Events/Things To Do

Union Market will get a little taste of Brazil when internationally inspired lifestyle brand NOVA BOSSA pops up at the thriving retail and culinary district.

Offering art and photography, bain couture, books, women’s clothing, handbags, home decór, jewelry and scarves, the NOVA BOSSA pop-up will feature a wide selection of globally sourced items from international designers, including Adriana Degreas, Artiz, Catarina Mina, Cecilia Prado, Mercedes Salazar, Mola Sasa, Paula Mendoza Jewelry, Scarf Me, Wymann Rio and more.

From intricately handmade bags to 24-carat gold-plated statement jewelry to colorful baskets from the Amazon, NOVA BOSSA’s assortment of luxury-leaning goods orbit around founder and CEO Carolina Furukrona’s passions for travel, design and entertaining.

She launched NOVA BOSSA last year following 100 international adventures and a business certification from Harvard, in an effort to both pay homage to her São Paulo roots and enable top lifestyle brands — especially by women designers and artisans — from her native Brazil and other emerging markets to go global.

“NOVA BOSSA is delighted to celebrate our one-year anniversary by partnering with Union Market DC for this pop-up,” Furukrona says. “We believe that Union Market’s focus on culture and commerce, on showcasing the very best new businesses in the region, and on serving a dynamic and diverse clientele makes this a unique opportunity for our brand. We are excited to showcase rising international women designers − most of which have never before been available in the United States or the D.C. region – and to prove that the creativity, craftsmanship and design emanating from places like Brazil can be just as good, if not better, than what’s coming out of Europe. After spending so much time abroad I feel D.C. is lacking some bossa, so it’s an honor to present new products that can give a daring and fresh update to the wardrobes and homes of our great city.”

As home base for 40+ award-winning restaurant and retail concepts, northeast D.C.’s thriving Union Market District continues to grow its reputation as a brand incubator, giving small businesses the solid footing they need to get to the next level.

The NOVA BOSSA pop-up launches February 22, and will operate as follows:

Night Market and Three-Course Chinese New Year Dinner

For guests interested in a sit-down dinner to celebrate Chinese New Year, Chef Smith has created a three-course menu that begins with a Whole Steamed Bronzino, representing family togetherness, made with aged soy, fermented black bean, and chili oil. The second course, representative of the five blessings of the New Year including longevity, riches, peace, wisdom, and virtue, is Whole Soy Lacquered Quail with mustard greens and long wheat noodles. The final course features Chocolate Mochi Cake with tangerine marmalade, which was chosen because the pronunciation of the word “tangerine” sounds much like the pronunciation of the word “money” in Mandarin. Before dinner, guests will have the opportunity to indulge in four live-action stations featuring Whole Roasted Lamb with Steamed Bao Buns, Chinese New Year Chicken Potage, Kanpachi Yu Sheng Sashimi, and Chinese New Year Pork Dumplings. The menu is priced at $85 per person with an additional $35 per guest for an optional wine pairing. The event begins at 6:30 p.m. and will be held in the Source’s upstairs dining room. Reservations can be made by phone at 202-637-6100.

Lounge Takeover with Chefs Mike Rafidi and Kevin Tien and Pit Master Joe Neuman

Chef Russell Smith and team will host a lounge takeover from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, February 27^th, with guest chefs Mike Rafidi from Arroz and Requin, Joe Neuman from Sloppy Mama’s BBQ, and Kevin Tien from Himitsu. Multiple dishes from Chefs Smith, Rafidi, and Tien will be available and Pit Master Joe Neuman will be on site with his smoker. Beer will be provided by 3 Stars Brewing and unlimited Wolfgang Puck wines will also be included. Tickets are $50 and available here.

The 10^th Annual DC CAPital Stars Talent Competition is an annual fundraiser event for DC CAP (College Access Program). The theme for this year’s event is “A Harlem Renaissance Revival”. The Top 10 Finalists will compete across the categories of vocal, instrumental and dance at the talent competition for a chance to win a DC CAP scholarship to go towards the student’s first year of college. Celebrity judges and the audience will select the winners. Visit www.dccap.org/gala for more information.

