Fairmont Washington, D.C. Georgetown is pleased to announce its 19th annual tree lighting ceremony in the hotel’s Courtyard beginning at 5:30pm on Tuesday, November 29. Filled with tiny white lights and a shimmering Christmas tree, the courtyard becomes a glittering crystal garden – the perfect venue for holiday celebrations.
Families will take the chill off next to heaters as they listen to the award-winning Georgetown Visitation Madrigals perform holiday classics under the direction of Director of Performing Arts, Neptune Pringle, III. Children will enjoy decorating holiday cards and families will be entered to win prizes.
Steve Chenevey, co-anchor on FOX 5 Morning and Good Day DC, will serve as the Master of Ceremonies. Santa Claus will make a special appearance with Georgie the hotel’s Canine Ambassador, and spend time listening to children’s Christmas wishes after the ceremony.
Fairmont’s tree lighting ceremony, which is free and open to the public, encourages all guests to bring a gift for Horton’s Kids* – such as Legos, basketballs, footballs, dolls, books, games or arts and crafts. The donations will help spread holiday cheer to over 500 children, ages 5 – 18.
To secure reservations for Fairmont’s tree lighting ceremony, please visit Eventbrite:
Fairmont Washington, D.C., Georgetown will also be accepting toy donations for Horton’s before and after the tree lighting ceremony from November 18 until December 14.
* Horton’s Kids empowers children growing up in one of Washington, DC’s most under-resourced communities so that they graduate from high school ready for success in college, career and life. https://www.hortonskids.org/
Christmas Sweater Party & Animal Welfare League of Arlington Fundraiser
This one is for all you cat lovers! Join Wilson Hardware on Thursday, Dec. 1 from 4PM-7PM for an Ugly Sweater Party & AWLA fundraiser. The event will include drinks, snacks, family photo opportunities, a raffle and even a few VIP feline guests. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at AWLA.org.
Special Community Program & Candlelight Vigil
The Corner at Whitman Walker
1701 14th Street, Washington, DC
5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
DC community is invited to honor and pay tribute to those lost during the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The program will include remarks and reflections from community members, Whitman-Walker leadership, Japer Bowles, Director of the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs Office, and other notable guests and activations. Program begins at 6:00 p.m. at The Corner followed by a candlelight vigil outside the building.
Sunday, December 4
World AIDS Day: A Time to Pause, Honor, and Resolve
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
10th St. & Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC
3:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Guest Speaker: Whitman-Walker Health CEO, Naseema Shafi
Each December the world pauses to observe World AIDS Day, honor those affected by HIV, and resolve to end the epidemic. Despite all the pharmaceutical tools available to stop new infections and halt the progression of HIV to AIDS, a situation still exists where the benefits are not being equally shared across racial, ethnic, and regional groups of people. Ending the HIV epidemic requires a commitment to reaching those at greatest risk of contracting the virus and removing the stigma, social, and economic barriers that culminate in continued transmission and lack of access to health care. This World AIDS Day we take stock of the U.S. HIV AIDS epidemic, celebrate those working to end the epidemic and assess the work yet to be done.
Whitman-Walker has been part of the fabric of Washington, DC, and nationally for almost 50 years as a first responder and care-provider for those living with HIV; a leader in LGBTQ care and advocacy; a research center working to discover breakthroughs in HIV treatment; and one of DC’s most trusted partners during the COVID-19 pandemic. Whitman-Walker envisions a society where all people are seen for who they are, treated with dignity and respect, and afforded equal opportunity to health and wellbeing.
FitDistrict Studios & Energy Cafe will be hosting their Wellness Day & Grand Opening Event. FitDistrict is a premier fitness studio in the heart of Arlington, VA tha has an indoor cycling studio, a hot yoga room, an interval studio and an attached Energy Cafe serving up healthy food and drinks! Additionally, Local artist, Rajan Sedelia will be creating a live original piece of art during the event and there will be live music in the Energy Cafe by local group Sidewalk Soul.The event will be on Saturday, December 10th from 8am-5pm at 2300 Wilson Blvd. Arlington VA 22201 Arlington, Virginia 22201 and will feature complimentary samples from the cafe, complimentary fitness classes happening throughout the day, spots can be reserved by emailing aelman@fitdistrict.
The Yards is excited to announce the return of Ice Yards! In partnership with Special Olympics DC, the neighborhood will host the Polar Plunge Fundraiser at the 9th annual winter festival.
Participants, following a month-long fundraising campaign, will “take the plunge” to raise funds for Special Olympics DC in an above-ground swimming pool on the boardwalk as Ice Yards guests cheer them on. The Polar Plunge supports over 2,500 DC-based athletes with year-round sports training and the opportunity to compete in the Special Olympics DC Games.
