Festival

Memorial Day Weekend Road Closures

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user pablo.raw

From DDOT:

On Saturday, May 26, 2012, the United House of Prayer for All People will hold its annual Memorial Day parade. This event will begin at 10:00 am and will conclude at approximately 3:00 pm. The parade will take place along the following route:

Begin: 6th & M Streets, NW
North on 6th Street to S Street, NW
West on S Street to 13th Street, NW
South on 13th Street to Logan Circle, NW
Southwest around Logan Circle to P Street, NW
East on P Street to 7th Street, NW
South on 7th Street to M Street, NW
East on M Street to 6th Street, NW where the parade will end

Thunder Alley Event

On Saturday, May 26th and Sunday May 27th from 11:00 am-5:00 pm, the Thunder Alley event will take place. It is the official vending location for Rolling Thunder. The following street closures will be in effect:

22nd Street between Constitution Avenue and C Street, NW.

Rolling Thunder Motorcycle Ride

On Sunday, May 27, 2012 the annual Rolling Thunder Rally will take place. The event will begin at approximately 11:00 am and will conclude at approximately 5:00 pm. The motorcycle ride will proceed along the following route:

Beginning in the North Pentagon parking lot (Virginia)
Crossing the Arlington Memorial Bridge into DC to 23rd Street, NW
North on 23rd Street to Constitution Avenue, NW
East on Constitution Avenue to Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
East on Pennsylvania Avenue to 3rd Street, NW
South on 3rd Street to Independence Avenue, NW
West on Independence Avenue to West Basin Drive, NW
Southwest on West Basin Drive to Ohio Drive, NW
Northwest on Ohio Drive to Franklin D. Roosevelt Park, NW, where the ride will end.

Memorial Day Parade

On Monday, May 28th, 2012, the National Memorial Day Parade will take place from 2:00 pm until 5:00 pm. The streets along the following route will be closed from 5:00 am until 7:00 pm.

Starting from 7th Street & Madison Drive, ending at 17th Street & Constitution Avenue, NW
Also closed: 7th Street from Constitution Avenue to Independence Avenue, NW

Motorists traveling in the area of both of these events may encounter traffic delays and heavy pedestrian traffic due to the extended road closures. In addition to the roads listed above, many roads leading to these processional routes may be closed as well. Please use extreme caution when driving in these areas.

The 5pm Post – The 9th Annual Bloomingdale Community Day and Yard Sale Event featuring the first ever Taste of Bloomingdale this Sat.

By Prince Of Petworth


Crispus Attucks Park

From an email:

Saturday May 19th-8am-2pm

The 9th Annual Bloomingdale Community Day and Yard Sale Event featuring the first ever Taste of Bloomingdale. [Alley entrance 1st and U St, NW]

This is the largest fundraiser for Crispus Attucks Park. All proceeds raised at this event help pay for the park’s $10,000 a year maintenance upkeep bill. The governing body, Crispus Attucks Development Corp. (CADC) and its network of volunteers and supporters welcome you to the park.

We’re serving up a mess of goodies this year:
*sample delicious treats from neighborhood restaurants at the Taste of Bloomingdale
*shop for second-hand gems at the yard sale
*learn about neighborhood organizations and businesses at Community Row

Make new friends, meet your neighbors and enjoy Spring in Bloomingdale!

DC Caribbean Festival to Take Place in Baltimore

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user rjs1322

You can read previous coverage about the festival here.

From a press release:

D.C. CARIBBEAN CARNIVAL, INC. (DCCC) has modified its program for the 20th Annual DC CARNIVAL™ in
2012.

On the weekend of June 23-24, 2012, DCCC will showcase the Annual Pan Jam, featuring local Steelbands and the Annual Dimanche Gras featuring the judging of costumes and live entertainment at the Crossroads Entertainment Complex, 4103 Baltimore Avenue Bladensburg, Maryland from 3:00 p.m. Admittance is $15.00/adult, children 12 years and under $5.00.

On the weekend of July 13 -15, 2012, DCCC has accepted an invitation to join the Caribbean American Carnival Association of Baltimore (CACAB) in their Annual Caribbean Carnival/Festival, at Lake Clifton Park, Baltimore, MD 21218 for a “Baltimore/Washington One Caribbean Carnival ” celebration!

On Saturday July 14, 2012, the Parade starts at 12:00 Noon at 900 E 33rd Street, travels along Alameda Street to St. Lo Drive. The Festival continues at Lake Clifton Park until 10:00 pm; $10 entrance fee. On Sunday July 15, 2012 the Festival continues from 12:00 Noon to 9:00 pm featuring Intl. Entertainment, sponsors and food and crafts vendors; $15.00 entrance fee.

