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GEORGETOWNER VOLUME 58, NUMBER 13
CHERRY FEVER EDUCATION
Your College Grad Will Be Home BUSINESS
Adieu to La Chaumiere's Gerard Pain SEE THEM NOW:
CHERRY BLOSSOMS PEAK
MARCH 21 - APRIL 3, 2012
VOL. 58, NO. 13
SINCE 1954
CONTENTS
ON THE COVER LEFT: Earrings: Dalton Pratt, Kara Ross Necklace: Dalton Pratt, Kara Ross Dress: Everard’s Clothing Bracelets: Dalton Pratt, Kara Ross Shoes: Model’s own RIGHT: Earrings: Dalton Pratt, Kara Ross Blazer: Everard’s Clothing, Insight Blouse: Everard’s Clothing Necklace: Belonging to crew Bracelets: Dalton Pratt, Kara Ross Pants: Helia’s Shoes: Steve Madden Photographer: Jodi King Stylist: Adra Williams Stylist Assistant and Make Up- Samantha Boyce Hair: Devin Rice Production Assistant: Emma Watters Location: Oakhill Cemetery, Georgetown Models: Casandra Tressler of T.H.E. Artist Agency Sherita DeHonney of Stomp Model Management
4-5
Up & Coming
6-7
Town Topics
8-9
Editorial/ Opinion
10
Business
19
FOOD & WINE 21
REAL ES TATE EDUC ATI ON 12
FEATURE
Cherry Blossom Festival Off to a Peak Start
HAU TE & COOL 14-15
Graphic, Totemic, Fashion
Murphy’s Love: Advice on Intimacy and Relationships
IN COUNTRY 26-28 79th Annual Historic Garden Week
CHARITIES & BENEFIT S
Web Exclusives
Performance: Twist Pulls Off His Own Twist on Puppetry FOLLOW US ON TWITTER:
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BODY & SOUL
29-30 Social Scene
Cherry Fever
THE AR T S 18
Classified/ Service Directory
29 The Beltway of Giving
COVER 15-17
Dining Guide
DIRECT ORY 24
Empty Nest? Think Again: Your College Graduate Is Back
13
Across the Cutting Board with Ris: Seeds of Inspiration
22-23
Mortgage/ Featured Property
11
Museum: Shows of Lights and Darks Elucidate at the Hirshhorn
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“The Newspaper Whose Influence Far Exceeds Its Size” — Pierre Cardin
MEET THE PRESS THIS WEEK JODY KURASH is the author of the “Cocktail of the Week”
The Georgetowner is published every other Wednesday. The opinions of our writers and columnists do not necessarily reflect the editorial and corporate opinions of The Georgetowner newspaper. The Georgetowner accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs and assumes no liability for products or services advertised herein. The Georgetowner reserves the right to edit, re-write, or refuse material and is not responsible for errors or omissions. Copyright, 2012.
Jody’s column first appeared in the Georgetowner in April 2008. She has more than 13 years of journalism experience in New York and Washington with the Associated Press and Knight Ridder-Tribune. An avid traveler, Kurash has ventured to at least 55 countries. Her travel stories have appeared in publications and websites across the world. Born in western Pennsylvania, she is a die-hard Pittsburgh Steelers and Penguins fan. She received her master’s degree from Syracuse University where she studied at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. Steelers fan Jody Kurash (right) with her late dear friend Glenn Sorvisto at FedEx Field.
