Events/Things To Do

Arena Stage Artistic Director Molly Smith and Executive Director Edgar Dobie are pleased to announce the presentation of the third annual Beth Newburger Schwartz Award to D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, as well as recognize Jessica Stafford Davis as an Emerging Leader at the 2018 Arena Stage Annual Gala. The Gala is helmed by event chairs and Arena Stage Trustees Lavern Chatman and Maggie FitzPatrick, and will be held on Thursday, May 10, 2018 at the Mead Center for American Theater (1101 Sixth St., SW).

The evening kicks off with a cocktail reception, followed by a performance and a three-course seated dinner. The performance will feature presentation of the Beth Newburger Schwartz Award to Mayor Muriel Bowser, in recognition of her unparalleled commitment to and support of the arts throughout Washington, D.C. The award was first presented to Arena Stage board chair Newburger Schwartz in 2016, and Arlene Kogod in 2017, and celebrates a female leader who strives to better the community in which she lives through her own unique strengths and talents. In addition, Jessica Stafford Davis will be honored as an Emerging Leader in recognition of her passion and entrepreneurial support of the arts. Davis is the founder and CEO of The Agora Culture, a multi-cultural arts platform that connects emerging and well-known artists with collectors.

All proceeds from the evening support Arena Stage’s award-winning artistic and community engagement programs.

Space is limited. Performers to be announced at a later date.

Event Schedule
Thursday, May 10, 2018
5:30 p.m. Cocktail reception
6:30 p.m. Award presentation and one night only performance
8:00 p.m. Seated dinner

Individual Tickets
Dinner Ticket – $1,000
Young Professional Ticket (35 or under) – $300

For additional event details visit arenastage.org/donate/special-events/1718benefit/index.shtml.

Crystal City’s summertime happy hour is back, opening a month early and announcing a new partnership with The Stand  bringing food and beverage from local restaurants and an exciting live music lineup. Starting on May 4, each Friday from 5-9 pm, attendees can listen to live music from a variety of bands while enjoying local bites and drink.

What: Fred Schnider Investment Group, a real estate investment and development firm specializing in urban and suburban mixed-use and residential properties, announced the launch of the Fred Schnider Art Gallery at 888 N. Quincy Street, Arlington, Virginia. Located at the Residences at Liberty Center, the art gallery will showcase works from acclaimed artists in the Washington, DC area and around the country with a focus on local talent.

When: Saturday, May 12, 2018 from 6 – 9 p.m.

Where: Fred Schnider Art Gallery – 888 N. Quincy Street, Arlington, Virginia

Website: http://fredschnider.com/

Contact: 703-841-9404 or email gallery@fredschnider.com

This event is open to the public.

Arlington real estate investor launches gallery at Residences at Liberty Center to enhance and engage with the vibrant local art community; inaugural event features Marymount University professor and artist David Carlson.

The gallery will display up to seven major exhibits a year for about six weeks each, as well as host community events and showcase Fred Schnider Investment Group projects and public art works associated with its investments. Marty Schnider, president of Fred Schnider Investment Group and founder of the Fred Schnider Art Gallery along with Mary Schnider, director of the Fred Schnider Gallery, are collaborating with local universities to integrate educational efforts into the space and will host events with the Ballston Business Improvement District (BID) and Arlington Commission for the Arts.

“We’re extremely proud of the projects and communities we’ve been involved with,” says Marty Schnider. “We know that collaborating with the art community makes the places where we live, work and play more vibrant and interesting,”

The 850-square-foot gallery, designed by ASD | SKY, features tall ceilings, high-level finishes on the walls, polished concrete and metal floors, and lighting designed for gallery spaces, creating an ideal backdrop for the art on display. It is also an acoustically-enhanced space for music.

The opening exhibit in May will feature renowned and award-winning artist David Carlson, a decades-long art professor at Marymount University, who will display his “Out of My Mind” paintings and drawings from his Fields and Transformation series. Curator Meaghan Kent, Director of the Cody Gallery at Marymount University, says Carlson’s “abstractions read as visual energy, which are about the process and the contemplative state that is developed from the artist and the viewer.”

Crystal City’s summertime happy hour is back, opening a month early and announcing a new partnership with The Stand  bringing food and beverage from local restaurants and an exciting live music lineup. Starting on May 4, each Friday from 5-9 pm, attendees can listen to live music from a variety of bands while enjoying local bites and drink.

Washingtonians rising early to watch Prince Harry marry Meghan Markle on TV or online on Sat., May 19 can now end this romantic day by enjoying some of loveliest and sometimes over-the-top songs composed and written by the legendary Cole Porter.

“Let’s Misbehave: Cole Porter After Dark,” will feature pop star Betty Who in her orchestral debut. Who, who is a native of the British Commonwealth of Australia, is best known for the chart-topping song “I Love You Always Forever.”

APO, in keeping with its mission to disrupt the status quo, will intersperse Porter’s works with dramatic readings of cheeky and outrageous online dating profiles.

