Events/Things To Do

The 3^rd Annual Best Buddies Prom, a night of music and friendship for young people with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities, will be held Friday, May 13 in the Carnegie Library, Washington DC.

“This is a night of friendship and celebration for young people with intellectual and developmental disabilities [IDD] and their typical peers,” said Karen Glasser, regional director of Best Buddies Capital Region. This event gives local students of all abilities the chance to enjoy an evening of dancing, food, beverages and friendship. “The evening is also a joyous fundraising event for adults,” Glasser said, “who believe in Best Buddies mission of inclusion.”

The Best Buddies evening will be hosted by Prom Committee Chairman Tommy McFly of FRESH 94.7 FM’s The Tommy Show. Music will be programmed by popular local disc jockey DJ Neekola. A video of last year’s Prom can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaUCOF06Xv4

2015 Best Buddies Prom.  Photo credit: Best Buddies Capital Region

BEST BUDDIES PROM

WHERE – Carnegie Library, 801 K Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001

WHEN – Friday, May 13 from 6:30 – 11 pm

6:30 – 8 pm: VIP Reception for adults
7:30 pm – 11 pm: Doors open for students and general ticket holders

TICKETS now on sale at www.BestBuddiesProm.org

$20/student. (With complimentary food and beverages)

$150/adult. (With complimentary open bar and passed hors d’oeuvres)

$175/VIP adult (Includes access to VIP Reception featuring hors d’oeuvres prepared by  area top chefs and buddy chefs, as well as a complimentary open bar)

Although students are the stars of the evening, adults will enjoy their own celebration including a complimentary open bar, an assortment of delicious passed hors d’oeuvres, and an exciting silent auction. VIPs will have the opportunity to sample sweet and savory bites prepared by DC’s most celebrated chefs alongside student “sous chefs” from local Best Buddies programs during an exclusive VIP reception prior to the event. The adult celebration will allow guests to unwind while witnessing Best Buddies’ mission of social inclusion first-hand.

2015 Best Buddies Prom. Photo credit: Best Buddies Capital Region

Food at the VIP reception will be provided by:

• Executive Pastry Chef Padua Player – SugaChef
• Chef Christianne Ricchi – iRicchi Restaurant
• Chef Brazil Murphy – SPYCE Catering Co.
• Chef Jerome Grant – Mitsitam Native Foods Cafe
• Chef Adam Howard –  corporate chef of Mike Isabella Concepts
• Chef Nate Waugaman –  America Eats Tavern by Chef Jose Andres
• Chef John Melfi – The Oval Room
• Chef James Woznuik – Maketto’s Chef De Cuisine

Treat yourself to delicious cuisine from more than 100 of the area’s finest restaurants, while contributing to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo’s critical mission to save species. Food aficionados are invited to unleash their taste buds and enjoy tastings from the area’s best restaurants and wineries. The event, hosted by Friends of the National Zoo (FONZ), will take place on Thursday, May 19, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. all in the wild setting of the National Zoo.

In addition to extraordinary food and fine wines, ZooFari also offers a night of unforgettable entertainment. Throughout the evening, guests will be surrounded by live music, exotic animal encounters, a silent auction, and new this year, cocktail tastings with seasonal and gourmet ingredients crafted by popular mixologists. Celebrity chefs Todd Gray (Equinox) and K.N. Vinod (Indique) will be in attendance and joining the festivities throughout the evening.

“ZooFari is our premier dining and fundraising event. Many of the restaurants have been featured on Food Network, Travel Channel and Cooking Channel,” said Lynn Mento, Executive Director of FONZ. “Best of all, the proceeds from this fabulous evening support conservation and saving species.”

Tickets are available now at fonz.org/zoofari. Ticket prices are $160 for FONZ members and $200 for nonmembers. Exclusive VIP group packages are also available. Some of these packages offer all-access tickets to the Premier Pavilion, valet parking, an exclusive VIP pre-party and the LivingSocial Lion Lounge, as well as behind-the-scenes animal tours.

