Events/Things To Do

 What:   The 13^th annual Blue Jeans Ball, featuring tastings from outstanding area chefs, live music, live and silent auctions. Chefs Ruth Gresser, Sherry Yard and Jeff Buben will lead tastings by 40 of the area’s hottest restaurants and denim-clad guests to raise funds for the Washington metro area’s largest hunger relief organization, which helps 540,000 people each year get access to good, healthy food.

Attendees will taste dishes created in the spirit of wellness, just as the CAFB is committed to offering a menu of wellness to the neighbors it serves. New this year, chefs will be encouraged to showcase nutritious ingredients that the CAFB provides to the VA, DC and MD community: fruit and vegetables, beans, whole grains, protein rich meat, fish, nuts and dairy.          

Who:

• Restaurant co-chairs: Chefs Ruth Gresser of Pizzeria Paradiso, Sherry Yard of City Perch Kitchen + Bar, and Jeff Buben of Vidalia/Bistro Bis/Woodward Table.
• Scott Thuman, ABC7/WJLA-TV and News Channel 8
• Live entertainment by DJ John Jazz and Miss H.E.R.
• Nancy Roman, CAFB President & CEO
• CAFB Board of Directors

When:  Sunday, March 13, 2016

                5 pm: VIP reception

6 pm: tastings, cocktails and silent auction

8 pm: program & live auction.

Where: Marriott Marquis Hotel

                901 Massachusetts Avenue, NW

Washington, DC  20001

How:     $200 General Admission; $500 VIP Admission

• Sponsorships are available to individuals or organizations at various levels
• Ticket and sponsorship details available at capitalareafoodbank.org/blue-jeans-ball/

Why:          The Capital Area Food Bank is the largest organization in the Washington metro area working to solve hunger and its companion problems: chronic undernutrition, heart disease and obesity. By partnering with nearly 450 community organizations in DC, Maryland and Virginia, as well as delivering food directly into hard to reach areas, the CAFB is helping 540,000 people each year get access to good, healthy food.  That’s 12 percent of our region’s mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, and grandparents. Visit: capitalareafoodbank.org, or find the CAFB on Facebook atfacebook.com/CapitalAreaFoodBank, and Twitter at @foodbankmetrodc.

N Street Village, the award-winning social services agency that provides shelter and support to homeless and low-income women in the Washington, DC metro area, is hosting its Annual Gala to honor the clients, volunteers and supporters of the organization on Tuesday, March 15 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Washington, D.C.

Golden Globe winner and active philanthropist, Richard Gere, will be presenting the awards to the N Street Village client honorees.  Tom & Hillary Baltimore are Co-Chairs together with Honorary Co-Chairs Congressman and Mrs. Kasey Crowley and Congressman and Mrs. Royce.

N Street Village will be honoring Melissa Maxfield with Comcast for her incredible and continuing support of N Street Village.  Those efforts have provided new opportunities for the most vulnerable in our society.

WHEN:

Tuesday, March 15, 2015

6:00pm EST: Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres

7:00pm EST: Program and Dinner

WHERE:

Ritz Carlton Hotel

1150 22^nd Street, NW

Washington, D.C. 20037

About N Street Village:
N Street Village empowers homeless and low-income women to claim their highest quality of life by offering a broad spectrum of services and advocacy in an atmosphere of dignity and respect. N Street Village is recognized as an innovative and exemplary leader on issues related to the prevention and elimination of homelessness among women. The N Street Village community emphasizes and promotes a client’s strength, dignity, ability and personal responsibility. We support, motivate and empower our clients through active and compassionate engagement.  Clients are offered caring relationships as well as concrete resources and services through their interactions with dedicated and responsive staff and through the careful cultivation of an inclusive and hospitable community.
www.nstreetvillage.org

North America’s most talked about culinary competition returns to DC on April 17 with a one-of-a-kind stand-up tasting reception featuring five chefs cooking five heritage breed pigs in a friendly competition for a cause. Upping its commitment to the good food movement, this year’s tour will benefit Piggy Bank, a genetic sanctuary that will provide free heritage breed pigs and business plans to emerging family farms. Celebrating its 8^th Annual 18-city tour, Cochon555 is dedicated to uniting 16,000 guests across the country with local farmers, renowned chefs, prominent winemakers, restaurateurs, craft brewers and distillers. Together, they are raising awareness for honest food producers, responsible farming and the first open-source agriculture platform. For an in-depth look at the Cochon555 movement, a series of stunning videos and tickets to this must-do culinary experience, please visit www.cochon555.com.

