Events/Things To Do

Pike & Rose, the new pedestrian-oriented, urban-minded neighborhood in the heart of Montgomery County, Maryland, and a key component in the revitalization of the White Flint District, is pleased to announce the first-ever Pike & Rose Audio Visual Arts (PRAVA) Festival. The free-to-attend event on Saturday, February 7, 6PM – 2AM, is a one-night immersive art experience featuring international, national, and regional artists.

Artists from Washington, D.C., Baltimore, New York, Boston, and the Netherlands will present musical performances and art installations spanning 40,000 square feet over three floors of office space at Pike & Rose. The event is open to guests 18 and older and is free to attend with online registration at www.PRAVAFest.org.

PRAVA is curated and produced by Nuit Blanche New York (NBNY) in partnership with Materials & Methods.

Featured PRAVA artists include:

 Allard Van Hoorn, a Netherlands-based sound, installation and performance artist will collaborate with Baltimore’s Charm City Roller Girls to turn the 6th floor of the office building into a choreographed roller arena. Van Hoorn will create electronic music live by recording and remixing the sounds of the roller skates as they move around and through the audience.

 Matmos, an experimental duo originally from San Francisco and now based in Baltimore, incorporates odd, unusual, and ‘found’ sounds into its rhythmic music, sampling sounds ranging from cards shuffling to a frozen stream thawing in the sun.

 Mal Devisa will perform songs from her EP, For Daisy with Honey, and her most recent album, 4U. A solo artist based in Amherst, MA, whose music draws from indie favorites, jazz notes, and lo-fi rock, Mal Devisa plays the bass, keyboard, and drum. A sound-reactive light show will illuminate the audience with each kick she gives the bass drum on stage.

 Johnathon Monaghan, a DC-based artist, will present his video, “Office,” which depicts a highly-realistic office space containing an elaborate Baroque sculpture framed with blue neon tubing. As the video continues, the sculpture of a long-dead aristocrat explodes in slow motion across the uninhabited office. Set to tinkling music, the video progresses with a hypnotic pace.

 Brian Chase, the drummer for the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s, and Ursula Scherrer, a New York City-based video artist, will collaborate to create an improvised audio-visual piece. Responding to Chase’s performance, Scherrer will use multiple projectors to create a mesmerizing, visual landscape.

 GEMS, DC’s dream-pop duo, will perform new songs and their debut EP, Medusa. The duo makes romantic, heartbreaking music: Clifford John’s supporting, low voice balances Lindsay Pitts’ haunting pitch as they effortlessly weave their voices with hazy guitar sounds and lush synthesizers, all punctuated by a strong, danceable beat.

Tea with Lady Washington
Saturdays, January 10, 17, 24, 31, and February 7. 2 p.m. – 3 p.m.

Join Lady Washington for tea as you discuss the news of the day!  Listen to her stories about life at Mount Vernon while enjoying a selection of lite fare prepared by the Mount Vernon Inn. Following tea, enjoy a self-guided exploration of the estate and decorative arts found in the Donald W. Reynolds Museum and Education Center. Tickets: $30 for adults, $20 for youth (12 and under), includes tea, lite fare, and general estate admission.

industree is back with its first event of the year, Heart of the House, on February 10th from 2-5PM at The Loft at 600 F Street NW, 3rd Floor, Washington, DC, 20004. Hear from a handful of the area’s most successful and celebrated chefs and restaurateurs as they share war stories, tales of trial and tribulation and how they’ve built their businesses. Join a candid conversation with the District’s trailblazers in the food & beverage industry, moderated by local food writer, Nevin Martell. The all-star line-up includes:

Ashok Bajaj – Knightsbridge Restaurant Group

David Guas – Bayou Bakery

Michael Schlow – Tico

Saied Azali – Perry’s/Mintwood Place

Barry Koslow – Pinea

Roberto Donna – Al Dente/Alba Osteria

Ari Gejdenson – Mindful Restaurant Group

Alex McCoy – formerly Duke’s Grocery

Network with industry leaders and up-and-comers while enjoying adult beverages and snacks at 2PM, followed by a panel discussion at 2:45PM. Students may purchase tickets for $15, while tickets are $30 for the members of the food & beverage trade, and $50 for the general public. Advance tickets may be purchased at http://dchoh2015.eventbrite.com/. A limited number of tickets will be available at the door for $50.

industree is an event-based brand and the candid voice of the food & beverage industry. They cultivate a community of seasoned industry innovators, future trailblazers and everyone in between to provide the connections, tools and real-life advice that make opportunities possible. Their unfiltered events and content provide a platform to share, learn and grow both personally and professionally. @DCindustree @PHLindustree @MIAindustree

POV Live presents HEARTBREAK HOTEL For all you lovers and love-haters out there, join us for a special dance party to kick off the Valentine’s Day weekend featuring some of the area’s buzziest bands. Featuring local artists: Furniteur Pleasure Curses Outputmessage

$10 cocktail specials!