GMG, INC. March 21, 2012 3
EDITORIAL / OPINION
Afghanistan: Hanging in the Balance
Vote April 3. After All, It’s Your Call
BY STEVE D EL ON GA
Roughly two weeks remain before Washington voters go to the polls for the District’s April 3 Primary Election. It’s an unusual date — usually the District’s primary election is held in September, closer to the November general election. Even if this election were deemed to be a special election, it sure doesn’t feel that way. Many of the races —the Democratic Primary nominations for seats on the city council look to be shoo-ins, especially for Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans, who is running unopposed. But in Ward 4, 7 and 8, incumbents Muriel Bowser, Yvette Alexander and Marion Barry, respectively, face lots of opposition, none of which has received much coverage or appeared to generate much excitement. The only truly high profile race is a kind of re-run — Vincent Orange is running again to hold his at-large seat on the council which he won narrowly over Republican Patrick Mara. Sekou Biddle, a familiar face in roles as educator, local activist and for his brief, appointed term to the seat, lost that earlier race but is running again. Orange, whom the Georgetowner endorsed in the previous election, has been dealing forthrightly with a few difficulties from the growing campaign contribution scandal involving developer Jeffrey E. Thompson, which resulted in a shower of subpoenas for records of city council members by federal investigators. Yet this atmosphere of scandal, ongoing investigations and trouble that hangs over the council (and the mayor as well) never quite dissipated, which ought to make incumbents nervous. Or, at least, get the electorate interested. It nevertheless effects the entire city and its image. April 3 is the day to express yourself. We’re not passing judgment here, although elections can take on aspects of judgment on the part of voters. We don’t even need to say that we find the situation disheartening or exasperating. We’re just saying: Go out and vote. Please. ★
F
or more than a decade, the Afghan War has been a costly and difficult campaign for the United States and its NATO allies. As the United States begins to downsize its force in Afghanistan and turn combat operations over to the Afghan police and army, a persistent question is whether the U.S. strategy will be effective in preventing Afghanistan from slipping back to Taliban control over the long term. U.S. strategy in Afghanistan has evolved over the past 11 years, and conditions have changed. As the U.S. drawdown picks up pace, success of the entire operation will be dependent on a series of complex variables over which the U.S. and NATO will have little control. Without continued, heavy, long-term support from the U.S., it is likely that the current government of Afghanistan will not be sustainable in its current form. In his remarks at West Point outlining his administration’s strategy, President Barack Obama said, “Our overarching goal remains the same: to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al Qaida in Afghanistan and Pakistan and to prevent its capacity to threaten America and our allies in the future.” Effectively establishing Afghanistan and Pakistan as the theater of war in which to defeat Al Qaida and the Taliban, Obama set a timetable of 18 months to accomplish a series of ambitious and broadly defined objectives: “We must deny al Qaida a safe haven. We must reverse the Taliban’s momentum and deny it the ability to overthrow the government. And we must strengthen the capacity of Afghanistan’s security forces and government so that they can take lead responsibility [. . .]” Assessing the Obama Strategy. Now, more than two years later, it is clear that even as the drawdown of forces in Afghanistan is set to begin, and while some headway has been made in some areas, those overarching objectives articulated by Obama have not been met. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper reported the intelligence community’s assessment that “[the Taliban] remains resilient and capable of challenging U.S. and international goals; and Taliban senior leaders continue to enjoy safe haven in Pakistan, which enables them to provide strategic direction to the insurgency and not fear for their safety.” A leaked U.S. military report on the “State of the Taliban 2012” confirms that Pakistan’s ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence agency) is encouraging the Taliban to continue fighting. It goes on to confirm that, “Though the Taliban suffered severely in 2011, its strength, motivation, funding and tactical proficiency remain intact.”
