Events/Things To Do

Celebrating Women’s History Month

Eleanor Roosevelt: Courage for the Journey

Charity Lunch and Learn at The National Press Club presented by We Will Survive Cancer

Guest Speaker: Ann Atkins, author of: “Eleanor Roosevelt’s Life of Soul Searching and Self Discovery”

12:00-12:30PM meet and mingle, 12:30-1:30PM lunch and program

Proceeds Assist Families Affected by Cancer

Thanks to our sponsor: Howard Fletcher from TTR|Sotheby’s International Realty

Tickets are $50 per person, and will be available for purchase in advance online until 11:00AM on Sunday, March 10, 2013, and then at the door.

Thank you for supporting We Will Survive Cancer!

The Embassy Chef challenge is like no other DC gala. Sample the same cuisine served to heads of state and regional delicacies from around the world. Embrace your inner foodie while sipping a cocktail from the top shelf open bar.

This is your chance to be served by more than a dozen chefs who will vie for your votes. A panel of celebrity chefs and food critics select the winner of the Judge’s Choice Award, while you cast a ballot for the People’s Choice winner. Rounding out the evening is a live and silent auction, featuring world-class items steeped in international flavor, including private embassy experiences. It’s an evening like none other!

Embassy Chef Challenge began behind closed doors with Challenge Hungary—a private preliminary competition. This cook-off – held on February 10, 2013 at Occasions Catering – was a Top Chef-style competition that challenged each chef to create a main course in two hours with one common ingredient and a basket of surprise ingredients determined by 2012 Embassy Chef Winner and 2013 judge, Hungarian Chef Viktor Merényi. The judging panel has reserved the name of the winner to be announced the night of the Embassy Chef Challenge gala.

The Embassy Chef Challenge reconvenes the night of the gala on March 14, 2013 when all chefs offer their best hors d’oeuvres for a second round of judging at the Ronald Reagan Building. The scores from the preliminary cook-off and the gala hors d’oeuvres battle determine the Judge’s Choice Award winner. Guests at the gala will vote for the People’s Choice Award.

The gala includes:

• Silent and live auctions showcasing culturally diverse food and adventure packages, with proceeds benefitting the free programs and events offered by Cultural Tourism DC
• Exciting, diverse and fabulous cuisine prepared by embassy chefs from various countries
• Top shelf open bar for all guests
• Judging by celebrity chefs and food critics
• People’s Choice winner selected by guests of the gala
• Mingle with the largest diplomatic community in the world

The Arlington Young Democrats are auctioning off more than 20 of the metro area’s most eligible bachelors and bachelorettes. Additional items up for auction include gift certificates, VIP opportunities and more. A portion of proceeds benefit Doorways for Women and Families, an Arlington-based charity organization.

WHERE:    Clarendon Grill, 1101 N Highland St, Arlington, VA (Clarendon Metro on Orange Line)

DETAILS:    Admission is free. Bid cards which include raffle tickets are $10. Those donating any new and unopened supplies such as water bottles, saran wrap, aluminum foil, Tupperware or baby monitors will receive additional raffle tickets.

Clarendon Grill has the following drink and food specials for all in attendance:

    $1.50 draft and bottle specials (until 9!)

    $1.00 off appetizers (until 8!)

For more information and video interviews of auctionees, visit:

The race is the only marathon run entirely within the District of Columbia. Traveling along Constitution, participants will pass the White House on the right and the stunning Washington Monument on the left as they head toward George Washington University. The course then loops back towards the National Mall and Lincoln Memorial, passing West Potomac Park and crossing the Arlington Memorial Bridge. New for 2013, marathoners will run in the shadows of not only the US Supreme Court but also the US Capitol building before enjoying more than 3 scenic miles along the Anacostia River’s waterfront, with views of the Washington D.C. skyline.

Participants: 

• The event is expected to bring nearly 30,000 runners to the District of Columbia.
• ING KiDS ROCK D.C. will teach 700 local kids the joy and fun of running

Charity:

• 25 organizations have raised over $250,000 through the event
• Charities have raised more than $287 million through the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series since its inception in 1998

Entertainment:

• More than 35 bands along the course at 20 Entertainment Stages
• Local cheerleading squads line the route competing in the Spirit on the Course competition
• Runners will celebrate with a finish line festival & headliner concert featuring Cowboy Mouth

Events:

• 26.2-mile foot race
• 13.1-mile foot race
• ING KiDS ROCK D.C.
• 2-day Health & Fitness Expo at the DC Armory

Stats:

• ·         Runners from all 50 states and 32 countries
• ·         60% female
• ·         One in Five participants are running their first marathon or ½ marathon.