Black Jack will host an inaugural Capital Cocktail Competition on Mardi Gras, an evening benefitting the Black’s Family Foundation that will pit eight teams of top bartenders from across the city against each other in a secret ingredient style challenge. The judging panel will be comprised of Duane Sylvestre, lead bartender, Bourbon Steak DC, Svetlana Legetic, founder, BrightestYoungThings.com and Scott Drewno, regional executive chef, The Source by Wolfgang Puck. In addition to having the opportunity to sample auctioned drinks from each competing bar team, guests will enjoy a welcome cocktail, Mardi Gras-inspired passed bites including freshly shucked Barren Island oysters compliments of Congressional Seafood, BBQ pulled pork sandwiches on Addie’s rolls, crawfish hushpuppies, Black Jack’s signature duck nachos, and shrimp campeche from chef Colleen Conrad. Drink specials such as $2 pours of Abita Amber and Flying Dog, and $2 Bacardi hurricanes, both frozen and on the rocks, will also be available for purchase, in addition to Black Jack’s full bar menu.

Each bar team will be shown a secret ingredient, given two minutes to plan a cocktail and five minutes to execute two identical drinks. One cocktail will be judged by appearance, flavor and technique/creativity, while the other will be auctioned off to the crowd for charity. Drinks will be scored and a winner will be chosen to move to the next round until the 2015 Capital Cocktail Competition winner is crowned.

The line up of competing bar teams includes:

D.J. Suan & Frank Manganiello, Black Jack/Pearl Dive Oyster Palace

Noah Broaddus & Pete Sit, Café Saint Ex/Bar Pilar

Torrence Swain & Rachel Vistica, Founding Farmers/Farmers Fishers & Bakers

Jo-Jo Valenzuela& Bryan Tetorakis, Gypsy Soul

Jason Strich & Mike Saccone, Hank’s on the Hill

Trevor Frye & Justin Hampton, Jack Rose

Taha Ismail, Mike Isabella Concepts & Scotty Holland, Kapnos 

Christine Kim & Anthony Marlowe, TICO

All ticket purchases include entrance to Black Jack, which will be closed to non-ticket holders, drink specials, and complimentary passed bites. DJ Brandon Duff will be spinning for the duration of the event and bar manager E. Jay Apaga will emcee the festivities.

As part of his new 20+ city national tour, Harry Connick, Jr. will perform two shows in the Music Center at Strathmore on Friday, February 20 and Saturday, February 21, 2015 at 8 p.m.—making Strathmore the only venue hosting back-to-back concerts during this tour. The shows will feature music from Connick’s vast musical catalog, including songs from his most recent releases Smokey Mary and Every Man Should Know. To date, Connick has released 29 albums, won three Grammy Awards and two Emmy Awards, and garnered sales of 28 million. Tickets are currently on sale to Strathmore Stars, and will be available to the general public on Wednesday, December 3, 2014 at 10 a.m. For more information or to purchase tickets, call (301) 581-5100 or visit www.strathmore.org.

With Every Man Should Know, Connick triumphs once again with a depth of feeling that signals another milestone for one of the music world’s most multi-faceted artists.  Critics have been quick to agree with People Magazine calling it “impressive,” and the Boston Globe saying the album features “his most thoughtful and personal songs to date” and says it’s “an album that every Harry Connick, Jr. fan should own.”

Connick recently returned for a second year as judge on “American Idol,” with season 14 of the show premiering in January 2015. Since his addition to the judges’ panel, critics and fans alike have praised Connick’s contributions to the show, with Variety proclaiming that Connick “brings fun back to American Idol,” and Entertainment Weekly raving that he brings a “frank honesty but also lighthearted energy” to the show, “offering thoughtful critiques” resulting in a “fun, rollicking viewing experience.” Regarding his debut as a judge in season 13, USA Today stated that “Connick deserves most of the praise for what promises to be a creative turnaround for Idol… While Connick can be as tough as he needs to be, he’s also charming, engaging and, when he wants to be, hysterically funny.”

As part of his new 20+ city national tour, Harry Connick, Jr. will perform two shows in the Music Center at Strathmore on Friday, February 20 and Saturday, February 21, 2015 at 8 p.m.—making Strathmore the only venue hosting back-to-back concerts during this tour. The shows will feature music from Connick’s vast musical catalog, including songs from his most recent releases Smokey Mary and Every Man Should Know. To date, Connick has released 29 albums, won three Grammy Awards and two Emmy Awards, and garnered sales of 28 million. Tickets are currently on sale to Strathmore Stars, and will be available to the general public on Wednesday, December 3, 2014 at 10 a.m. For more information or to purchase tickets, call (301) 581-5100 or visit www.strathmore.org.

With Every Man Should Know, Connick triumphs once again with a depth of feeling that signals another milestone for one of the music world’s most multi-faceted artists.  Critics have been quick to agree with People Magazine calling it “impressive,” and the Boston Globe saying the album features “his most thoughtful and personal songs to date” and says it’s “an album that every Harry Connick, Jr. fan should own.”

Connick recently returned for a second year as judge on “American Idol,” with season 14 of the show premiering in January 2015. Since his addition to the judges’ panel, critics and fans alike have praised Connick’s contributions to the show, with Variety proclaiming that Connick “brings fun back to American Idol,” and Entertainment Weekly raving that he brings a “frank honesty but also lighthearted energy” to the show, “offering thoughtful critiques” resulting in a “fun, rollicking viewing experience.” Regarding his debut as a judge in season 13, USA Today stated that “Connick deserves most of the praise for what promises to be a creative turnaround for Idol… While Connick can be as tough as he needs to be, he’s also charming, engaging and, when he wants to be, hysterically funny.”