Events/Things To Do

The Pier is a simple story of the personal, and very human, battle between an Irish father and his emigrant son. Called home from New York by his long-estranged father, who reportedly is on his deathbed, Larry McCarthy finds the old man has worked yet another con on him. An amusing battle of wills follows.

Filmed in New York and West Cork, Ireland, The Pier stars Karl Johnson, Gerard Hurley and Lili Taylor. Hurley wrote, directed and acts in this film.

“… never comes close to striking a bum note.”
– The Irish Times critic Donald Clarke

“An Evening with Danny Glover,” is an event to celebrate the American debut of African Passion Wines, which will raise funds for the TransAfrica Forum. The nonprofit has partnered with African Passion Wine to supports human rights and social justice in Africa. The party and meet-and-greet will include heavy hors’ doeuvres, a band, and the opportunity to meet and take photos with the celebrated star of films such as Lethal Weapon andAngels in the Outfield.

In addition to the funds raised at the February 20 event, 10 percent of each bottle of African Passion sold will benefit TransAfrica Forum. We look forward to seeing you for an enjoyable evening which supports not only the newest South African wine in the American market, but also the oldest and largest African American human rights and social justice advocacy organization in the U.S. Tickets can be purchased by visiting www.TransAfrica.org.

The Greater Washington Heart Ball has moved to the District this year, and for the first time ever will take place at the iconic National Building Museum and will be adding a young professional’s event, Heart After Dark that will take place in conjunction with the Heart Ball. American Heart Month activities are rounded out with this black-tie affair. Proceeds from the Heart Ball and Heart After Dark benefit lifesaving research and education and advocacy campaigns by the American Heart Association. Heart disease remains the No. 1 killer of people in the United States today.

WHAT:  The Heart Ball is a premier society even and a celebration of the life-saving work of the American Heart Association. The event brings together more than 500 of the region’s most prominent physician, corporate, health care, and community leaders. The night will be hosted by actor, director, producer, writer, composer and heart survivor, Robby Benson. Benson is best known for starring in films such as “Ice Castles”, “Ode to Billy Joe”, “The Chosen”, “Running Brave”, in his own screenplay for the Warner Bros. basketball classic, “One on One” and to a new generation as the voice of Beast in Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast.” The night will also feature a live performance piece of Christopher Janney’s “HeartBeat” sung by music sensations, The Persuasions. The evening includes, live and silent auctions, dinner, dancing and special presentations to honor the United States Military and support organizations through the Heart Heroes program.  Also new this year, there will be an after party for young professionals.

WHEN: Saturday, February 23, 2013, 6:30pm-1:00am

• ·         6:30 p.m. – Cocktail Reception, Silent Auction
• ·         7:30 p.m. – Opening remarks, Dinner, Live Auction
• ·         9:00 p.m. – Heart After Dark hosts a private reception upstairs
• ·         10:00 p.m. – Heart After Dark joins the Heart Ball for dancing and live entertainment
• ·         1:00 a.m. – Evening concludes

WHERE: The National Building Museum, 401 F St NW   

WHO: 

• ·         Actor and survivor Robby Benson – event host
• ·         Matt Voorhees, Chief Executive Office/Co-Founder of Anybill and 2013 Heart Ball Chair
• ·         Heart Hero Honorees and survivor honorees
• ·         Prominent business leaders, cardiologists, dignitaries and AHA Leadership

WHY:  Events such as the Heart Ball bring the community together to raise awareness of heart disease and stroke and raise money for research. The fact is that heart disease kills more people annually than the next five causes of death combined – and this is a shocking statistic to many. The key is to raise awareness on issues like the fact that while 1 in 31 women will die of breast cancer, almost one in three will die from a cardiovascular disease.

The funds raised by the Heart Ball go toward local community outreach efforts to educate the public about heart disease, stroke and the effects of childhood obesity. Funds also go toward critical cardiovascular research. Research funded by the American Heart Association has led to important scientific breakthroughs that include: Artificial Valves, CPR, Clot-Busting Drugs, Pacemakers, Angioplasty, Bypass Surgery, Medicines to Control High Blood Pressure and Cholesterol. It has also led to important discoveries like the link between smoking and heart disease and to food labeling guidelines.

Art Soiree Productions will present its 4th annual Live Viewing Night of OSCARS –  85th Annual Academy Awards on Sunday, February 24, 2013 at the Georgetown Ritz-Carlton, 3100 South Street NW, Washington, DC. The event is organized to celebrate and toast to the winners and all the talented people in the movie industry that entertain us throughout the year with their creations.

Night’s guests will enjoy a true Hollywood Glamour experience with Red Carpet, Flash Lights, Cameras, Interviews, Live Broadcasting, Live Music, Live Entertainment, Specialty Themed Cocktails, Oscars Pool and watch a live telecast of the 85th Academy Awards on multiple screens. The evening will feature special live performance by St. Charles String Quartet playing songs from the Oscar nominated movies.