Joining Who in bringing the musical works to life will be:

• Liz Callaway: Tony Award nominee, voice of Disney’s Princess Jasmine and Anastasia
• Ali Ewoldt: Phantom of the Opera, Broadway cast
• Bobby Smith: Crazy for You, Broadway cast, Helen Hayes Award winner
• Vishal Vaidya: Groundhog Day, Broadway cast
• Luke Hawkins: Star tap dancer from “America’s Got Talent”

“Cole Porter was so ahead of his time — he’d probably be overjoyed that we have this idea to celebrate the wedding of the Queen’s grandson with great singers and musicians and also mix in the creative ways people try to find love in the 21st century,” says Maestro Luke Frazier.

Frazier has won a following for his ability to connect the APO with modern audiences. According to The New York Times, “As much as any individual singer, what warmed the evening was the sumptuous lilt of the American Pops Orchestra, conducted by Luke Frazier.”

The program will include Porter’s mischievous, and sometimes bawdy, play on words and situations that resonate more than ever in today’s complex meeting and dating scene. These songs include “Anything Goes,” “You’re the Top,” and “Love for Sale.”

Tickets are available at www.TheAmericanPops.org for “Let’s Misbehave: Cole Porter After Dark” at Arena Stage at The Mead Center for American Theater at 1101 6th St., SW, Washington, D.C. on Sat., May 19 at 8 p.m.

The Cole Porter production will conclude the third season for APO that has featured acclaimed events such as a performance by singer Marilyn Maye and an Aretha Franklin tribute.

Penn Branch resident and SE Porchfest volunteer organizer, Ayanna Smith announced today the first Porchfest to be held East of the Anacostia River, Sunday, May 20, 2018, from 1pm-6pm in Penn Branch. Porchfests are mini-concerts on front porches. Local Business Improvement Districts (BIDS) in other DC neighborhoods have hosted annual Porchfests, including Adams Morgan and Rhode Island Avenue. However, there has not been a music festival of its kind East of the River.

“Penn Branch and Hillcrest have beautiful stately homes with front yards and large porches, mixed with a rich history and tons of hidden talent,” said Porchfest organizer, Ayanna Smith. “We have all of the elements of a perfect Porchfest. It is also a great way for undiscovered talent to garner visibility.”

The goal is to have six-to-eight bands perform three-to-five songs each, throughout the day.

Other DC Porchfests have been supported by local BIDS, however, the SE Porchfest is being organized by volunteers, solely.  For more information, email porchfestdc@gmail.com. Updates can be found on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @porchfestdc.

Crystal City’s summertime happy hour is back, opening a month early and announcing a new partnership with The Stand  bringing food and beverage from local restaurants and an exciting live music lineup. Starting on May 4, each Friday from 5-9 pm, attendees can listen to live music from a variety of bands while enjoying local bites and drink.

The Capitol Hill Film Classic is the nation’s most daring new film festival in Washington, DC; a unique knockout style short film competition where local entries compete against the best in the world. All submissions will be divided into two brackets– Best of the DMV and Best of the Rest of the World — which will compete for eight slots, with the final films being screened in front of a live audience at the historic Miracle Theatre. Crowning one short as the Best in Competition.

Made in D.C. pre-party will be held Wednesday, May 30 from 5:00-8:00 p.m. at Trusty’s (1420 Pennsylvania Ave SE). Come pick-up your ticket and Film Classic packet and mingle with local D.C. vendors who will be showcasing their products and services. The event is intended to gather people together, talk film, get excited for the Film Classic and enjoy the best of D.C. Location coming shortly.

Crystal City’s summertime happy hour is back, opening a month early and announcing a new partnership with The Stand  bringing food and beverage from local restaurants and an exciting live music lineup. Starting on May 4, each Friday from 5-9 pm, attendees can listen to live music from a variety of bands while enjoying local bites and drink.

SMITHSONIAN at 8 presents Invoke Your Pride: A Night at the African Art Museum

WHEN: Friday, June 1, 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. (7 p.m. to 11 p.m. for VIP ticket-holders)

WHERE: National Museum of African Art, 950 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC

Kick-off the annual Capital Pride Festival at this exclusive after-hours event at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art. Get special access to spectacular exhibitions, including Jim Chuchu’s stunning Invocations, and enjoy curators’ talks, music, dancing, cocktails, and more.

In his deeply personal and visually mesmerizing videos Invocation: The Severance of Ties and Invocation: Release, versatile Nairobi-based artist Jim Chuchu draws on the language of rituals and the divine imagery of world religions to commemorate his journey to self-definition as an adult and as a gay man, while envisioning a more inclusive African future.

Chuchu’s torso creates powerful graphic patterns as it spins, splits, multiplies, and morphs to the track of house beats composed by the artist. A singer, songwriter, and music producer, Chuchu has created a special playlist for the event.

General admission $30

VIP admission $50

At the door (if available):

General Admission $35

VIP Admission $60

For tickets and further information the public may call 202-633-3030 or visit www.SMITHSONIANat8.org