Join us for an exhilarating dance performance!
Step Afrika!, the world’s first professional dance company dedicated to the tradition of stepping, celebrates its 25th anniversary season with the energetic and exciting 7th annual Step Xplosion tour of all eight wards in Washington, D.C. This free tour includes performances and workshops for all ages. NMWA hosts the Ward 2 lunchtime performance. Enjoy this interactive experience and then grab a bite at the museum’s Mezzanine Café. For more information about other tour performances, visit www.stepafrika.org.
PRICE: Free. Registration not required.
The Edlavitch DC Jewish Community Center (EDCJCC) is re-opening on September 5. After an extensive 10-month renovation, the EDCJCC will be holding an evening reception for all ages to come back and explore. Attendees are encouraged to tour the new spaces and places that make up the EDCJCC.
While there are many new details, large and small, to discover, the transformation of the space will allow the building to better serve the mission of the EDCJCC with more space for programs, service projects and performances including the new Cafritz Hall with retractable seating that allows for different configurations. The historic Sixteenth Street entrance and lobby have also been preserved, providing a connection to the building’s history. This is the beginning of an exciting new chapter in the EDCJCC’s history, and the EDCJCC is excited to welcome back its diverse, vibrant, growing community.
Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 5, 2019. Please enter through the Q Street Entrance.
La Cosecha, EDENS’ upcoming contemporary Latin market (1270 4th Street NE) in the Union Market District, will celebrate its opening preview celebration with a festive block party and special concert, presented by title partner Events DC and headlined by Grammy-winning Latin fusion band Ozomatli on Saturday, September 7 from 11am-7pm.
Local pop singer-dancer Jason Cerda will also perform during the free, open-to-the-public event, which will serve as a Hispanic Heritage Month kickoff event and is being curated in collaboration with local music production group All Things Go. Additional musical acts include Salt Cathedral, Mario + Jose, Jonathan Acosta, DJ Bembona, DJ Renzo, DJ Nicolas Losada and Batalá.
The Calle Latina block party’s family-friendly activities include a special Latin-inspired face painting menu created by Colombia-born local muralist MasPaz, Con Sabor kids’ dance classes, chef demos and a flash mob led by Cerda.
Guests will also get a sneak peek at all of the La Cosecha partners: El Cielo, NOVA BOSSA, Amparo, Ali Pacha, Grand Cata, Serenata, Café Unido, Filos Bakery, Zona E Home, La Casita and Peruvian Brothers.
In partnership with sponsors the D.C. Office of Cable Television, Film, Music and Entertainment, Carlos Rosario School, and Bacardi, the block party will feature additional pop ups by New Latin Wave, Se Habla Español, The Future is Latina, Andeana Hats, Adelante Shoes, Arcay Chocolates, Piña & Coco, Wonder for People and Politics & Prose, Arepa Zone, Ilegal Mezcal and Bacardi.
“After considerable time spent planning and curating La Cosecha, we’re excited and proud to invite all to our preview block party, Calle Latina, where we’ll be celebrating the colors, textures and sounds of Latin America. The ongoing insights and assistance from Latin embassy partners and the city’s cultural tastemakers have been invaluable in the creation of this new marketplace,” says EDENS CEO Jodie W. McLean. “Inclusivity and cultural appreciation are the foundation of any strong community and seem more important now than ever. We hope that by showcasing these dynamic cultures, we can spark conversations and relationships across diverse cultures.”
Ozomatli, known as much for their music as their activism, are two-time Grammy winners with a one-of-a-kind sound that encompasses a wide array of musical styles, including salsa, jazz, funk, reggae, rap and more. Since their inception in 1995, Ozomatli has performed all over the world in places like China, Tunisia, Jordan and Burma, serving both as cultural ambassadors and advocates for farm workers’ rights and immigration reform.
D.C.-area native Cerda is a double-threat singer and dancer, boasting Billboard-charting singles Al Lado Mio, Color Favorito and Un Poco Mas, as well as a 3,500-square-foot, state-of-the-art dance studio in northern Virginia.
La Cosecha’s partnerships with Latin embassies, cultural and diplomatic leaders and strategic stakeholders from the Latin community will solidify the new marketplace as a national platform for Latin culture and cuisine. Cultural opportunities for the larger community will include art exhibits, film screenings, live performances, media lab space and outdoor activations throughout the year.
To RSVP for La Cosecha’s Calle Latina block party, please visit www.lacosechadc.com/callelatina.
Hispanic Heritage Month Concert: New Inca Son
Saturday, Sept. 14, 2 p.m.
Begin the celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month a day early this year with a free concert by New Inca Son at the National Museum of the American Indian. Acclaimed throughout the world for their performances of traditional Andean melodies and dances, the musicians of New Inca Son are committed to cultivating understanding and appreciation of Indigenous cultures, especially among children and young people.
