Category Archives: Special Events

Food and Drink, Fun & Games, Special Events, The Daily Feed
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Shopping With A Side of Brunch

Photo courtesy of
”
courtesy of ‘Spodie Odie’

New York-based handbag designer Jennifer Baum Lagdameo of Ananas Collection returns to her native Washington, DC with fellow clothing designer Anya Ponorovskaya. Fashion-forward Washingtonians can stop by Firefly Restaurant on June 13th, where Ananas and Anya Ponorovskaya are holding a lovely sample sale, offering 50-75% off past season styles.

But that’s not all, with your handbag, you’ll also get food, of course! Ananas (pineapple) mimosas will be available and shoppers can nosh on the latest additions to Chef Danny Bortnick’s spring brunch menu, including favorites like snake eyes – 2 soft-cooked eggs baked in a bread basket, country sausage, red eye gravy and potatoes and green eggs and ham – spinach, gruyère and Virginia ham quiche.

Firefly is located at 1310 New Hampshire Avenue, NW. The sample sale will take place in the restaurant’s lounge. Cash is preferred but credit cards will be accepted. Oh, and would you like some charity with your shopping and food? Of course. For every bag and clothing item sold, 5% of the proceeds will be contributed to ‘Team Firefly’ for their fundraising efforts for the Breast Cancer 3-Day held in October.  And for every ananas mimosa sold, $1 will also be donated to the cause.

Essential DC, Foggy Bottom, Special Events, The Daily Feed
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Our Time Is Now, Georgetown

Photo courtesy of
‘Georgetown Waterfront’
courtesy of ‘InspirationDC’

In Monday’s print edition of the Express, there was an article called “Reclaim Your Territory” by Fiona Zublin. (If the Express web site wasn’t so darn hard to use, I’d be able to find it and link to you, but I quit after 5 minutes of searching. But that is a whole ‘nother Daily Feed.) The article gleefully stated that since this past weekend was the end of the Georgetown school year, and the summer interns haven’t descended upon DC quite yet, those of you usually skittish of M Street and Wisconsin should head there now to take part in the momentary peace.

I’ll second this suggestion to head to G-town, but up the ante on recommendations. Zublin said to head over to Third Edition and Paulo’s, but I’m going to go farther out on a limb, since I don’t think of Paulo’s as generally mobbed by the GU crowd. I have to admit, some of my most fun nights of going all-out have been at Mr. Smiths, and if I can do that without getting hit on by a 20-year old psych major? Yes, please.

I’m also partial to the Georgetown waterfront, you all know how I feel about things on the water, though after a weird night at the beginning of last summer with a slightly euro-trashy main-chain-wearing crowd, I haven’t returned since. I’d happily give it a go during this down time. So what about you? Any Georgetown bars or places you’d like to hit up while we’ve got a respite from the ususal smattering of denim mini skirts and Miller Lite drinking frat boys?

Food and Drink, Life in the Capital, Penn Quarter, Special Events, The Daily Feed
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Taste of Eleven

Photo courtesy of
‘Caps Game Pretzel and Coke’
courtesy of ‘Mr. T in DC’

Work in Chinatown/Penn Quarter or even just somewhere Metro accessible? Good for you, cause there is deliciousness to be had on Wednesday, May 20th, when Wizards Care host the Taste of Eleven luncheon. This year’s Taste of Eleven will feature over 30 restaurants each featuring a signature lunch item. Each ticket to the luncheon will allow for up to six lunch items per person. Attendees can enter through the main entrance on F Street NW at Verizon Center and then walk the entire concourse to select their food items.

The list of eat places with items is huge, so here is my short list, keeping in mind both deliciousness and price so your $11 goes that much farther. I’d stop by Brasserie Beck, Cafe Atlantico, Indebleu, La Tasca, Oyamel, Rosa Mexicano, The Source, and Zola.

Thanks to twitter foodie @arasmus for the tip!

News, Special Events, The Daily Feed
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South Moon Under, National Harbor Style

Photo courtesy of
‘Gaylord at Night’
courtesy of ‘rgb48’

I just returned from a ridiculously lovely weekend in Rehoboth, and brought with me some inconvenient sunburns (Behind the knees? So comfortable.) and also some new adorable clothing from the outlets and the totally chic store South Moon Under. I arrived home last night already missing the beach and checked my email, only to find out that South Moon Under followed me home, and is opening a new store at National Harbor.

Joining the ranks of the Bethesda and Clarendon stores, the new SMU at National Harbor is right up your alley if you’re already enjoying an afternoon at National Harbor, which I would highly recommend. Join them for a grand opening party this Wednesday May 20 from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. and Receive 20% off your entire purchase, and be entered into the drawing to win the Ultimate Girls Night Out gift package which includes limo service, a salon makeover and a $300 South Moon Under gift card.

