The Georgetowner: March 11, 2026 Issue

WOMEN OF GEORGETOWN: MAKING HISTORY

BY ROBERT DEVANEY

“You’ve come a long way, baby,” intoned a cigarette advertisement almost 60 years ago, tapping into the burgeoning women’s liberation movement.

While we’re well aware that women’s history involves much more than a quick inhale, it still amazes some men to encounter a strong woman.

Just last week, the sight of a female U.S. Air Force pilot, whose F-15E was knocked out of the sky, standing nonchalantly in a Kuwaiti field and declaring she was OK, proved an internet hit.

Thus has it been with many women throughout history.

In this month’s story for The Village, we turn to Georgetown women of noteworthy accomplishment — and give our readers a history assignment. Our allotted space only allows highlights. So, as we look to honor Women’s History Month, let us know who we missed.

Katharine Graham was the publisher and owner who brought the Washington Post to its zenith.

, granddaughter of Martha Washington, and her husband Thomas Peter built Tudor Place.

Hannah Cole Pope, born enslaved at Tudor Place, and her husband Alfred were prominent citizens at the turn of the 20th century.

Anne Marie Becraft founded a school near Georgetown College for Black girls and later became one of America’s first Black nuns.

E. D. E. N. Southworth, the most popular American novelist of the late 19th century, lived on Prospect Street. (She deserves to

have a park named after her; a vacant lot is available.)

Emma V. Brown was the first African American teacher employed by the D.C. public school system.

Nancy Pelosi, a resident of the Washington Harbour, is the first female speaker of the House of Representatives.

Madeleine Albright , the first female secretary of state, was also a popular Georgetown University professor.

Julia Child , also an OSS operative, was the chef who brought French cooking and fun to Georgetown women and the nation.

Pamela Harriman , political activist, diplomat and socialite — “Life of the Party” — was an exemplar of power and seduction.

Vera Rubin , Georgetown University astronomer, is the person for whom the new astronomy and astrophysics facility on Cerro Pachón in Chile is named. She found evidence for the existence of dark matter.

Deborah Tannen is the professor who made “He Said, She Said” understandable.

Dorothy Brown was the first female provost of Georgetown University.

Jeane Kirkpatrick was the first woman to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

Elizabeth Frawley Bagley is a diplomat, attorney, political activist, philanthropist — and neighbor.

Evangeline Bruce — “The Last Empress” — was a writer and society hostess.

Margaret Edes established a charitable trust for the care of widows. Her presence echoes at the historic Edes Home at 2929 N St. NW.

Anna Maria Thornton, wife of U.S. Capitol architect William Thornton, lived among Georgetown’s elite social circles.

Margaret O’Neill Eaton , daughter of a Georgetown tavern keeper, married Secretary of War John Eaton and sparked “the Petticoat Affair.”

Mary Edwards Walker, MD, is the only woman to receive the Medal of Honor — and lived briefly on Wisconsin Avenue. She and Walt Whitman are the names behind Whitman-Walker Clinic.

Emily Warren Roebling was a graduate of Georgetown Visitation Prep and helped complete the Brooklyn Bridge.

Margaret Ann and Belle Laurie were a mother-daughter spiritualist duo known as “the witches of Georgetown.” Their séances were reportedly attended by President Abraham Lincoln and first lady Mary Todd Lincoln. Roumania and Margaret Peters, tennis doubles champions, lived on O Street near the Rose Park tennis court named for them.

The list can go on, of course. Let’s not forget to recognize Georgetowner founder Ami Stewart and publisher-owner Sonya Bernhardt, who made and — in Sonya’s case — continue to make this newspaper possible.

Read more about the women shaping Georgetown today in our cover story starting on page 11.

Jacqueline Kennedy and her husband John put Georgetown on the map in contemporary times. (Ditto for Ethel Kennedy.)

Martha Parke Custis Peter

Katharine Graham.

Elizabeth Frawley Bagley.

Nancy Pelosi.

Madeleine Albright.

Jackie Kennedy.

Martha Parke Custis.

Pamela Harriman.

Emily Warren Roebling.

Roumania and Margaret Peters.

IN THIS ISSUE

THE COVER

COMMUNITY

CALENDAR

WASHINGTON AREA IMMIGRATION SYMPOSIUM

Friday, March 13

The symposium, from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Georgetown University’s Rafik B. Hariri Building, is co-sponsored by the Georgetown Center for Economic Research, the Center for Business and Public Policy at the McDonough School of Business and the Institute for the Study of International Migration. Visit events.georgetown.edu.

ANC 2E MEETING

Monday, March 30

Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E, representing Georgetown, Burleith and Hillandale, will hold its next meeting at 6:30 p.m. at Georgetown Visitation School, 1524 35th St. NW, and via Zoom. Visit anc.dc.gov.

STATE OF THE STREET

Tuesday, March 31

Attendees at Georgetown Main Street’s annual meeting, the State of the Street, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Fathom Gallery, 1351 Wisconsin Ave. NW, will learn what was accomplished in 2025 and hear the vision for 2026 and beyond. Visit cagtown.org.

