Friday, May 10, 2019, 5:30-8 p.m.
Embark on a magical adventure as you enjoy a selection of award-winning, family-friendly short films featuring all sorts of fun and fanciful stories.
Tony Award®-Winning Actress
Christine Ebersole to Host
Washington National Opera Gala
Saturday, May 18, 2019, at 6 p.m.
in the Kennedy Center Opera House
Washington National Opera (WNO) announces the addition of Tony Award®-winning actress Christine Ebersole as host and special guest artist for its 2019 Gala on Saturday, May 18, in the Kennedy Center Opera House.
Ebersole, an iconic artist of the stage and screen—who appeared in Francesca Zambello’s 2018 production of Candide at LA Opera—joins the WNO gala cast, along with previously announced headliner Christine Goerke, another iconic American voice who is currently starring as Brunnhilde in the Ring Cycle at the Met. This year’s WNO gala concert program explores the beauty and vitality of the human voice through music ranging from Wagner to Gershwin to Irving Berlin.
Christine Ebersole is known for her wide artistic range and versatility, perhaps most notably for her work on Broadway, where she won the Tony Award® twice for her work in Grey Gardens and 42nd Street. She has a distinguished list of television and film credits to her name, including The Wolf of Wall Street, Amadeus, Tootsie, andRichie Rich on the big screen, as well as Sullivan and Son, Royal Pains, Madame Secretary, and Blue Bloods. Her concert and stage credits have taken her to renowned venues across the country, and she has made numerous recordings.
Also added to the roster of talent for the gala evening are soprano Latonia Moore, who appears in the title role in two performances of WNO’s upcoming run of Tosca.Moore joins Ebersole, Goerke, and Washingtonian bass Soloman Howard.
The Gala is WNO’s largest fundraising event and one of Washington’s most anticipated events of the year. Proceeds from the Gala play a crucial role in advancing WNO’s artistic, educational, and community engagement programs. The 2019 WNO Gala honors local entrepreneur John J. Pohanka for his outstanding contributions to the organization, features Evan Rogister leading the WNO Orchestrain his inaugural performance as WNO’s Principal Conductor.
The Co-Chairs of the WNO Gala are Jacqueline Badger Mars and Camille Biros.
Tickets for the Gala concert only, starting at $45, are on sale now.
Special packages to attend all Gala festivities are available. The Gala evening will begin with a cocktail reception on the Kennedy Center’s River Terrace at 4:30 p.m., followed by the 6 p.m. Gala concert performance. The event concludes with elegant black-tie dinners hosted by Ambassadors and foreign dignitaries at embassies and residences throughout Washington, a longtime tradition of the Opera’s season-ending social gathering.
Gala Ticket Information
Tickets to the WNO Gala concert, which start at $45, are available online, in person at the Kennedy Center Box Office, and by calling (202) 467-4600 or (800) 444-1324. For all other ticket-related customer service inquiries, call the Advance Sales Box Office at (202) 416-8540.
Gala ticket packages start at $500 and include the VIP cocktail party and priority seating for the Gala concert. Packages that also include seating at the private embassy dinners following the performance start at $1,000. Information is available online or by contacting the Special Events office at (202) 416-8496 or operagala@kennedy-center.org.
Arena Stage Artistic Director Molly Smith and Executive Producer Edgar Dobie are pleased to announce the presentation of the fourth annual Beth Newburger Schwartz Award to National Public Radio’s Nina Totenberg, with actor and performer Kathleen Turner headlining the 2019 Arena Stage Annual Gala. The Gala will be held on Tuesday, May 21, 2019 at the Mead Center for American Theater (1101 Sixth Street, SW).
The evening kicks off with a cocktail reception, followed by a performance and a three-course seated dinner. The performance will feature the presentation of the Beth Newburger Schwartz Award to Nina Totenberg, in recognition of her ground-breaking reporting in the broadcast world and her continual support of the arts. Totenberg was the first radio journalist to receive the 1998 Sol Taishoff Award for Excellence in Broadcasting from the National Press Foundation. The award was first presented to Arena Stage board chair Newburger Schwartz in 2016, Arlene Kogod in 2017 and Muriel Bowser in 2018, and celebrates a female leader who strives to better the community in which she lives through her own unique strengths and talents.
“It’s a thrill to present the Beth Newburger Schwartz Award to Nina Totenberg in recognition of her superb work as a reporter,” says Smith. “She has been at the forefront of Supreme Court and history-making news for decades. Our decision to present her with the Beth Newburger Schwartz Award was unanimous—her excellent reporting skills and shrewd intellect are at the top of her field.”
“I have spent decades in Washington partaking of the dramatic feast that Arena Stage offers,” Totenberg shares. “Arena has entertained me and made me think; it has taught me about history, science and the human condition and so it is a special honor to receive this award.”
