Nov
13
Tue
Cuba Libre Cookbook Release @ Cuba Libre Restaurant and Rum Bar
Nov 13 @ 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM

 Cuba Libre Restaurant & Rum Bar, located steps from CityCenterDC at 801 9th Street, NW, 20001, will celebrate the release of Chef-Partner Guillermo Pernot’s second cookbook, CUBA COOKS: RECIPES AND DESRETS FROM CUBAN PALADARES AND THEIR CHEFS (October 2018) with a book signing party on Tuesday, November 13.

Guests pay $50 per person to enjoy select open bar to include beer, red and white wine by the glass, house red and white sangria, Pyrat Mojitos, Mango Mojitos and Spiced Cuba Libre’s along with an array of passed and stationary tapas, ceviches, and desserts profiled in CUBA COOKS. Dishes are subject to change, but may include Ceviche de Pez Perro, hog fish ceviche with blackeyes peas, coconut milk, cilantro and cachucha Chile sauce; Sopa de Cilantro, chilled cilantro soup with tempura of clams; Tacos de Berenjenas, malanga tacos with eggplant salad; Buñuelos de Espinaca, spinach and manchego cheese fritters, served with goat cheese sauce; Croquetas de Pollo, chicken croquettes with cachucha aioli; Alitas de Pollo a lo Chino, Chinese barbeque chicken winglets; Tostones con Ropa Vieja de Pato,braised pulled duck legs with Hawaiian toston, as well as Cuban Porchetta, pork belly and pork loin roast with Moros y Cristianos pilaf.  Desserts are just as enticing and include Churros con Chocolate; Macarrones de Coco; Guayaba con Mousse de Queso Crema as well as El Arroz con Leche de Mami Totty.  Cookbooks will also be available for purchase throughout the evening and priced at $40 each.

A vibrant celebration of the island’s bold flavors, creative techniques, and unique inspirations of Cuba’s finest paladares, readers of CUBA COOKS will find a rich variety of dishes which have been adapted from some of the best private restaurants from Old Havana to Santiago de Cuba.  Showcasing a cuisine which marries traditional foundations with modern influences, Pernot and Co-Author Lourdes Castro have thoughtfully collected recipes and stories that reveal a vibrant contemporary cuisine.  Throughout the book, readers will find illuminating and insightful notes about Cuba’s culinary heritage, as well as helpful notes found with every recipe. 

Guillermo Pernot is a nationally renowned chef and restaurateur, and chef-partner at Cuba Libre Restaurant & Rum Bar in Philadelphia, Atlantic City, Orlando and Washington, DC. Named “Chef of the Year” by Esquire magazine and one of “America’s Ten Best New Chefs,” by Food & Wine, Pernot is a two-time James Beard Award winner for Best Chef (Mid-Atlantic) and Best Single-Subject Cookbook for Ceviche: Seafood, Salads, and Cocktails with a Latino Twist (Running Press, 2001).   

Lourdes Castro is a professor, recipe developer, and author of three cookbooks, Latin Grilling (Ten Speed, 2011), Simply Mexican (Ten Speed, 2009), and Eat, Drink, Think in Spanish (Ten Speed, 2009). A recurring judge on Food Network’s Beat Bobby Flay, Castro has also appeared on NBC’s Today Show, CBS’s The Early Show and The Talk, and on news and lifestyle programs for Better TV, Univision, Telemundo, and CNN en Español.  Her recipes have also appeared in Food & Wine, Latina magazine, and The New York Times.

 

WHEN:          Tuesday, November 13, 2018, from 6 PM to 8 PM. 

WHERE:       Cuba Libre Restaurant and Rum Bar is located at 801 9th Street, NW, Ste. A, Washington, D.C. 20001;  

Nov
28
Wed
Washington Business Hall of Fame @ National Building Museum
Nov 28 @ 5:30 PM – 9:30 PM

Washington Business Hall of Fame founders Junior Achievement
of Greater Washington, the Greater Washington Board of Trade and Washingtonian
announced the 2018 Hall of Fame laureates. Since 1988, the Washington Business Hall of Fame
has recognized the professional and philanthropic contributions of outstanding business leaders in
our region who have made Greater Washington the city that it is today. The annual gala benefits
Junior Achievement of Greater Washington and its innovative financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship K-12 programs that inspire the next generation of leaders to navigate their path to the American Dream.