OLD GEORGETOWN BOARD

Thursday, April 2

The Old Georgetown Board–Commission of Fine Arts will meet at 9 a.m. at 401 F St. NW, Suite 312. Meeting documents are posted on the Monday afternoon prior to the meeting. Visit cfa.gov.

Kurash

Shelia Moses

Kate Oczypok

Ari Post

Linda Roth

Alison Schafer

Celia Sharpe

Mary Ann Treger

Hailey Wharram

1050 30th Street, NW Washington, DC 20007

Phone: (202) 338-4833

Fax: (202) 338-4834

www.georgetowner.com

“The Newspaper Whose Influence Far Exceeds Its Size” — Pierre Cardin

The GeorGeTowner is published in print monthly with an online newsletter supplement posted twice per week — On Mondays we highlight news and on Thursdays goings on about town. 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, rewrite or refuse material and is not responsible for errors or omissions. Copyright 2026.

Please send submissions of opinions for consideration to: editorial@georgetowner.com For advertising inquiries email Advertising@georgetowner.com or call (202) 338-4833

Nita Chiruvella and Skye Jannery-Barney, the founders of Eclectic LLC, a new organization for young D.C.-area entrepreneurs. Photo by Tony Powell.

WHAT’S ONLINE GEORGETOWNER.COM

GAINSBOROUGH PORTRAITS IN NEW YORK AT THE FRICK BY RICHARD SELDEN

Perfectly in tune with the spacious elegance of the expanded and modernized Frick Collection is an exhibition of 25 portraits — including one of a Pomeranian dog and puppy — on view through Memorial Day.

FOR LOVE & BUTTERCUP GIVES COMFORT TO D.C. CHILDREN BY KATE OCZYPOK

22-year-old Emily Bhatnagar is the founder of For Love & Buttercup, a nonprofit that donates books to children who are undergoing cancer treatment.

Eldzier Cortor (American 1916-2015), Signs of Times, Oil on canvas, $15,000-$25,000

Paul Jenkins (American 1923-2012), Phenomena: Red Rhombus, Watercolor on Arches paper, $4,000-$6,000

PINTO FORUM GATHERS WARD 2 INPUT ON BUDGET BY BROOKE PINTO

Pinto started by listing her core budget priorities including public safety, economic resilience and small business support.

CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY MEETS GEORGETOWN MAIN STREET BY THE GEORGETOWNER

The Georgetown Chocolate Tour, hosted by Georgetown Main Street, featured 12 small businesses, primarily located along Wisconsin Ave.

Exhibition: Sat, March 21, 11-3; Mon-Wed, March 23-25, 10-4; Thurs, March 26, 10-2

Mariano Rodríguez (Cuban 19121990), Gallo, Oil on canvas, $30,000-$50,000

online, by phone or by absentee bid.

Andy Warhol (American 1928-1987), Chicken N’Dumplings, Screenprint in color, 1969, $30,000-$50,000

ANC Report

BY THE GEORGETOWNER

Due to this year’s calendar, Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E will hold its “April” meeting in March, on Monday, March 30.

MAYOR’S OFFICE UPDATE

The March 2 meeting began with an update from Mayor Muriel Bowser’s office. Jamika Williams, Ward 2 liaison for the Mayor’s Office of Community Relations and Services, announced that the Department of Health has lifted the Potomac River Recreational Advisory — welcome news given the impending warmer weather.

Williams mentioned Women’s History Month events the mayor’s office is holding. In response to a question about leaf and tree collection, Williams asked for exact addresses so she can notify the Department of Public Works.

METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT UPDATE

The MPD representative announced that there has been an increase in carjackings, noting that people are taking advantage of delivery drivers on e-bikes. On the 1500 block of 27th Street NW, a gun was used

in an incident involving an e-bike delivery driver. There have been four incidents since the beginning of the year, involving juveniles. There have also been incidents at the local Safeway, where, according to the

store manager, students were coming in and shoplifting items. Concerns were expressed that the special police officers are not taking action to stop the students. There are plans to coordinate a meeting about this.

UPDATE FROM COUNCIL MEMBER PINTO’S OFFICE

There was an update on the Mount Zion and

Female Union Band Cemeteries project. The District Department of Transportation and its contractors, as well as Black Georgetown Foundation Executive Director Lisa Fager, have made sure the project is respecting the archaeological remains at the site.

Regarding the Potomac River sewage spill, E. coli levels have been in a safe range, but swimming is still prohibited. DC Water crews are beginning remediation work on the brush and soil at the spill site. At Pinto’s urging, water testing has gone from weekly to daily.

In D.C., there have been three federal officerinvolved shootings in the last six months. Pinto and her colleagues are exploring the best ways to protect residents.

First, when an MPD officer is on the scene of a federal officer-involved use-of-force incident, the body camera footage would be made public within five days (if the victim or family member consents). Second, the names of any directly involved federal officers would be included in MPD’s database. Finally, requiring a record of all federal officers at daily roll calls would provide more transparency about who is going on joint patrols.