Downtown, Entertainment, News, People, Special Events, The Daily Feed
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Fierce Fashion

Photo courtesy of
‘Christian Siriano in person’
courtesy of ‘sue blue’

It is physically hurting me that I will be missing seeing Christian Siriano in Bethesda on Friday, I almost cried when I had to turn down my invitation to his fashion show at Redwood.

The Project Runway star is coming to town as part of The Front Row, a three-day, five-block fashion event including runway previews, in-store style and beauty events, designer appearances, trunk shows and more at the fabulously fashionable retailers and restaurants at Bethesda Row.

But even if I won’t be there, you can go and make me jealous. For a full list of events happening this weekend at The Front Row, click on through to the event listing (PDF).

Fun & Games, Special Events, The Daily Feed, The Great Outdoors
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Help Kids by Enjoying a Day on the Links

Golf
(4/365) :: Golf Thursdays by chispita_666
I just got an email about a golf tournament to support the Kena Shrine Transportation Fund, which provides free transportation for kids to get to the Shriner’s Hospital in Philadelphia. The wife/husband doesn’t like you playing golf? Just say it’s for the kids. How can they say no to the kids?

Read on:

The 15th Annual Kena Shrine Club Golf Tournament will be conducted next Tuesday, May 19th at Penderbrook Golf Course in Fairfax. This annual fund raiser golf outing will be a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m., with a four man/ woman format playing Captain’s Choice/Best Ball. Plan to arrive not later than 8:00 a.m., pay fee in snack bar, get cart assignments and hole numbers.

After a continental breakfast in the club house and 18 holes of golf, we will enjoy a buffet lunch, award single and group prizes and a 50/50. The outing is all inclusive for a $50.00 fee per golfer. If you wish to play in the tournament at Penderbrook, let me know as soon as possible.

And, no, you don’t have to be a Mason or Shriner to play, although I am sure lots of folks will be happy to answer your questions about these organizations.

Farm Fresh, Food and Drink, Night Life, Penn Quarter, People, Special Events, We Love Food
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Farm Fresh: Cafe Atlantico

Cafe Atlantico

WeLoveDC authors Donna (greenie) and Katie (foodie) have paired up to bring you a double-hitting feature about local area restaurants that take on the challenge of being green. Donna will explain the logic behind the environmentally friendly trends and Katie will tell you if the food tastes any good. It’s a rough life, but someone has to do it, right?

It is oh-so-trendy, but not just that, it’s plain good for you and the earth. Farm-to-Table dinners have hit DC hard, so when WLDC author Donna and I were invited to sample Chef Terri Cutrino’s Farmer’s Market Dinners at Cafe Atlantico, we jumped at the chance.

Katie: From a foodie standpoint, these dinners are interesting to me, not just because I’ve finally gotten around to reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma (I’m late, I know), but also because this particular type of dinner and dining can show you what exactly a chef is made of.

Because the ingredients are not picked until Thursday, and the dinner is put together on Friday, it’s a stretch. Sort of Top Chef meets real life, if you will. And the results, I must say are the same, given the short amount of time a Chef has to work on a dish, with specific ingredients, you’re bound to have it be hit or miss – just like Top Chef, you’ll be presented with dishes that shine, and dishes that flop. On our particular night we experienced both. Continue reading →

Entertainment, Music, Night Life, Special Events, The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Saffron Dance

"Shimmy" courtesy of Saffron Dance
“Shimmy” courtesy of Saffron Dance

This past Sunday when I arrived for my Oriental bellydance class at Saffron Dance in Clarendon, the studio was a frenzied hive of activity. Costumes fluttering, dancers rehearsing in every available space, everyone giving their all in that wonderful energy that takes over the week before performances. Every glimpse I catch inspires me to try harder in class so that one day I might be able to shimmy around a stage. But until then, I’m content with enjoying not one but two performances this weekend at Rosslyn Spectrum – and I highly encourage you to do the same.

First up, Saffron Dance Company performs “Shimmy” on Saturday May 16 at 8pm, highlighting classical Egyptian inspired bellydance as part of the Planet Arlington World Music Festival. What makes this performance really exciting is that they will be accompanied by live music. Moroccan vocalist Hatim Idar (whom I’m told is rockstar incredible) and the El Anmari Ensemble will perform original musical compositions on traditional Arabic instruments including the oud, nay, qanum, violin, tabla, riq and frame drum. It’s a rare treat to be able to watch the interplay between dancer and musician, and will no doubt make for a captivating evening. Tickets are $25.

Continue reading →

Special Events, The Daily Feed, The District
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See Rare NASA Footage Tomorrow

NASA Moon and Earth
Courtesy of NASA.