This year’s laureates are:
José Andrés
Chef/Owner, ThinkFoodGroup & minibar by José Andrés

Donald A. Brown, Joseph B. Gildenhorn, and Benjamin R. Jacobs
Founding Partners, The JBG Companies

Mark D. Ein
Founder & CEO, Venturehouse Group, LLC

Dr. Sachiko Kuno
Founder & Chair, Halcyon

“This year’s laureates are an example of what’s possible from our region’s business leaders,” said
Ed Grenier, President and CEO, Junior Achievement of Greater Washington. “Their passion for
excellence and steadfast commitment to this community is an inspiration to all of us and a lesson in leadership for Greater Washington’s future leaders, innovators, and entrepreneurs.”

Washington Business Hall of Fame laureates have shaped the regional landscape of Greater
Washington and consistently demonstrated outstanding business accomplishments, visionary
leadership, integrity and strong core values, and, passionate community engagement. Following a
call for nominations from the general public, final selections are made by a nomination committee
led by representatives of the three founding organizations. More than 100 remarkable laureates
have been inducted into the Washington Business Hall of Fame since its founding in 1988. A full list is available at www.myJA.org/halloffame/laureates.

The laureates will be honored at a black-tie gala and awards ceremony, chaired by Grant Thornton
Partner in Charge, Markets, Industries, and Clients – Atlantic Coast Region, Richard P. LaFleur on
Wednesday, November 28 at the National Building Museum. At this year’s gala, more than 1,200
business and civic leaders will come together to honor this year’s laureates and raise more than
$1.4 million to support Junior Achievement of Greater Washington’s K-12 programs and their work to inspire over 66,000 students in our region annually to be financially capable, tenacious, and
equipped with the tools to manage risk effectively, solve problems creatively, and welcome
opportunity in an increasingly complex modern economy. The gala is presented by Capital One and
Grant Thornton.

To reserve a table and for event details, please visit
www.WashingtonBusinessHallofFame.org.

Jan
18
Fri
Laurie Halse Anderson Discusses ‘Speak’
Jan 18 @ 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM

Hello! On Friday, January 18 at 7 p.m. Laurie Halse Anderson, author of the critically acclaimed and bestselling young adult novel Speak, will be at 700 Pennsylvania Avenue Southeast celebrating the launch of book’s 20th anniversary edition, which hits shelves on January 15. Laurie will be in-conversation with National Book Award-winning author Elizabeth Acevedo.

Widely considered to be a modern classic for its depiction of the aftermath of sexual assault, Speak (which has sold millions of copies since publication in 1999) has changed the face of YA publishing, opening doors for other authors to address this formerly taboo topic in their books, well ahead of the national conversation surrounding the #metoo movement. The 20th anniversary edition features an all new introduction by writer, editor, and podcast host Ashley C. Ford and afterword by New York Times bestselling author Jason Reynolds. 
You can check out more information on the East City Bookshop event page (HERE). 
Mar
9
Sat
Alyson Richman Book Appearance: The Secret of Clouds @ Politics & Prose
Mar 9 @ 3:30 PM – 5:30 PM

#1 bestselling author Alyson Richman will be visiting Washington, D.C. to promote her new release, THE SECRET OF CLOUDS (Berkley Hardcover; February 19, 2019).

 

Alyson Richman is known for her sweeping, poignant works of historical fiction like The Lost Wife. Now, Richman pens a story of love and loss about a Ukrainian immigrant family living in New York following the 1986 disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear plant.

