Let your cocktails and your yoga practice flow this holiday season with VIDA Fitness. On Tuesday, December 11 from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m., VIDA Fitness will host a public Chaturanga & Cocktails event at District Distilling to benefit Thrive DC – a local nonprofit dedicated to ending and preventing homelessness in DC. For the first hour of the night, VIDA instructor Alexandra Chili will lead a yoga flow. After the yoga session, guests will try skinny versions of District Distillery cocktails, as well as a special VIDA cocktail menu that features health-conscience beverages. The money raised that night will benefit Thrive DC, who can provide much-needed clothing and supplies to DC’s homeless community. To reserve your place at VIDA’s Chaturanga & Cocktails, make at least a $5 donation to Thrive DC by visiting http://www.thrivedc.org/vidayoga.
WHO: VIDA Fitness, District Distillery & Thrive DC
WHAT: Chaturanga & Cocktails
VIDA Instructor Alexandra Chili will lead yoga flow
Sample healthy cocktail samples and special VIDA cocktail menu
$5 dollar or greater donation to Thrive DC holds your spot and benefits those in need
Please bring your own mat
Reserve your spot here: http://www.thrivedc.org/vidayoga
WHEN: Tuesday, December 11
6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
WHERE: District Distillery
1414 U Street NW
Washington, DC 20009
WHAT: “We Choose to Go to the Moon” performance
WHEN: Wednesday, Saturday, Tuesday, Dec. 12, 15, 18
6:30–7:30 p.m.
WHERE: Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery
Eighth and G streets N.W.
WHO: Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company
The National Portrait Gallery will present “We Choose to Go to the Moon,” a performance by the museum’s resident Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company. Inspired by the Portrait Gallery’s “One Year: 1968, An American Odyssey” exhibition, which notably displays a portrait of the Apollo 8 astronauts, the performance reflects on America’s idealism around the space race, the mystery of the cosmos and the fragility of life.
“We Choose to Go to the Moon” was created in collaboration with NASA and includes sound bites from leading scientists and astronauts in addition to selections of pop culture music including “Stairway to Heaven” and “Fly Me to the Moon.” The title of the dance refers to a line from the 1962 speech by President John F. Kennedy about the national effort to land a man on the moon. This work was recently performed at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
WHAT: “We Choose to Go to the Moon” performance
WHEN: Wednesday, Saturday, Tuesday, Dec. 12, 15, 18
6:30–7:30 p.m.
WHERE: Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery
Eighth and G streets N.W.
WHO: Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company
The National Portrait Gallery will present “We Choose to Go to the Moon,” a performance by the museum’s resident Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company. Inspired by the Portrait Gallery’s “One Year: 1968, An American Odyssey” exhibition, which notably displays a portrait of the Apollo 8 astronauts, the performance reflects on America’s idealism around the space race, the mystery of the cosmos and the fragility of life.
“We Choose to Go to the Moon” was created in collaboration with NASA and includes sound bites from leading scientists and astronauts in addition to selections of pop culture music including “Stairway to Heaven” and “Fly Me to the Moon.” The title of the dance refers to a line from the 1962 speech by President John F. Kennedy about the national effort to land a man on the moon. This work was recently performed at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Light Up The Season is a family-friendly community fundraising event to benefit Children’s National to be held on Sunday, December 16, 2018 from 12 – 4 p.m. at Four Season’s Hotel in Washington, DC. It is co-hosted by Children’s Health Board and Four Seasons Hotel Washington, DC.
Who: Light Up The Season’s Second Annual Event
What: This event highlights collaborations between Children’s National patients and notable area designers and artists – 23 in all from Washington, DC, Maryland and Virginia, see list below and in attached press release. Together, they will create holiday trees, mantelpieces, wreaths, menorahs and artwork – all available for purchase. Proceeds benefit Children’s National. Activities for all ages include holiday cookie decorating, ornament making, musical performances and visits from Santa and Dr. Bear. Entertainment expert Penny Lyons of Lyonslifestyle will offer an exclusive presentation focused on her “making the ordinary extraordinary” approach to entertaining at home.
April McClain-Delaney, regulatory attorney and Washington Director of Common Sense Media, will serve as this year’s Light Up The Season Honorary Chair. McClain-Delaney is a longtime advocate for children. She has served on the Children’s Hospital Foundation Board, was named an outstanding woman alumnae by Georgetown Law Center, is a John Carroll Society Awardee and is married to Maryland Congressman John Delaney.