HacDC announces the return of Nerd Movie Night tomorrow with a showing of rare NASA footage from the Apollo years. The 16mm film snippets, part of a collection from one of our members, feature all sorts of archived NASA footage rarely seen, including clips from moon landings and other Apollo missions.

If you’re interested in space, tomorrow’s movie night starts at 8. You can find HacDC in Columbia Heights at 1525 Newton Street NW, at the intersection of 16th Street and Newton.

Life in the Capital, Penn Quarter, Petworth, Special Events, The Daily Feed
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Spotted in DC: Jen Lancaster

Photo courtesy of
‘Jen Lancaster NYC 5/7/09’
courtesy of ‘Rooskygirl’

I was killing time last night before a dinner in Penn Quarter and decided to take the hike to Barnes and Noble on E st. I walked in, and the security guard turned to me and said, “Are you here for the book signing with Jen Lancaster?”

My world stopped – not being over dramatic. WHAT? JEN LANCASTER IS GOING TO BE IN THE SAME BUILDING AS I AM RIGHT NOW? Jen Lancaster, as in my author-idol? As in, Jen? The biggest influence on my narrative voice as a blogger? As in the woman who invented the well-placed question mark and who taught me how to squee? Jen Lancaster, as in the author of the books that I read and re-read that can get me through even my darkest hours by making my cry laughing? WHAT? Continue reading →

Fun & Games, Getaways, Special Events
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Getaways: Virginia Beach (Part I)

Live the Life

This is a special edition of Getaways, which will be broken into two parts. Since Jasmine and I were both lucky enough to head to Virginia Beach, we’re tag teaming the trip for your reading pleasure.

Jasmine: Like many of you, after reading Katie’s post last month on Virginia Tourism Corporation’s mystery vacation giveaway, I put my name on the list. The temptation of an all-expenses-paid trip plus the mystery of not knowing where I would be going was just too much to handle. And a few weeks ago, after a particularly terrible day, I got the call: I had won! After extensive squealing and jumping up and down in the street, I immediately called diligent informer of awesome vacations and excellent travel companion Katie to invite her along with me. VA Tourism packed so much into our two days, we’re going to have to split this one up, with each of us taking a day. And so, without further adieu, here’s Katie to tell you all about that first crazy day. Continue reading →

Food and Drink, Special Events, The Daily Feed
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Kids RW: Baby Foodies

Photo courtesy of
‘Orion – DSC_5880’
courtesy of ‘Dylan Parker’

I am not going to be eating out from June 13 – 21st. This is big news, since I basically live at our area restaurants.

Why, might you ask? Because it’s kids restaurant week. Now, I realize kids need to eat too. And I realize that it is great news for parents who aim to expose your children to fine dining, and in a cash-strapped economy a deal like this is excellent. I get that you tire of feeding your child hot dogs and applesauce. Good on you!  I am just of the ilk that doesn’t want your child’s whine with my wine. (Ala Samantha in the S&TC episode A Woman’s Right to Shoes).

So, with that, I’ll gracefully bow out and your kids may dine in peace (or chaos, depending) from June 13-21st when tots from around the city can take over places like Art and Soul and Juniper. Word to the wise? Try the mac and cheese at Art and Soul, ’tis divine, and will kick Kraft’s butt any day.

I’ll have more recommends next week when Cookie and Gourmet magazine, in partnership with Destination DC, announce the full participating restaurant list, as well as menus on the Web site. Adults pay $29; Kids 11 and under pay their age. Early dinner seatings are cleverly available from 5:00-7:00pm.

Food and Drink, Fun & Games, Special Events, The Daily Feed, The District
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Cafe [This Is Not That]

Photo courtesy of
‘Café Stühle’
courtesy of ‘mueritz’

The Phillips Collection is opening a new cafe tomorrow. This would be rather blase news, except this cafe is not that. Almost too-deep and meta for me to grasp (I’m having to reach back to my time at art school, here) Cafe sounds badass. Pairing actual art, with a literal eat-place, bound by the concepts in and around art, (see, told you this was deep) Cafe challenges the typical. Continue reading →

Foggy Bottom, Interviews, People, Special Events, The Features
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He Loves DC: Antonio Burrell

Antonio from Commonwealth

It’s been a wild ride for Antonio Burrell, the Chef de Cuisine at CommonWealth Gastropub. Since the opening in August of 2008, the British food joint CommonWealth has fast been popular with foodies and Columbia Heights regulars. I was able to catch up with Burrell, talk through his opinions on the DC food scene, find out what he does in the city on his days off, and discuss what his ideal food day in the city would be composed of.

Katie: How long have you lived in DC?

Antonio: I moved to DC in October of 2000. I actually took two months off and took a nice vacation, stayed in North Carolina played a lot of golf and fished a lot with my Dad. For the first year and a half I lived in Alexandria, but have lived in DC since then.

