Festival

The St. Paddy’s Day festival outside of Shaw’s Tavern looked pretty sweet. Then I noticed the climbing wall for kids. Nicely done!

From a press release:

If you plan on making a big night of it this St. Patrick’s Day, don’t rely on luck to get home safely. Together with the Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP) SoberRide initiative, AT&T is proud to provide free taxi rides (up to $30) to anyone 21 and over in the greater Washington, DC area who may have had one too many Irish Car Bombs or pints of Guinness home.

AT&T customers can call #WRAP to get a safe, free ride home, while others can dial 800-200-8294 (TAXI). The program will be in effect beginning at 4:00 p.m. Sunday (3/17) and continue until 4:00 a.m. Monday morning (3/18).

WRAP’s SoberRide provides greater Washington, DC residents a safe way home on high-risk holidays, including the December/January holiday season, St. Patrick’s Day, Independence Day and Halloween. Last St. Patrick’s Day, a total of 606 Washington-area residents took advantage of the program, preventing a would-be drunk driver from hitting the road every 71 seconds.

From MPD:

TRAFFIC ADVISORY: ST. PATRICK’S DAY PARADE and SHAW TAVERN ST. PATRICK’S DAY NEIGHBORHOOD FESTIVAL

The Metropolitan Police Department wishes to advise the public and the media of scheduled events on Sunday, March 17, 2013 including the St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Shaw Tavern St. Patrick’s Day Neighborhood Festival. In conjunction with these events, there will be several street closures that motorists should take into consideration:

Shaw Tavern St. Patrick’s Day Neighborhood Festival

The 1800 block of 6th Street, NW (6th Street between Florida Avenue and S Street) will be closed from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm

St. Patrick’s Day Parade Route

The parade will form on the National Mall and proceed westbound on Constitution Avenue, NW from 7th Street to 17th Street, NW, where it will disband. 7th Street will be closed between Constitution Avenue, NW and Independence Avenue, SW from approximately 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. Streets leading to Constitution Avenue, NW will be closed during this time period.

Photo by PoPville flickr user logan.brown

“Dear PoPville,

Does anyone in DC do anything fun for Mardis gras? Is there any non-college-scene that throws a fun party?”

Looks like Bayou DC will be a good time. Anyone else have fun plans?

Photo by PoPville flickr user Rukasu1

From DDOT:

The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) has provided the following information about the planned events that will affect traffic and parking this weekend.

Cupid’s Undie Run

This event is scheduled for Saturday, February 9, 2013.

Beginning at approximately 1:00 p.m. through 3:30 p.m. the following streets will be closed:

Pennsylvania Avenue from 2nd Street, SE to 4th Street, SE
Independence Avenue from 1st Street, SE to 2nd Street, SE
First Street from Independence Avenue, SE to Constitution Avenue, NE

Parking will be restricted at the following locations:

200-300 block of Pennsylvania Avenue, SE

Photo by PoPville flickr user pablo.raw

Chinese New Year Parade and Celebration-The Year of the Snake

This event is scheduled to occur on Sunday, February 10, 2013

The following streets will be closed for the event on Sunday, February 10, 2013 beginning at 9:00 am and are scheduled to reopen by 5:00 p.m.

• H Street, NW – from 6th Street to 7th Street, NW

The following streets will be closed, to allow parade assembly beginning at 11:00 a.m. and scheduled to reopen by 3:30 p.m.

• I Street, NW – from 5th Street to 6th Street, NW. The following streets will be closed on Sunday beginning at 1:30 p.m. and are expected to reopen by 4:30 p.m.:

I Street, NW – from 5th Street to 7th Street, NW
7th Street, NW – from I Street to G Street, NW
G Street, NW – from 7th Street to 9th Street, NW
8th Street, NW – from G Street to H Street, NW
H Street, NW – from 8th Street to 6th Street, NW

Anyone head down to the Capitol/Mall? For those who didn’t have tickets how close were you able to get? How was the parade? For those who also went in 2009 how did it compare?

Photo by PoPville flickr user theupper

Kinda hard to tell from the photo but I totally dig the idea. A reader writes:

“I know this may be a little late in the season, but as neighbors on my street were taking down their trees after the holiday I noticed one bay window stayed lit up. It turns out they have a lava lamp “tree” in the window! Very cool.”

Photo by PoPville flickr user philliefan99

From a press release:

Today, the Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC) announced plans to make a limited number of tickets for The Inaugural Ball available to the general public with the launch of a webpage where individuals can sign up for information about how to purchase tickets. Those who sign up will receive an email notification when tickets become available with a link where they can request up to two tickets on a first-come, first-served basis. The email sign-up page can be found here.

The second Inaugural of President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden will feature two official Inaugural balls on Monday, January 21st. In addition to the Commander-In-Chief’s Ball for members of the U.S. military, Americans from across the country will be invited to share in the celebration at The Inaugural Ball, a unified celebration for all Americans that will span every hall in the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.

“The President and Vice President’s second Inaugural will continue their commitment to giving Americans from across the country the chance to share in this celebration,” said Stephen J. Kerrigan, President and CEO of the Presidential Inaugural Committee. “Additionally, by holding a smaller number of Inaugural balls in a centralized location, we are continuing a more than 200-year-old tradition while reducing the burden on local law enforcement and security personnel, as well as on DC residents.”

Public tickets to The Inaugural Ball are limited and will cost $60 each. In keeping with tradition and the President and Vice President’s commitment to honoring the brave men and women of the nation’s armed forces, tickets to the Commander-In-Chief’s Ball will be provided free of charge to invited members of the U.S. military.

Additional details and ticketing information for The Inaugural Ball and other Inaugural weekend events will be released as soon as they become available.

Photo by PoPville flickr user Brandon Kopp

Wishing everyone in PoPville a very Merry Christmas and happy holidays. Safe travels for those on the road. Good Chinese food for those celebrating Jewish Christmas. Hope everyone is surrounded by good people and good times!

Photo by PoPville flickr user a.w.miller