Negotiating the Retrograde. Ostensibly in recognition of these shortfalls, the president has announced a “new” way forward in Afghanistan that looks remarkably similar to the counter-terror strategy originally proposed by Vice President Joe Biden. It advocated an escalation of the drone war in Pakistan and direct negotiations with the Taliban. Broadly stated, the ultimate goal of the strategy — which Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has described as “fight, talk and build” — is to prevent civil war and the reestablishment of terrorist bases in the region. A key element that has emerged for that strategy is to give the Pakistanis a prominent seat at the table in exchange for their leverage on the Taliban to negotiate in kind. The Obama Administration has announced the start of direct trilateral talks between the U.S., the Karzai government and the Taliban’s political front organization, headed by Mullah Mohammed Omar and the Haqqani network. Under U.S. encouragement, the Taliban has set up an office in Doha, Qatar, explicitly for the purpose of dealing with Washington. Yet, with the NATO drawdown in Afghanistan imminent, the Taliban has little incentive to negotiate, believing that it can just wait NATO out. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta recently announced that combat operations would be turned over to the Afghan Army in 2013. By the end of 2014, all American combat forces are scheduled to be out of the country, with the exception of a small number of Special Operations Forces and trainers. The Lessons of History and the Way Ahead. As the U.S. and NATO retrograde gains momentum, Washington will unquestionably apply billions in military foreign sales, aid, inter-agency coordination, as well as air and military contract support to Afghan security forces to support the current Afghan government. While the peace negotiations with the Taliban are intended to inject some measure of stability as western troops leave Afghanistan, they are also an implicit recognition that that the Taliban will regain some measure of political power in the country. Following the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan in 1989, Moscow also did its best to prop up the Communist government. However, when the aid vanished in 1992 following the Soviet Union’s downfall, Kabul became engulfed in a violent war that placed the reins of power for Afghanistan firmly in the hands of the Taliban. More than two decades later, Washington is hoping to avoid the same fate for Afghanistan. ★ Steve Delonga is the president of Prometheus Security International, LLC
Up in Smoke: Another Wasteful Federal Program BY DAVID P OS T he federal government announced that it was going to spend $54 million on really scary videos about the horrors of smoking cigarettes. It’s full of sad stories and horrible photos about young twenty- and thirty-somethings who smoked and got cancer. Some had to have legs and arms amputated. Others are facing very premature deaths. The government hopes these videos will convince at least some kids not to smoke. But $54 million is a drop in the bucket compared to what the tobacco companies spend to get kids addicted to cigarettes. A cigarette-buying customer is a customer for decades. The tobacco industry knows that and spends $41 million every day or $15 billion each year on advertising. The government cannot compete with that. Why would it want to? The public wants government out of our lives, not invading the privacy of kids. Can’t children and their parents make informed decisions without the government scaring the bejesus out of them to convince them not to smoke?
T
This is an absolute lose-lose government policy. First, the tobacco industry will suffer lower profits starting a cascade of reduced tax revenues. Income, tobacco and sales taxes. Unknown thousands of farmers, tobacco company employees, truck drivers, convenience store clerks and perhaps government tax collectors will lose their jobs. They won’t pay taxes but instead will seek government assistance. Food and homeless shelters will require local communities to provide added support for those who have lost their way due to government action. Even worse, the government may be compelled to give tobacco farmers larger subsidies. This is a classic example of a government policy that will not only reduce tax collections at every level of government but also will consume scarce government resources. That’s not even the big bucks. Here’s the real problem: people will be healthier and live longer. Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer-related death. Tobacco use is responsible for almost one out of every five deaths in the U.S. every year. Lung cancer kills quickly and has
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low survival rate. Smokers live, on average, ten years less than people who don’t smoke. The cost of millions of people living an extra ten years is real money. Social security and medicare are paid for life. Long lives mean more geriatric doctors, nurses, assisted living, nursing homes, ambulances, drugs and the list goes on. More senior discounts? Less taxes. All of this extra living costs the taxpayer. More than 40 years ago, President Nixon talked about government waste. He mentioned that the FDA had “tea tasters,” who made sure that the tea sold in America tasted good. He said that he was going to cut the tea tasters out of the budget. They are still there. So, while you are sipping your tasteful tea tomorrow, write your congressmen and tweet your favorite presidential candidate. Tell them how wasteful and costly this new anti-smoking program is going to be and to nip it in the bud. Once any new government spending program is on the books, it’s almost impossible to remove.★
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TOWN TOPICS Continued from page 6
Burglar Attacks Home Resident
An alert from Georgetown University’s Department of Public Safety reported a burglary in the 1400 block of 36th St., N.W.. reading: “DPS learned today that on Wednesday, March 14, at approximately 9:20 p.m., a student living in an off-campus townhouse confronted a burglary suspect with a backpack who said he was looking for someone. When the student asked to look into the backpack, the suspect punched him in the face and fled the residence. Taken during the burglary were two laptops, one camera, and a watch. MPD responded and are currently investigating the incident. There have been eight residential burglaries in the Second District during the past two weeks. The Metropolitan Police Department and DPS encourage students living off campus to be extra cautious and practice good personal home security by keeping their doors and windows locked at all times. Promptly report any suspicious activity or circumstances to the appropriate police jurisdiction. Do not directly confront a burglar; instead, get to a safe place and call 9-1-1 immediately. If anyone has information regarding this or any other incident(s), or who noticed any suspects before or after the incident(s), call 202-687-4343.”