The Cathedral Choral Society continues its 2017.18 season with
Solitude and Joy on Sunday, March 4, 4:00 pm at Washington National Cathedral.
Guest conductor Donald Nally leads the chorus, joined by cellist Thomas Mesa and
organist Scott Dettra.

The program features a diverse selection of contemporary and 20 th century music,
including two new commissions for choir: Ēriks Ešenvalds’ 85 and Alex Berko’s
Lincoln. Latvian Ēriks Ešenvalds is one of the most sought-after composers working
today. His compositions have been premiered by the Boston Symphony, The King’s
Singers, Choir of Trinity College Cambridge, and more. Alex Berko is an American
composer currently attending Indiana University. His music has been performed by
members of The Crossing Choir, Del Sol String Quartet, and the Cape Cod Symphony.
His piece, Lincoln, uses the text from the dedication plaque that accompanies the statue
of Abraham Lincoln in Washington National Cathedral.

Completing the program: Gabriel Jackson’s Creator of the Stars of Night; Sebastian
Currier’s Sanctus from Night Mass; Herbert Howells’ Behold, O God Our Defender; I
Would Be True; and O Pray; John Tavener’s Svyati; James MacMillan’s A New Song;
Pēteris Vasks’ Grãmata čellam (for solo cello); Arvo Pärt’s Salve Regina; and Maurice
Duruflé’s Notre Père.

The arc of the program is inspired by a piece of lyrical prose written by French writer
Pascal Quignard from his 2002 book The Roving Shadows: “Without solitude, without
the test of time, without the passion for silence, without the excitation and retention of
the whole body, without a frightened stumbling, without wandering into a region of shade
and invisibility, without memory of animality, without melancholy, without isolation in
melancholy, there is no joy.”

Junior League of Washington to Celebrate International Women’s Day with Women’s Leadership Breakfast 
SoulCycle CEO Melanie Whelan to Deliver Keynote Address at March 8 Event
Washington, DC – On Thursday, March 8, International Women’s Day, the Junior League of Washington (JLW) will hold its Women’s Leadership Breakfast. This event will unite current and emerging female leaders from the business, political, and nonprofit worlds to celebrate women’s accomplishments, acknowledge and dismantle obstacles, and map out a future where women not only thrive but lead the way.

SoulCycle CEO Melanie Whelan will deliver a keynote address before joining a panel of female leaders from Washington, DC. By convening this breakfast, JLW hopes to cultivate relationships among emerging women leaders and empower them as agents of action, justice, and change.

What:              Junior League of Washington’s Women’s Leadership Breakfast

Who:               Keynote address by Melanie Whelan, CEO, SoulCycle

Moderated panel:
Clare Bresnahan, Executive Director, She Should Run
Wanda Steptoe, Executive Director, New Endeavors by Women
Melanie Whelan, CEO, SoulCycle
Moderator TBA

When:             Thursday, March 8, 2018 (International Women’s Day)
7:30 – 9:30 a.m.

Where:            The Hamilton
600 14th Street NW
Washington, DC

Why:               Behind every strong female leader is a team of other strong women. As part of its mission to help women develop and fulfill their potential, JLW has been nurturing female civic leaders in the Washington, DC, area for 105 years. The Junior  League of Washington’s Women’s Leadership Breakfast will showcase and celebrate how women, can, have, and must support other women in the many roles they play – as leaders, peers, colleagues, friends, sisters, mothers, and volunteers.
ABOUT THE JUNIOR LEAGUE OF WASHINGTON
The Junior League of Washington (www.jlw.org) is a nonprofit organization of more than 2,300 women who annually donate thousands of dollars and volunteer hours to the Washington, DC, metropolitan area. JLW is committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women, and improving the community through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Its purpose is exclusively educational and charitable. JLW focuses its financial and volunteer resources on the issues of literacy – adult, child, and cultural – and works with a diverse group of community partners. Since 1912, JLW has donated more than five million hours of direct volunteer service and more than $5.8 million to the Washington, DC, community.

