The Trust for the National Mall will celebrate its tenth anniversary as an official partner of the National Park Service with a benefit gala, the BALL for THE MALL.
WHAT: CNN’s Wolf Blitzer will serve as the Master of Ceremonies for the program, which will include a celebration of accomplishments to date and a look ahead to continued progress. The event will honor businessman and philanthropist, David M. Rubenstein, with the “History, Heroes, & Hope Award” for his dedication and continued support in restoring and improving the National Mall and visitor experience. Award-winning author and historian Douglas Brinkley will present Rubenstein with the honor. The benefit gala will also include a VIP reception, seated dinner with guest speakers and live music and entertainment. Ticket information at nationalmall.org/ballforthemall.
WHO: Honoree: David M. Rubenstein, Co-CEO & Co-Founder of the Carlyle Group
Emcee: Wolf Blitzer, CNN’s lead political anchor
Speakers: Douglas Brinkley, Author & Historian
Catherine Townsend, President & CEO of the Trust for the National Mall
Chip Akridge, Chairman, Trust for the National Mall
WHEN: May 11, 2017
6:30 P.M.
WHERE: On the grounds of the National Mall
Madison Drive at Twelfth Street
Celebrating ten years of partnership with the National Park Service, the Trust for the National Mall is dedicated to sustainably restoring, improving and preserving the National Mall for present and future generations. Stretching from the U.S. Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial, the beloved but well-worn National Mall hosts 36 million visits each year but requires more than $840 million in deferred maintenance and needed upgrades. This public-private partnership is a model for bringing critical resources to the National Mall, home to the enduring symbols of our democracy.
Sarah Koenig and Julie Snyder take audiences behind the mic of their record-smashing, award-winning podcast, Serial, on Thursday, May 11, 2017at 8 p.m. in the Music Center at Strathmore. Launched in 2014 from the talents behind This American Life, Serial is credited with bringing mainstream attention to the podcast format and has been downloaded more than 175 million times, making it the most listened-to podcast in the history of the form. Among other honors, Serial won the 2014 Peabody Award, the first time it has been given to a podcast. The success of Serial helped Koenig and Snyder launch Serial Productions, which released its latest project, the buzzed about S-Town, in March 2017. For more information or to purchase tickets, call (301) 581-5100 or visit www.strathmore.org.
Serial tells one story—a true story—over the course of a season. Thus far, the podcast has resurrected a real crime drama in Baltimore and revisited the experience of a U.S. Army soldier held captive by the Taliban. Each season, the creators follow a plot and characters on a winding journey, leading to unexpected revelations and unsuspected endings.
Sarah Koenig began her career as a newspaper reporter—her first reporting job was at her weekly hometown paper. She lived in Moscow, Russia for several years, where she worked for The New York Times, and once she returned, went to work for the Concord Monitor in New Hampshire covering crime and politics, the same beats she’d go on to cover at The Baltimore Sun. In 2004 she became a producer at This American Life, which she has guest-hosted several times. She has also produced and reported some of the show’s most popular episodes, including “Switched at Birth,” “Dr. Gilmer and Mr. Hyde” and “Habeas Schmabeas,” a Peabody Award-winning show about Guantanamo Bay. Koenig is co-creator and executive producer of S-Town, a 7-part non-fiction podcast from Serial Productions hosted by Brian Reed.
Julie Snyder has been the guiding force behind two of the most successful ventures in audio broadcasting—she is the co-creator of the podcast Serial and, for many years, was the senior producer of the public radio show This American Life, where she is now a contributing editor. Snyder began working at This American Life in 1997, almost from its inception. Along with host Ira Glass, she has set the editorial agenda for the program, winning four Peabody Awards along the way. She has produced many of This American Life’s most entertaining and memorable episodes, including “24 Hours at the Golden Apple,” and “Notes on Camp.” In addition, Synder has also headed the show’s most ambitious and topical programs, notably episodes covering the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, health care reform, and urban violence in Chicago. In 2013, Snyder approached Koenig about trying something new—a different kind of storytelling—which led the narrative journalism of their podcast, Serial.
About Strathmore
Strathmore presents and produces exemplary visual and performing arts programs for diverse audiences; creates dynamic arts education experiences; and nurtures creative ideas and conversations that advance the future of the arts. The organization’s hallmark is the Music Center at Strathmore, with a 1,976-seat concert hall and education complex. Its core campus also includes the historic Mansion at Strathmore, which features an intimate Music Room and art galleries. Most recently, Strathmore opened AMP, a 250-seat cabaret-style venue located just up Rockville Pike from the core campus in the burgeoning Pike District of Montgomery County. Strathmore’s signature education, mission-driven programs include the Strathmore Student Concerts and the Artist in Residence program.