Viola Drath’s Alleged Killer Stays in Psych Ward
A D.C. Superior Court judge ordered Albrecht Muth, accused of killing his 91-year-old wife Viola Drath, held for another month during a mental health hearing last week. He has already been formally indicted for murder. Muth remains in Saint Elizabeth’s psychiatric hospital for a competency test. Some want to make sure he is not faking his mental condition. He was said to have been hearing the voices of angels and seeing visions. Muth had previously protested his incarceration, saying it was all a plot by Iranian spies, and that he was an officer in the Iraqi Army. Drath and Muth lived in a townhouse near Q and 32nd Streets. Muth, who has plead not guilty, is scheduled to appear in court on April 25 to see if he is fit to be on trial at all.
RIP: La Chaumiere’s Gerard Pain: 1938 - 2012
There was a time in Washington — circa the late 1960, 1970s and early 1980s — that French cuisine and French restaurants ruled the dining scene and all that went with it, with places like
EDITORIAL / OPINION Pain, who was of the old school and helped spark classic French bistro cuisine in the 1970s. The Washingtonian food critic called him the “patriarch of local bistros.” Noted diners included President George H.W. Bush, Nancy Reagan and the Dalai Lama. A native of France, Pain came to the U.S. in 1963, where he first worked at Le Bistro and then the American Lawyers Club. In 1971, Pain began his career as a French restaurateur by buying Pouget, a bistro in Cleveland Park which he renamed L’Escargot. In 1976, Pain opened and founded La Chaumiere, remaining the owner until 2007. During his tenure, La Chaumiere was named one of the Washingtonian Magazine’s “Top 100 Restaurants every year beginning in 1978. He was president of the American Restaurant Association in 1984 and a member of L’Amicale Culinaire and a member and past president of the Epicurean Club of Washington DC. In 1994, he bought Wolfcreek Farm where he became known as the “French Cowboy.” Pain passed away March 14 at his home in Charlottesville from complications of a stroke He was 73. He is survived by his wife of 51 years, Marie-Therese, daughters Geraldine and Stephanie and four grandchildren. Contributions can be made in memory of Gerard Pain to Martha Jefferson Hospital Foundation, 500 Martha Jefferson Drive, Charlottesville, Va. 22911. ★
Community Calendar MARCH 24
Girl Scouts in Georgetown Day For Juniors and Cadets, 10 – 11:30 a.m. at Tudor Place. TudorPlace.org
MARCH 26
6 to 7:30pm — Founders Day Celebration, Georgetown University, Copley Formal Lounge The Annual Celebration of Founders Day, the birth of Georgetown: the date that Father Andrew White and a group of Catholic settlers arrived in Maryland in 1634. Once considered the most important day in the Georgetown calendar, this celebration has recently been revived. It is open to the public. Contact Tocqueville Forum: tocquevilleforum@georgetown.edu, 202-6878501.
MARCH 30
DC SWAN (Support Women Artists) Day Reception Friday, 8 p.m. Opening reception for the Singles Faire exhibition at Baked & Wired (1052 Thomas Jefferson Street, N.W.), an exhibition of small works, many of them created on fare cards by artist Jenny Walton.
MARCH 31
Mad Hatter Tea at Tudor Place Saturday, 1 to 3 p.m. TudorPlace.org.
APRIL 2
ANC2E Meeting 6:30 p.m. Advisory Neighborhood Commission meeting at Georgetown Visitation Prep, 35th Street and Volta Place.
Gerard Pain is pictured in 2005 with La Chaumiere’s current chef Patrick Orange.