Kathleen Turner is a Golden Globe Award-winning, Academy Award-nominated and Tony Award-nominated actress who has made her mark on both the film and stage scenes. She has appeared at Arena Stage in The Year of Magical Thinking (2016), Mother Courage and Her Children (2014), Red Hot Patriot (2012) and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1989). She debuted her first cabaret performance, Finding My Voice, last year, and her new book, Kathleen Turner on Acting was recently published.
All proceeds will benefit all Arena Stage artistic and educational programs.
Event Schedule
Tuesday, May 21, 2019
5:30 p.m. Cocktail reception
6:30 p.m. Award presentation and one night only performance
8:00 p.m. Seated dinner
For additional event details visit arenastage.org/gala
Arena Stage Artistic Director Molly Smith and Executive Producer Edgar Dobie are pleased to announce Lavern Chatman, vice president of business development at EDJ Associates and Arena Board of Trustees member as the chairwoman, and Annie Simonian Totah, Armenian Assembly of America’s Board of Trustees member and recipient of their 2018 Distinguished Humanitarian Award, as the honorary chairwoman of the 2019 Arena Stage Annual Gala. The Gala will be held on Tuesday, May 21, 2019 at the Mead Center for American Theater (1101 Sixth Street, SW), and will include the presentation of the fourth annual Beth Newburger Schwartz Award to National Public Radio’s Nina Totenberg. Actor and performer Kathleen Turner will headline the Gala, as well as host an intimate reception the evening before for select event sponsors.
“As a trustee of Arena Stage, I am pleased once again to chair this season’s Gala,” says Chatman. “The evening has garnered a reputation for honoring influential women and we are thrilled to continue this tradition, along with our Honorary Chair Annie Simonian Totah, to recognize the extraordinary journalist Nina Totenberg. Gala guests will also have the opportunity to experience the iconic Kathleen Turner in a special one-night only performance at this year’s event.”
The evening kicks off with a cocktail reception, followed by a performance and a three-course seated dinner. The performance will feature the presentation of the Beth Newburger Schwartz Award to Nina Totenberg, in recognition of her ground-breaking reporting in the broadcast world and her continuous support of the arts. Totenberg was the first radio journalist to receive the 1998 Sol Taishoff Award for Excellence in Broadcasting from the National Press Foundation. The award was first presented to Arena Stage board chair Beth Newburger Schwartz in 2016, Arlene Kogod in 2017 and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser in 2018, and celebrates a female leader who strives to better the community in which she lives through her own unique strengths and talents.
Kathleen Turner is a Golden Globe Award-winning, Academy Award-nominated and Tony Award-nominated actress who has made her mark on both the film and stage scenes. She has appeared at Arena Stage in The Year of Magical Thinking (2016), Mother Courage and Her Children (2014), Red Hot Patriot (2012) and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1989). She debuted her first cabaret performance, Finding My Voice, last year, and her new book, Kathleen Turner on Acting was recently published.
All proceeds will benefit all Arena Stage artistic and educational programs.
Event Schedule
Tuesday, May 21, 2019
5:30 p.m. Cocktail reception
6:30 p.m. Award presentation and one night only performance
8:00 p.m. Seated dinner
Event sponsors of $15,000 or more are invited to attend an intimate reception with Kathleen Turner on Monday, May 20.
For additional event details visit arenastage.org/gala.