Finish Line Festival – Free and open to the public

Opening Act                       8:45 am – 10:15 am

Awards Ceremony            10:30 am – 10:45 am

Cowboy Mouth               10:45 am – 12:00 am

Closing Act                          12:30 pm – 1:30 pm

The Shakespeare Theatre Company’s legal affinity group, the Bard Association, unveils Expert Witnesses, a new series of interviews with prominent members of the legal community who have bridged the gap to the arts world. Former Senator and television star of Law & Order, Fred Thompson, will inaugurate a sequence of high profile, one-on-one interviews with Bard Association Chair Abbe David Lowell (Chadbourne & Parke LLP). Expert Witnesses will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, March 18, 2013, at the Lansburgh Theatre (450 7th Street NW).

Before joining the cast of the critically-acclaimed and long-running series Law & Order, Thompson represented Tennessee as a U.S. Senator for nearly a decade. He experienced first-hand the drama of politics as a leader on the Senate committee investigating the Watergate scandal in the early 1970s. Thompson transitioned to the screen in 1985 by starring in the film Marie, which dramatized his real-life role in a Tennessee public corruption case. Since then Thompson has played authoritative roles in many legal and governmental film and television thrillers such as In the Line of Fire, The Hunt for Red October and Law & Order: SVU.

Lowell, a prolific attorney to high-profile cases and former counsel to the House of Representatives, has known Thompson since before his days in show business. “I have known Fred since he was a ‘real’ lawyer and a very good one in Tennessee,” Lowell said. He heralded Thompson as an esteemed first guest for the new series. “It is a real feather in the cap of the Bard Association to get Fred to be our first one-on-one interview. He represents the epitome of what we want to explore – a person with real legal experience who used that experience to launch an acting career, but did so in a way never to totally leave his legal roots. Fred can share a unique perspective on the law and the arts that few people in the country can.”

Following Lowell’s interview of Thompson, the pair will engage in a Q&A session with the audience. Patrons are also invited to round off their evening at a reception immediately following the discussion at STC’s second theatre in Penn Quarter. Attendees will have the chance to speak with Thompson and Lowell over light refreshments in Sidney Harman Hall (610 F Street NW).

Expert Witnesses mirrors Classic Conversations with Michael Kahn, in which STC’s Artistic Director conducted interviews with guests Sir Patrick Stewart, Kevin Kline, James Earl Jones, Stacy Keach and F. Murray Abraham. More than 2,300 audience members enjoyed these informal and entertaining discussions covering everything from the actors’ childhoods to their most challenging classical roles.

The Bard Association has already presented four successful Shakespeare and the Law panel discussions, which have laid a foundation for legally focused programming at STC, in addition to the ever-popular and star-studded events, Mock Trial and Will on the Hill. STC’s Chief Development Officer Ed Zakreski notes that the support of the Bard Association has been critical to the theatre’s ability to “conduct in-depth examinations into the roles of lawyers and legal issues in many of Shakespeare’s plays” through these events.

Bard Association Member tickets for Expert Witnesses: Fred Thompson  are $35 and go on sale Wednesday, January 30. General Public tickets are $40 and will be available for purchase on Wednesday, February 6.  Tickets can be obtained by calling the Box Office at 202.547.1122, option 1.

Event Details

Who: Local and celebrity chefs from the Washington DC metropolitan region

What: 1st Annual Chris4Life’s Eat4Life: A Celebrity Chef Cook-Off Hosted by the Chris4Life Young Professional Board and Rock Harper

When: Tuesday, March 19, 2013 6:00pm – 9:00pm

Where: Crios, 2120 P Street NW, Washington, DC

Attendance: Approximately 150

Invited and Confirmed Chefs: Rock Harper, Winner of Fox’s Hell’s Kitchen; Scott Drewno, The Source by Wolfgang Puck; Sebastian Archambault, Blue Duck Tavern; Carla Hall, ABC’s The Chew; Mike Isabella, Graffito and Bandolero; Eric Ziebold, CityZen with others to be added

Additional Information: The goal of Chris4Life’s Eat4Life is to provide guests with healthy meal options, to showcase you and your restaurant and to raise funds and awareness for C4L. Chefs will prepare dished based on colon-friendly and cancer friendly ingredients. The event will consist of stations and each chef will have the opportunity to discuss preparation of the item being served and will have the opportunity to market his or her restaurant to guests of the event all while supporting C4L and its patient programs.

