mb palaver

DCPalaver: WalkingTown DC

WalkingTown DC, fall edition, will hold more than forty-five walking and cycling tours all over the city on Saturday, September 29.  All tours are free, and include a range of neighborhoods and topics, including:  Scandals, Scoundrels & Scallywags: The Seamier Side of Georgetown; Down by the River:  Walk the Anacostia Waterfront and Poplar Point; Embassy Row; From Slavery to Freedom in Adams Morgan, Get Back to your Roots: US National Arboretum; Old Mount Pleasant; Before Harlem There Was U Street; Congressional Cemetery; Barracks Row Revitalization Tour; History of Brookland; and many more.  Full details are available at culturaltourismdc.org.

To make it more interesting, Cultural Tourism DC is teaming up with DCist to sponsor a photo contest around the event.   Simply attend one of the walking tours, take photos, upload them to Flickr.com, and tag them with both WalkingTown and dcist.  Deadline for submission is October 14, and prizes range from Arena Stage tickets to publication of the photo in Cultural Tourism DC’s "See DC" brochure, which encourages visitors to explore Washington’s neighborhoods.  You can find all the details at DCist.com.

DCPalaver: Opera on the Mall

You sometimes hear people lamenting about young people's lack of enthusiasm for opera.  Given the cost of tickets, it's not surprising that it's a tough sell.  Here's a chance for the hoi polloi to get a taste of opera -- and spend a beautiful first-day-of-fall day on the mall -- for free.

Tomorrow at 2 pm, the Washington National Opera will present a simulcast of Giacomo Puccini's La Bohème at its third annual Opera on the Mall.  The event will take place on the Washington Monument grounds at Constitution Avenue and 15th Street, NW.  (The forecast calls for 80 degrees and sunny:  bring sunscreen!)  It will be simulcast to colleges and high schools around the country.  It is also being shown at the AFI Silver Theatre and Old Town Theater here in the DC area, but the AFI simulcast is sold out (so it would be wise to call the Old Town Theater in advance at 703-683-8888).  If you'd rather see La Bohème in a more traditional setting, the production continues its run at the Kennedy Center until September 30.  Though a quick glance doesn't show many tickets left, I've lucked out before by calling the Kennedy Center on the day of performance, when they sometimes release additional tickets.

And now a note for our lower-brow audience:  I was going to include in this post a photo of Opera Man.  I googled "jon lovitz opera man" under the mistaken assumption that Lovitz played that Saturday Night Live character.  Turned out Lovitz played Opera Man's brother in one episode, but Adam Sandler played Opera Man himself (how could I be so wrong?!).  I included a photo of Sandler in a previous post, so I don't dare do it again lest you think I'm Sandler-obsessed. But the search turned up a Wikipedia article about SNL characters that included this bit of Opera Man's shtick.  My favorite part is Wikipedia's explanation of the joke.

Tom Hanks-o, nominato,
second time-o, you're-a great-o!
Next year vacacion, go to France-o,
Give someone else a freakin' chance-oh!

(A movie poster of Billy Madison appears, which Adam Sandler clearly is joking that he is not Oscar worthy material given his heavy dependence on sophomoric humor.)

DCPalaver: It's Chic To Be Greek (don't blame me -- that's their slogan)

Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church is hosting its 47th annual Greek Festival this weekend, September 21 to 23.  Sample homemade Greek food during the day, and dance to live, traditional Greek music in the evening.  That'll be a great way to work off all that baklava.

Sts. Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church
4115 16th Street, NW (16th and Upshur)
Washington, DC  20011
(202) 829-2910

Friday & Saturday:  Noon to 9:30 pm
Sunday:  Noon to 8:00 pm

Friday:  11:30 am to 9:00 pm
Saturday and Sunday:  Noon to 9:00 pm

(These times are from the church's website.  Yesterday's Washington Post food section listed different times, though their website event listing is consistent with the church's website.)

Edited 9/21 to change times -- The Washington Post tells me they called the church and the paper was right, the church website was wrong. Go figure.

Admission and parking are free.
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Here's another tidbit from yesterday's food section:  Michel Richard, chef of Citronelle and Central, will demonstrate from and sign his book Happy in the Kitchen next Monday, September 24, at 7:30 pm, at the Friendship Heights Village Center, 4433 S. Park Ave., Chevy Chase.  The event is free, but Citronelle's website says "Please sign up in advance by calling 301-656-2797."

DCPalaver: Arts on Foot

This Saturday, you can visit art galleries on 7th Street, tour the Shakespeare Theatre Company's new Sidney Harman Hall, make an Inukshuk at the Canadian Embassy Pavilion, isolate a sample of genetic material from your cheek cells, which you can put it in a vial that can be worn as a necklace (I did not make that up), see the best of the DC Shorts Film Festival, listen to music, sample wines from around the world, watch as chefs from neighborhood restaurants transform raw ingredients into edible works of art, and many more things at the annual Penn Quarter Arts on Foot.  The event takes place from 11 am to 5 pm, rain or shine.  Their website  includes schedules, maps, and more details.  Programs will be available at 8th and F Streets, NW and these locations.  A number of years ago I saw a bit of the rehearsal for one of the history plays at the Shakespeare Theatre.  It was pretty cool to watch how they were staging a battle scene, creating the illusion of troops approaching from a distance.  Looks like something similar (see stage combat demonstrations at the Shakespeare Theatre Company's Sidney Harman Hall) is happening at 1:00 this year.

DCPalaver: Adams Morgan Day Festival

The 29th annual Adams Morgan Day Festival will be held this Sunday, from 12 to 7 pm.  This means music, food, arts and crafts, children's activities, and lots and lots of people.  On years when I've forgotten it was going on I was quickly reminded by the daytime parades of people walking from the Woodley Park metro across the Ellington Bridge (not to be confused with the nighttime parades of people making the same trek every weekend night).

Arts on Belmont, which takes place on Belmont Street just off 18th, showcases the work of artists and artisans.  It begins earlier, at 10 am, and the festival's website says to get there early when "serious shoppers can get unique finds and beat the crowds."

The Kid's Fair includes lots of state fair-like activities, such as a rock wall for climbing, football toss, moon bounce, face painting, and mini putt-putt.  It takes place off 18th Street between Wyoming and California Streets, in the field of the Marie Reed School.  Several performances for children are also scheduled; they will take place off 18th Street by the tennis courts.

Check out their interactive map for locations of events.