Lavern Chatman (Gala Chair) A tireless advocate, staunch supporter, dedicated community leader, and firm believer in giving back to others, Ms. Chatman has been involved with philanthropic efforts in the Washington, D.C. region for more than two decades. Ms. Chatman is currently vice president of business development at EDJ, a leading national professional and technical services consulting firm, responsible for guiding EDJ across all markets, further strengthening their growing portfolio of Federal, private, and nonprofit clients. Prior to joining EDJ, Ms. Chatman served in senior leadership positions in marketing and business/fund development for non-profit and community organizations. She worked for decades as an advocate and promoter for minority and small businesses, developing strategic partnerships, fostering community engagement and advancing diversity and inclusionary initiatives. Ms. Chatman was also a former candidate for the United States Congress 8th District of Virginia. Ms. Chatman served as the pulse of the Northern Virginia Urban League (NOVAUL) for almost a decade, first as a volunteer, then as a member of the board of directors, serving as the president and CEO of NOVAUL from 2003 to 2011, leaving a legacy of excellence and empowerment for generations to come. Under Ms. Chatman’s leadership, NOVAUL became one of the preeminent organizations in Northern Virginia, addressing issues of youth empowerment, financial literacy, affordable housing, closing the education achievement gap, and social justice. While there are myriad highlights from her tenure at the NOVAUL, one of her lasting contributions was her steadfast development of the Freedom House Museum. Out of commitment to her community and a dedication to its history, Ms. Chatman spearheaded a development campaign for this two-year project, raising over $400,000 to build, design and create a permanent memorial that tells the story of the domestic slave trade in Alexandria, VA. Today, this historic memorial is the headquarters of NOVAUL. Her efforts have been recognized on the local and national level with a series of awards, including the 2009 National Urban League Woman of Power Award for distinguished leadership. Ms. Chatman has served on the board of directors for Archbishop Carroll High School, Washington, D.C.; The Campagna Center, Alexandria, VA; Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce; INOVA Alexandria Hospital; The Community Foundation of Northern Virginia; and WETA Public Broadcasting; and chaired the Diversity Council for AARP Virginia. In 2008 Ms. Chatman convened over thirty-two grass roots organizations to form the Nova Coalition to lead voter education and empowerment efforts throughout Northern Virginia and promote civic engagement on nonpartisan issues in the community. Ms. Chatman served on The National League of Cities, Council on Youth, Education & Families, the World Bank’s D.C. Community Outreach Grants Committee, and the Cardinals Circle for the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C, and is the immediate past president of the Arlington chapter of Links, Incorporated and an active member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
Annie Simonian Totah (Honorary Gala Chair) For more than 40 years, Annie Simonian Totah has been recognized for her effective leadership, philanthropy and untiring commitment on behalf of many important political, cultural, and academic, health, women- and children- related and religious causes. Her many contributions and accomplishments have helped organizations and communities on the local, national, and international level. Ms. Totah is often spotted at the District’s many charitable functions, likely because she is involved in so many of them. She and her late husband Sami have been instrumental in donating and expanding the Magen David Sephardic Congregation. Ms. Totah is a major donor, mover and shaker in the nationwide Armenian Community. Through her fundraising and advocacy efforts, she has helped raise, in the last two decades, more than $3 billion in foreign aid for Armenia, her ancestral homeland. She is a breast cancer survivor and a supporter of Sibley Hospital. Through the Totahs’ generosity of $1.0 million, the Sibley Hospital has dedicated the Executive Wing of the Hospital in the name of the Sami & Annie Totah Family Foundation. A major donor and supporter of the Democratic Party, Ms. Totah has hosted in her beautiful home several fundraisers for Democratic candidates on the county, state, gubernatorial, federal and presidential levels. Ms. Totah’s fame and success have not been only in her charitable giving but in her ability to mastermind and produce spectacular and unique events for dozens and dozens of charitable causes. She donates, networks, elevates the cause of the organization and raises millions of dollars for organizations and events such as Israel Bonds Ambassadors’ Gala, Sibley Hospital Gala, Susan G. Komen Honoring the Promise Gala, Best Buddies with Anthony Kennedy Shriver, Washington Performing Arts Society, and the list goes on. Ms. Totah serves on the boards of many non-profit organizations including the Armenian Assembly of American, the Armenian General Benevolent Union, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, the Marshall Legacy Institute, Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, Magen David Sephardic Congregation, Washington Performing Arts Society, Washington Ballet, National Rehabilitation Hospital, Sibley Hospital, CARE Humanitarian Organization, Young Concert Artists, Youth Orchestra of the Americas, Heifitz International Music Institute, Post Classical Ensemble, Hope of Light Foundation, Phillips Collection, Strathmore Hall Foundation, and more. She is the recipient of many honors and awards, including the Medal of Appreciation from the President of the Republic of Armenia, the Armenian Assembly of America’s Distinguished Humanitarian Award, the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, Sibley Memorial Hospital’s Shining Star Award, and the Medal of Appreciation from the President of Nagorno Karabagh Republic, among others.
Downtown DC’s newest pop up arts market launches as Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center (RRB/ITC) hosts Capital Arts Collective. The series kicks off on June 20 and continues through September every third Thursday of the month from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm. Locals and passersby can shop and explore a curated selection of items by the area’s most talented creatives, including everything from jewelry, paintings, candles, custom designed items, home goods, and more.
Capital Arts Collective aims to celebrate and support the local art scene. The RRB/ITC is excited to welcome homegrown artisans to Wilson Plaza; with plenty of seating and eateries it’s the perfect place for art enthusiasts of all ages, to grab lunch, browse and shop from the best creators in the DMV area. Capital Arts Collective is a program of RRB/ITC and is sponsored by TCMA (A Drew Company).
View this summer’s artists: https://itcdc.com/capital-
What: Capital Arts Collective (#CapitalArtsCollective)
When: June 20, July 18, August 15, & September 19, from 10 am- 2 pm.