Rive Gauche and Chez Odette, to name just two. La Chaumiere, which established itself solidly in Georgetown on M Street near Furin’s (now closed) and the Biograph Theater (now a CVS), had an honored place among the French establishments, thanks largely to its founder Gerard
APRIL 6-7
Eggstravaganza! 10 a.m. to noon. Celebrate spring and Easter at Tudor Place’s third annual Eggstravaganza! Children of all ages enjoy the largest Egg Hunt in Washington, D.C., and a thrilling Egg Roll Contest. The Egg Hunt begins at 10:45 a.m. and the Egg Roll follows at 11 a.m. Bring your own basket and spoon, and one hardboiled egg per child. ★
Thanks to Those Who Helped in Redistricting, a Thankless Job BY JACK EVANS
I
co-chaired a meeting on the District Council’s Subcommittee on Redistricting on proposed changes to the Advisory Neighborhood Commission and SingleMember District boundaries on March 16. According to federal law, the District must perform a redistricting of its eight wards within 90 days of the council’s receipt of the U.S. Census report, which happens every ten years. After completion of the ward redistricting process, which took place last summer, the council reviews and makes adjustments to the boundaries of the ANCs and SMDs. As I have said before, in my 20 years on the council, there is no issue I have encountered that evokes a stronger emotional reaction than redistricting. To co-chair the committee overseeing redistricting is a thankless job. No one ever compliments us on preparing a “great” redistricting map, but many folks find aspects of any plan that they don’t like. There is no way to make everyone happy in the redistricting process, but my goal in the ward and ANC/ SMD redistricting processes was to maintain and reunite neighborhoods wherever possible, while making use of census tract lines, natural boundaries and major traffic arteries to create logical borders within the framework imposed on us by federal law. Under § 1-1041.01 of the D.C. Code, the Council of the District of Columbia is required to appoint ward task forces to recommend adjustment of the boundaries of the ANC area and Single Member Districts. In practice, deference is given to each ward member to appoint a task force chair and membership. I want to take this opportunity to publicly thank Tom Birch for agreeing to serve as chair of the Ward 2 Task Force on Redistricting. Another thankless job, the task force chair is responsible for being an arbiter in the process if any major disagreements arise. My subcommittee sent instructions to all councilmembers recommending appointment of a broadly-based task force for each ward. The method that seems to work best in Ward 2 is to create a task force subcommittee for each neighborhood, and I want to thank all of the ANC chairs and citizen association heads or designees that co-chaired the neighborhood groups. I think we can be proud of the outcome of these meetings in Ward 2 and across the city. Where the boundaries are working and population remained relatively constant, such as in Kalorama, it makes sense to leave boundaries as they are, which is what our task force recommended. Where significant Ward 2 boundary changes have been made, such as the welcome reuniting of Penn Quarter, significant changes are required to create ANC and SMD boundaries that make sense. Thanks for your patience and participation in the process. ★
GMG, INC. March 21, 2012 9
LEFT:
DRESS: Urban Chic, Beyond Vintage EARRINGS: Helia’s NECKLACE: Everard’s Clothing SHOES: Steve Madden
RIGHT:
DRESS: Urban Chic, Shoshanna NECKLACE: Helia’s EARRINGS: Dalton Pratt
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LEFT:
DRESS: Helia’s NECKLACE: Dalton Pratt
RIGHT:
DRESS: Everard’s Clothing, Insight NECKLACE: Helia’s EARRINGS: Dalton Pratt, Lisa Cotten BRACELETS: Dalton Pratt, Kara Ross IPHONE CASE WITH SWAROVSKI CRYSTAL: Dalton Pratt
GMG, INC. March 21, 2012 17
PERFORMANCE
Twist Pulls Off
His Own Twist on Puppetry
E
BY GARY T IS CHL ER
verywhere you read or hear about Basil Twist— the New Yorker, the Post, YouTube (highly recommended) — he’s described as a puppeteer, or third-generation puppeteer, or world-renowned puppeteer. The third-generation thing is stretching things, the world-renowned is dead on, but puppeteer . . . well, it’s just not enough. It’s like calling Schubert a songwriter and leaving it at that. Geppetto was a puppeteer. Basil Twist is something else. Just what Twist is and does should become fairly clear to Washingtonians — or maybe not — during the course of the next nearly two months, a time frame which amounts to a Basil Twist festival of four of his works at four different venues. All of them are different from each other — naturally, as Twist might say, because he is forever exploring the form, trying new ways of creating puppetry, standing the form on its head, leaving shiny welts. Twist, who is only 42, is becoming a one-man buzz, noteworthy, praiseworthy and just plain worthy at a time when puppetry itself is becoming prominent, especially on the nation’s stages, but also in the special-effects laden world of film. Think of puppets, and you do think of Geppetto and Pinocchio, the puppet who became a boy and similar children’s stories that work well with characters manipulated by sticks and strings.