For additional information contact CACAB @ 410-362-2957 or DCCC @ 202-670-4835 or visit www.DCCARNIVAL.ORG

The 5pm Post – Countdown to Yuri’s Night Party April 14th

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo courtesy of organizers

From a press release:

Countdown to Yuri’s Night (C2YN), an out of this world art extravaganza—featuring 15 visual artists, 20 performers, and two bands—returns for a fifth year to celebrate the anniversary of the first human space flight. The event, held on Saturday, April 14th, honors cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin with live music, a spoofy SCI-FI stage show, burlesque performances, an art exhibition, a lunar dance party, and more.

A 21+ event, Countdown to Yuri’s Night, takes place Saturday, April 14, from 8pm to 2am, at Rosslyn’s Artisphere. (1101 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington VA 22209). Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 day-of/door. Visit www.c2yn.com for tickets, artist links, and announcements.

C2YN will occupy nearly all of the Artisphere’s futuristic spaces. The Dome will host “The Wrath of Shock-a-Khan,” a stage show punctuated with burlesque performances from DC and NYC starlets. The crew of the S.S.S. Gagarin gets flown for a loop when their old Starfleet Academy buddy Shock-a-Khan comes to call. This 45-minute show features Kittie Glitter as Captain Ballcrusher, Andrew Wodzianski as Drink Bot, Matt Grant as Number Two, and Lucrezia Blozia as Shock-a-Khan. Burlesque stars Candy Del Rio, The Reverend Valentine, GiGi Holliday and NYC’s Pinkie Special will keep the audience’s drive on warp and surf-rockers Atomic Mosquitos will use their infectious tunes sprinkled with the spacey sounds of a Theremin to for an exciting pre-show set.

The MEZZ Gallery will host the exhibition Elevator to the Moon: Retro-Future Visions of Space where 15 contemporary artists draw inspiration from 20th century predictions to create work that celebrates beautifully flawed ideas and inspires new visions for the future. Artists: Chris Bishop, Scott Brooks, Jared Davis, Dana Ellyn, Elstabo, Todd Gardner, Linas Garsys, Sherill Anne Gross, Emily Greene Liddle, Rob Lindsay, Chris Rackley, Matt Sesow, Scott Speck, Steve Strawn, and Andrew Wodzianski. A sneak preview is available on www.c2yn.com.

The Ballroom will blast off with the jazzy-ska band Eastern Standard Time. Called one of DC’s Best Bands by The Washington Post, E.S.T. has toured the universe…even traveling as far as Yuri’s homeland: Mother Russia. Space cadets can enjoy their sounds from the dance floor or the reduced-gravity chamber (moonbounce). After the live music set, DJ P.VO (host of the radio show Hometown Sounds) will embark on a lunar dance party guaranteed to make you want to moonwalk.

Throughout the event the atmosphere will be high with $5 Stoli drink specials (it was the first vodka in space after all), entertainment by DC’s premiere 60’s go-go troupe, Shake; the Jedi Guardians; Dieter’s Dance Party; the hooping wonders of Strange Powers, a special intergalactic edition of the “Spelling Buzz” spelling bee, and more. Costume Contests, geeky giveaways from ThinkGeek, final frontier photo ops and more complete this out-of-this-world event.

About Yuri’s Night:
On April 12, 1961, Russian Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin embarked on the historic first manned space flight. Every year around April 12, Yuri’s Night parties are held all around the world; it’s like St. Patrick’s Day or the Fourth of July for space. Countdown to Yuri’s Night is an artistic spin on this science holiday. C2YN started in 2008 when Jared Davis wanted to engage artists’ perspectives and the average earthling more fully in the celebration.

The Caribbean Festival Likely Won’t Happen This Year

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user rjs1322

Back in March a reader was curious about the status of this year’s Caribbean Festival given the violence of last year. Last night the Georgia Ave Task Force heard a presentation about the festival. ANC1B09 rep Lauren McKenzie tweeted:

“Caribbean Carnival pres & exec dir stated that unless something changes in 24-48 hrs there will NOT be a carnival this year.

They owe the city $210K from last yr. City officials arent responding to letters, calls etc to request help make this yr possible.”

A reader who attended the meeting sent the following summary:

Looks like carnival is dead, if no financial help in 48 hours. Need over 200k to pay security and clean up to carry on. Howard University impact study says it’s a benefit to community, says bring in 4 million in revenue. Not clear on tax revenue… Mr Graham still supports festival, but unrelated homicide last year has caused mayor office to remain silent in support. City said in Jan that it would not support if money can’t be raised, which was last meeting festival had with mayor.

