Events/Things To Do

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:

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

KENNEDY CENTER OPEN HOUSE: CELEBRATING JFK AT 100
Saturday, May 27, 2017, 12 p.m.–10 p.m.

With world premiere commission and activities for all

Campus-wide–FREE

In celebration of John F. Kennedy’s 100th birthday, the Kennedy Center will host an Open House. This free event welcomes the public to explore and experience the performing arts through the halls, theaters, and plazas of the Kennedy Center through more than 30 free performances, activities and events for all ages and tastes. The arts program will feature artists from across the U.S., the Washington, D.C. region, and abroad.

Highlights include:

• Bandaloop, the pioneers of vertical dance, will present multiple performances suspended from the roof of the Kennedy Center throughout the day.
• Company E, a D.C-based contemporary dance company, will perform a Kennedy Center JFK Centennial-commissioned work and world premiere, (In) Security or Jack and Nikki Do the Cold War Tango, in the Grand Foyer using both Millennium Stages simultaneously to explore the John F Kennedy/ Nikita Khrushchev relationship.
• Flexn will present five different performances throughout the day in the Eisenhower Theater of flex dance which is an electrifying form of street dance evolved from Jamaican bruk-up and reggae. Each performance will be in a different format (solo, two-on-two battles, full company), and each focusing on one of the five JFK Centennial ideals as well as opening with a discussion of the works by Peter Sellars and Reggie Gray.
• Finding a Line: Skateboarding, Music, and Media will return with a skate park and music stage open and active throughout the day on the plaza.
• Citizen Artist Fellow Paige Hernandez and Baye Harrell will perform “All the Way Live!” in the Family Theater.
• The National Memorial Day Choral Festival in the Concert Hall will present patriotic repertoire which will include works that celebrate President Kennedy such as the “Star Spangled Banner,” “America the Beautiful,” “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” “Inauguration,” and “To the Moon.”
• Local Washington Ballet will participate in Open House activities by presenting their independent commission Frontier.

All of the programming in the three largest theaters and the Grand Foyer will explore and celebrate the legacy of President Kennedy.

(WASHINGTON)—Washington National Opera (WNO) today announces an exciting

conclusion to its 2016–2017 season: the 2017 WNO Opera Gala, celebrating WNO

Board Chairman Jacqueline Badger Mars, who will step down as Chairman this

summer. The Gala, on Saturday, June 3, 2017, will include a concert in the Kennedy

Center Opera House featuring the WNO Orchestra and an array of musical stars who

will pay special tribute to Jacqueline Mars’s visionary leadership of WNO: legendary

soprano Renée Fleming, superstar mezzo-soprano and D.C. native Denyce Graves,

and Hamilton Tony Award® winner Leslie Odom Jr. The Gala is presented as part of

JFKC, the Kennedy Center’s season-long celebration of John F. Kennedy’s centennial,

and explores the themes of service and gratitude, which are often associated with

President Kennedy.

The Co-Chairmen of the WNO Opera Gala are WNO Life Chairman Mrs. Eugene B.

Casey and Mrs. John F. Mars. The Opera Gala pays tribute to Jacqueline Badger Mars

for her six seasons of leadership of the WNO Board of Trustees. Highlights of her

tenure include the founding of the American Opera Initiative, which for the last five

seasons has helped identify the brightest rising American composers and librettists and

has added their work to the repertory; the programming of an annual opera for families

at the holiday season, including Hansel and Gretel, The Little Prince, and the world

premiere commission of The Lion, the Unicorn, and Me; and the presentation of WNO’s

first-ever complete Ring cycles in 2016, a feat that put WNO into a very elite group of

American opera companies.

“I have been honored to work with Jacquie Mars since 2008, and her imaginative

leadership and guidance have brought WNO unparalleled growth and success while

also making the opera more accessible to a broader audience,” said WNO executive

director Michael L. Mael. “Our next Chairman will certainly have big shoes to fill, but I

am happy that Jacquie will continue to steer this company as a WNO trustee.”