a nearly lost art and form of puppetry of “Dogugaeshi,” a production involving sliding doors and original Shamisan compositions performed by master musician Yumiko Tanaka. (April 11 through 22) Going farther afield and under water brings you to a Swift classic, a production of “Symphonie Fantastique” at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the University of Maryland. An abstract work set to the music of Hector Berlioz is performed in a 1,000-gallon water tank, “using mirrors, slides, dyes, blacklight, overhead projections, air bubbles, latex fishing lures and other sundry material. (March 29 through 31) Finally, there’s “Arias with a Twist” at the Woolly Mammoth Theater, April 4 through May 6, in which the aforementioned Joey Arias and Twist collaborate on a magical-mystery tour of music, dancing, singing, with the Garden of Eden, a space lab and just about anything else you can imagine thrown in. Twist, in a phone interview, said “I’m fascinated by the use of music, by all the other forms of puppetry that go back practically to the cave man. Puppets have always been with us. They’re primal.” In his program notes for “Petrushka,” Twist states the case simply: “Puppets are magic,” he writes. “The mystery of a bundle of cloth coming to life and inspiring emotion in an audience is what has kept me captivated by this art. By animating puppets— including puppet forms, inanimate objects and characters—he makes The Twist festival amounts to four theatrical events literally magic. When he talks about how is animated not only by him beyond category, although they swim—literally in one case— puppet but by the audience, he’s talking about the essence of performance around puppetry on all fronts. art, of theater and dance. “Puppets are often thought of as belonging to children,” Twist said. “That’s What Twist does is honor the primal past, the classic form, great and partly true, that’s where everything starts, but I’m listens to the music in his head and outside of it and marries trying to move things to move constantly forward.” He is to it to things never done before. He collaborates with someone puppetry what Joyce and Beckett where to literature, making like Joey Arias, described as “drag chanteuse extraordinaire” abstractions come to life. to come up with a production the likes of which you’ve never But he shares one thing with Geppetto–and maybe with seen before. Doctor Frankenstein as well–and that’s the urge to bring something that’s inanimate to life. The Twist festival amounts to four theatrical events literally beyond category. At the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s “Think about that, it’s so awesome to me to be able to Lansburgh Theatre, there’s a stunningly beautiful production do this,” Twist said. “And we’re talking about shapes, things of “Petrushka,” which is puppetry about puppets, a classic themselves, not just characters in a story.” tale from the world of ballet about three puppets at a Russian “It’s true I grew up with puppets,” he said. “My mother did puppet shows. As far as that third-generation thing, I had carnival, a kind of love triangle about puppets aided and abeta grandfather who was a big band leader. He had puppets that ted by Stravinsky’s original ballet score in a two-piano version played by pianists Julia and Irina Elkina. The style of puplooked like band leaders of the time. “ petry is gorgeous in the Japanese and Czech manner and runs Twist had his own puppets, but he did not become serious through March 26. about the form until he attended and graduated from the Ecole At the Studio Theatre, Twist resurrects what amounts to Superieure Nationale des Arts de la Marionnette in Charleville-
18 March 21, 2012 GMG, INC.
A Basil Twist uppet. Photo by Richard Termine. Mezieres in France. It’s fair to say that Twist is a transformative figure in an art form that is beginning to loom large, beyond the boundaries of carnivals and children’s shows. He created puppets for the Broadway musical “The Addams Family,” and he’s listed in the credits as underwater puppet consultant for the last Harry Potter show. If, like Duke Ellington, his work seems to be beyond category, you do know exactly where it’s headed. It’s in the direction of making the heart, the head and the soul of puppetry larger. In “Petrushka,” probably the most accessible of the four works in the festival, he uses non-traditional and traditional tools to bring alive a classic tale. It’s startling, gorgeous it swims around in your head afterwards. After the show, beaming like a young kid, he explained some of the tricks of the process, without every once negating the magic and mystery of it all. Making the puppets, the shapes, the detailed work is probably a herculean, detailed effort. But behind it is a vision, not so precise, but clear. “More than anything,” he says, “I have to think and feel that it’s good. “ Now there’s a Twist.