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY UPDATE

There was a brief introduction of

Georgetown University’s new Vice President of Government Relations and Community Engagement Adrea Turner.

PUBLIC SCHOOLS UPDATE

Commissioner Kishan Putta gave an update on DCPS. The expansion project for John R. Thompson Jr. High School (formerly MacArthur High School) is going well.

STREATERIES

Stephanie Bothwell of the Citizens Association of Georgetown spoke about streateries and sidewalk space. Yellow, Lutèce and Martin’s Tavern did not seem to fall under the heading of a streatery. Also, if outdoor furniture was flipped against the building, it was no longer considered a streatery.

In addition, Bothwell addressed concerns about sandwich boards outside of local businesses. Her understanding is that they are permitted as long as they’re within a certain number of feet from the building. She will investigate further.

NEW BUSINESS: PARKING

Resident-only parking was discussed in depth. (Here’s how it works: on blocks with resident-only parking, half the spots would be designated resident-only and the other half

Students have been shoplifting from the Safeway at 1855 Wisconsin Ave. NW. Flickr photo.

would keep the two-hour parking limit.)

DDOT wants ANC commissioners to identify which blocks in their districts could be appropriate for resident-only parking, then DDOT will conduct an evaluation and decide whether to implement it. If all goes as expected, the implementation would take about a year.

A letter to The Georgetowner in the February 2026 print issue (“Our Commissioners Have Resident Parking Proposal”) was cited. The ANC then read a statement of intent to move forward with the process.

Parking enforcement frustrations were also shared. Multiple leaders of Georgetown businesses spoke about the issue, including Deborah Kerson Bilek, CEO of the Georgetown Business Improvement District.

“I acknowledge that the frustration around parking is real,” she said. “If the current issue is inconsistent enforcement of the twohour limit, shifting to ROP raises the stakes of uneven enforcement without addressing the underlying capacity constraint.” She continued, saying, “ROP sends a message, whether intentionally or not, that Georgetown is closed and unwelcoming.”

CAG President Amy Titus stressed the importance of an open dialogue regarding the issue, vowing to talk to the BID.

Rachel Shank, executive director of

Georgetown Main Street, said she is concerned about employees being able to park in the neighborhood and understands that not charging for street parking doesn’t make economic sense. She asked that, if no changes were made to the evening’s resolution, if the ANC can be prepared to pass a second resolution in April asking DDOT to consider other opportunities, like more parking on Wisconsin Avenue and opening more garages.

Longtime Georgetowner Monica Roaché expressed concern about parking enforcement and mentioned her appreciation that the ANC plans to go block by block, as every community in Georgetown is very different.

FY 2027 BUDGET

The commission went over the Fiscal Year 2027 budget statement that will be sent to Mayor Bowser and the Council. It contains requests for rodent-proof trash cans, more DPW staffing and additional security screening at Hardy Middle School due to long lines causing students to be late to class.

GU BOATHOUSE UPDATE

Georgetown University representatives reported that the university boathouse and waterfront development is moving along and is about to enter a more public phase.

What’s Up With the Spill?

BY LELAND SCHWARTZ

Using the C&O Canal as a bypass patch for the section of the Potomac Interceptor sewer line that collapsed in mid-January will soon be no longer necessary. Crews are shooting for mid-March to complete the emergency pipe repairs between Locks 10 and 14.

After that, according to DC Water spokesperson Sherri Lewis, long-term rehabilitation efforts will begin, requiring the upgrading of about a mile’s worth of separate sections of pipe.

Repair crews will use “slip lining,” in which a smaller pipe is put inside the original pipe. On others, because of the terrain involved, they will spray the pipes with a geopolymer that hardens like concrete, restoring the structural integrity of the pipes. Upgrading the pipe is expected to take nine to 10 months.

“This kind of collapse is unprecedented

NewsBytes

BY KATE OCZYPOK

FORMER PENN PRESIDENT TO BECOME GEORGETOWN LAW DEAN

Liz Magill was named the new dean of the Georgetown University Law Center on

February 13. Magill, the former president of the University of Pennsylvania, resigned in December 2023 after a disputable congressional hearing. Magill will begin her term on August 1 of this year, replacing interim Dean Joshua Teitelbaum, who took on the role after former Dean William Treanor stepped down last June. Magill has years of university administrative experience. Before Penn, she was the first female provost of the University of Virginia and was also dean at Stanford Law School.

NORAH O’DONNELL’S UNTOLD STORIES OF TRAILBLAZING WOMEN

Fresh off historic wins for American women in the 2026 Olympic Winter Games, another American woman is shining a light on hidden heroes, the women who may not be in history books. Norah O’Donnell, senior correspondent for CBS News and contributing correspondent for 60 Minutes (and Georgetown University grad!) has written “Untold Stories: The Hidden Heroes Who Shaped America.”

and was not what we would typically see when a failure occurs,” Lewis said. “One of the contributing factors to the scale and magnitude of the collapse were the rocks and

on top of the pipe that were excavated and used as backfill during the original 1960s

construction.”