The ZooFari online auction offers a lively way to support the Zoo’s programs. Bidding goes live Monday, May 9 through the online site BidPal. Vacation getaways, private Zoo tours, cooking lessons with top area chefs, and animal art are just a few of the hundreds of coveted items available in the auction.

Whether you use claws or cutlery, you won’t want to miss this year’s epic event!

ZooFari is presented by GEICO® and sponsored by Big Bus Tours, The Coca-Cola Company, Comcast, Fresh 94.7 FM, LivingSocial, NBC4, Rosenthal Jaguar/Land Rover, The Washington Post, Washingtonian Magazine and WTOP Radio.

theatreWashington announced today that the 32^nd annual Helen Hayes Awards will be celebrated at the historic Lincoln Theatre on May 23, with Washington favorites E. Faye Butler and Lawrence Redmond as hosts. A Dance Party follows at the world-renowned 9:30Club, just blocks away. Both events, sponsored by TodayTix, honor 236 Helen Hayes Award nominees drawn from the 202 eligible productions presented in 2015. Included among those productions are a staggering 59 world premieres. Also in the spotlight this year is the inaugural Women’s Voices Theater Festival, with a range of plays and musicals that received 13 nominations. Tickets for the combined Awards Ceremony and Dance Party are $275 for premium seating, $150 for general seating, and can be purchased at theatreWashington.org beginning May 2.

theatreWashington President and CEO Amy Austin commented, “We’re excited to be returning to the Lincoln Theatre because of its amazing history in our city, and we’re thrilled to be taking over the 9:30 Club for a celebratory Dance Party. There’s so much phenomenal work produced every night in area theatres, this is the one night of the year we gather together to toast the excellent work of 2015 and the community as a world-class theatre destination!”

TodayTix sponsorship includes announcements of the Helen Hayes Award recipients in real time through push notifications via their mobile app. Opt-in for the live updates will become available in the coming weeks. “It says a lot that TodayTix has joined us as our sponsors,” Austin commented. “They’ve changed the way theatres do business – and we’re always eager to look ahead.”

Named for actor Helen Hayes – a Washington native and legendary First Lady of the American Theatre – the Helen Hayes Awards honorsexcellence in professional theatre throughout the Washington region. Over the last three decades it has set a standard for artistic accomplishment recognized by theatre makers and theatre lovers far beyond the Beltway. Awards are given in parallel “Helen” or “Hayes” cohorts, depending on the number of Equity members involved in a production, for a total of 47 award categories, plus the John Aniello Award for Outstanding Emerging Theatre Company

Coordination of the nominations process is a year-round and demanding endeavor. Over the course of 2015, a pool of 40 Helen Hayes Awards Judges submitted a total of 21,936 scores for 2,940 individual pieces of work (design, direction, choreography, etc.). Of those scores, 1,499 were for acting performances alone. The result this year is a roster of 236 nominations drawn from 79 productions at 35 theatres. A complete list of nominees past and present can be found at theatreWashington.org.

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

9 pm to Midnight
At the historic National Building Museum
$50 per person

Join us for live music by Beatles cover band British Mania, open bar, late night snacks, lawn games, a DJ spinning tunes, and dancing until midnight. Bring your friends for an incredible evening. The theme is fun, the attire is garden party. Dress up and help support a good cause.

All proceeds raised by our annual gala and the after party help support the innovative exhibitions and education programs of the National Building Museum.

2ND ANNUAL REBLOOM ON THE ROOF, MAY 26, 6-8:30 PM AT THE GRAHAM GEORGETOWN

Join Room to Rebloom, a 501c(3) organization centered on the restorative impact of interior design, and Co-Hosts Barry Dixon, award-winning interior designer and principal of Barry Dixon, Inc., and Will Thomas, Emmy-winning journalist and news anchor, for Room to Rebloom’s 2nd Annual Rebloom on the Roof on Thursday, May 26, 2016 from 6–8:30 p.m. at The Graham Georgetown, 1075 Thomas Jefferson Street, NW, Washington, DC. The night of celebration focuses on the power of design to change lives for survivors of domestic violence. Tickets are $125 each and can be purchased at www.roomtorebloom.org.