SOCIAL SCENE
CHARITIES & BENEFITS
The Beltway of Giving BY JADE FLOYD
A
dvocacy months exist for hundreds of causes — from yoga to bicycling to ovarian cancer. These months create a time when the world can come together to foster awareness about each cause and utilize those treasured Twitter hashtags that public relations professionals like to dream up. March is home to Arts Education Month and National Nutrition Month, and the Georgetowner is highlighting two D.C.-based organizations working to increase arts access in the city and end childhood hunger. In an acclaimed food-centric city with the likes of Jose Andres, Michel Richard and Kyle Baley, Washingtonian’s have access to some of the most noted restaurants in the United States. Yet on a daily basis one in ten households across the U.S. are food-insecure, accounting for more than 16 million children. Within the District, that number escalates with nearly one in four kids at risk of hunger. D.C.-based non-profit, Share Our Strength, has worked to provide long-term food solutions for families and children across the U.S. for nearly 30 years. To date, the organization has raised more than $350 million in funds which have trickled into the organization through signature events – from the Great American Bake Sale and Taste of the Nation, both taking place this April. Debbie Shore, co-founder of Share Our Strength, sat down with the Georgetowner to chat about the upcoming Taste of the Nation festivities and talk about philanthropy. One might be surprised, but Shore doesn’t fancy herself a philanthropist but more like a “connector” in the Gladwellian sense of the word. She maintains joining influentials to your cause entices others to rally and builds brand awareness. The community of chefs within the District are united, and she credits stand-out chefs like R.J. Cooper of Rogue 24, Cathal Armstrong of Restaurant Eve and Jeff Tunks of Passion Food Hospitality as a few of the chefs with the passion to end childhood hunger. So far, more than 700 chefs nationwide have joined Share Our Strength in its efforts. “Our core belief holds true: chefs care about feeding people,” Shore said. “However, we are not going to end childhood hunger alone. We need the community support, private sector investments, government and boots on the ground.”
Uniting a community is exactly the approach the D.C. Arts and Humanities Education Collaborative has taken for nearly 13 years. As an arts advocacy organization with a budget of less than $1 million per year, each dollar counts and partnerships are crucial to providing free arts experiences for the District’s public school students. This April, the collaborative will host its 2nd Annual Arts Benefit to garner much needed funds for programs and bus transportation. While part of Share Our Strength’s strategy is recruiting chefs, the D.C. Collaborative has recruited nearly 80 arts-related performance venues, including the internationally recognized Kennedy Center and Shakespeare Theatre to its roster. “More and more influential voices and performance venues are calling on arts education to take center stage in school improvement efforts within the city,” said Louise Kennelly, executive director of the D.C. Collaborative. “While our budget is small, we serve more than 30,000 D.C. public school students and teachers. We’ve learned to pool our resources with our member institutions who sell us tickets at a reduced rate and often waive ticket prices to ensure public school students from D.C. are able to come through the door and see a performance”. Both organizations – one with a multimillion dollar budget and nationally recognized events and another with a fraction of the funds and fundraising dollars generated through small events – have managed to unite communities in an effort to serve children and promote their causes. Interested in joining in and learning more about which cause you can support in the coming months? Visit www.Fundraisers.com/causes to learn more. If you have a notable charity or event that you believe should be featured in the Beltway of Giving, we want to hear from you: DCthisweek@gmail.com. ★ Jade Floyd is a managing associate at a D.C.based international public relations firm and served on the board of directors for the D.C. Arts and Humanities Education Collaborative for nearly five years. She is a frequent volunteer and host of fundraising events across the District, supporting arts, animal welfare and education programs.
Bonhams Previews Asia Week at its Georgetown Salon BY R OBERT D EVAN EY In tune with D.C.’s cherry blossoms, Bonhams Auctioneers and Appraisers held a preview of some of the art, ranging from Japan and China to Southeast Asia, being shown at Asia Week in New York at its Washington office on M Street in Georgetown March 8. Martin Gammon, who heads up the D.C. and Mid-Atlantic division, welcomed art lovers and a few Sackler Gallery trustees to the first highlights preview and reception at his Bonhams office.