Ladies in Red Fundraising Happy Hour

Guests will be treated to a live fashion preview from Walish Gooshe designer, Greg Taylor. There will also be an exclusive blogger lounge, and specialty cocktails such as “The Red Bottom.”

Washington’s petal partiers will gather for the National Cherry Blossom Festival’s signature Pink Tie Party fundraiser on Wednesday, March 20 from 7:00 to 11:00pm. The Party, held on the first day of spring and the Festival, kicks off the 2013 celebration of the 101st anniversary of the gift of trees from Tokyo to Washington, DC, held through April 14. Venezuelan-born chef, restaurateur, television host and published author Lorena Garcia hosts the event.  One of the country’s leading Latina chefs, Lorena’s passion and charisma is the perfect complement to an evening that celebrates innovation and creativity, also seen throughout the National Cherry Blossom Festival.

The seventh annual fundraiser, presented by Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and ESCADA Cherry in the Air, kicks off the season of the blossoms at the Renaissance Washington, DC Downtown Hotel (999 Ninth Street, NW).  Guests embrace the Party’s theme donning pink ties and springtime styles.  Host chef Lorena Garcia has been a judge on NBC’s “America’s Next Great Restaurant,” a guest chef on the season finale of Bravo’s “Top Chef All-Stars,” and has competed on season four of Bravo’s “Top Chef Masters.”  In August 2012 she opened her second traveler’s restaurant, Lorena Garcia Tapas at the Atlanta Airport, in the wake of her flagship Lorena Garcia Cocina in Miami.  Her first cookbook, Lorena Garcia’s New Latin Classics, was published in September 2011. Active in the community and a staunch advocate to fight childhood obesity, she created the Big Chef, Little Chef program that explores healthy cooking through hands-on workshops for families. She has also recently collaborated with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation to bring fresh, healthy and tasty recipes into thousands of school cafeterias across the country.  The programs are examples of her commitment to health and well-being of America’s families.

In a delicious start to spring, top restaurants and esteemed chefs throughout metro-DC create enticing cherry, blossom, spring and Festival-inspired dishes for the Party. More than 35 restaurants participate, including Ambar, Art and Soul, Bistro Bis,Charlie Palmer Steak, El Centro D.F., Farmers Fishers Bakers, Founding Farmers,LINCOLN, The Majestic, Masa 14, Teddy & The Bully Bar, Todd Gray’s Watershed Restaurant, RIS, Vidalia, Woodward Table, and ZENGO.

A spectacular silent auction contributes to the evening’s fundraising efforts, including alluring weekend getaways as well as unique dining, concert, sporting, and theater experiences.  Proceeds benefit the National Cherry Blossom Festival, Inc., a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, to support its events and programs that are largely free and open to the public.  Admission, $200 per person, can be purchased online at nationalcherryblossomfestival.org/pinktie.

On March 21, PeacePlayers International will host a charitable fundraiser to coincide with the beginning of the Men’s NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament. All proceeds from the event will go directly to support PPI programming around the world. The organization is dedicated to bridging divides, developing leaders and changing perceptions by bringing together children in areas of conflict through basketball

PeacePlayers International (PPI) is a global non-profit organization that brings together children from divided areas to play basketball. PPI coaches and mentors work year round to unite, educate and inspire young people to create a more peaceful world. PeacePlayers International operates year round programs in Cyprus, Northern Ireland, the Middle East and South Africa. Through PPI’s Sports and Peace Innovation Network (PPI – SPIN), PPI has worked with organizations in Afghanistan, Yemen, Argentina, Ethiopia and Chicago, providing training and consulting services to others seeking to harness the power of sport for youth civic engagement, leadership development and conflict transformation.

PPI is excited to build on the excitement of the start of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament and host a fun party that will also benefit the children in the regions were it works. The event will be held in Washington, DC, at the popular Capitale restaurant and lounge – 1301 K Street, NW. Tickets are $75 each ($90 at the door) and include open bar, appetizers from Hill Country BBQ and an entry into a bracket competition. The event will run 6-9 PM. Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are currently available on the PPI website at, http://www.peaceplayersintl.org/partyforpeaceDC