H Street NE

Mark it! H Street Festival is Sept. 20th and Columbia Heights Day is Oct. 11th (and don’t forget Adams Morgan Day this Sunday!)

By Prince Of Petworth

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Photo by PoPville flickr user philliefan99

Don’t forget Adams Morgan Day is this Sunday and mark your calendars for H Street and Columbia Heights:

“The 2014 H Street Festival will take place on Saturday, September 20, 2014. This will be the biggest Festival ever, spanning 10 blocks of H Street NE and featuring over 200 businesses, restaurants, community organizations and merchants. Come down and enjoy great food, drinks, music, contests, kids’ activities and more!

Organized by H Street Main Street, the annual celebration highlights the development of the H Street NE Corridor and it’s vibrant businesses. The event is one of the District’s most popular festivals, and has been named Washington, DC’s best neighborhood festival by Washington City Paper for the last four years. In a city that boasts so many wonderful neighborhoods, the H Street NE Corridor has become one of the most diverse and exciting neighborhoods to live in, shop, eat and hang out.

This year’s Festival will offer more entertainment than ever before, featuring more than 500 performers and artists on 14 staging areas spread throughout the event. Performances will range from jazz, pop and gospel music to fitness demonstrations, a “skills on wheels” performance and interactive art displays.

For those who come hungry or thirsty, the Festival will feature over 70 food vendors, food trucks and restaurants serving up meals from all corners of the world. Festivalgoers can also visit the beverage gardens located along the festival route to sample the many available libations.

Other attractions at this year’s Festival, include:

– Washington Nationals Presidents – The Presidents will race down part of the Festival route from the 8th Street Stage (8 and H) following the singing of the national anthem at noon. The Presidents will also be available for pictures with festivalgoers at 3 p.m. at the Zone 9 parking lot (9 and H).

– DC Streetcar Open House – Visitors will be able to get an up close look at the exterior and interior of the DC Streetcars, which are set to begin running later this year (5 and H, 8 and H and 13 and H).

– Grand Opening of Gallery on O – The H Street Festival will celebrate the grand opening to the public of the Gallery on O, showcasing the 50th anniversary of Washington Informer photography (13 and H).

– Kids Zone – The Festival will have a special “kid’s zone,” featuring GolfZilla, a Godzilla-themed inflatable target that kids can hit golf balls at, multiple appearances by Callaloo the puppet, face painting, a giant slide and other family-friendly activities (9 and H).

– Interactive Art Displays – Festivalgoers will be able to get an up close look at a number of art cars (13 and H), as well as watch artists paint an H Street-themed bus from start to finish and build custom bikes from scratch (5 and H).

– Contests and Competitions – Attendees are invited to compete in or watch the annual pie, chili and burrito eating contests, a bad tattoo competition (10 and H) and an arm wrestling competition (9 and H).

– District Fashion Week – The Fashion Stage will kick off the annual District Fashion Week celebration with area designers (10 and H).

– Pedicabs – Pedicabs will offer weary festivalgoers transportation at a special festival rate parallel to the festival route on G and I Streets.

– And much more!

Festival hours are from noon – 7 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2014. The Festival will take place between the 400 and 1400 blocks of H Street NE. For additional information, please visit here.”

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“Columbia Heights Day Is Back!
Join your neighbors & bring your friends on Saturday, October 11th!

The Columbia Heights Day Initiative and 11th Street Business Alliance are excited to announce the kick-off of our 8th Annual Columbia Heights Day Festival. Neighbors and friends of all ages are welcome to join the fun-packed day of festivities which will feature local musicians, a dunk tank, face painters, eating contest, an adult tricycle race, yoga, family fun field day, & much much more”

Comment on Proposed Rulemaking for the DC Streetcar system including prohibiting “Riding a bicycle within a streetcar guideway, except to cross the street”

By Prince Of Petworth

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From @DCStreetcar:

“To make your opinions on @DDOTDC’s proposed regulations official, use http://t.co/1T7KJOimUs or [email protected] before 9/27.”

From DDOT’s Facebook page:

“In response to the “proposed” regulations for bicycling on H Street. [52268]

DDOT’s number one priority is the safety of all modes of transportation, including bicycles, who share H Street. To that end, G and I Streets now have contraflow bicycle lanes, a safer alternative to H Street and designed to keep cyclists away from streetcar tracks.

We have concerns about all kinds of vehicles impeding the travel of the streetcar, and taken as a whole, the regulations address that. We are looking for constructive ways to address this concern while minimizing the impact to all users of the street. What were shared are (proposed) regulations for which we are seeking public comment.

Constituents have until Sept. 27 to weigh in.”

and:

“In response to the suggestion that prohibition on riding bicycles on the H st. Streetcar guideway *and* the prohibition on bringing bicycles on-board a streetcar during rush hour periods:

“Additionally, DDOT proposed these regulations specifically for the opening of the H Street/Benning Rd streetcar line. Before the opening of any new lines or extensions, DDOT intends to evaluate how the system is performing under the existing regulations and make changes as appropriate.”