This year’s competing chefs include Jonah Kim of Yona, Marjorie Meek-Bradley of Ripple, Jennifer Carroll of Requin, Anthony Lombardo of The Hamilton and Host Chef Louis Goral of Rural Society Argentine Steakhouse. The five chefs will prepare a maximum of six dishes from one whole hog and their utilization will help them win votes from a crowd of hungry gourmands and celebrated judges. In addition to the 36 dishes prepared from locally-raised pigs, guests will feast on educational experiences featuring boutique wines and culinary cocktails paired with delicious bites. The winner of the regional event will be announced as the “Prince or Princess of Porc” and go on to compete for the national title of “King or Queen of Porc” at Grand Cochon, the tour finale, held at the Viceroy in Snowmass / Aspen on June 18^th.

On April 15, the weekend takeover commences with a pair of stunning guest chef dinners to benefit Piggy Bank hosted by past winners Mike Isabella and Scott Drewno. These unique dinners bring together chefs, world-renowned winemakers and beverage experts to create a multi-course, interactive dining experience where guests have the opportunity to interact with the participating chefs. On Friday, the tour will kick off with the Late Night Asian Speakeasy with Host Chef Scott Drewno of The Source by Wolfgang Puck in an all-inclusive feast paying homage to Chinese, Sichuan, Korean, Thai and Japanese after-hour establishments known to inspire great kitchens across the country. On Saturday, a refined three-hour culinary experience, the Chef’s Course Dinner Series hosted Chef Mike Isabella of Graffiato begins with a reception featuring a selection of passed hors d’oeuvres followed by a seated dinner and premium wine pairings. Both dinners will be limited to 40 seats each night, tickets are available online at $125 per person and 100 percent of the proceeds will benefit Piggy Bank. Additionally, ticket buyers are welcome to sign-up for Chef’s Course, Cochon555’s annual rewards program with over 100+ restaurants participating nationwide.

Guests of the main event Cochon555 can enjoy more culinary programming beyond the 36 competition dishes prepared by competing chefs at this fairy-tale pig event  including, the TarTare Bar with Creekstone Farms with last year’s Cochon555 winnner Danny Lee of Mandu, “Luxe Butter Bar” with Antica Napa Valley, the Artisan Cheese Bar with La Fromagerie featuring Cypress Grove Chevre, Coach Farm, Parrano, and 34º Crisps and a Seafood Shelf featuring Rappahannock River Oysters. Voters get a ticket to Taste the New Ramen Bar paired with the stunning Wines of Germany featuring Erik Bruner-yang of Maketto / Toki Underground and Sun Noodle followed by the Pop-Up Pie Shop right before the Awards Ceremony. Additionally, guests will have the opportunity to take home delicious heritage breed pork at the Pop-Up Butcher Shop, a retail experience raising money for Piggy Bank with the support of Williams-Sonoma and Hedley & Bennett. The beverage program includes Cochon555’s Punch Kings local barkeep competition featuring Breckenridge Distillery and “The Welcome Punch” reception featuring Buffalo Trace. Wine tastings are back in a big way in 2016 with the “Five Winemakers” including sought-after wines from Paul Draper (Ridge Wines), Rajat Parr (Sandhi Wines), Abe Schoener (Scholium Project), Jeff Pisoni (Pisoni Vineyards), Pax Mahle (Pax Wine Cellars) and special guest Matt Courtney of Arista Winery, and a spotlight Sommelier Smackdown featuring Azzurro Wine Company, Lake Sonoma Winery, Alysian Wines and Michael Mondavi Family Estate. The Perfect Margarita Experience includes a tasting of hand-crafted luxury tequilas from Don Julio including 1942 and the mobile Heritage Rum Cart featuring Rhum Clément and Plantation Rum will travel through the crowd while guests sip libations at the “TIKI BAR” featuring The Perfect Puree of Napa Valley. The “Chupito” Mezcal Experience returns featuring Don Amado, Fidencio, Mezcales de Leyenda, Koch el Mezcal, La Venenosa, La Niña del Mezcal and Mezcal Derrumbes. Bourbon lovers rejoice with the “Perfect Manhattan” featuring Eagle Rare and Buffalo Trace finished with Luxardo cherries with a special treat from Creminelli Fine Meats and the Smoked Old Fashioned featuring Breckenridge Bourbon with the support of Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao. Right before the awards, everyone is invited to experience “The Last Word” featuring Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur and Junipero. Low-proof favorites include Martinez Lacuesta’s Vermut Bar. DRY Sparkling is offering a non-alcoholic option with their lineup of culinary sodas. Don’t miss the chance to buy tickets to this fairy-tale heritage pork event as tickets are expected to sell-out to this all-inclusive stand up reception. Get a preview of the event by watching the flavor-packed video http://j.mp/Cochon555-Trailer.

