Hitched for the Holidays Winner of 2012 Holiday Window Competition
• December 14, 2012

How do you know it is Christmas?

Parties, sure. Santa Claus ringing bells, sure. Shows and plays, sure. All the Christmas trees around the city, at the White House, on Capitol Hill, in the tree yards being sold, sure. The mailboxes stuffed with catalogues, the caroling, sure.

How do you know it is Christmas?

Windows, and we don’t mean the new Windows software.

Walk up and down streets and blocks, and look at the store windows. People, here and everywhere, have childhood memories of Christmas store windows and displays. Back in the day, people will say, there was an array of what was once called department stores with displays that could go from Winter Wonderland, Santa’s North Pole, a Nativity scene, or the most wonderful trains, going around mountains past the water towers, town halls and football fields of small towns that live on in our memories. You would shop and catch the holiday spirit and fever reflected in the store windows.

When the Georgetowner newspaper holds its annual windows display competition, it tries to reflect the season also, to encourage merchants and to promote the village in these seasonal times by rewarding their best efforts in reflecting and displaying the season for all of us. Those displays are like beacons for all of us, those who live and work in Georgetown, and our blessed visitors who come to dine, to soak up the holiday like a feast of hot cider and crumpet and tea, who come to skate, to shop, to do a holiday walkabout.

You might, in the course of your travels through our village, pass by a Santa Claus or two, an elf, some spirits from seasons past. If you should happen to see a boy named Tim, being carried on his shoulder carried by his father, well, you know what to say:
God bless us, every one.

A Peek Into Some of Our Favorite Windows
By nico dodd
The Georgetowner was thrilled that so many businesses decorated their windows for this holiday season. We talked to the decorators of some of our favorite, windows, including our winner, Hitched. Special thanks to our judge, Georgetown-based architect Christian Zapatka. To the right, we included many of the bright windows around the neighborhood. Don’t miss the chance to see these for yourself.

Hitched
Glamorously Bedecked
Hitched’s tinsel-and-ornament-covered wedding gown is simply elegant. The display is beautiful, but not overpowering. We love how the dress is beautiful enough to wear.

Annie Thompson and Amber Chislett were the two Hitched employees who created the display. Thompson said that creating the dress took about seven hours, and that materials include staples, hot glue and “love.”

This bauble-covered beauty is not the first creation of its kind on display in the window of Hitched, which also created a dress for Fashion Night Out.

Although the bridal and stationary boutique will be celebrating its seventh anniversary next week, the store will not be taking a break to rest on its laurels. According to Levine, many couples in the area get engaged during Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s, and one of the first things brides-to-be do are shop for their dress because the “gown sets the tone for the wedding.”

Jonathan Adler
Deliberately Kitsch
The retail space, formerly known as Gap Kids, has made a huge splash in Georgetown already with its amazing holiday windows. Because the store has so many windows, we were impressed at how well decorated they all were as a whole. All the paper chains in the windows are hand-made by the salespeople themselves. The brand’s “Style Craft Joy” theme is a clear influence.

Patisserie Poupon
Deliciously Festive
Patisseries Poupon’s larger than life window display was created by manager Martin Cotignola. He refers to the figure bedecked in cookies in the window as the “macaroon lady.” We loved the way that macaroons and doilies, things customers can find inside Patisserie Poupon, were used in the display. To celebrate the holidays, Patisserie Poupon will be having a raffle on Dec. 23 for a gift basket. Christmastime is one of the bakery and café’s busiest times of year, as the bakery sells “hundreds” of buches de Noel on Christmas Eve, says Cotignola.

The English Rose Garden
Festive Flora
“The bird is the word” for the florist near Wisconsin Avenue and O Street’s window, which is filled with feathers, birch branches, owls and amaryllises. Florist Tarameh Dadmarz says that it took about 40 minutes to decorate the window. With a wreath on every window, this is one of the most beautifully decorated buildings in Georgetown.

Georgetown BID Holiday Window Contest
There are many beautiful windows that are not here. Be sure to see all of them for yourself. The Georgetown BID is hosting its own holiday window contest.

The Georgetown BID’s theme for the holiday shopping season in Georgetown is “Deck the Halls, Forget the Malls”.

Participating stores are decorating their windows with up to four different materials of the store’s choice.

Photos of stores’ windows will be posted on the Georgetown BID’s official Georgetown Facebook page from Dec. 3. Facebook fans are invited to critique and like their favorite windows through Dec. 16

The store’s window with the highest amount of Facebook “Likes” will win.
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Top Democrats Name Anita Bonds Councilmember
•

Top D.C. Democratic party leaders met Dec. 10 at Catholic University – in a conclave of sorts, as other media quipped – to select an interim councilmember. Filling the vacancy created when Phil Mendelson became District Council chairman because of Kwame Brown’s resignation, the group of elite Democrats named Anita Bonds, the chair of the D.C. Democratic State Committee – that’s the name for D.C. Democratic Party apparatus – an at-large councilmember. Bonds has with several mayors, beginning with Marion Barry in the 1970s. Other Democrats under consideration were former shadow representative John Capozzi and Doug Sloan, a Ward 4 advisory neighborhood commissioner.