This exacerbated the incident, she explained, “because the rocks and boulders effectively blocked most flow through the pipe and required a more extensive process to isolate the pipe and safely remove the rock and debris dam inside.”

The House Committee on Energy and Commerce is investigating what caused the incident, saying that “understanding the nature of how this incident occurred and how future incidents of this scale may be prevented in the future is imperative.”

The committee has asked DC Water myriad questions, including whether it has analyzed how the spill will impact tourism.

In its recent letter to DC Water, the committee worried about the spill coming shortly before the National Cherry Blossom

Festival and the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

DC Water “continues to evaluate the environmental impacts of the overflow” and is exploring further restoration efforts “based on input from concerned residents and community groups, along with the ongoing collaboration with federal, state and local regulators overseeing the environmental restoration.”

The recreational advisory for the Potomac River has been lifted because “consistent water quality testing shows bacteria levels are within safe ranges for recreation.”

Asked what DC Water needs the most, Lewis said: “We welcome assistance from our various federal, state and local partners to support our repair efforts and the environmental restoration.”

“What I learned writing this book is that women have been the most powerful force for positive change in the world, and that’s not what I was taught in school,” O’Donnell told The Georgetowner. “I thought one of the interesting facts we uncovered in the research was that the National Women’s History Museum found that less than 15 percent of what is taught in America’s schools highlights the achievements and history of women, so we need to change that.”

While writing, O’Donnell wondered how her own sense of self, power and courage might have been shaped differently had she learned more as a young girl about the women she researched. Storytelling is the most powerful form of communication, O’Donnell said, and the stories we tell and read shape the understanding of our country, culture and community.

O’Donnell was inspired to write the book as a celebration of America’s 250th birthday, and with a clear intention to shine a light on women’s stories.

FOR A FEW DAYS, BUDDHIST MONKS BESTOW PEACE AND LOVE UPON D.C.

Buddhist monks from Texas entered Washington, D.C., last month reaching the goal of their 2,300-mile Walk for Peace. A

flock of 19 monks, led by Bhikkhu Pannakara, have enchanted the nation for months with their goal of raising awareness of “peace, loving kindness and compassion.”

They walked over Chain Bridge from Arlington and up Arizona Avenue to American University for their first stop on Day 108 and then proceeded to the Washington National Cathedral for an interfaith ceremony with a final stop of the day at George Washington University.

Their goal was for Monumental Peace, visiting Capitol Hill, walking past the Peace Monument and the Washington Monument and then gathering at the Lincoln Memorial with thousands in attendance. At the end of the day, they walked to George Washington University.

On their last day of the walk, Feb. 12, they were in Annapolis and gathered at the Maryland State Capitol. Afterwards, they will depart for their home, Fort Worth, Texas.

BUZZWORTHY: LADIES WHO LUNCH AND LAUNCH

On February 27, just before Women’s History Month kicked off on March 1, a room filled with accomplished women gathered at L’Avant-Garde Georgetown for an afternoon that was equal parts strategy session, storytelling circle and power luncheon. The occasion: Ladies Who Power Lunch: Personal Brand Workshop, hosted by Next ChaptHER.

Designed for high-performing women ready to refine their narrative and elevate their presence, the luncheon and workshop delivered on its promise of transformation. Rather than focusing on surface-level branding tips, the conversation went deeper into identity, reinvention and the courage required to define what comes next.

The program was facilitated by branding and marketing expert Anina Belle Giannini, co-founder of Next ChaptHER and PR, marketing firm Savoir Faire and wife of L’Avant-Garde chef and owner. Giannini

challenged attendees to view personal branding not as self-promotion, but as alignment—the disciplined act of articulating who you are now and where we aim to venture.

CAG LAUNCHES HIVEBRITE

The Citizens Association of Georgetown has launched a new platform to keep the community connected and informed. Hivebrite, which is free for Georgetown residents, is what CAG is calling a “one-stop shop for everything Georgetown.” There will be realtime neighborhood news and safety alerts, upcoming events and volunteer opportunities, event registration and ways to connect with neighbors who share mutual interests.

boulders

The Potomac River at Great Falls. Wikipedia photo.

GT Law’s new dean Liz Magill. Photo courtesy Penn.

Bhikkhu Pannakara leads a flock of 19 monks in Washington, D.C. Photo by Greg “Fritz” Blakey.

Alia McKenzie, Anina Belle Giannini, Hilary Phelps and Lindsay Gill. Photo by Igda Warner/ChaptHER.

Norah O’Donnell’s new book was released late last month. Courtesy CBS and Penguin Random House.

BY MIA PECH

D.C.’s election season is just getting started. Below is a recap of the reporting The Georgetowner has done thus far on the 2026 campaigns. The full stories are available at georgetowner.com.

MAYORAL CAMPAIGN BEGINS

Leading contenders for D.C. mayor include Janeese Lewis George, the first major declared candidate, and Kenyan McDuffie, a top-tier “centrist” option.