Tickets for the Gala concert start at $49 and are on sale now to Kennedy Center

members. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday, April 21, 2017 at 10 a.m.

For those who wish to purchase special Gala packages, the evening will begin with a

VIP cocktail reception on the Kennedy Center’s River Terrace at 5:30 p.m., followed by

the Gala concert at 6:30 p.m. After the performance, Gala package holders will depart

the Kennedy Center for elegant black-tie dinners hosted by many ambassadors at their

embassies or residences throughout the city, a longtime tradition of the Opera’s season-
ending social gathering.

The Opera Gala is WNO’s largest fundraiser and one of Washington’s most anticipated

events of the year. Proceeds from the Opera Gala will play a crucial role in advancing

the Opera’s award-wining artistic, educational, and outreach programs.

While the 2016–2017 season is coming to an end, the new season promises

excitement. WNO’s 2017–2018 season includes new productions of Verdi’s epic drama

Aida, the company premiere of Handel’s magical baroque opera Alcina, and Verdi’s

towering masterpiece Don Carlo, plus Rossini’s delightful comedy The Barber of Seville

and Bernstein’s biting satire Candide. The season also features a festival weekend of

four world premieres as part of the American Opera Initiative, the return of the holiday

family opera The Little Prince, two special Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist performances,

and more. Subscription packages are available now.

TICKET INFORMATION:

Tickets for the Gala concert start at $49 and are available online, in person at the

Kennedy Center Box Office, and by calling (202) 467-4600 or (800) 444-1324. For all

other ticket-related customer service inquiries, call the Advance Sales Box Office at

(202) 416-8540.

Christian Heurich’s granddaughter, Jan Evans, will host a special History & Hops at the Heurich

House Museum on July 20 th from 6:30-8:30pm. Mrs. Evans was very close to her grandparents,

Christian and Amelia Heurich, and lived with them for a time in their Dupont Circle mansion. She

will discuss her time in Washington, D.C. as well as her family’s history and legacy. Guests will

be able to speak directly with Mrs. Evans as well as enjoy beer, snacks, and tours of the historic

Heurich House Museum.

Born in Hawaii, Mrs. Evans has lived in Japan, Cuba, Florida, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. A

local business-woman, she is a current board member of the Association of Oldest Inhabitants

of Washington, D.C. and Director of the Friends of the National World War II Memorial. Mrs.

Evans was also instrumental in establishing her grandparents’ home as a museum. Together

with her cousin Gary Heurich, she created the Heurich House Foundation and helped the

organization purchase the Heurich mansion in 2003, from the Historical Society of Washington,

D.C. The Heurich House museum would not exist today, in its intact form, without her

intervention.

Guests at History & Hops will have the chance to meet and speak with Mrs. Evans as she

recounts her time spent in Washington, D.C. with her grandparents between 1930 and 1956.

The museum will also feature a variety of drinks to celebrate Mrs. Evans’ time spent traveling

the world.

Tickets for History & Hops hosted by Jan Evans are $30 per person and include tastings,

snacks, and tours of the Heurich House Museum. For more information and to purchase tickets,

please visit http://bit.ly/HHJuly2017. Guests must be 21 or older.

All proceeds benefit the preservation and growth of the Heurich House Museum.

What:   Kimberly Snyder & Well + Good Present DC Beauty Immersion Speaking Tour + Radical Beauty book signing

Where: Westin Washington D.C. City Center

1400 M St NW

Washington, DC 20005

When: Saturday, July 22^nd from 12pm-2pm

Who:    Kimberly Snyder, New York Times best-selling author and nutritionist

ABOUT: New York Times best-selling author and nutritionist Kimberly Snyder will kick off her Beauty Immersion Speaking Tour with an event in DC sponsored by Well + Good.  The event will feature a discussion from Snyder followed by a Radical Beauty book signing and meet and greet, which will take place at the Westin Washington D.C. City Center on Saturday, July 22nd from 7:00pm-9:00pm EST. This event is open to the public, and tickets can be purchased here: http://kimberlysnyder.com/events/