The future is female, so celebrate International Women’s Day by fundraising with the National Organization of Women’s D.C. chapter, part of The Embassy Row Hotel’s Support a Cause fundraising program. A portion of the proceeds from food and beverages will benefit the Women’s March Foundation that focuses on social, environmental and political issues. Admission is complimentary. Thursday, March 8 from 4pm – 7pm.

Celebrating more than three decades as one of the Washington area’s most prominent charity events, the Leukemia Ball is scheduled for Saturday, March 10, 2018, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. The event is dedicated to raising money for life-saving cancer research and patient programs funded by The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). Since the first Leukemia Ball in 1988, the event has raised nearly $60 million toward finding cures for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma and efforts to improve the quality of life for patients and their families.

Guests at the 2018 gala will enjoy entertainment from Grammy Award nominee, bestselling author, radio host, and comedian Jeff Foxworthy, known best for his blue-collar humor and comedic storytelling style that has been compared to Mark Twain’s. In addition to hosting numerous television programs including the FOX game show “Are You Smarter Than A 5^th Grader” and the CBS reality series “The American Baking Competition,” Foxworthy has his own comedy channel, “Jeff and Larry’s Comedy Roundup” on SIRIUSXM, showcasing some of the best in American comedy.

The crowd will also dance the night away to the sounds of Phil Vassar, one of only a handful of musicians to have multiple hits as a songwriter and as an artist. His country chart toppers include “Just Another Day in Paradise”, “Carlene”, “Six Pack Summer”, and others performed by Tim McGraw, Alan Jackson, and Jodee Messina.

“LLS is changing the landscape of cancer research now more than ever, as the FDA has approved 13 new blood cancer treatments in 2017. LLS has supported nearly all of them,” said Beth Gorman, National Capital Area Chapter Executive Director. “Fundraising events such as the Leukemia Ball make that research possible, are critical to raising awareness, and directly impact the lives of blood cancer patients everywhere.”

The 2018 Leukemia Ball is co-chaired by Rob Copito, Vice Chairman, CBRE, Inc., and David DiLuigi, Market President, Greater Washington & Central Virginia for Wilmington Trust, N.A. They lead an esteemed volunteer Executive Committee of more than 45 high-ranking executives representing major organizations across the Washington, D.C. area who volunteer their time and efforts to create a memorable evening and raise millions of dollars in support of LLS’s mission.

Seventy-four cents of every dollar spent by LLS funds its mission, and LLS’s commitment to funding innovative research projects has contributed to an unprecedented rise in survival rates over recent years. For example, today, the five-year survival rate for the most common form of childhood leukemia is more than 90 percent, up from 3 percent in 1964.

“LLS has been on the forefront of advances in blood cancer treatment since 1949, with nearly 40 percent of all cancer drugs approved by the FDA since 2000 first approved to treat blood cancers,” said Copito. “However, the fight is not over. Nearly one-third of all blood cancer patients still do not survive five years past diagnosis. As 2018 Leukemia Ball Co-Chairs, Dave DiLuigi and I are honored to lead the charge as we aim to raise $3.2 million for this very important cause.”

In addition to top-notch entertainment, the Leukemia Ball also features an unparalleled silent auction and Mercedes-Benz raffle. The silent auction, which raised nearly $250,000 in 2017, is one of the area’s largest, featuring a variety of travel packages courtesy of hotel partners and the Official Airline of the Leukemia Ball, American Airlines. The Mercedes-Benz raffle features a grand prize of a 2018 GLC300 Coupe 4Matic Sedan (MSRP $46,600) and a first prize of 2 spots at AMG Driving Academy at Laguna Seca Raceway in Salinas, CA including hotel and airfare (Value: $6,300).  Tickets are $100, and only 5,000 are printed.