Lewis George formally announced her mayoral run on Dec. 1. She currently represents Ward 4 on the District Council and positions

herself as a progressive democratic socialist with a focus on public safety, affordable housing, child care and city services. Her background and rhetoric suggest she could appeal strongly to progressive and younger voters looking for change, especially after a long Bowser tenure.

an At-large Council member and a former civil rights attorney, is widely seen as a frontrunner among more establishment and center-leaning voters. He has said publicly he is “giving serious thought” to a 2026 run. If he runs, many expect a campaign focused on

pragmatic governance, continuity and bridging the city’s progressive/moderate divide.

CAMPAIGNS FOR MAYOR AND DELEGATE

With Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton announcing she will not seek reelection and former Council member Vincent Orange entering the Democratic mayoral primary, the 2026 local races have shifted significantly.

Mayor Muriel Bowser is retiring after three terms, leaving an open field for the Nov. 3 mayoral election, with primaries set for June 16.

The Democratic primary for mayor now includes Janeese Lewis George, Kenyan McDuffie, Vincent Orange and several others, with additional candidates having filed paperwork.

The race for D.C.’s delegate to the House of Representatives has also expanded, with multiple declared candidates and Norton formally withdrawing.

EVANS TO RUN FOR COUNCIL CHAIR

Former Ward 2 Council member Jack Evans announced he will seek the Democratic nomination for Council chair,

challenging incumbent Phil Mendelson in the June 16 primary.

A Georgetown resident, Evans served from 1991 to 2020. He resigned after ethics violations, but was later cleared of wrongdoing and not charged with a crime. “Mistakes were made,” he told critics. “It won’t happen again.”

The 72-year-old said he is running to bring “new leadership” and experience, citing his financial expertise, support for the arts and education and focus on federal relations. Evans needs 2,000 signatures to get on the ballot. Mendelson welcomed the challenge, saying voters will have a choice.

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McDuffie,

Former Ward 2 Council member Jack Evans in downtown D.C. in 2019. Photo by Jeff Malet.

Kenyan R. McDuffie, former Ward 5 council member, is running for mayor of Washington, D.C.

Ward 4 Council member Janeese Lewis George, candidate for D.C. Mayor. Campaign photo.

An Open Letter to the Women of Iran

BY TARA KANGARLOU

House to Air Travelers: Drop Dead

The House of Representatives voted down the Senate-passed ROTOR Act (H.R. 6222) on Feb. 24, failing to reach the necessary two-thirds majority (264-133). The bill sought to mandate improved cockpit collisionavoidance technology following the Jan. 29, 2025, midair collision between an American Airlines regional jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River, in which 67 lives were lost.

The primary goal of the Rotorcraft Operations Transparency and Oversight Reform Act was to prevent midair collisions by requiring the use of advanced tracking technology — known as Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast In or ADS-B In — for nearly all aircraft in busy civilian airspace. One day before the vote, the Pentagon withdrew its support, citing “operational security risks” and budgetary concerns.

Family members of some of the crash victims were in the House gallery during the vote. Devastated, they called the late-hour opposition “misleading” and vowed to continue pushing for the bill, according to WJLA.

House leaders pivoted to a different bill,

the ALERT Act, which they claimed was more comprehensive, but which critics and National Transportation Safety Board Jennifer Homendy argued was weaker and contained too many military exemptions, WJLA reported.

Homendy said of the vote and the proposed ALERT Act: “We can have disagreements over policy all day. But when something is sold as these are the NTSB recommendations and that is not factually accurate, we have a problem with that. Because now you’re using the NTSB and you’re using people who lost loved ones in terrible tragedies. You’re using their pain to move your agenda forward.

“We were very explicit of what needed to occur,” Homendy said. “When we issue a recommendation, those recommendations are aimed at preventing a tragedy from happening again. And if you’re just going to give us half a loaf, it’s not going to do it. We’re not gonna save lives.”

The Georgetowner agrees. New legislation must be introduced — working with all sides — that ensures a tragedy like Jan. 29 never happens again.

A Redefining Moment for Alysa Liu — and All Women

Women’s History Month began on March 1, fresh off the heels of the successful Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games. A breakout star at the games was a young woman, 20-yearold figure skater Alysa Liu, whose joyful, devil-may-care routine to Donna Summer’s “MacArthur Park” earned her a gold medal. Liu, who retired in 2022, came back for the 2024-25 skating season on her own terms. The difference this time was that it was purely for the joy of the sport. Her routine showed it, too. Watching it, even multiple times, you can’t help but smile.

truly redefining moment — not only for her, but all women. She wasn’t having fun and enjoying figure skating, so she stepped back and focused on herself. She spent time with friends, enrolled at UCLA and evolved. Liu took the time for herself, and it paid off. Her routine was flawless, her body looked capable and athletic.

Skating purely for herself, Liu truly had the time of her life, sharing her art with the world, as she says.