The award-winning band is joined by scissors dancers Danzante Maldición and Supay Wayra. Traditionally danced in Quechua communities of south-central Peru, the Danza de Tijeras, or Scissors Dance, calls on dancers to outdo each other in acrobatic skill while striking scissors blades together to the changing rhythm and tempo of the music. No two scissors dances are ever the same, and every dance is a jaw-dropping experience.
The Heurich House Museum is bringing back its old Heurich Oktoberfest celebration, but with a new twist: their Senate Beer revival will be fully available to the public for the first time since 1956, and the museum asked some of their new friends to help celebrate!
On September 21st from 1-4pm the Oktoberfest-style biergarten festival will take place in the museum’s Castle Garden and feature Senate Beer plus brews from Sankofa Beer Company, Red Bear Brewing Co., ANXO Cidery, Silver Branch Brewing Co., Supreme Core Cider, Crooked Run Brewing andStreetcar 82 Brewing Co.. Owners and representatives of these breweries and cideries will be onsite. During a VIP hour, meet Tom Shellhammer from Oregon State Fermentation Science Department who helped develop the Senate Beer recipe based on historic documents. All tickets include unlimited tastings and full-pours, and a meal from Helga’s Catering of grilled bratwurst on a roll (sauerkraut & mustard optional), and a pretzel.
Senate Beer, DC’s hometown brew, is the most historically and scientifically accurate beer revival we know of. Based on a 20-page-laboratory-report from 1948. This Chr. Heurich Brewing Co. Senate Beer brand, was popularized in the 1890s, survived Prohibition, and was produced until 1956. After guests taste tested the beer for the first time in over 60 years this June, the museum finalized the recipe.
Tickets:
VIP Access – $85
1-2pm:
Exclusive access to VIP Senate Beer Bar and talk by Tom Shelhammer from Oregon State Fermentation Science Department who helped develop the Senate Beer revival.
2-4pm:
Unlimited Beer, 1 Meal, 1 Pretzel
General Admission – $65
1-4pm:
Unlimited Beer, 1 Meal, 1 Pretzel
The Details:
1pm: Castle Garden gates open
1-2pm: Exclusive VIP Bar open to VIP ticket-holders
1-4pm: Biergarten
4pm: Event ends
Tickets: http://bit.ly/HHOkt2019
*This event is 21+, I.D. must be presented at the door.
**Please take note that the museum will not be open during this event.
Blackfeet Nation Tribal Festival
Saturday, Nov. 16, and Sunday, Nov. 17; 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
National Museum of the American Indian, Washington, D.C.
Visitors can learn about the Blackfeet Nation and the many aspects unique to Blackfeet culture through this two-day festival. The Blackfeet Reservation, located in northwestern Montana along the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains, is home to one of the 10 largest tribes in the United States, with more than 17,000 enrolled members. Throughout the festival weekend, Blackfeet artists, performers, historians and culture bearers will share demonstrations and performances. Highlights will include seasonally appropriate dances and stories, and demonstrations of making traditional regalia from the hides of buffalo, deer, elk and antelope. During the celebration, visitors can see traditional and contemporary artistic creations, including beadwork, handcrafted jewelry, quillwork, pottery, horsehair work, moccasins, carvings and baskets.
Blackfeet Nation Tribal Festival
Saturday, Nov. 16, and Sunday, Nov. 17; 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
National Museum of the American Indian, Washington, D.C.
Visitors can learn about the Blackfeet Nation and the many aspects unique to Blackfeet culture through this two-day festival. The Blackfeet Reservation, located in northwestern Montana along the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains, is home to one of the 10 largest tribes in the United States, with more than 17,000 enrolled members. Throughout the festival weekend, Blackfeet artists, performers, historians and culture bearers will share demonstrations and performances. Highlights will include seasonally appropriate dances and stories, and demonstrations of making traditional regalia from the hides of buffalo, deer, elk and antelope. During the celebration, visitors can see traditional and contemporary artistic creations, including beadwork, handcrafted jewelry, quillwork, pottery, horsehair work, moccasins, carvings and baskets.
Pocahontas: Her Place in the Emerging Atlantic World and Nascent United States
Tuesday, Nov. 19; 2 p.m.
National Museum of the American Indian, Rasmuson Theater, Washington, D.C.
Pocahontas lived and died not only in the maelstrom of the English–Powhatan encounter in the early 17th century, but at a singular moment in world history. She participated in the newly emerging Atlantic world. Her legacy helped shape Europeans’ conception of that world and the United States’ conception of itself for centuries. Why and how so? This presentation by National Museum of the American Indian Curator Cécile R. Ganteaume explores what is known about Pocahontas and her early impact on European and American thought.
Native American Heritage Day: Family Fun Day
Friday, Nov. 29; 10 a.m.–4 p.m.
National Museum of the American Indian, Washington, D.C.
The museum’s unique family celebration of Native American Heritage Day showcases Native culture through interactive dancing, games, storytelling, hands-on activities and make-and-takes, as well as music and dance presentations. The program features the Dineh Tah Navajo Dancers throughout the day. Join the museum in recognizing the many contributions of Native Americans to all aspects of life in the United States.