 

Saturday, March 9, 2019

In Conversation with Pam Jenoff

3:30 PM

Politics & Prose

5015 Connecticut Ave NW

Washington, D.C. 20008

Free and open to the public

 

In THE SECRET OF CLOUDS, Katya, a rising ballerina, and Sasha, a graduate student, are young and in love when an unexpected tragedy befalls their native Kiev, Ukraine. Years later, after the couple has safely immigrated to America, the consequences of this incident cause their son, Yuri, to be born with a rare health condition that isolates him from other children. Maggie, a passionate and dedicated teacher, agrees to tutor Yuri at his home, even though she is haunted by her own painful childhood memories. As the two forge a deep and soulful connection, Yuri’s boundless curiosity and unique wisdom inspire Maggie to make difficult changes in her own life.  And she’ll never realize just how strong Yuri has made her—until she needs that strength the most.

Mar
11
Mon
Vinegar and Char: Verse from the Southern Foodways Alliance @ Folger Shakespeare Library
Mar 11 @ 7:30 PM – 9:30 PM

O.B. HARDISON POETRY

Vinegar and Char: Verse from the Southern Foodways Alliance

Three poets from this culinary anthology, Sandra Beasley, Sean Hill, and Atsuro Riley, read work that delves into the shaping influence of history, culture, and identity—and celebrates the glory of food itself. This evening is in conjunction with Before ‘Farm to Table’: Early Modern Foodways and Cultures, a Mellon initiative in collaborative research at the Folger. Reception and book-signing to follow the reading.

Hours: 7:30pm

Tickets: $15

Info: www.folger.edu/poetry or (202) 544-7077

Mar
14
Thu
Story Time Gala @ Cleveland Park Library
Mar 14 @ 6:00 PM – 10:00 PM

The DC Public Library Foundation invites you to the 4th Annual Story Time Gala Reception, celebrating libraries and learning.

Mar
27
Wed
Cecile Richards in conversation with Congresswoman Lauren Underwood @ 6th & I
Mar 27 @ 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM

Former President of Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Planned Parenthood Action Fund, daughter of the late Governor Ann Richards, and a “heroine of the resistance” (Vogue), Cecile Richards has spent a lifetime fighting for social justice and women’s rights. After years of advocacy, resistance, and progressive leadership, she shares her story in her New York Times bestselling memoir, MAKE TROUBLE: Stand Up, Speak Out, and Find the Courage to Lead (Gallery; Trade Paperback; March 26, 2019; $16), featuring a *NEW AFTERWORD* in which Richards proposes a Women’s Declaration of Independence and calls for a new movement to transform our politics.

In MAKE TROUBLE, Richards presents a timely and important message: To make change, you have to make trouble. In her book, she illuminates the people and the lessons that have gotten her through good times and bad and the experiences that taught her how to stand up, speak out, and find the courage to lead. In the “powerful and infinitely readable” (Gloria Steinem) MAKE TROUBLERichards reflects on the people and lessons that have gotten her through good times and bad, and encourages the rest of us to take risks, make mistakes, and make trouble along the way.

Cecile Richards will be in conversation with Congresswoman Lauren Underwood, the youngest African American woman to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives, on:

Wednesday, March 27

7:00 PM

Sixth & I

600 I Street NW, Washington, DC 20001

For more information, please visit https://www.sixthandi.org/event/cecile-richards-2.

Mar
30
Sat
Washington Performing Arts 2019 Annual Gala & Auction @ National Building Museum
Mar 30 @ 6:30 PM – 10:30 PM

Washington Performing Arts hosts its 2019 annual Gala & Auction on March 30, 2019 at the National Building Museum (401 F St. NW). Tickets begin at $750; Young Sponsor tickets (for guests 40 and under) start at $200. Tables start at $15,000.

This year’s Gala, “Sizzle & Swing,” is a grand celebration of the art of jazz, from the classic big-band era to today’s up-to-the-minute expressions, fitting perfectly with Washington Performing Arts’ stellar spring lineup of jazz programming from Chucho Valdés and Cécile McLorin Salvant to an all-star tribute to Glenn Miller.

Gala performers include:

  • Vocalists Veronica Swift (familiar to Washington Performing Arts audiences through her work with Chris Botti and Wynton Marsalis) and Stephen Scott Wormley (an alumnus of the Washington Performing Arts Children of the Gospel Choir, recently seen in the D.C. area as one of the stars of Signature Theatre’s The Scottsboro Boys);
  • Mars Urban Arts Initiative Ensemble-in-Residence DuPont Brass;
  • The Washington Performing Arts Children of the Gospel Choir under the direction of Michele Fowlin; and
  • The Sizzle & Swing Band

Gala guests will also be treated to a special preview of a newly commissioned transcription of a big band chart by Hazel Scott, the luminary American pianist, cultural icon, and civil rights advocate. This premiere anticipates Washington Performing Arts’ commemoration of Scott’s 100th birthday in 2020.

