunters Are Friendly to Three Yankee Aviators” was one headline back home in Pennsylvania.) “I don’t know how I could have survived,” says the younger DeLonga.

His father’s was a generation that put country before considerations of financial reward, Steven observes. He cites Chuck Yeager, a good friend of his father’s, who, when asked why he continued to face the dangers of test flying despite being pursued by lucrative opportunities, replied: “I like flying. That’s my life.”

It was also a generation that saw military service as a chance to advance themselves as Americans. Peter DeLonga’s Italian-immigrant father was a foreman in a coalmine, and, says his son, “the military was an equal ground, where people were judged on merit and performance, not family.”

Though Steven DeLonga’s own military career was a brief stint in the Army (“My military bearing was non-existent”), his brother, Peter, spent a decade in service, receiving the Army’s Bronze Star for heroism in ground combat in Vietnam. His nephew, Nick, is a Marine captain who’s a veteran of tours in Afghanistan and Iraq.

“Dad would be disappointed” at how the military is generally viewed today, suggests DeLonga. “The caliber of Army recruits is probably the highest it’s ever been, but we’re not fully supporting them. We need a commitment from the executive branch to support the military for the future.”

DeLonga attributes much of his own success (he is the founder and CEO of Ste-Del Services, an Alexandria company that deals in corporate apartment rentals) to some of his father’s qualities “that carried over to me.” He knows which are the most influential: “Honesty and integrity are things I pride myself on.”

“How do you measure success?” he asks. “In business, it’s monetary. But for the older generation it was more about altruism,” citing John F. Kennedy’s famous “ask what you can do for your country” challenge. “They saw a bigger picture.”

“Honesty. Integrity. Devotion to country and to duty. That is why my father succeeded,” says Steven DeLonga. “His was a generation I was lucky to be around.” [gallery ids="99133,102725,102721,102712,102704,102689,102696" nav="thumbs"]

Ari Post •

Nassau Valley Vineyards

Producing a wide variety of wines, Nassau Valley is Delaware’s first and only farm winery. The winery is open for free tours and tastings year-round. The self-guided tour includes a chronicle of wine’s 8,000 year history, up to the process and production of modern day vineyards. Picnickers ?are welcome, and specialty tastings and wine and food pairings are available on site or off. Theater and musical groups perform during the summer months. This is an ideal stop on a rainy beach day or a midweek break from the pulsing July sun.

Chincoteague and Assateague Islands

Chincoteague Island, just a 30-minute drive from Bethany down Route 1, is Virginia’s only resort island, and one of the more beautiful islands that salt and pepper Virginia’s eastern shore. This bucolic beach is famous for its wealth of breathtaking and accessible wildlife, oyster beds and clam shoals, migratory birds, and wild horses (often grazing casually around the parking area).

Throughout the summer, crowded beaches give way to stretches of secluded shoreline, marshes and forests, if you’re willing to walk beyond the crowded entrance. As a Natural Wildlife Preserve, the Chincoteague and Assateague islands harbor plenty of inspiration for the adventurous, Thoreauvian journeyman.

Cottage Café

Set in what looks like an over-sized bungalow, with warm yellow lights strung across the frame, the Cottage Café is, has a comfortable atmosphere and quality, unpretentious seafood.

A wide bar sits in the center of the restaurant, with dining on either side. Among the many choice menu options and a solid brunch buffet, a notable item is a generous plate of “dune fries,” a deliciously fun seafood spin on chili-cheese fries.

Dogfish Head Brewery and Brewpub

No one does beer like Dogfish Head. What started as the smallest commercial brewery in America in 1995 single-handedly brought the culture of craft brewed ales back from near extinction.

Whether looking for a finely balanced, classic ale, or a beer based on the chemical analysis of pottery fragments that revealed the earliest known alcoholic beverage, Dogfish Head brewery is a good time with some great beer. Tour the brewery, sample fresh brews, and talk with the casual, friendly staff. Their brewpub, on the Rehobeth Beach boardwalk, pairs their ample beer offerings with classic American cuisine, and features house-made vodkas from a small distillery operation in the back. Live music plays throughout the summer.

Dickey’s Frozen Custard

Well before the days that Bethany Beach became the Delmarva tourist haven it is today, Dickie’s Frozen Custard was serving the local in-crowd from their modest corner store, just off the main boardwalk drag.

This is quintessential beachside custard. The employees are often found without shoes. Young customers, five or 10 at the most, commonly sit against the wall in the shade of Dickie’s awning, licking and slurping at their over-sized cones with sprinkles as they drip down their knuckles, chins, and shirts. Yeah, it’s cheesy. Yeah, it’s nostalgic and silly. Yeah, it’s just custard. But I’m willing to bet it’s the best you’ll ever have.

Coastal Kayak

Offering sail-boat rentals, guided kayak and bicycle eco-tours, Coastal Kayak allows guests to experience the bay-side marshlands and wildlife from a completely new perspective.

The salt marsh tour is a brilliantly fun addendum to any list of activities. Paddle through the salt marshes around a state wildlife refuge, the feeding grounds for many animals, some of which include herons, osprey, horseshoe crabs and skimmers. One of the premier offerings is the exploration of a small sandbar where you get out of your kayak and comb the beach for a variety of beach dwellers such as fiddler crabs, starfish, and clams.

Grotto Pizza

If you’ve been anywhere near the Delaware Beaches, you have doubtless fallen prey to the wafting, tantalizing scent of Grotto’s pizza in the salty air. Synonymous with Bethany and Rehobeth beach culture, there is hardly another pizza joint in town — not that you would ever want one. It is awfully, awfully good.

The local restaurant behemoth and area staple, with its signature “bull’s eye” pizzas, is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a summer-long celebration. Whatever time you’re there this summer, keep an eye out for special deals and promotions.

Dewey

A one-street town sandwiched between its larger siblings, Bethany and Rehobeth, Dewey Beach is undeniably the college crowd’s scene. With a slew of bars, crab shacks, and motels, Dewey makes for a pretty fun night if you’re looking to get away from quiet evenings in Bethany and knock back a beer and a basket of fried shrimp with your friends.

Stop by The Starboard, voted one of the top 25 bars in America by Men’s Journal magazine, and concoct one of their build-your-own Bloody Marys, with over 700 ingredients and 18 brands of vodka. Or check out the Bottle and Cork, an outdoor bar and music venue.

Caitlin White •

Metro rail and bus riders can expect to see changes in terms of pricing for SmarTrip cards and paper fare cards over the next few months.

The transit agency plans to decrease the price of the SmarTrip card and increase the cost of a rail trip for users of paper fare cards in order to encourage riders to use the reusable plastic cards, the Washington Examiner reports.

SmarTrip cards will drop in price from $5 to $2.50 on Aug. 29, but Metro riders may want to consider all their fare options before purchasing one. Other changes to SmarTrip are expected in the fall.

Metro decided to reduce the SmarTrip card cost to decrease the burden on riders caused by the new fare increases, the Examiner said.

Metro initiated the first phase of fare hikes on June 27 and plans to further increase them later this summer. One such increase will be an extra 25-cent charge per rail trip for users of paper fare cards, beginning Aug. 1.

Bus riders who use cash instead of a SmarTrip card already pay a 20-cent differential. They also lose the transfer discount when switching from train to bus or bus to bus.

The transit agency will lose 90 cents on each SmarTrip card sale after the cost drops to $2.50, since it costs Metro $3.40 to make each card.