Art Soiree’s Live Viewing Night of Oscars is the most visible and successful event in Washington, DC on Oscar night. The night benefits Art Soiree’s local artistic efforts and the funds are used to support organization’s  wide range of initiatives, including production of local art exhibits showcasing local talents and sponsoring DC artists on a national and international levels such as showcasing them at the annual Art Basel Miami Beach fair.

The Ritz-Carlton and epgPR have partnered with Art Soiree Productions as the evening’s generous Co-Sponsors.

Tickets for the event are on sale and can be purchase at http://oscarsdc2013.eventbrite.com/

Regular package: $30 Pre-Sale, $40 General
Event is 21+, Strictly Black Tie Attire, Red carpet, photo props, step and repeat, admission to Degrees lounge area, 5 tv screens, cash bar, and more

VIP package: $75 Pre-Sale, $90 General
Event is 21+, Strictly Black Tie Attire, Red carpet, admission to ballroom with lounge seating and broadcasting on 7.5x10ft screen, complimentary hors d’ouevres, private cash bar, gift bags, live entertainment, musical band, photo props, step and repeat, and more

Red Sprinkle and Squareroot Group partner with the American Heart Association for “Heart 2 Heart”; an event that will benefit AHA and the countless individuals who benefit from its services and philanthropy.

With a growing rate of heart disease affecting all members of American communities, it is no wonder the American Heart Association has become the leading organization to encourage heart health and awareness. In order to support its efforts, on Wednesday, February 27th (6-9pm), Red Sprinkle and Squareroot Group will partner with the American Heart Association for “Heart 2 Heart”; an event that will benefit AHA and the countless individuals who benefit from its services and philanthropy. Over the course of the night, guests will enjoy themed cocktails and small plates, provided by Hotel Rouge’s exquisite bar and culinary staff. Guests will also participate in a silent auction featuring donated items and services provided by local and national businesses. Proceeds will benefit the American Heart Association’s longstanding mission to educate, serve and inspire.  

Pump Me Up: D.C. Subculture of the 1980s is the first exhibition to explore the thriving underground of Washington, D.C., during the 1980s, giving visual form to the raucous energy of graffiti, Go-Go music, and a world-renowned punk and hardcore scene.

Curator’s Talk: Roger Gastman
Wednesday, February 27, 7 p.m.
$10 Members; $12 Public
To complement Pump Me Up, the exhibition he curated, graffiti historian Roger Gastman discusses the graffiti of Washington, D.C. Gastman began writing graffiti as a teenager in Bethesda. An exhibition viewing and book signing follows the talk.

The exhibition explores the visual culture of the “other D.C.,” demonstrating its place in the history of street art as well as that of America’s capital city. In the midst of notorious problems with drugs and corruption, D.C. gave birth to an infectious visual culture captured in the exhibition through posters, graffiti, graphic art, archival photographs, and ephemera. Pump Me Up tells a local history from a local point of view, while providing a framework for the contemporary surge of interest in street art and underground graphics.

Pump Me Up traces the history of graffiti in Washington while emphasizing its inextricable ties to the burgeoning forms of local music. The exhibition highlights the vibrant scene that sprang up around Go-Go, a local form of funk pioneered by Chuck Brown and others, including the stripped-down “Go-Go graffiti” style. Started by neighborhood “crews,” this style became a hallmark of the D.C. style of graffiti writing. Around the same time, an underground hardcore and punk scene sprang up in venues like the Wilson Center and the 9:30 Club.

Ephemera, photos, flyers, posters, records, newspaper clippings, stage clothes, instruments, video loops, and much more, all made largely between 1980 and 1992, will fill the Corcoran’s Atrium and Rotunda, bringing the era to life. The exhibition includes sections on graffiti writers (notably the work of COOL “DISCO” DAN), the D.C. punk, hardcore, and Go-Go scenes, concert posters made by the Baltimore-based Globe printing press, and visual culture from the drug wars.

Pump Me Up is curated by Roger Gastman, who began writing graffiti as a teenager in Bethesda, Maryland.  Since then, he has founded and published the pop culture magazines While You Were Sleeping and Swindle, with Shepard Fairey, and authored a dozen graffiti art books including The History of American Graffiti (with Caleb Neelon; 2011).  In 2011 he curated, with Jeffrey Deitch and Aaron Rose, the exhibition Art in the Streets at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. Gastman’s film production credits include Banksy’s Exit through the Gift Shop and the graffiti documentary Wall Writers, and he is currently directing a documentary for Sanrio/Hello Kitty on the history of the brand and its fans.