Like that of another strong woman before her, fellow gold medalist Dorothy Hamill, Liu’s haircut has sparked a trend. She explained that her

“Her striped ‘halo hair’ — designed to be like the rings on a tree — symbolized her growth and evolution.”

That pure joy and freedom is something many high-achieving women (like most women in D.C.) yearn for. As women, we are constantly made to compete against each other, to work through burnout and to bury mental health and self-care as the last thing on our to-do lists. After all, there’s work, kids, making sure we stay in shape, you name it.

For Liu, it was all that tenfold, as figure skating is a notoriously exhausting sport. When Liu skated out for her routine, it was a

striped “halo hair,” designed to be like the rings on a tree, symbolized her growth and evolution.

Liu’s story is a great example for women. Prioritize your mental health. Take that break if you’re feeling overwhelmed. Finally make an appointment with a therapist. Meditate. Leave work at a normal hour and get to the yoga class you keep missing.

As accomplished, driven Washington women, we should strive to be more like Alysa.

It’s high time.

Whenever I close my eyes and think of Iran, I return in memory to my childhood home in Tehran. It was a house wrapped around a lush garden filled with walnut, pomegranate, cherry, fig, apricot and persimmon trees, tended to by our gardener Ali Agha, who felt more like an uncle I longed to hug every morning before school.

I remember the scent of its roses — the crimson and pink sweetbriers my father loved and the golden Lady Banks that relentlessly climbed, softening the brown brick walls of a capital now home to more than 10 million people.

All of it reminded me then, as it does now, of the beauty that was and is my Iran.

The house and its garden are long gone, but the memories remain intact — quiet proof of the splendor of our land, our culture and, most importantly, our people. Today, that beauty is more vivid than ever in the Iranian people’s unflinching will, united across class, faith, age and ideology in their demand for change — armed with nothing but their bare hands and resolve.

As I write this letter to my Iran and its people, including the country’s 45 million women and girls, the nation is mourning like never before — grieving a massacre that has resulted in the highest number of civilian casualties since the Iran-Iraq war. Families are quietly lamenting the unjustifiable killing, injury and arrest of thousands of innocent people in protests that were, once again, violently stifled by the state.

What is unfolding in Iran is not only a crisis of repression but a crisis of isolation, where voices from inside the country are cut off and grief itself is denied dignity.

Yet, Iranians persist — people who know what they want, what they have been robbed of and how they can forge their future.

For decades, the Iranian people have been dehumanized — reduced to nuclear headlines, regime slogans and geopolitical threat assessments, rather than understood as a society

of now 90 million shaped by thousands of years of history, culture and human ambition. Today more than ever, Iran has proven itself to be its people, not its rulers — making it a moment that demands listening — to Iranian stories, grievances, hopes, fears and aspirations, and all that they share in common with people across the world.

Perhaps the most important step in supporting Iranians, especially women and girls, is recognizing their strength. Iranian women are not victims, but courageous survivors of a gender apartheid that has long sought to hold them back. Despite this relentless repression, they have made extraordinary strides — clear proof they are not waiting to be saved but demanding to be heard.

Today, the streets of Tehran and cities across Iran are filled with teachers, scientists, doctors, artists, athletes, lawyers and builders of everyday life — women who have forged a revolution of their own, steadily expanding their presence across every sector of society.

What the world can do — immediately — is to see, hear and feel the cries coming out of Iran, and to recognize how much those inside the country share with those living beyond its borders.

I dream of a day when I can return to Iran without fear of arrest for my journalism; when every girl can pursue her highest aspirations with the full support of her country; when women are lifted rather than restrained. I dream of a day when Iranians — men and women — are no longer longing for a “normal life,” but living the extraordinary life they have fought for, proven they can build and long deserved.

The beauty, talent, intellect and vitality that exist in my homeland are unmatched; and if Iranian people are allowed to emerge from isolation, the world will be richer for it.

It is time to see Iranian women — and Iran itself — not through the prism of victimhood, but through their strength, potential and capacity to shape their own future.

Governments come and go, regimes rise and fall; but what endures is the pulse of the people. Today, that heartbeat is paying for freedom with its life. The least we can do is listen and recognize Iranian people — women, men, young and old — not only for their suffering, but for their power, agency and promise.

As one Ph.D. student and entrepreneur in Tehran told me: “We are willing to risk it all to see change. We just don’t want to feel abandoned by the world.”

Tara Kangarlou is a global affairs journalist who has produced, written and reported for NBC News, CNN and Al Jazeera America. She is the author of “The Heartbeat of Iran,” founder of Art of Hope and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University. This article, which first appeared in Harper’s Bazaar UK, was written before the U.S.Israeli strikes on Iran.

Tara Kangarlou .

INCUBATING TOMORROW: ECLECTIC LLC

BY AMOS GELB

There is something infectious about the enthusiasm and energy that emanates from Nita Chiruvella and Skye Jannery-Barney, the founders of Eclectic LLC, a new organization for young D.C.-area entrepreneurs.

Perhaps the better word is optimism.