According to WAMU, Bonds won 55 of the 71 votes. WAMU added: “Bonds currently works as an executive at Fort Meyer Construction, one of the biggest city contractors. She doesn’t plan to step aside from her role in that job, she said after the vote last night, but she will cut back on her hours. She also said questions about her outside employment bordered on chauvinistic. ‘Because in the past I’ve never heard a conversation about some of the council members — I’m not going to name names,’ she said. ‘You don’t ask those questions, how much they make in their law practice … how much they make as vice presidents of companies. But you’re very concerned about me … little old me.’ “

Georgetowner Holiday Benefit & Bazaar
• December 7, 2012

Tickets are $50. To purchase, go to our homepage and click on the benefit invitation on the righthand side of the page.

Hope to see you there!

The vendors include:

Union of Angels by Cindy Bapst
The Dandelion Patch
Ultra Violet Flowers
J. MchLaughlin
Haute Papier
Everard’s Fine Clothing
Ann Hand
Uesa Goods Vintage Clothing
and more…

Zoning Regulations Revisions Meeting, Dec 11
•

The district of Columbia Office of Planning will be holding a community meeting in each Ward of the city to discuss proposed changes to the existing Zoning Ordinance (11 DCMR). OP has been working on revisions and reorganization of the zoning regulations for the last four years and has already made many significant modifications to previous drafts based on comments received at more than 200 meetings and hearings held so far. It still seeks your input.

Ward 2 meeting: Tuesday, Dec 11, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., 421 7th St NW (2 blocks south of Gallery Place Station on the Red, Green and Yellow Lines). Find out more information on the Zoning Revisions Review website – www.DCZoningUpdate.org — or contact OP staff at 202-442-7600.

Sgt. Joe Pozell to Be Honored by C.O.P.S. Classic Golf
• December 6, 2012

August 13 will mark the ninth anniversary of the D.C. – C.O.P.S. Classic and will be hosted at Westfields Golf Club in Clifton, Va., to support the D.C. Chapter of Concerns of Police Survivors.

This year’s tournament is dedicated to the memory of Metropolitan Police Department Reserve Sergeant Joseph Pozell. On May 14, 2005, Reserve Sergeant Pozell was struck by a vehicle while directing traffic at the intersection of M Street and Wisconsin Avenue and died from his injuries on May 17, 2005. Pozell had served in the Metropolitan Police Department for three years. He is survived by his wife Ella and son.

D.C. COPS Classic Golf Tournament was started in 2003 by Metropolitan Police Department Detective Joey Crespo. Detective Crespo started this tournament to raise money for the Washington DC Chapter of Concerns of Police Survivors. The tournament has grown from 75 players to last year’s biggest event with 260 golfers. Detective Crespo has been joined by Metropolitan Police Department Officer Greg Alemian in 2006 and Detective Travis Barton in 2008. 100 percent of the proceeds from the D.C. COPS Classic are given to the Washington, D.C., Chapter of Concerns of Police Survivors.

Community Calendar
• November 28, 2012

Fri., Nov. 30 — Wreath-Making Workshop; 10 a.m. or 1 p.m.; create your own wreath using materials from the Tudor Place gardens; materials and instruction provided; mem- bers (per wreath), $38; non-members, $48. Tudor Place, 1644 31st St., NW; register at www.tudorplace.org.

Sat., Dec. 1 — Along the Potomac: Winter on the Water at Washington Harbour — and Swedish Christmas Bazaar at the House of Sweden; see details above.

Sun., Dec. 2 — American Boychoir: Family Christmas Concert; enjoy the holiday season with one of the country’s premiere boys’ choir performances, 5 p.m. Single tickets, $30 each; $15 for students/seniors. St. John’s Episcopal Church, 3204 O St., NW; call 338-1796 or pur- chase tickets at the door.

Mon., Dec. 3 — Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC 2E) Public Meeting, 6:30 p.m.; Heritage Room, Georgetown Visitation Prep; agenda available at www.anc2e.com; call 202-724-7098 for more information.

Wed., Dec. 5 — Kitty Kelley discusses her new book, “Capturing Camelot, Stanley Tretick’s Iconic Images of the Kennedys,” 6 to 8 p.m.; $100 donation to attend benefits the D.C. Public Library Foundation, includes a signed copy of the book; Georgetown Library 3260 R St., NW.

Thur., Dec. 6 — Tudor Nights: Deck the Halls, 6 to 8 p.m.; members, free; non-members, $15 (21+). Enjoy spiced ginger punch and a historic holiday celebration at Tudor Place; www.TudorPlace.org.