Springfield Town Center will host PASSPORT TO FASHION – celebrating fall’s fashion arrivals – Saturday
September 16, 2017 from 1pm to 4pm.
The event will consist of a Main Stage program (see schedule attached) of styling sessions and a panel
featuring premier fashion voices. Guests can explore pop-up vignettes showcasing the hottest trends, test
drive the season’s hottest makeup and beauty looks and shop the looks of the ‘Fall Fashion Closet’
carefully curated by local style experts. Along the way, attendees grab some swag, learn pro techniques
at beauty master classes AND have a chance to win a $500 shopping gift card! Hot deals on deck from
TOPSHOP / TOPMAN, Sephora, White House Black Market, Aveda Salon, Express, and more!
Emcees for the event are Sarah Fraser and Paul Wharton – co-hosts of the popular podcast, Hey Frase, a weekly
show on Spotify and iTunes covering pop-culture, news, and their lives.
Sarah is also a long-time contributor on Fox 5 in Washington, DC. She was the co-host of the number one
rated Kane Show on Hot 99.5 for six years, and host of Sarah, Ty, and Mel on DC's 107.3.
Wharton is a Television Personality and Lifestyle Enthusiast that can be seen weekday mornings on Fox
5's Good Day DC. He is an author, entrepreneur with a medical skin care line, fashion and beauty
consultant, lifestyle aficionado, expert in front of and behind the camera and so much more. His upcoming
book “Pulling It All Together” shares essential style advice on being confident, beautiful and most of all
happy!
With its original opening in 1973, Springfield Mall was heralded as one of the top shopping centers in the area,
earning visits from both Princess Diana and Prince Charles. Since its 2015 acquisition of the property, PREIT has
revived the retail center with the same energy and life that first made it the leading place to eat, shop, and play.
After a $250 million gut renovation, the mall reopened its doors newly branded as Springfield Town Center,
unveiling top-billed retailer tenants such as Macys, a two-level H&M, and Britain-based clothier Topshop – its first
location in the DC-Metro area. But the 1.35 million-square- foot center offers more than just fashion. With a luxury
reclined seating theater, 41,000 square-foot LA Fitness gym, and endless dining options, Springfield Town Center
is a truly whole-istic community cornerstone.
The event will take place in the Grand Court on level one of Springfield Town Center and is free to attend.
There is plenty of free parking onsite and the property is a short walk from the Franconia/Springfield Metro Stop on
the Blue Line.

The world is filled with different types of environments; from the natural world as a whole to particular geographical areas. This year the creativity by interior designers will make these environments fashionable and transform them into wearable works of art when the 8th Annual Cosmo Couture Fashion & Design event takes place on Thursday, September 28^th in Washington, D.C.

The annual event produced by the Washington Metro City Center (WMCC) of the International Interior Design Association Mid-Atlantic Chapter (IIDA-MAC), will pay tribute to the various environments that we live in and also surround us. Local architecture and interior design firms and manufacturing partners will create apparel out of interior materials reflecting the given theme. This year, each garment will transport the audience into a new ENVIRONMENT, pulling their design inspiration from the environmental definition: the surroundings or conditions in which a person, plant or animal lives or operates. Garments are constructed out of interior materials such as tile, carpet, wood, vinyl, glass and rubber –  materials used in the built environment and finding ways to apply them to haute couture fashion, creating a bridge between fashion and architecture. These individual inspirations allow the design teams to conceptualize and create a garment around their inspiration’s feel, look, and sound. Each year the theme changes with past themes focusing on D.C. area landmarks, such as the Smithsonian Museums, Embassies, American Presidents, the National Zoo, to an Under The Big Top circus theme.