Event Co-Chairs Shannon Burkhart, Susan Hayes-Long and Muffin Lynham are working closely with design advisors Barry Dixon, Lauren Liess and Frank Babb Randolph. High res images from last year’s inaugural event as well images of this year’s designers and patients are available upon request.
Where: The Four Seasons Hotel Washington, DC
2800 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20007
When: Sunday, December 16, 2018 from 12- 4 p.m.
Tickets: Click here to purchase tickets
Designers, florists and artists participating:
Jeff Akseizer, Akseizer Design Group
Jose Solis Betancourt and Paul Sherrill, Solis Betancourt
Molly Bruno, Molly Bruno Interiors, Molly Bruno
Susan Burke, Susan Burke Style
Iantha Carley, Iantha Carley Interiors
Suzie Clayton, Dalton Brody
Wendy Danziger, Danziger Design
Miriam Dillon and Hannah Bock, Barnes Vanze
Laura Dowling, Laura Dowling
Eve Faye, Farrow & Ball
Yvette Freeman, District Designers
Rachel and Charles Gang, Helen Olivia Flowers
Ashley Greer, Atelier Ashley Flowers
Sarah Hayes, Sarah Hayes Design
Liz Levin and Tess Finnegan, Liz Levin Interiors
Lauren and David Liess, Lauren Liess
Lanie Mann, Lanie Mann Art
Anna Mathews, Anna Mathews Interiors
Marika Meyer, Marika Meyer Interiors & Textiles
Claire Niermann and Eleanor Niermann, Niermann Weeks
Maggie O’Neill, Maggie O’Neill Fine Art
Sascha Roth, Urban Country
Roger Whyte, RJ Whyte Events
Entertainment/Pop-Up Shops:
Metropolitan School of the Arts (Dance), The Georgetown Saxatones Acapella Group, Rhythmaya Dance (Bollywood Fusion) and Reggie Rice Comedy Illusionist. Popup shops include Dalton Brody, Julia Farr Boutique, Suzanne Designs, Whyte House Monograms, Christi Perez Designs, Sonya Flanagan, Mary Making Design, and Georgetown Paperie. The décor coordinator is Quintece Hill-Mattauszek.
Patriot Harley-Davidson, 9739 Fairfax Boulevard, will host a special Redskins viewing party on Sunday, December 16, from 12:30 p.m. to 4 p.m., and meet & greet with former Redskin and Hall of Famer, Darrell Green. The event is FREE and open to the public.
Watch the 1 p.m. Redskins/Jaguars game on a big screen while you check out the Harley-Davidson motorcycles. Darrell Green will be available for pictures throughout the event and will take part in a half-time Q&A session.
Additionally, photos that can be autographed, will be available in exchange for a new, unused, unwrapped toy donation for the Sheehy Toys for Tots toy drive, or $25 in Harley-Davidson merchandise purchased that day. These photos are the only items Green will autograph.
Sports memorabilia including Green’s Hall of Fame Bust and Jacket will also be on display, along with Green’s custom Redskins-themed Harley-Davidson. The TEAM 980 Street Team will also be on-hand to keep the party going.
For more information visit www.patriothd.com or call 703-352-5400.
WHAT: “We Choose to Go to the Moon” performance
WHEN: Wednesday, Saturday, Tuesday, Dec. 12, 15, 18
6:30–7:30 p.m.
WHERE: Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery
Eighth and G streets N.W.
WHO: Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company
The National Portrait Gallery will present “We Choose to Go to the Moon,” a performance by the museum’s resident Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company. Inspired by the Portrait Gallery’s “One Year: 1968, An American Odyssey” exhibition, which notably displays a portrait of the Apollo 8 astronauts, the performance reflects on America’s idealism around the space race, the mystery of the cosmos and the fragility of life.