Ice Yards guests will be able to enjoy live music, photo booths, ax-throwing, iceless curling, and so much more! Seasonal beverages and treats from favorite Yards restaurants will also be available to help folks stay warm post-plunge.
WHERE/WHEN:
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Saturday, February 25 | 1pm – 4pm
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The Yards | 355 Water St SE, Washington, DC 20003
HOW: To register for the SODC Polar Plunge, please visit www.dcpolarplunge.org. For more information, visit theyardsdc.com and follow The Yards on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @TheYardsDC.
We invite you to join our 50th Anniversary Gala & Auction where we will celebrate five decades of service and share our strategic vision to end homelessness for women across the city.
Thursday, March 2
Reception & Auction: 5:30 p.m.
Dinner & Program: 7 p.m.
Marriott Marquis
901 Massachusetts Avenue N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001
In celebration of Women’s History Month, U Street neighborhood tavern Fainting Goat and local VA craft distillery Catoctin Creek are coming together for a night of spirits tastings, specialty cocktails, raffle prizes, and a good cause.
On Thursday, March 23 from 6-9pm, they’re hosting a cocktail takeover featuring drinks created by some of the talented women behind the Goat’s bar, and $1 from each cocktail sold will be donated to the StepUp Foundation.
Cocktails will include bartender Toni Margai’s “Tropical Oasis” with Catoctin Rye, peach, falernum and lemon juice. Guests can also enjoy complimentary tastings of several spirits from Catoctin Creek, the first legal distillery in Loudoun County since before Prohibition, located in nearby Purcellville, Virginia. The award-winning craft distillery produces a variety of rye whiskeys made from local and organic grains, gins and fruit brandies.
In addition to the $1 per cocktail Fainting Goat will be donating for the evening, Catoctin Creek will also be donating $1 per cocktail posted on social media (tagging @catoctincreek with the hashtag #sipforequality). StepUp is a foundation who empowers women and underrepresented people by providing opportunities to enter the spirits community through a comprehensive internship program.
And attendees can go home with swag, as Catoctin Creek gives away raffle prizes throughout the night.
The Fainting Goat’s Women’s History Month Cocktail Takeover with Catoctin Creek is free to attend and open to the public. For more information, please visit www.faintinggoatdc.com, follow them on Instagram at @faintinggoatdc.
WHO: The Fainting Goat
Catoct
StepUp Foundation
WHEN: Thursday, March 23, 2023
6pm – 9pm
WHERE: The Fainting Goat
1330 U Street NW
Washington, DC 20001
On Thursday, March 23 at 7:30 pm the Folger Shakespeare Library’s
O.B. Hardison Poetry Series presents the Eudora Welty Lecture with Pulitzer Prize-winning author
Elizabeth Strout (Olive Kitteridge, My Name is Lucy Barton) at the National Press Club. Sponsored
by the Eudora Welty Foundation, this annual lecture celebrates creative origins in the spirit of Welty’s
treasured One Writer’s Beginnings.
Ann Patchett (Bel Canto and The Dutch House), who presented the Lecture from Welty’s living room in
Jackson, Mississippi in 2022, will introduce Strout. The Lecture will be followed by a book signing with
Elizabeth Strout.
Tickets are $25 ($20 for Folger Members and subscribers) and can be purchased at www.folger.edu/poetry
or by contacting the Folger Box Office at (202) 544-7077.
Previous Welty Lectures were delivered by Salman Rushdie in 2016, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in
2017, Richard Ford in 2018, Jesmyn Ward in 2019, and Ann Patchett in 2022.
Elizabeth Strout is widely known for her works in literary fiction and her descriptive characterization.
She was born and raised in Portland, Maine, and her experiences in her youth served as inspiration for
her novels—the fictional "Shirley Falls, Maine" is the setting of four of her seven novels. Strout's novels
include Amy and Isabelle, Abide with Me, Olive Kitteridge for which she won the Pulitzer Prize for
Fiction, The Burgess Boys, My Name Is Lucy Barton, Anything is Possible, Olive, Again, and Oh,
William!. Her latest book Lucy by the Sea was published in 2022.
Ann Patchett is the author of seven novels: The Patron Saint of Liars, Taft, The Magician’s
Assistant, Bel Canto, Run, State of Wonder, and Commonwealth. She has written three books of
nonfiction—Truth & Beauty, about her friendship with the writer Lucy Grealy; What Now?, an expansion
of her graduation address at Sarah Lawrence College; and This is the Story of a Happy Marriage, a
collection of essays examining the theme of commitment. In 2019, she published her first children’s
book, Lambslide.