The duo’s next-generation incubator, which they refer to as a “tech-enabled social platform,” started three years ago. Its aim: to build a new community through gatherings, workshops, events, mentoring and, down the road, connecting young entrepreneurs with potential investors.

Daniel Mehari was one of the first to sign up as a member, having started his own sportsrelated software business.

“What drew me to them was the environment they were creating for young entrepreneurs, starting their own careers,” says Mehari. “I don’t have many connections that have started businesses, so seeing other people my own age starting and going through this, it’s encouraging.”

At a time when the city is still bouncing back from its Covid hangover, and remote work has isolated so many, especially those going it alone, Eclectic’s mix of social platform, entrepreneurial nurturing and shared journey is a model made for the moment.

For Paxton Baker, who has developed and owned D.C. companies ranging from broadcast networks to professional sports — including part ownership of the Nats and the now-professional women’s soccer team DC Power — it was the

energy that got him to hop on board.

“Skye and Nita are two firebrand young ladies who are very creative. Each has her own energy, and it is the energy between them that drives this whole thing. That energy drives creativity.”

Baker is one of Eclectic’s “Board of Champions” that Chiruvella and JanneryBarney recruited: entrepreneurs from an earlier generation who provide advice and mentoring to the 20-to-29-year-old newcomers selected through a rigorous interview process.

Another of those Champions is Georgetowner Julie Chase, who built a multicity PR firm before selling it and starting another. “These young women are an anchor resource for the next generation of entrepreneurs. They have created a place that can bring people together to create symmetries, make strategic introductions, to find opportunities and partnerships across industries,” says Chase.

“There is nothing like this in the area.”

Among the current cohort: three IT startup founders, an entrepreneur developing a methodology in sports medicine, a music management label and a live-design stylist who paints custom pieces at events.

Rachel Giles came to Eclectic through its Sunday Sessions, a recurring gathering anchored by DJs and live artists that sits somewhere between a social mixer and a creative showcase.

“Eclectic inspired me to do this,” she explains. “Seeing what they did, especially that it was women-owned, made it feel possible. I wanted

to bring a different aspect to networking events. Something more interactive than fashion.” She credits the community’s orientation toward connection across industries and backgrounds with broadening her own sense of what she might do.

It’s not the first time the city has been invigorated by an incubator. From 2013 to 2017, 1776 helped jump-start an entrepreneurial boom here. Before that, the truism was that D.C. only manufactured one thing: power. 1776 sparked a burst of small business before overexpansion and the arrival of shared-office goliath WeWork led to its closing.

But Eclectic is blazing its own path. Like most incubators, 1776 was driven by a financial imperative to get money for the startups. Chiruvella and Jannery-Barney are trying a different approach: Money is good, community is better.

As Baker puts it: “They are reexploring what exists with a new, young, mental framework.”

Running an incubator for the next generation of entrepreneurs was not the original plan. Initially, there was a less formal business motive, as the pair focused on events like a boat tie-up on the Georgetown waterfront and club gatherings. They soon realized, however, that there was a generation of young entrepreneurs going it alone out there and aching for community. But that doesn’t mean their events have lost their style. The next is on March 28 at the Aston Martin showroom in Ashburn.

That Chiruvella and Jannery-Barney ended up doing this comes as little surprise to their old high school friends. One friend from that period, Gabi Youssef, remembers their legendary parties, which brought high schoolers from all over together. (Chiruvella attended Langley High School while JanneryBarney went to the Madeira School.)

The new membership program that began at the start of the year is just the beginning.

The two founders are still refining their platform, working out where it goes, adding workshops, hosting events and making their great office space available for their members. There are plans to also become a bridge between potential investors and the young entrepreneurs, with a whisper of starting their own investment fund. The grand plan is to expand to other cities and franchise the model.

For Champions Baker and Chase, the experience is also rewarding. Says Baker: “It’s refreshing working with younger entrepreneurial people, who tend to underestimate how much time it takes.” Says Chase: “It’s about giving people the backbone to go forward. And it’s fun to help young people who have a glint of future success, but who need more emotional and professional support.”

As so much weighs on our city these days, Eclectic provides a happier vision for moving forward. One that is defined by optimism, the exuberance of youth and the potential of what’s to come.

Nita Chiruvella and Skye Jannery-Barney standing in the lobby of Vital Voices wall of donors. Photo by Tony Powell.

WOMEN’S HISTORY IS CENTER

BY ROBYN ALAN

On Saturday, March 7, four feminine silhouettes sat in antique chairs in a candlelit room of American artworks. The artists spoke with powerful conviction on the historical dynamics that influenced and still impact modern Black femme performers.

Hosted by Georgetown’s L’Enfant Gallery, Bebe Bardeaux, GiGi Holliday, Hannah Lane and Kassidy Luvit shared their experiences with and explorations of the legacy of “shake dancers.” “Shake dancer” is a historical term given to Black jazz dancers and burlesque performers from the late 19th century up through the 1960s.

Bebe Bardeaux spoke about her forthcoming book “Shake

perform for yourself with others watching.