The Gala kicks off at 6:30 pm with cocktails and the Silent Auction, sponsored by Urban Winery, with the dinner and performance program starting at 8:00 pm. Stage, television, and film actress Tamara Tunie serves as the Master of Ceremonies for the evening. The Afterparty Speakeasy with DJ Dimmy is co-sponsored by Daimler and the Washington Performing Arts Junior Board.

“Washington Performing Arts has a long legacy of presenting both emerging and leading jazz musicians and amplifying jazz as a vital American art form,” said Washington Performing Arts President and CEO Jenny Bilfield. “Whether it is through our Capital Jazz program in partnership with D.C. Public Schools, master classes with artists like Cécile McLorin Salvant, or commissions by Wynton Marsalis and now this new arrangement of a Hazel Scott chart, Washington Performing Arts remains committed to spotlighting this vibrant genre in every dimension of our programs, onstage and off.”

All proceeds raised at the Annual Gala and Auction will support Washington Performing Arts’ arts education initiatives. These include Capital Arts Partnerships and the Embassy Adoption Program (both in partnership with the DC Public Schools); In-School Artist Residencies; the Washington Performing Arts Men, Women, and Children of the Gospel Choirs; master classes and lectures; and stipends for professional development teachers and Washington Performing Arts teaching artists.

The 2019 Gala Co-Chairs are Lyn & Barry Chasen and Tom Gallagher & Barbara Myers. The Junior Board Gala Chairs are Rebecca Allen, Cassidy Grunninger, and Wesley Thomas. The Washington Performing Arts Women’s Committee Gala Chair is Denise Rollins, and the Women’s Committee Silent Auction Chair is Njambi. The Gala Committee comprises Paul Ashe, C. Wallace DeWitt, Adam Farra, Jay and Robin Hammer, Susan Hepner, Jordan Hepner and Nina Damato, Margaret Hurwitz, Angela C.Y. King, Grace Lin, Christina Co Mather and Gary Mather, Haley Morrison, Michelle Nelson, Ami Scott and Lucius Outlaw, Jan and Marike Paulsson, Kerrien Suarez, Ebony Thomas, Lindsey Woody, and The Washington Performing Arts Women’s Committee.

For more information about Washington Performing Arts and the Annual Gala and Auction, visit www.washingtonperformingarts.org.

Apr
5
Fri
Author Series: Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom @ Hay Adams Hotel
Apr 5 @ 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM

On April 5, the award-winning Hay-Adams, located steps from the White House at 800 16th Street, NW, 20006, will host its next Author Series luncheon honoring David W. Blight to discuss his latest work, Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom, which published October 16, 2018. The Hay-Adams’ Author Series, where literary crowds honor literary masters, is an on-going event, which hosts outstanding writers in a historic setting, directly overlooking the White House at the Top of The Hay.  One will enjoy exceptional food, drink and lively conversation.  Tickets are priced at $90 per person (all inclusive), which includes a three-course, prix fixe menu with wine pairings: https://www.hayadams.com/author-series/events.  The menu, themed around the book, will be created by Vice President & General Manager Hans Bruland working closely with Executive Chef Nicolas Legret.  

 

Additionally, Kramerbooks (http://kramers.com) will be on hand so guests will have the opportunity to purchase a copy of Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom, which Blight can sign and personalize after the luncheon.  Tickets go on sale March 15 and will be available online at: http://www.hayadams.com/author-series/washington-dc-author-events. For additional information guests can email Kathleen Newman at KNewman@hayadams.com or by calling (202) 638-6000.  Tickets must be purchased by April 1 and will not be available at the door.