###
Strathmore is supported by a grant from the Maryland State Arts Council, an agency dedicated to cultivating a vibrant cultural community where the arts thrive. An agency of the Department of Business & Economic Development, MSAC provides financial support and technical assistance to non-profit organizations, units of government, colleges and universities for arts activities.
Strathmore is also supported in part by the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County.
Strathmore Presents
Backstage with the Creators of Serial
Binge-Worthy Journalism with Sarah Koenig & Julie Snyder
Thursday, May 11, 2017
8 p.m.
Tickets $25-$75
Music Center at Strathmore
5301 Tuckerman Lane
North Bethesda, MD 20852
For additional information or to purchase tickets, visit www.strathmore.org or call (301) 581-5100.
Pop Up Flower Bar …
Got ice? On Friday, May 19, VIDA Fitness’ Penthouse Pool Club on U Street will host its Third Annual ALS Silent Auction fundraising fete. Morning talk show hosts Tommy McFly, and Kelly Collis from 94.7 Fresh FM’s The Tommy Show will emcee the event and auction themselves off to the highest bidder in a chilly Ice Bucket Challenge. In the past two years, the VIDA Fitness ALS Silent Auction Event has raised a combined total of more than $50,000.
The poolside, rooftop cocktail party will include a silent auction to benefit Augie’s Quest, a nonprofit research initiative dedicated to finding a cure for Amyotrophic Laterals Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.
The ALS event will run from 6:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. and feature complimentary food from the Penthouse Pool Club’s new menu designed by Sean McIntosh. DJ Danny House will spin house tracks while guests bid on silent auction items donated by DC area retailers and businesses including an autographed soccer ball from DC United, a round of golf at Congressional’s Blue Course, tickets to the annual Bacon & Bourbon festival and a Kirk Cousins autographed football. Cocktail attire is required for this public event.
Tickets are $30 and can be purchased here. Guests may also sponsor the event for $1000. The sponsorship includes 10 event tickets and access to a cabana suite with a complimentary bottle and bottle service all night long.
For more information on this event, please visit: 3rd Annual ALS Fundraiser & Silent Auction
WHO: Penthouse Pool & Lounge at The Yards
ALS Silent Auction Fundraiser
WHAT: Proceeds to Benefit ALS Foundation Augie’s Quest
Live Entertainment by DJ Danny House
Cocktail Attire Required
Public Event / Cash Bar
Tickets $30 / Available at: http://tinyurl.com/ALSevent2017
WHEN: Friday, May 19
6:00 – 10:00 p.m.
WHERE: Penthouse Pool Club at U Street
Rooftop Pool & Lounge
1612 U Street NW
Washington, DC 20009
Charlotte Hollister Annual Gala |
|
What: Charlotte Hollister Annual Gala at the Arlington Arts Center Featuring: Jane Franklin Dance Directions to the Arlington Arts Center at DIRECTIONS Details: About Charlotte Hollister Annual Gala Tickets: ONLINE – http://www.janefranklin.com, $100 (VIP: online access to silent auction) |
PAUL D. MILLER aka DJ SPOOKY: REBIRTH OF A NATION
Tuesday, May 23, 2017, 8 p.m.
By Paul D. Miller aka DJ Spooky
Featuring Sound Impact
Eisenhower Theater–from $19
Conceived as a reimagining of director D.W. Griffith’s infamously racist 1915 silent film, The Birth of a Nation, DJ Spooky’s Rebirth of a Nation is a culturally significant project that examines how “…exploitation and political corruption still haunt the world to this day, but in radically different forms.” Today, more than a century since the release of The Birth of a Nation, the project continues to be presented internationally, engaging audiences in themes of civil rights and freedom, seen through the lens of DJ Spooky’s unique art of remixing. Dr. King once said that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice”—one of the drivers behind Miller’s work is influenced by this. “I try to give people thought tools for mindfulness, or for thinking about the patterns we inhabit as not fixed of locked down, but changeable. It’s the beauty of that, which makes life worth living.” The Kennedy Center debut of Rebirth of a Nation is a multimedia performance featuring a string quartet from D.C.-based music ensemble Sound Impact. Two violins, a viola, and a cello will accompany three screen video projections, controlled live on stage by DJ Spooky.
The 2017 Events DC Embassy Chef Challenge presented by TCMA (A Drew Company) will highlight dishes and flavors from all around the world. Embassy chefs will gather on Wednesday, May 24 in the Atrium of the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, where they will show off their skills and compete for the People’s Choice and Judges’ Choice awards.
The Events DC Embassy Chef Challenge not only encourages culinary diplomacy, but also celebrates the arts of many cultures and highlights some of the area’s amazing musicians, dancers and singers. Throughout the evening, cultural dances and artists will grace the stage along with the headlining band, City of the Sun, an instrumental post-rock trio from Brooklyn, New York.