“We Choose to Go to the Moon” was created in collaboration with NASA and includes sound bites from leading scientists and astronauts in addition to selections of pop culture music including “Stairway to Heaven” and “Fly Me to the Moon.” The title of the dance refers to a line from the 1962 speech by President John F. Kennedy about the national effort to land a man on the moon. This work was recently performed at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Step Afrika! launches its 25th anniversary at the Music Center at Strathmore with a retrospective of the Company’s best-loved works on Sunday, January 20, 2019 at 5 p.m. The performance continues Strathmore’s rich collaboration with Step Afrika!, started in 2014, to celebrate step by showcasing some of the art form’s best 
performers annually on its hallmark Music Center stage. The performance includes selected works from Step Afrika!’s history, including Wade,Passing 25, and Nxt/Stp: Hip Hop. The wide range of work demonstrates the versatility of step, connecting it to hip hop, African American spirituals, and South African traditional and contemporary dance forms. Dem Raider Boyz Step Squad of Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Prince George’s County will open the show; the troupe achieved national notoriety on NBC’s reality-competition show World of Dance in 2018. For more information call (301) 581-5100 or visitwww.strathmore.org.
Step Afrika! was founded in 1994 as the first professional company dedicated to the tradition of stepping. It now ranks as one of the top African American dance companies in the United States. The Company blends percussive dance styles practiced by historically African American fraternities and sororities, African traditional dance, and influences from a variety of other dance and art forms. Performances traditionally integrate song, storytelling, humor, and audience participation.
In 2019, Step Afrika! will launch its first tour in Ukraine and will return to South Africa in conjunction with the 25th anniversary of the historic election of President Nelson Mandela. Step Afrika! has performed at the White House for President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, headlining their Presidential Black History Month Reception, and is also featured prominently at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in the world’s first stepping interactive—a video installation where patrons can learn the basics of step straight from Step Afrika! instructors. They also brought a step showcase to New York’s famed theater district for the first time, with a three-week, sold-out engagement at the New Victory Theater.
Juliet Eilperin, the Senior National Affairs Correspondent for The Washington Post has been chosen by the Environmental Film Festival (DCEFF) for their inaugural “Excellence in Journalism” award. Eilperin, a DC native, and author of two books, has worked at The Washington Post’s national desk for 20 years, covering the White House, Congress and a host of domestic and international policies. Her work has often centered on environmental issues.
“We are pleased to honor Juliet and to present her with our first ever Excellence in Journalism Award,” said, Christopher Head, the Executive Director of the Environmental Film Festival. “The theme of the this year’s festival is “The Fierce Urgency of Now” and Juliet Eilperin’s excellent journalism has helped to pave the way for understanding what’s at stake and what our government is or isn’t doing at this moment of environmental crisis.”
The Annual benefit will take place on February 7, 2019 at the Austrian Embassy (3524 International Court, NW) and will be hosted by Ambassador H.E. Doctor Wolfgang Waldner.
“Austria is strongly committed to environmental protection and sustainable energy,” said Ambassador Wolfgang Waldner. “We are very honored to host this year’s Environmental Film Festival Benefit Reception at the Austrian Embassy.”
Many of the benefit’s co-chairs, host committee and honorary host committee will be on hand for the evening and the Austrian Cultural Forum will also be a presenter. The DCEFF will run from March 14-24, 2019 and will present more than 120 films from around the globe. Tickets for the reception can be purchased here.
The Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital (DCEFF) is the world’s premier showcase of environmentally themed films. Since 1993, our mission has been to celebrate Earth and inspire understanding and stewardship of the environment through the power of film. Each March in Washington, D.C., we host the largest environmental film festival in the world, presenting 100+ films to audiences of more than 20,000 and collaborating with over 110 partners, including museums, embassies, universities, and theaters. The festival is one of the leading annual cultural events in Washington, D.C., winning the 2017 DC Mayor’s Award for Excellence in Creative Industries.
Chocolate Festival
Saturday, Feb. 9, and Sunday, Feb. 10; 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian holds its annual Chocolate Festival in February. From the blossoms of the cacao tree which grows in Mesoamerica, the Maya culture developed chocolate. This program will introduce visitors to indigenous symbols and images representing cacao throughout pre-Columbian history and invite participants to make an art-inspired piece. Participants will enjoy the music of Guatemalan Marimba with Marimba AWAL and join Grupo Los Tecuanes (Mixtec) as they share the process of turning cacao into chocolate. Executive Chef, Mitsitam Native Foods Café, Freddie Bitsoie (Diné), will demonstrate various recipes inspired by chocolate. Limited tastings will be available during the demonstrations. Families and children can participate in different activities in the imagiNATIONS Activity Center, including make-and-take a cacao pendant using the Mayan glyph for cacao (chocolate).