By the end of meeting it became clear that if the money isn’t raised and a clear plan presented to city by end of April, then that doesn’t leave enough time to get the word out.

This is a failure and disappointment on many many levels. I stand by my final thoughts from last year.

Update from DC Caribbean Festival’s Facebook page:

This morning the DC City Paper wrote an article that states DC Carnival is Cancel. This is not true. We attended a meeting last night with the lower Georgia Avenue Business Community to provide an update on DC Carnival 2012. We express the financial challenges the Carnival is facing with respect to City services and that we are exploring alternatives to Georgia Avenue this year. We never mentioned canceling the Carnival but I guess this makes for bigger and better news. This confirm to us that we are facing an uphill battle to sustain our culture in this ever changing DC community. We no longer can depend on the City to help us. This is a wake up call for us to help ourself. If we do not mobilize as a community and show the City that we are important and we do make a difference then the headlines might prove to be true.

The 5pm Post – Georgia Ave Task Force Meeting Mon. April 9th Will Discuss the Caribbean Carnival

By Prince Of Petworth


2917 Georgia Ave. NW

Thanks to all who sent emails about this. From the Georgia Ave Task Force:

“The next meeting of the Georgia Avenue Community Development Task Force will be this Monday April 9th at 7pm at the Enterprise Lounge at 2917 Georgia Avenue NW.

At this meeting we will hear a presentation on the Caribbean Carnival and an impact study done by the HU School of Business.”

Dear PoP – Any Update on the Caribbean Festival?

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user rjs1322

“Dear PoP,

Any follow-up from the Mayor or Councilmembers’ offices on the status of the Caribbean festival?”

Neither the Mayor, CM Bowser or CM Graham responded to my query on twitter. I was later able to inquire, via email, with Pedro Ribeiro, the Mayor’s Communications Director, who told me:

“The District has not received payment and no permit has been issued.”

More info as it becomes available.

New Belgium Brewing’s “Tour de Fat” Coming to Yards Park June 16

By Prince Of Petworth

This looks awesome. From a press release:

New Belgium Brewing today announced the much-anticipated Tour de Fat2012 schedule. Now in its 13th season, Tour de Fat brings together passionate bike lovers for a day of two-wheeled revelry while raising money for local nonprofits. Tour de Fat is a thrilling rite of passage that includes an unparalleled costumed bicycle parade, New Belgium beer, dazzling entertainment, local food, unusual bike contests and much more. Coming to 15 cities across the country, New Belgium has added Atlanta and Washington, DC to this year’s lineup.

In 2012, Tour de Fat, which is a free event, will exceed the $2 million mark for money raised for local nonprofits through beer and merchandise purchases. Funds generally go to organizations in the world of bike advocacy, with money spent in a wide variety of ways, including trail maintenance, safety education, lobbying for better bicycle communities and a wide variety of other impactful initiatives.

The pinnacle of Tour de Fat is the ceremonious car-for-bike trade. At each Tour de Fat, one person becomes the center of the show as he or she gets up on stage, hands over car keys, and pledges to live one year car-free. Tour de Fat is now seeking volunteers to accept the swapper challenge. Each car-for-bike swapper will choose a local bike shop to help them turn their $2,250.00 budget into their ultimate car-replacement commuter bike. The cars will be auctioned by Vehicles for Charity, with proceeds to benefit local cycling organizations.

Swappers are chosen after submitting an application that describes why they are willing to trade in their vehicle for a shiny new bicycle. To submit an entry, go to the New Belgium Tour de Fat Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/TourDeFat), click on events and your city of choice, and upload your application video. Applications may also be written and sent to: trademycarforabike@newbelgium.com.

“This is a big year for Tour De Fat as we added two terrific cities to the roster and look to surpass $2 million in funds raised for organizations that do great things for bicyclists and beyond,” said Matt Kowal, Tour De Fat Impresario.  “In addition, our community of car-for-bike swappers is about to grow, which is a highlight of our whole year. Bike advocacy should always be this much fun.”

A few tidbits about Tour de Fat:

  • Start sewing, collecting and dreaming up something to wear as Tour de Fat encourages embracing your inner costume-loving self. Come dressed up to help put on the most colorful, respectful and creative bike parade ever witnessed in each city.
  • Tour de Fat seeks to leave as small an environmental imprint as possible and composts and recycles waste. Bring only what you need and watch for proper receptacles. We’ll do the rest!
  • All performers grab your attention from alternatively empowered stages decked out in recycled materials; trucks and transport use biofuel sourced from recycled waste oils; and all vendors operate off the grid.
  • This is a pro-bike celebration, not an anti-car rally. Non-cyclists are more than welcome to join the festivities.

Washington, DC – June 16 – Yards Park

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