“We are honored to bring together some of the world’s most culturally-distinct talents in the culinary and performing arts for the second-consecutive Events DC Embassy Chef Challenge,” said Erik A. Moses, senior vice president and managing director of sports, entertainment, and special events at Events DC. “May is International Cultural Awareness Month in DC and we look forward to both celebrating and advancing the city’s cultural diplomacy through cuisine and entertainment.”
Patrons can expect to taste traditional dishes from cultures both common and impossible to find in Greater-Washington such as salmon ceviche and merquén mussels curated by Chef Guillermo Muñoz of Chile. Haitian Embassy chef Cynthia Verna will be preparing a full-spread comprised of creole chicken, yellow basmati rice served with pigeon peas, Roma tomatoes and coconut milk; and a beet and carrot salad with homemade lime dressing. Representing the Embassy of Barbados, Chef Damien Leach will offer a unique spin on tropical fish with his piña colada mahi mahi filet.
Chef Red Garcia of the Philippines will be defending his title with a dish that uses a classic wrapping method called “binalot” – which is a way of wrapping foods with banana leaves, derived from the word ballot, which means “to wrap.” He will have a variety of foods to wrap such as rice, meat, fish, eggs and pickled vegetables. Dishes like kottu roti from the Embassy of Sri Lanka may be new to American diners and guests will have a chance to taste the dish and speak with the embassy’s culinary team about how it is prepared. Chef Anuradha Wijesinghe explains kottu roti as being made with godhamba roti, vegetables, egg or meat and spices.
Embassies will also be offering various native cocktails, beer, and wine to be sampled throughout the evening. Singapore will be serving up the city’s famous “Singapore Sling,” while the Embassy of Bolivia will have a selection of Bolivian wines for patrons to taste. The Embassy of Azerbaijan will be offering a variety of both red and white wines from their emerging high-altitude growing regions.
Chefs from every corner of the globe will be competing, including:
| ASIA | AFRICA | EUROPE | THE AMERICAS |
| Afghanistan Azerbaijan Bangladesh Indonesia Iraq Nepal Pakistan Philippines Qatar Saudi Arabia Singapore Sri Lanka Uzbekistan |
Ghana Kenya Mauritius Morocco Rwanda |
Belgium Cyprus Germany Greece Malta Moldova |
Bahamas Barbados Bolivia Chile Dominican Republic El Salvador Ecuador Guatemala Haiti Honduras Jamaica Paraguay Peru |
TICKETS: Purchase your tickets and join the cultural event. General admission tickets are $75 and will include all global sips and bites and access to all live entertainment. For $125, VIP guests can enjoy a one-hour early entry to meet all chef’s and network with embassy community elites. For ticket purchases and more information about the event, please visit www.eventsdcembassychefchallenge.com.
WHAT: Embassy chefs from around the world will gather for the 2017 Events DC Embassy Chef Challenge presented by TCMA (A Drew Company), to showcase the unique flavors of their countries in a friendly, delicious culinary competition. With more than 30 embassies participating, this year’s event offers attendees a global culinary experience unmatched in Washington DC.
Attendees will have the opportunity to sample a sip and bite from all participating embassy chefs, and cast their votes for the People’s Choice award. The winner will be announced alongside the Judges’ Choice – selected by a group of elite members of the worlds of diplomacy, culture and the culinary arts, who will critique each dish and beverage before placing their votes.
The Events DC Embassy Chef Challenge not only encourages culinary diplomacy, but also celebrates the arts of many cultures and highlights some of the area’s amazing musicians, dancers and singers. In years’ past, performances have included Bolivian folk dancers, Russian violinists, Chinese dancers and Brazilian samba artists. This year’s event will feature a non-stop range of performances to accompany the delicious food and drink that will be served.
Embassy of Barbados, swept the competition in 2015 winning over the people and the judges, and was the Judges’ Choice winner last year, alongside Peoples’ Choice winner Embassy of the Philippines. Both countries will return to the competition this year to defend their titles and win another coveted golden pineapple.
WHEN: Wednesday, May 24, 2017, 6:00 p.m.
WHERE: Atrium of the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center
1300 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20460
WHO: Chefs from every corner of the globe will be competing, including:
| ASIA | AFRICA | EUROPE | THE AMERICAS |
| Afghanistan Azerbaijan Bangladesh Indonesia Iraq Kazakhstan Japan Korea Nepal Pakistan Philippines Qatar Saudi Arabia Singapore Sri Lanka |
Ghana Kenya Mauritius Morocco Tunisia |
Belgium Germany Moldova Ukraine |
Bahamas Barbados Bolivia Chile Dominican Republic Ecuador Guatemala Haiti Honduras Jamaica Paraguay Peru Uruguay |
PRICE: General Admission – $65.00
Includes all the global sips and bites and live entertainment
VIP – $95.00
Includes one-hour early entry to meet chefs, taste their offerings, and network with embassy community elite
For tickets and more information, please visit http://www.eventsdcembassychefchallenge.com/home_2017#tickets