The fifth anniversary of Commedia dell Media will take the stage at The Hamilton on Thursday, February 28. Commedia dell Media will feature a record-breaking lineup of thirteen vying for the title of “DC’s Funniest Journalist.” Emceed by Brandon Wetherbee, assistant editor of The Huffington Post and host of the comedic talk radio show “You, Me, Them, Everybody,” the show will be driven by the comic stylings of Jon Allen and Patrick Reis of Politico, C-SPAN’s Libby Casey, Rich Edson of Fox Business News, Elahe Izadi of the National Journal, NPR’s Renita Jablonski, CBS Radio’s Chris Lingebach, Natalie McGill of The Nation’s Health, Valerie Paschall of DCist, The Washington Post’s Alexandra Petri, Meredith Shiner of CQ/Roll Call, Kat Timpf of Washington Times 24/7, and CCTV’s Mike Walter.For more info about the performers and charities, see our websites, or contact organizer Christina Davidson at Christina@journopalooza.com

Commedia dell Media
Thursday, February 28, 2013
at The Hamilton
600 14^th St. NW
Doors 7:00; Comedy 8:00
Tix: $20 advance; $30 day-of-show

Please join Suspicious Package and friends on Friday March 1 at premiere dc music venue THE BLACK CAT, for Journopalooza V battle of the bands!  The Black Cat stage has seen the likes of Foo Fighters, the Killers, Radiohead, the Roots and many others..

Well, those guys are booked elsewhere 3/1…but we hope you’ll come rock out with SP and five other great bands for fun times to benefit two good causes- Writopia Lab for student creative writing workshops in DC, and REACH to improve adolescent literacy in DC schools.  Ballot-stuffing for Suspicious Package highly encouraged – we would love to see you there!  Tickets will likely sell out, get ’em $20 in advance at www.journopalooza.com.

The oldest symphonic choral ensemble in Washington, D.C., the Cathedral Choral Society (CCS), is holding its Angel of the Arts Award Gala on Saturday, March 2, 2013 at the Embassy of Italy at 6:00 p.m.  Named for arts philanthropist, Laura E. Phillips, the Angel of the Arts Award honors a deserving man or woman who has dedicated their career and brought their passion for the arts to the Washington community.  This year’s recipient is Douglas H. Wheeler, president emeritus of the Washington Performing Arts Society (WPAS).  This is the first time the Angel of the Arts award has been given in four years.

The 2013 Angel of the Arts Award honoree is the distinguished Douglas H. Wheeler, president emeritus of the Washington Performing Arts Society (WPAS). WPAS and CCS have a long history dating back to the 1980s.

Mr. Wheeler’s historic career spans nearly five decades of incubating local talent and bringing national and international artists such as Wynton Marsalis, Midori, Yo-Yo Ma and Luciano Pavarotti to Washington audiences.
In addition to more than 60 performances each year, WPAS, an independent, nonprofit professional arts organization, forges community partnerships through educational projects with schoolchildren and develops innovative art forms with emerging artists.  Today, as president emeritus of WPAS, Mr. Wheeler is developing WPAS’s Legacy Society, works on special projects with nonprofit organizations, and serves on several national boards.

CCS is the resident symphonic chorus of Washington National Cathedral. Founded in 1941 by Paul Callaway who served as music director until 1984, the 130-voice chorus is the oldest symphonic choral ensemble in Washington. Since 1985, J. Reilly Lewis has conducted the Society in musical masterpieces from plainsong to the classics to contemporary works.  CCS has presented numerous world premieres; many of them commissioned by the Society, and has maintained a tradition of showcasing both promising young soloists and internationally known artists.

Gala attendees will include community, business, philanthropic and arts leaders and patrons from the D.C. region. 

24th Annual Casino Night Benefiting the National Kidney Foundation Serving the National Capital Area

Honorary Chairs:
Lorenzo Alexander, Washington Redskins Linebacker & Pro Bowler
& wife Manjanique

Special Guests:
Reed Doughty, Washington Redskins Safety & wife Katie, kidney donor
Anthony Armstrong, Dallas Cowboys Wide Receiver
Rick “Doc” Walker, Former Super Bowl Champion, Co-host of “Inside the Locker
Room” on ESPN 980

Masters of Ceremonies:
Jummy Olabanji, Reporter, “Good Morning Washington” on ABC7, kidney patient
Scott Jackson, Co-host, “Inside the Locker Room” on ESPN 980, kidney patient

ABOUT THE EVENT:

Casino Night is an exciting black-tie optional event that raises funds for the
National Kidney Foundation Serving the National Capital Area. The event attracts
a diverse and affluent group of more than 500 guests and volunteers from the
business, medical and philanthropic communities in the National Capital Area.

Casino Night 2013, with a feature:
• Casino-style Gaming (Blackjack, Craps, Roulette)
• Premier Silent Auction Items
• Complimentary Beer & Wine
• Hourly Spirit Tastings
• Hors d’oeuvres and Desserts
• Dance Music
• Photo Booth

The Washington, DC area has the highest prevalence of kidney disease in the
nation. Proceeds from Casino Night support medical research, patient and
community services, professional education and organ donation awareness in the
DC region.

PRICE:

Early Bird Special (January 2-January 13): $85
Standard Ticket (January 14-February 17): $100
I’m Feeling Lucky (February 18-March 2): $125
Corporate sponsorships begin at $2,500