Silent auction items include a signature Thos. Moser Continuous Arm Chair, Framebridge custom frames, True Syrups gift basket, Southwest Airlines tickets, and original artwork.

The Gala’s Host Committee includes Gretchen Everett, Ann Lambeth, Sherry Moeller, and Sally Roche with Board of Directors Liz Levin, Lyn McGann, Enid McKitrick, Victoria Sanchez, Christie Stute, and Kia Weatherspoon.

Room to Rebloom’s mission is to design and create healing environments for survivors of domestic violence in the National Capital Area. Confidence and hope are crucial to women who are starting over, and a home that promotes healing and growth should be available to everyone. Interior designers recognize the connection of environment to personal well-being and often participate in projects to redesign shelters for homeless and battered women and families, with Room to  Rebloom being the only organization in the region whose mission is to serve domestic violence survivors in independent housing.

For more information about Room to Rebloom’s 2nd Annual Rebloom on the Roof and to learn more about the nonprofit, go to www.roomtorebloom.org.

Espita Mezcaleria, the newly opened Southern Mexican-inspired restaurant located in the Shaw neighborhood of Washington, DC, will co-host a charity art show fundraiser with Swatchroom, a multi-disciplinary design + art + fabrication firm, on Monday, May 30^th.  Yescka, an internationally renowned Oaxacan street artist and founder of the political art collection ASARO (Assembly of Revolutionary Artists of Oaxaca), will be on hand along with fellow artist and active ASARO member, César Chávez, for this one-of-a-kind event.  Yescka created the eye-catching, colorful murals at Espita Mezcaleria and Chávez design the T-shirts and menus for the restaurant, which opened in early March 2016.

On this particular evening, art enthusiasts will have the opportunity to purchase limited edition, signed prints from both highly acclaimed artists.  35 works on paper will be available, in a variety of sizes, with prices ranging from $80 to $500 each.  Available prints include: “Autodefensa”, “The Last Supper a la Mexicana”, “The Rebels”, and “Punk Frida”.  100% of the sales from these prints will be donated to the charity student committee of the Raúl Isidro Burgos Rural Teachers’ College of Ayotzinapa based in Iguala, Guerrero, Mexico.  Complimentary appetizers and beverages courtesy of Espita Mezcaleria will also be available.  The event is free to attend, but interested parties are encouraged to RSVP at: kelly@espitadc.com.

WHEN:           Monday, May 30^th, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

WHERE:         Swatchroom is located at 1527 9^th Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20001.  The multi-disciplinary design + art + fabrication firm is located four blocks from the Shaw-Howard Metro Station and four blocks from the Mt Vernon Square, 7^th St-Convention Center Metro Station accessible on the Green and Yellow Lines.  For additional information, please visit http://swatchroom.com.  Additional information about Yescka can be found at: http://guerilla-art.mx/yescka/.

WHY:             On September 26, 2014, 43 male students from the Raúl Isidro Burgos Rural Teachers’ College of Ayotzinapa went missing in Iguala, Guerrero, Mexico.  According to official reports, the students commandeered several buses and traveled to Iguala that day to hold a protest at a conference led by the mayor’s wife.  During the journey local police intercepted them and a confrontation ensued.  Details of what happened during and after the clash remain unclear, but the official investigation concluded that once the students were in custody, they were handed over to the local Guerreros Unidos (“United Warriors”) crime syndicate and presumably killed.  Mexican authorities claimed Iguala’s mayor, José Luis Abarca Velázquez (es) and his wife María de los Ándeles Pineda Villa, masterminded the abduction.  Over the past year, Yescka has created several public pieces to bring the tragedy of these 43 students to public light.