Fotoweek DC!!!

If you are an avid lover of photography (like me) than this week of all weeks is definitely a great week to call yourself a resident of DC (or surrounding area). People, people, Fotoweek has arrived. It officially began over the weekend, but that doesn't mean that you have missed out on the gobs and gobs of photography events going on in this city. There are gallery openings, lectures...the works. And many of them are free.

Check out the events here.

Duke Ellington Jazz Festival

DC may not have hosted infamous Harlem Renaissance, but since the 1900's DC has been a foundational national outlet for the expression of African American culture, namely, jazz music. And a main staple of DC's rich history is Duke Ellington, a jazz pioneer.

Today, Wednesday October 1st is the beginning of the week-long Duke Ellington jazz festival. Concerts associated with the event are happening all over the city, and many of them are FREE!

There are so many options, and the schedule website is incredibly easy to use, so there is definitely sometime for every jazz (or even non-jazz) lover out there!

H Street Festival

Street fair season continues with the H Street Festival on Saturday, September 20. There's quite a range in attractions-from burlesque to a former Redskins cornerback-so your whole posse is bound to find something of interest. Hint for the non-Metrobus savvy- you can get on the X2 at Gallery Place under the big gate and it'll take you all the way down H Street. If you get there early grab a latte at lovely Sidamo, one of the most pleasant coffee shops in the city.

H Street Festival
1200-1400 H St. NE
Saturday, Sep. 20 12-6
FREE

Frozen Tropics: H Street Festival Saturday

Adams Morgan Day

I've noticed it too...it's getting darker, hints of yellow are blossoming on the leaves, fall is quickly approaching. Take advantage of the gorgeous end of summer/beginning of fall weather and come out to Adams Morgan Day! What, Adams Morgan is alive, awake and running during the day?! Shocking, I know. I had a hard time believing it at first too. Adams Morgan makes for a great stroll without the lingering waft of Jumbo Slice (and etc.)

Sunday the street is closed off to cars and will be celebrating local vendors and local performs. Food and fun for the whole family.

In the very least, you should check out Batala, who will be performing on the Dance Stage (basketball courts) at 1:30pm. They're an all-female afro-brazilian drum band and amazing (it may be that one of the blog writers is in the band).

Adams Morgan Day
18th St. NW, between Florida Ave and Columbia
http://www.adamsmorgandayfestival.com/
noon-7pm
FREE

Going Out Gurus bachelorette party guide

Planning a bachelorette party can be a daunting task if you've never done it; and if your friend isn't the penis straw/scavenger hunt type, it can be even trickier to give her a memorable night. The Washington Post's Going Out Gurus have published a handy list of places to take a bride-to-be. The format- grouping agendas by categories like "Wild Child" and "If you put a tiara on me you'll regret it"- is a little reminiscent of a quiz for finding your perfect fall bag in Cosmo, but you can mix and match or use the list as a jumping-off point to craft the perfect sendoff.

DC Libary Downloads

The DC public library system has plenty of issues, but it still beats shelling out $25 for a book you'll probably only read once. And even the greatest program in the world wouldn't be able to remove the hassle of actually going to a library, right? No longer! The truck pictured here is the "Digital Bookmobile," which has partnered with the DC public library to raise awareness about the library's digital media collection. On the Digital Bookmobile you can download free audiobooks, ebooks, music, and video to your laptop or some portable music players, including the iPod. It's parked at the site of the old convention center on H and 10th. After it leaves town, you can access the library's digital collection by downloading software from the library's website. You're not going to find every title on your Netflix queue or reading list, but it's worth a look.


Downloadable Media at the DC Public Library

Drama at Mayorga Lounge

So I'm not the only one who's sad about the closing of Mayorga Lounge- turns out Mayorga isn't so thrilled either. A press release posted on the company's blog states "It is unfortunate that Sonic Boom [the company who had the license for Mayorga Lounge] has chosen unilaterally – and we believe in violation of our contract — to change its business from a coffee lounge to a sushi restaurant. We are heartened by the many customers who have expressed their appreciation for and enjoyment of Mayorga Coffee. While we share your concern that the neighborhood is losing an important, locally-owned small business, the simple fact is that we did not operate this store and had nothing to do with its abrupt closing.”


Mayorga Coffee Talk: Mayorga Coffee Comments on Sonic Boom, Inc.’s Unauthorized Closure of Tivoli’s Mayorga Lounge

Mayorga Lounge closing

Prince of Petworth reports that the owner of Mayorga Lounge, the coffee shop in the Gala theater on 14th and Park, is turning it into into a sushi restaurant. According to PoP, the franchise owner faced high rents, pressure from Mayorga to expand, and stiff competition from the Starbucks down the street. I'm profoundly bummed about this. I'm all for sushi but Mayorga Lounge was a great space to hang out in, had tasty teacakes (has anyone ever seen those outside D.C.?), and was generally a nice locally owned alternative if, like me, you need the occasional break from Starbucks. Let's hope the sushi plan works out better for the owner. I don't want to hate on chains but it'd be a shame if such a lovely location turns into a Subway.

Pete's Apizza opening Monday

If you've lived in DC for a while, at some point, an acquaintance from Long Island has bitched to you about the lack of good pizza in this city. Someone from New Jersey or -shudder- Philly then chimes in, and a heated debate ensues over which region can claim pizza supremacy over the Northeast. They might have to make way for Connecticut with the opening of Pete's Apizza on Monday. The restaurant, located right over the Columbia Heights metro next to Potbelly's, will serve New Haven style pizza made from organic ingredients. I can't say I know exactly what New Haven style pizza is, but the owners say here that key elements are the cooking time and temperature, which produce a crust that's crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. Yalie? In their post on Columbia Heights News (link above), they say "Above all else, let us know if you've got a NEW HAVEN connection. We'll treat you real special."

The Hills Drinking Game

I’ll never quite get the obsession with the MTV show “The Hills.” It’s “reality” but the people in the show are obviously “acting” (poorly). Nothing ever seems to happen (though Lauren seems to think that any little thing will CHANGE EVERYTHING FOREVER). Having not had cable for seven months or so, I have been easily able to avoid it minus the occasional Us Weekly cover story. HOWEVER, upon discovering this I now have a new found interest in watching the show. I can’t even tell you what night the show is on, but reruns seem to be on nonstop. Gather your pals, buy plenty of booze (from the looks of it, you’ll be drunk by the end (I dare someone to do this during a marathon)) and enjoy the trials and tribulations.

Better than actually paying to go to the circus...

There will be an elephant walking from Union Station to the Verizon Center TODAY. In no way am I encouraging anyone to go see this elephant, I am merely stating a fact (please don’t lecture me for ten minutes about animal cruelty (and yes, this just happened to me because I work with some exceptionally tightly wound people)). According to the Going Out Gurus, in front of Union Station is the best place to view the elephant, clowns, what have you. It starts at 1:30pm at Garfield Park, call 866-683-3640 or 866-683-3650 for updated elephant info.

WSC in DC USA

I was psyched when I found out Washington Sports Club was opening a branch in the DC USA shopping center- a gym close enough to my building that I don't have to change there hopefully means no more days like today, when I get out of the shower with the spotty water pressure, wrapped up in a towel roughly the size of a Post-it, only to open my gymbag and realize I'd forgotten half my work clothes. Today, my sources (i.e. the guy behind the desk) told me the Columbia Heights location is opening on May 8.