“I’m excited about all the new partners in 2016 who support family farming and independent business. The Cochon555 Tour is now a movement, from hosting celebrated culinary events and dinners all over North America to reaching a global audience with the news of the first open-source agricultural model. The tour is dedicated to helping family farmers succeed, period,” stated founder Brady Lowe. “This doesn’t exist anywhere in the world, and for the first time in human history, a culinary tour has emerged to save endangered species on a global scale. Together, with some of the best chefs and partners in hospitality, we amplify the conservation of heritage pork once again, which for many is a ‘gateway’ to a larger appreciation of where our food comes from and the people that raise it, leading to more mindful eating and safer food choices for our youth. We can’t wait to for amazing weekend in DC with two dinners raising money for Piggy Bank, a 501(c)(3)project of the Giving Back Fund.”

On April 18, the Department of Energy and Environment will team up with National Geographic Society to host an evening of short environmental films that bring global issues into local focus. Artists, scientists, advocates, and everyday people share stories that cross boundaries and give a new voice to our planet and to our wild, wonderful city. Celebrate the earth, the Anacostia River, and the Rusty-patched Bumble Bee! Learn about the BioBlitz coming to DC in May and how to get involved. Join the conversation in a Q&A with representatives from the films:

• A Ghost in the Making: Searching for the Rusty-Patched Bumble Bee [DC premiere]
• Nature is Speaking [DC Premiere]
• Rules for the Black Birdwatcher
• The Anacostia River: Making Connections
• Think Like a Scientist: Boundaries [Premiere]

Attendees will receive complimentary reusable bags and pollinator plant seeds. This event is free and open to the public, but registration is required. Please RSVP online at http://birdsandbees.splashthat.com.

WHO:                   Dr. Catherine Workman, National Geographic Society

Tommy Wells, Department of Energy and Environment

Dr. Will Turner, Conservation International

Dr. Neil Losin, Day’s Edge Productions

Clay Bolt, Natural History Photographer

Rich Hatfield, Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation

Krista Schlyer, Conservation Photographer and Author

WHAT:                  The Birds & the Bees: Celebrating Nature in Film

WHEN:                  Monday, April 18 from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m.

(Film program begins at 6:30 p.m. followed by a panel discussion)

WHERE:                National Geographic Society, Grosvenor Auditorium

1145 17th Street NW, Washington, DC

*Closest Metro: Farragut North Metro Station*

For the second year in a row, Jack Rose Dining Saloon is partnering with James Beard Award-winning chef Sean Brock on a delicious and charitable can’t-miss evening on Wednesday, April 20th from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Bigger than its inaugural year, the 2nd Annual “Night of Southern Hospitality” will be a two-floor feast of collaborative Southern-inspired fare, rare whiskey, cigars, and of course, the company of culinary and whiskey greats, Chef Brock of Husk Charleston and Husk Nashville, McCrady’s and Minero, Willett Distillery’s master distiller Drew Kulsveen, and Jack Rose’s own Chef Russell P. Jones, all to benefit underprivileged children through local charity Jeeps for Joy.