Name the best part of DC, in your opinion?

I like a great many things about DC, chief among them are the people I have met and its central location to Manhattan and my extended family, who live in North Carolina. However, the best part of DC is all the great cultural things you can do. The Smithsonian Institute Museums are a great way to spend a day, topped off by a nice stroll down the Mall, taking many stops along the way, especially to dip your feet in the fountain at the Korean Memorial.

Continue reading →

Special Events, The Daily Feed
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See Cute Boys Play Soccer For Free!

Photo courtesy of
‘Ready, set..’
courtesy of ‘BehindTheBadge.com’

Oh hai, cute soccer boys! It’s going to be Ladies Night on Saturday, May 9 at RFK when DC United takes on Toronto FC. And we’re giving away two tickets to said Ladies Night for the best Barra Brava chant. We’re looking for the best DC United-related cheer, chant or song for the stands, which you can leave in the comments now. Writing your drum solos and illustrating your song with streamers and flags and smoke bombs is optional.

Ladies Night will be full of soccer, but also frivolity. Ladies get the chance to try a couple of beers, partake in a wine tasting, chocolate fountain, appetizers, manicures, chair dancing lessons and the chance to go field-side after the game to meet Devon McTavish and rookie Chris Pontius (and get their jersey!). Hawt. (Sidenote: Chris Pontius was recently in CosmoGirl. Seriously.)

So, let the chanting begin in the comments… the deadline for entries will be noon on May 7th, the ever-enthusiastic WLDC staff will vote on the winner, and we’ll announce it on the 8th so the winner can plan thier Saturday evening accordingly. For examples, you can check out Barra Brava’s songs and chants site. Men, you can enter too.

Life in the Capital, Special Events, The Daily Feed, The District, WMATA
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Celebrate National Train Day at Union Station

Photo courtesy of
‘Locomotive’
courtesy of ‘wfyurasko’

Calling all trainiacs!  This Saturday is National Train Day, and lucky you– DC is home to one of the biggest events to celebrate it!  From 10 AM to 3 PM, head over to Union Station to meet American Idol’s Randy Jackson (not sure how he’s related to trains, but that’s cool), listen to some live music, or check out some train equipment, including the train car that President Obama rode in to the inauguration.  There will also be exhibits all day that explore how trains are related to economic development, the green aspects of rail travel, and photos showing the connection between the national landscape and trains.  Think Joe Biden will stop by?

Special Events, The Daily Feed, The District
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Namaste DC

Photo courtesy of
‘Yoga Time!’
courtesy of ‘lululemon athletica’

Get your Lululemon gear in action as DC Yoga Week 2009 kicks off tomorrow.  Multiple yoga studios across the metro area are offering either free or $5 classes starting May 2.  Whether you’re Gumby himself or a first timer, your yoga teacher will guide you through these various poses and will encourage everyone to work at their own level in a non- competitive environment.  Expect to leave your class stretched and strengthened with your body & mind tranformed through this meditative exercise.  Also, don’t be surprised if you’re sore–in that good sore way–for a few days after.  It all cumulates with Yoga On The Mall on Saturday, May 9 from 2-5pm.

Entertainment, Food and Drink, Fun & Games, Special Events, The Daily Feed
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Cinco de Margarita!

Photo courtesy of
‘Yummy frozen margarita’
courtesy of ‘Pianoman75’

I don’t drink liquor. Okay, I just lied. I do drink liquor, sometimes, when it’s high quality. But I’ve basically sworn off liquor and become a beer girl, at least 98% if the time. This way, I don’t wind up reliving my glory days of study abroad in Australia, and have horrible stomach pains as a result. Now I’m more mature, or something like that. I’ve always gotten along with tequila (I’m an anomaly, no one can explain it, I’m like a medical miracle) and so my 2% of liquor drinking is usually reserved for times when I can indulge in my very favorite drink: a frozen marg. And with my favorite marg holiday upon us, where will one go to snag my favorite liquor drink? Continue reading →

Special Events, The Daily Feed
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Can You Survive the Night?

Photo courtesy of
‘suspended in midair’ courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

Up for something a little different this weekend? Fancy yourself a master of the District streets? What about at night? With people chasing you?

Then sign up for a new type of race: Journey to the End of the Night.

Journey to the End of the Night is a race through the streets of DC. You will try to make it to six checkpoints as fast as you can, while avoiding being caught by chasers. Those who survive will be praised and feted at the end. Those who fall will become chasers themselves, rising to pursue their former friends and allies.

The race begins on Saturday, May 2, at 7:30 PM at Dupont Circle. This is a footrace–only your own two feet and the metro are permitted. No bicycles, no skates, no cars, no taxis. This race is for you, your fellow players, and the city itself.

Register here. Can you survive to the end?