Twenty-four design teams will participate in this year’s event. Designs will be judged by an elite panel of judges such as Michael McCarthy (Editor-in-Chief, DC Modern Luxury), Kim Elleen (Chief Washington Reporter for the Boston Herald & Fashion Designer – Kim Elleen Collection), Fashion & Interior Stylist Stara Pezeshkian (more to be announced soon) and awards will be given in various categories such as:

Best Performance

• Best Performance
• Best Use of Materials
• Best Interpretation of Theme
• Best Red Carpet Look
• Audience Favorite (People’s Choice)

The 2017 Cosmo Couture beneficiary is Rebuilding Together of Washington, DC (RTDC).  RTDC’s mission is to preserve and revitalize low-income homes and community facilities in our Nation’s Capital.  RTDC makes free home repairs for low-income DC homeowners who are Veterans, elderly, disabled or caring for young children in seriously deteriorating conditions and for nonprofit community centers that serve DC’s most vulnerable citizens of all ages. RTDC’s home repairs enable low-income homeowners to remain in their homes, where they can live in warmth and safety with independence and dignity. To date, the IIDA Mid-Atlantic Chapter has donated over $100,000 to previously selected charities from Cosmo Couture proceeds during the past six years.

Cosmo Couture attracts approximately 800 attendees each year and made possible this year by our Haute Couture top sponsor Mohawk Group. Media partners for the event are DC Modern Luxury, ABC7 and News Channel 8.

Event tickets range from $100-150 and sponsorship and table opportunities are also available online at http://www.cosmocouture.org/tickets.shtml.

EVENT DETAILS
What:  Cosmo Couture 2017 – Fashion & Interior Design Event (8^th Annual)
Presented by:  Washington Metro City Center of the International Interior Design Association – Mid Atlantic Chapter
Beneficiary: Rebuilding Together of Washington, DC

When: Thursday, September 28, 2017
Where:  The Howard Theater, 620 T Street, NW, Washington, D.C.
Time:  5:30-10:00PM
Cocktails 5:30-7:30PM

Runway Show 7:30-9:00PM

Desserts 9:00-10:00PM

Website: www.cosmocouture.org

Capitol City Brewing Company in celebrating the 18^th annual Mid-Atlantic Oktoberfest at Arlington’s Shirlington Village. Oktoberfest is from 12:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. and located at the outdoor streetscape at 4001 Campbell Avenue.

In honor of this tasty holiday Santa Rosa chefs Spike Mendelsohn, Max Albano and John Renninger have each created a limited-edition taco.  On Wednesday, October 4^th diners can order up the Three Amigos Taco Series, which will consist of one of each chef’s specialty taco.

Fried Green Tomato Taco

Cornmeal Fried Green Tomato │ Grilled Corn │ Chipotle Aioli │ Pico │ Cotija

Blackened Shrimp Taco with Pineapple-Kiwi Salsa

Blackened Grilled Shrimp │ Yellow Rice │ Pineapple-Kiwi Salsa │Crema

Steak & Peppers Taco

Grilled Mojo Steak │ Peppers/ Onions │ Jalapeño │ Avocado Crema

The Three Amigos Taco Series will be available for one day only and will be served from open to close (11:00 am – 10:00 pm.)  While enjoying their tacos, guests can also try one of the Santa Rosa’s craft margaritas (on tap,) sip on a seasonal Agua Fresco or order up one of the restaurant’s numerous beers.

To add to the festivities, a Mariachi Band will be on hand from 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm playing live music. 

Santa Rosa Taqueria is located at 312 Pennsylvania Ave, SE in Washington, DC.

On Wednesday, October 4, the Junior League of Washington (JLW) will host its annual fall fashion fundraiser, Fall into Fashion, at the Bloomingdale’s in Chevy Chase. Guests at the event will have the opportunity to view the latest fall fashion trends, sample passed hors d’oeuvres and champagne, and enjoy 10 percent off most purchases, with a percentage of each purchase going back to the Junior League.

All proceeds from this event support JLW’s programs, including our efforts to train and develop exceptionally qualified civic leaders, improve the community through volunteer service and partnership with local nonprofits, and provide grants that support literacy efforts in the DC area. To learn more about this event, please visit https://www.jlw.org/fall-into-fashion/.

When:  Wednesday, October 4, 2017
6 – 8:30 p.m.

Where:  Bloomingdale’s
Wisconsin Place, Chevy Chase
5300 Western Avenue
Chevy Chase, MD 20815