Art expert Evangelia Lilly Papaioannou and Martin Gammon, managing director for Bonhams in the Mid-Atlantic region, stand in front of Qi Baishi’s “Rabbits and Sweet Osmanthus.”
Nina Pillsbury, advocate for the arts and historic preservation, is greeted by Amy Maniatis.
A Toast to Pierre L’Enfant at Dumbarton House
BY R OBERT D EVAN EY
In 1791, Pierre-Charles L’Enfant arrived in Georgetown on the evening of March 9 to begin work on the soon-to be nation’s capital, Washington, D.C. The Mayor of Georgetown had not gotten the memo, and L’Enfant felt less than welcomed and complained to Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson. In recent decades, Washingtonians have been making up for that with an ongoing annual “Welcome, Pierre!” reception. Friends and history lovers raised a toast the city’s designer March 9 at Dumbarton House, headquarters for The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America.
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The original D.C. design team: architect Don Hawkins (“Pierre L’Enfant), consultant Carl Cole (“Benjamin Banneker”) and retired surveyor Chas Langelan (“Andrew Ellicott”). GMG, INC. March 21, 2012 29
SOCIAL SCENE
Getting Ready for the April 28 Georgetown House Tour BY RO B E RT DE VANE Y Georgetown House Tour 2012 leaders, volunteers and those opening their homes to the public met March 15 at tour co-chair Frank Babb Randolph’s 34th Street house. The April 28 event is one of the oldest of its kind in the nation. The Patrons’ Party will be held April 25 at hour tour champion Frida Burling’s 29th Street home. Those whose homes are on the tour are: Cherry and Peter Baumbusch; Kristin and John Cecchi; Pat Dixon; Michele and Jack Evans; Hugh Newell Jacobsen; Kristin and Greg Muhlner; Dale and Melissa Overmyer; Alice Hill and Peter Starr; Christian Zapatka.
35th Street newcomers Peter Starr and Alice Hill have their remodeled home on the tour.
Dale and Melissa Overmyer, Christian Zapatka, Michele Evans — whose homes will be on the April 28 tour — with house tour co-chairs Stephanie Bothwell and Frank Babb Randolph.
Navy Weighs Anchor for War of 1812 Bicentennial
BY RO B E RT DE VANE Y The Library of Congress hosted “the Department of the Navy’s Commemoration Honoring the Bicentennial of the War of 1812” March 13 at its Thomas Jefferson Building. Librarian of Congress James Billington welcomed the crowd and Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus. Billington noted the library’s link to the war and the Burning of Washington in 1814 with its first replacement volumes from Thomas Jefferson. Mabus said that the War of 1812 is “overlooked and least remembered” of America’s war but has “an outsized impact” on its history. Navy events begin in New Orleans in April and continue on the East Coast. For details, visit www.OurFlagWasStillThere.org.
Hungary Wins Embassy Chef Challenge BY M ARY BIR D Chef Viktor Merényi of the Embassy of Hungary took top honors at the fourth annual Embassy Chef Challenge held March 8 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center. Merényi served slow-cooked beef with transitional Hungarian accompaniments for 600 guests and a panel of celebrity judges. The annual event benefits Cultural Tourism DC, an independent coalition of more than 230 communitybased organizations which showcases the city’s rich and diverse culture and heritage.
Benefit chair Ann Scoffier and Lynne Beaux, president of Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington.
Latino Student Fund Gala Ginger Apyar, first vice president, National United States Daughters of 1812, with Cmdr. Matt Bonner, commanding officer of the U.S.S. Constitution, the world’s oldest commissioned warship afloat.
BY M ARY BIR D Ambassador of Costa Rica Muni Figueres, the honorary patron at the Latino Student Fund’s 12th Annual Gala at the Organization of American States, lauded the fund on March 14 as a fantastic vehicle for the vindication of the Latin spirit. This year’s theme “Color Caribe” highlighted Costa Rica with its Latin music, cocktails and food. Festivities benefitted the LSF’s mission to provide academic opportunities for students of Hispanic/Latino descent from pre-Kindergarten to 12th grade and to promote higher education and professional leadership.
Ambassador of Costa Rica Muni Figueres and Latino Angela Franco and Chris Simmons. Student Fund board chair Rosalia G-H Miller
30 March 21, 2012 GMG, INC.