Chef Jones and Chef Brock have collaborated on a menu of Southern favorites passed throughout the evening, such as Anson Mills Grits with seasonal mushrooms, Fried Oysters with Pernod sauce and Bibb lettuce, Sashimi of Fluke with sunflower shoots, whiskey barrel-aged vinaigrette & pea shoot puree, Maryland Jumbo Lump Rice Bowl with crab broth, green onions, and crispy garlic, Venison Tartare on rye chips, and Barbecue Pork with cracklings & white bread.

In the first-floor dining saloon, Chef Brock will carve at his Country Ham Bar, featuring four country hams accompanied by all the fixins’: fresh-baked biscuits, pimento cheese, house pickles and deviled eggs.

And up on the open-air rooftop terrace, Chef Jones will man the wood-burning grill serving up dishes like Grilled Soft Shell Crabs with Old Bay mayo and Pit Beef with tiger sauce accompanied by fresh-baked parker house rolls, slaw and chow-chow.

Rare, vintage whiskeys have been donated for guests to enjoy, such as a 1960s Park & Tilford rye and Willett 25-year rye  along with several bourbons distilled at Stitzel-Weller including an Old Weller Original from the 1970s, an Old Fitzgerald 10-year 101-proof from the late 1980s and Old Fitzgerald 1849 8-year from the 1990s. Every guest can enjoy six ½ oz. pours of these rare bottlings, in addition to creative welcome cocktails from each establishment, and an open bar of select spirits, classic cocktails, wine, and draft beer.

And for those who prefer a fine cigar with their whiskey, the rooftop Tiki Bar will transform into a Cigar Lounge for the evening, with complimentary cigar offerings from W. Curtis Draper Tobacconist available to guests.

And the reason for this evening of fine food, drink and revelry: a portion of proceeds from tickets and an incredible silent auction will be donated to Jeeps For Joy, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of children and families in need, within the Mid-Atlantic region. They do this through fundraising, charitable events and outreach within the off-roading community. Since its launch in 2001, Jeeps For Joy has donated close to 10,000 toys and items to both the Nemours/A.I. DuPont Hospital for Children and Children’s Choice Foster Care. More information can be found at www.jeepsforjoy.org.

Tickets to the 2nd Annual “Night of Southern Hospitality” featuring Sean Brock at Jack Rose Dining Saloon can be purchased at www.jackrose-seanbrock-2016.eventbrite.com. General Admission tickets are $150 (including tax & gratuity), which includes food, six ½ oz. pours of rare whiskey, open bar of select cocktails, spirits, wine and beer, and cigars from 6-9pm. For more information, please visit www.jackrosediningsaloon.com or call 202-588-7388.

WHO:Jack Rose Dining Saloon and Chef Russell P. Jones

The top 10 DC public and public charter high school student DC-CAPITAL STARS finalists, selected via a city-wide audition and public voting process, will take center stage and compete for college scholarships at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for the 8th Annual DC-CAPITAL Stars: The Sounds of Movie Music, presented by the DC College Access Program (DC-CAP). The event is the largest annual fundraiser for the DC-CAP and showcases the students’ artistic abilities in vocal, dance and instrumental performances.

During the show, a panel of celebrity judges (see below) and votes from the audience will help determine the grand prize winner who will receive a $10,000 college scholarship. Each of the remaining performers also will receive a scholarship to be applied toward their first year of college. The performance is followed by a private reception for gala ticketholders.

The evening is dedicated to local businessman and philanthropist, A. James Clark (1927-2015), who is being honored for his lifelong passion for education, commitment to community, and his support of DC-CAP.