Sat., Dec. 8 — Toys for Tots Drive, Rhino Bar, 1 to 4 p.m. Make a donation and have your holiday gifts wrapped by Rhino elves; take your photo with Santa. For more info, visit www.RhinoBarDC.com.

Wed., Dec. 12 — Georgetown Business Association Annual Meeting and Holiday Soiree, Dumbarton House, 6:30 to 10 p.m.; free. Celebrate Georgetown businesses with an eve- ning of awards, dancing, heavy hors d’oeuvres and seasonal cocktails. Cocktail attire; rsvp: hello@otimwilliams.com

New Ice Rink Celebrates Saturday With ‘Winter on the Water’ And Swedish Christmas Bazaar
•

Washington Harbour will present “Winter on the Water,” a celebration of Washington, D.C.’s newest and largest outdoor ice skating rink, on Saturday, Dec. 1, 4 to 7 p.m. The Washington Harbour Ice Rink will be inaugurated with a fete of continuous strolling entertainers, ice skat- ing performances, choral singers, a St. Lucia procession, and creative lighting effects, along with special food and beverages served outdoors by Washington Harbour restaurants, including the new Farmers Fishers Bakers. Special guests include radio personality Tommy McFly who will emcee the event from 5 to 7 p.m., and will take the coveted opportunity to drive the ice resurfacing machine on the rink.

Winter on the Water complements the Swedish Christmas Bazaar being held at the neighboring House of Sweden from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. at 2900 K Street, NW, on Dec. 1.

Winter on the Water – Special Performance Schedule
4 to 7 p.m.: Continuous entertainers and creative lighting effects; special food and bever- ages served outdoors
4:00 p.m.: Montana Ignacio – Ice skating performance
4:30 p.m.: Georgetown Phantoms – 30 minute a cappella performance
5:00 p.m.: The Gardens Figure Skating Club – Ice skating performance
5:15 p.m.: St. Lucia Procession from the House of Sweden
5:30 p.m.: Swedish Choir Performance
6:00 p.m.: Mini-Supremes Bowie ISI Synchronized Skating Team – Ice skating per- formance

M Street Water Main Work at Key Bridge Nears Finish
•

For some residents of 35th, M and Prospect Streets, the news that D.C. Water’s Large Valve Replacement Project on M Street should be com- pleted by Dec. 15 is most welcome, especially the pounding sounds at 2 a.m. about two weeks ago. Ditto for drivers along M Street moving over the street plates.

“We are planning to install the valve on Dec. 7,” Mohammad Huq, D.C. Water project man- ager, Department of Engineering and Technical Services, told the Georgetowner. “It is expected that the work will be completed by Dec. 15.”

The water main work is part of a “Capital Improvement Program to improve the water system infrastructure. These efforts will improve water quality and system reliability, increase water pressure in some areas, and maintain ade- quate flows throughout the system,” says D.C. Water, also known as the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority. The work was scheduled to be completed during the summer but took longer because of added joint seal work so that the street would not be dug up again so soon

29th Street Canal Bridge Completed
•

You can now drive on 29th Street between K and M Streets. D.C. Department of Transportation’s Three Bridges Project — begun in August 2009 ¬– has been completed.

The bridge over the C&O Canal along 29th Street was the third and last bridge replaced during the more-than-three-year job, which also replaced bridges over the canal at 30th and Thomas Jefferson Streets.

According to D.C.DOT’s Three Bridges’ website, “Monitoring of the canal walls and adjacent buildings is required for the duration of the project. Minor wall maintenance is included in the work as is roadway reconstruction work to tie into and transition the existing roadways and sidewalks into the new proposed bridges. Each bridge crossing includes extensive utility relocation and upgrade work involving water, electric, phone, and gas lines that will be coordinated with the respective utility companies.”

Comcast Boxes Slammed; Cable Giant Agrees to Listen
• November 15, 2012

Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E complained about the small utility boxes pop- ping up around Georgetown of late, and the installer Comcast was taken aback, thinking it had full approval for the boxes’ installation.

“This business is coming into our community and just making an aesthetic wreck of what we try to preserve in the historic district,” said commissioner Tom Birch of the small refrigera- tor-sized boxes on the sidewalks.

“We were not aware of additional require- ments,” said Aimee Metrick, spokesperson for Comcast , which has agreed to go through the design review process. Designs in public space are to be reviewed by the Old Georgetown Board, part of the Commission of Fine Arts.

“We’re hoping that this project will now go into the review process, as it should have in the first place,” Birch told the entertainment news site, TheWrap, which added, “Birch said a review would consider whether the boxes could be moved to rooftops or other alternative locations.”

“I’ve got a neighbor who has one right in front of his house now, and I don’t know what that’s going to do to real estate values,” Birch told the news site. “There’s some piece of street furniture out there that wasn’t there for the last 250 years.”