 

WHO:             David W. Blight is a teacher, scholar and public historian. He is Class of 1954 Professor of American History and Director of the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition at Yale University. He is the author or editor of a dozen books, including 

American Oracle: The Civil War in the Civil Rights Era; and Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory; and annotated editions of Douglass’s first two autobiographies. He has worked on Douglass much of his professional life, and been awarded the Bancroft Prize, the Abraham Lincoln Prize, and the Frederick Douglass Prize, among others.

 

His newest book, Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom, is the first major biography written in the last quarter century about the most important African American of the nineteenth century. An escaped slave,Douglass became the greatest orator of his day and one of the leading abolitionists and writers of the era. Blight brings new information about Douglass to light in the tome, particularly the last thirty years of his life, thanks to access he gained to a trove of papers and letters in a private collection that no other historian has used in any full-length biography of Douglass. It has been recognized as a New York TimesWall Street Journal and TimeTop 10 Book of the Year.

 

David W. Blight was born in Flint, Michigan. After achieving his undergraduate degree, he taught in a public high school in his hometown for seven years. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1985 with a thesis titled “Keeping Faith in Jubilee: Frederick Douglass and the Meaning of the Civil War”. Blight has been a consultant to many documentary films, including, “Death and the Civil War,” (2012), the 1998 PBS series, “Africans in America,” and “The Reconstruction Era” (2004) among others. He is also a frequent book reviewer for the New York TimesWashington Post Book World, the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Boston Globe, Slate.com and other newspapers, and has written many articles on abolitionism, American historical memory, and African American intellectual and cultural history.  

WHEN:          The luncheon will be held at the Top of The Hay on Friday, April 5, 2019, from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. (doors open at 11:30 a.m.).

 

WHERE:       The Hay-Adams is located at 800 16th Street NW, Washington DC, 20006, across Lafayette Square from the White House. The historic Hay-Adams offers guests Washington’s most prestigious address with views overlooking the White House, Lafayette Square and St. John’s Church, the “Church of the Presidents.”  Consistently recognized as one of the world’s best hotels by Condé Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure, Fodor’s Travel and U.S. News & World Report, the hotel is just minutes from the Smithsonian Museums, the Washington Monument, the Capitol Building, the Mall, as well as convenient to Metro stations and the convention center. For reservations or more information call (202) 638-6600 or visit their website at www.hayadams.com.

6th Annual Best Buddies Prom @ Ronald Reagan Building
Apr 5 @ 6:30 PM – 11:00 PM

The 6th Annual Best Buddies PROM – two parties with one purpose – is a dynamic twist on the DC gala that features both student and adult receptions. It will be held Friday, April 5 at The Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, DC. This joyous night of music, friendship, fundraising, and making memories for young people with and without Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) will be the highlight of DC’s spring event season.  PROM2019 will treat students of all abilities to a spectacular evening which is also a fundraising event for adults who believe in the mission of inclusion. Best Buddies was founded 30 years ago by Anthony Kennedy Shriver at Georgetown University. Tickets are on sale now at www.BestBuddiesProm.org.

“This year’s PROM will push us to surpass one million dollars in monies raised since we began PROM in DC in 2013… enabling us to open 64 friendship chapters in Virginia and Washington DC schools, support 25 (adult) Jobs participants at integrated workplaces, and facilitate leadership development opportunities for nearly 200 individuals with IDD,” said Karen Glasser, Regional Director of Best Buddies Capital Region. “We can’t wait to celebrate this $1M milestone with our Best Buddies family!”

The lively evening will be hosted by Tommy McFly, Best Buddies Capital Region Advisory Board Chairman and host of The Tommy Show. Music and Entertainment will be provided by crowd favorite, DJ Neekola, and performers from the Pelonkey Agency. The Reagan Building’s beauty will be on display with decor by Design Foundry elevating the PROM goers’ experience.

Students are the stars of the evening. Adults will also enjoy their own celebration, including a complimentary open bar, delicious passed hors d’oeuvres by Reagan Building Executive, Chef Xavier Deshayes, and an exciting live and silent auction. In addition, some of the region’s most celebrated chefs will lend their time and culinary creations to an exclusive VIP reception prior to the event. PROM is the perfect place to witness Best Buddies’ mission of social inclusion first-hand.