DC Harvest soft opening Sept. 2nd on H Street – Lots of Info and a Look Inside

By Prince Of Petworth

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517 H Street, NE

From a press release:

“Restaurant front and back-of-the-house veterans Jared & Arthur Ringel are set to open DC Harvest on September 2nd. A dream come true for both, Jared, who will manage, and Arthur, the chef and veteran of such lauded kitchens as Vermillion, Vidalia and most recently Hank’s in Dupont.

The restaurant, located at 517 H Street, NE in the area’s ever more populated H Street NE neighborhood, will feature local products in a menu that will change seasonally based solely on local products from the foodstuffs to the beers, wines and libations. Look for beers such as DC Brau, Port City and Flying Dog, libations like those of Catoctin Creek and Don Ciccio & Figli and a variety of local vintages on the wine list. The menu, which will frequently change depending on local ingredient availability, will feature homemade pastas and include livestock, fish and produce from local seas and area farms—nothing from outside of the area. Brunch and dinner as well as a late night menu will be served.

A sampling of the dishes on the opening menu include half dozen local oysters on the half shell with watermelon mignonette ($14); Virginia Fluke crudo with marinated cucumber, celery, Maine Uni and chili ($11); ricotta kale Agnolotti with confit yellow tomatoes, eggplant and marjoram ($10/$18); fresh spelt linguine with house-made spicy lamb sausage, Swiss chard and garlic bread crumbs ($11/$19); Zataŕ roasted turkey breast with Swiss chard, kamut and shitake mushroom ($21); Crispy Quinoa Cakes with broccoli rabe, shitake mushrooms, confit yellow tomatoes and Allegheny Chevre ($19); and pan-roasted scallops with beans, corn cherry tomatoes, garlic chive and chili ($25). Additional sides, daily plates and desserts including honey walnut tart with thyme, fomage blanc and fruit on the menu.

“It has been a long two years of hard work for us to get DC Harvest open,” Chef Arthur said. “I am so excited to get into my new kitchen and get cooking. The quality of the local products coming from our area farmers and fishermen is at its peak right now. It’s going to be a lot of fun cooking with these ingredients for all of our customers.”

DC Harvest’s ‘modern farmhouse’ ambiance designed by Edit Lab at Streetsense, is rustic yet casually contemporary with a 10 seat, Carrera marble-topped wooden bar on the street level and a total of 50 seats on two floors with an open kitchen dining area on the second floor. The ceilings boast wooden beams, some original to the venue, with walls are adorned with earthy textured wall coverings and whitewashed original brick. Wooden floors below and brass fixtures above create the somewhat bucolic finished look.

“We can’t wait to share DC Harvest with everyone. Our seasonally based Modern American cuisine and carefully selected domestic bar offerings will be like no other, Jared says, “our ‘modern farmhouse’ decor will be uniquely inviting and appealing. Both Arthur and I look forward to opening and being a part of the H Street neighborhood.”

The restaurant will soft open September 2nd, serving only dinner the first week and then add brunch the following week.

DC Harvest is located at 517 H Street NE and is open for dinner – Sunday -Thursday 5 pm-11 pm; Friday & Sat 5 pm-2 am and Brunch – Saturday & Sunday 11-2:30 pm. Reservations are available through Open Table, by phoning 202-629-3296 or by logging into http://www.dc-harvest.com/.”

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first floor

More photos after the jump. (more…)

Heads Up – H Street NE between 12th and 13th closed Sunday between 6 am and 11 am for an Emergency Response Exercise

By Prince Of Petworth

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From DDOT:

“On Sunday, August 24, 2014, the District Department of Transportation (DDOT), along with District first responders, will conduct a DC Streetcar Emergency Drill on H Street NE to prepare for real-world streetcar operations on the H Street/Benning Road corridor.

The purpose of the exercise is to test operational coordination and preparedness of DC Streetcar and first responder personnel in the event of an incident involving a streetcar. The exercise will simulate a streetcar derailment caused by a collision between a DC Streetcar vehicle with passengers and an automobile on H Street NE. DC Streetcar personnel along with Metropolitan Police Department and DC Fire and EMS will coordinate and practice their evacuation and emergency protocols for dealing with such an incident.

The exercise will take place on the 1200 block of H Street NE and requires a temporary closure of H Street NE between 12th Street and 13th Street in both directions, between 6 am and 11 am. In addition, there will be parking restrictions on 12th Street and H Street (see attached temporary closure map).

During the drill, there will be significant emergency personnel on-site on the H Street corridor and residents are advised that this is only a drill and to use caution when traveling along the vicinity of the drill.

WMATA X2 bus stops on the 1200 block will be closed for the duration of the closure. Passengers are asked to board on the 1100 and 1300 blocks of H Street NE.

DETOURS:

• Westbound traffic on H Street NE will be detoured south at 13th Street, then west at G Street.
• Eastbound traffic on H Street NE will be detoured north at 12th Street, then east at I Street.
• 12th Street NE traffic will be directed to I Street to travel east.
• 13th Street NE traffic will be directed to G Street to travel west.”

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