Learn more and purchase tickets at www.dccap.org/gala.

WHEN:                Tuesday, April 26, 2016 at 7 p.m.

WHERE:              Eisenhower Theater

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

                           2700 F Street, NW, Washington, DC 20566

WHO:                  Celebrity Judges:

• Donnie Simpson, Radio One disc jockey and TV personality
• Mark Rivera, Award-winning musician, singer and musical director
• Fik-Shun, “So You Think You Can Dance” winner (Season 10)

Ted Leonsis, DC-CAP Board Chair and Host Committee Chair

DC-CAPITAL STARS Top 10 Finalists from DC Public and Public Charter High Schools

On Friday, April 29, 2016, the National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) will celebrate its Annual Spring Gala. Join NMWA patrons, honorary chair Her Excellency Maguy Maccario Doyle, Ambassador of Monaco to the United States and gala chair Shahin Mafi for a special night at the museum’s largest annual fundraising event.

Upon arrival, guests will have the opportunity to view She Who Tells a Story: Women Photographers from Iran and the Arab World, which explores themes of protest, war and identity. The provocative and poetic works on view—most created in the last decade—include portraiture, documentary images and staged narratives. The featured photographers challenge stereotypes surrounding the people, landscapes and cultures of Iran and the Arab world.

The annual black-tie gala will continue with cocktails in the galleries and an exciting auction followed by dinner and dancing in the elegant Great Hall. The 2016 Gala Auction Chair is Mary Clark.

WHEN
Friday, Apr. 29, 6:30 p.m.
Cocktails and Silent Auction: 6:30 p.m.
Dinner and Dancing: 8 p.m. to midnight

WHERE
National Museum of Women in the Arts
1250 New York Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20005
Valet parking available

DETAILS
The spring gala is the museum’s largest annual fundraising event attended by luminaries from Washington’s diplomatic, governmental and social communities. Proceeds will support the exhibitions and programs that make us the leading museum dedicated to celebrating the achievements of women in the visual, performing and literary arts.

TICKETS
Individuals $650; Gala Host Committee, Individuals $1,000 and Couples $1,500 (both include premium seating and recognition in the program); Sponsored Tables $10,000 and up

The Child & Family Network Centers (CFNC) will host its annual Spring Benefit, Carnival: An Evening in Venice on Friday, April 29^th, 2016 from 7 p.m. – 11 p.m. at National Harbor’s East Pier located at 165 Waterfront St, National Harbor, Maryland 20745.

Each year, gracious individuals and sponsors gather to improve the odds for preschool-aged children in the City of Alexandria who may be at serious risk for school failure.

Kari Shapero, event sponsor and member of our Spring Benefit Committee, said, “The Spring Benefit is a fun and exciting way for the whole community to be involved in changing lives for the better.  I urge everyone to attend.  Each guest attending the benefit makes it possible for Alexandria’s young children to not be disadvantaged by poverty.  Your attendance and donations help to give children an opportunity to thrive in school.  We can improve their lives now and for years beyond their CFNC preschool experience.  Help us to celebrate the success that we can create together for the future of Alexandria.”

This year’s event will transport guests to Venice with a Venetian carnival theme featuring cocktails and cuisine from Italy, as well as an exciting live auction and entertainment.   Live auction packages include: a weekend trip to Virginia’s wine country, three nights in NYC, field passes to meet your favorite Redskins Players, a six-night stay in Havana, Cuba and so much more!

ABOUT THE CHILD AND FAMILY NETWORK CENTERS

Based in Alexandria, Virginia, The Child & Family Network Centers (CFNC) provides bilingual, high-quality, free education and intensive social services to at-risk children and families in their own neighborhoods to prepare and empower them for success in school and life.  Literacy support, health services, and family services are part of the repertoire addressing the needs of families speaking multiple languages.  CFNC changes the trajectory of poverty by decreasing key risk factors.  Featured in the 2014-2015 Catalogue for Philanthropy as “One of the best small charities in the Greater Washington region,” More information can be found at www.cfnc-online.org.