Where: Wilson Plaza at Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center
1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Metro: Federal Triangle Station
Who: Free and open to the public
The Del Ray Business Association will host its 6th Annual Well Ray Festival on Saturday, June 22nd in the heart of Del Ray. The free, family-friendly event will take on Mt. Vernon Avenue in the Del Ray section of Alexandria, a neighborhood just outside of Washington, D.C. “where Main Street still exists,” and will be a celebration of the health and wellness lifestyle movement. This year, the City of Alexandria was recognized as one of the top healthiest in America by the County Health Rankings & Roadmaps, an annual ranking that provides a revealing snapshot of how health is influenced by where we live, learn, work and play (link).
Over 75 health and lifestyle inspired vendors will provide a variety of activities to allow festival-goers the opportunity to explore, heal, taste and move in achieving a healthy life. Wellness and holistic health practitioners will offer services ranging from therapeutic treatments such as massages to acupuncture, physical therapy and nutritional counseling, health screenings, meditation, and more.
Festival attendees can bring their own mat and be prepared to move during free yoga, pilates, CrossFit, spin, barre, and dance classes on the streets led by local fitness instructors. There are also a variety of kid fit fun activities for the whole family to enjoy such as dance lessons, martial arts, parkour and HITT training. Pet lovers can bring their furry friends for pet-friendly fitness activities such as training tips and obstacle work. The festival each year draws thousands from across the region who want to explore the latest and greatest the world of health and wellness has to offer. The event is sponsored and presented by The Jen Walker Team (Platinum Sponsor), Core Wellness and Physical Therapy, and the Chiro Group (Gold Sponsors). The full event schedule and participating vendors are located at WellRayDelRay.com.
EVENT DETAILS
What: Well Ray – Health & Wellness Festival
When: Saturday, June 22, 2019
Where: Mt. Vernon Ave in the heart of Del Ray
Presented by: Del Ray Business Association
Time: 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Website: https://www.wellraydelray.com/
Cost: Free
Weather Plan: Rain or shine
Solstice Saturday Festival at the National Museum of the American Indian
Saturday, June 22; 3–9:30 p.m.
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian in DC celebrates the first Saturday of summer—Solstice Saturday— beginning with an afternoon of Andean music, dance, and family friendly activities celebrating the Great Inka Road. At 7 p.m., the celebration becomes the Solstice Illuminated Dance Party, taking place on the museum’s Welcome Plaza. There will be a DJ, refreshments, fun, and food, with all galleries open throughout the evening.
3–7 p.m.—Solstice Saturday: Celebrate the Sun!
With the exhibition The Great Inka Road as the theme, the museum celebrates Inti Raymi, the festival of the sun, with Andean music and dance. The festivity opens with traditional Bolivian dancing by Tradiciones Bolivianas, Pujllay Cliza, Fraternidad Tinkus Chochabamba, and Expresion Cultural Sikuris K’hantati Los Andes share traditional dances of Bolivia. RAYMI will be playing Andean music.
Make your own Andean fan based on the chakana, a symbol evoking the four cardinal directions, and add luminescent embellishments to show off later in the evening. Get inspired by the solar and lunar imagery throughout the museum and decorate your own canvas bag to take home.
Indigenous peoples of the Andes in South America believed that gold represented the sun. Visitors can create their own foil pendant featuring your choice of a llama, sun, or jaguar design at the imagiNATIONS Activity Center.
Meet Ande, the museum’s resident, life-size, plush toy Llama. Learn how to dress a fashionable llama for a stroll along the Inka road.
7–9:30 p.m.—Solstice Illuminated Dance Party
Grab a glow stick and dance to DJ Dola on the Welcome Plaza. Enjoy food and drinks—including anticuchos de carne, lomo saltado, chicken empanadas, chips and guacamole, arroz con leche and churros con chocolate—from local vendors Peruvian Brothers and the museum’s Mitsitam Café. Bears Shaved Ice will be serving shaved ice in a variety of flavors!
Be sure to visit the Museum’s membership table with your member card to receive a special gift (or join that evening). Cool off with a walk through the indoor galleries, which also will be open through the night.
When the sun goes down, bring your luminescent fan and join a “comparsa Iluminada”—an illuminated procession— and join Tradiciones Bolivianas, Raymi, Fraternidad Tinkus Chochabamba, Expresion Cultural Sikuris K’hantati Los Andes, and Pujllay Cliza in the procession from the festivities to an outdoor gathering on the Welcome Plaza.
Tuesday, July 2, 2019, 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Celebrate the Second of July, the day the Continental Congress voted for American independence, with music of the founding era. David and Ginger Hildebrand of the Colonial Music Institute perform eighteenth-century songs—including ballads, marches and French-inspired songs—in costume with period instruments.
Free
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Kenilworth’s annual festival devoted to Lotus and Water Lillies is full of music and dance performances, games, art & crafts
Kenilworth’s annual festival devoted to Lotus and Water Lillies is full of music and dance performances, games, art & crafts