Fifty people whooped and hollered in appreciation for the internationally acclaimed GiGi Holliday, visiting her hometown of D.C. from New York City, where she now lives. Her infectious personality and deep knowledge of her artform came over in waves, as she said of go-go dancing, which has a rich history in D.C.: “Go-go ain’t nothing but shake dancing!”

The warm, relaxed and laughter-filled discussion featured live jazz led by saxophonist and Duke Ellington School of the Arts alumnus Herb Scott, a D.C. native who has performed with trumpeter Wynton Marsalis and pianist Herbie Hancock. Colin Chambers was on piano.

“Go-go ain’t nothing but shake dancing!”

Queens,” an examination of the history of shake dancing from its origins in Africa to its arrival on American stages during a time when segregation ruled. Through sharp and insightful questions, Bardeaux led the panel to explain how shake dancing lives on through present-day performers and historians.

The guests, who packed the gallery’s intimate salon, listened and laughed aloud to an animated first-half discussion touching on race, ancestral roots, the shame and stigma surrounding strip clubs of the past and the empowered, freeing choice to

Second-half burlesque performances were by Bardeaux, Luvit and Ganja Kitty.

After the show, the performers and guests enjoyed a signature L’Enfant Gallery “Dinner in the Window,” dining on Southern comfort food from Puddin’ by local female chef Toyin Alli.

On Friday, March 6, L’Enfant Gallery hosted Counterpoint Concerts for an evening of music shaped by “composers who defied convention, faced adversity and stayed true to their artistic voices.”

“Each piece is a testament to resilience and artistic conviction,

“Dinner in the Window” at L’ Enfant Gallery on March 7 followed the International Woman’s Day salon discussion “Shake Dancing: Performance as Living Legacy,” with performers (from right): Bebe Bardeaux, Gigi Holiday, Hannah Lane, Kassidy Luvit and Ganja Kitty. Photo by Mariah Miranda.

Mezzo-soprano Chrystal E. Williams and pianist Natalia Kazaryan, playing L’Enfant Gallery’s new baby grand piano, performed songs by Berlioz, Ravel, Viardot and the Boulanger sisters on March 6. Photo by Adam Green.

STAGE AT L’ENFANT GALLERY

wrapped in the beauty of the French song,” explained Dr. Natalia Kazaryan, founder of Counterpoint Concerts and assistant professor of piano at Howard University.

Dedicated to preserving the timeless masterpieces of classical music, Counterpoint Concerts presents them in fresh and dynamic ways, venturing into uncharted musical territories and showcasing the brilliance of contemporary talents. The organization also aims to rediscover hidden gems from composers of the past.

The March 6 performance starred Grammy-winning mezzosoprano Chrystal E. Williams, praised by Opera News as “fiery and gorgeous.” She has current and upcoming engagements with LA Opera, English National Opera and Chicago Opera Theater, among other major companies and orchestras.

Williams was accompanied by Brazilian composer and accordionist Felipe Hostins and Kazaryan, who has been praised by the New York Sun for her “prodigious ability,” creating “an atmosphere of strength and confidence” at her performances. A passionate advocate for innovative programming in classical music, Kazaryan is dedicated to giving equal prominence to historically overlooked composers.

L’Enfant Gallery is looking forward to hosting more local performing artists. “We are opening up our gallery space to a wider interpretation of art, so my collection can be a backdrop to other artists’ creations, music and performance,” said owner Peter Colasante. “All are welcome.”

Last weekend’s curated, celebratory evenings reflect L’Enfant Gallery’s commitment to promoting local creative talent and amplifying gestures of equality. It builds on the gallery’s 2025

exhibition for International Women’s Day titled “The Wall of Women,” which hung together female portraits from the gallery’s permanent collection. Depicting many women — mostly naked, mostly white, mostly painted by men — the wall became a powerful statement on the underrepresentation of women and diversity in the art world.

Housed in a three-story mansion on the corner of Wisconsin Avenue and P Street, L’Enfant Gallery, established in 1973, has become a Georgetown institution. New management and a renovation have brought a fresh perspective to Colasante’s historic collection.

“The new team has brought a new life and new ideas,” he said. “It is now a dynamic space for music and performance, as well as for art and storytelling.”

The gallery recently acquired a significant collection of American paintings previously owned by a former Smithsonian Regent. Highlighting the breadth of American Impressionism, it includes work by key female artists of the period. The recent performances played out in front of a backdrop of works by artists such as Mary Cassatt, Martha Walter and Harriet Randall Lumis.

Cassatt’s work is the focus of the National Gallery of Art’s current exhibition, “An American in Paris.” On Saturday, March 28, art historian and licensed professional tour guide Tosca Ruggieri will lead “Her Brush, Her Story,” a small, in-person tour honoring the extraordinary women who shaped the history of art, notably Cassatt. More information is available at artwithtosca.com.

L’Enfant Gallery 1442 Wisconsin Ave. NW Wednesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. lenfantgallery.com

L’Enfant Gallery’s 2025 exhibition “Wall of Women: Art as Resistance,” an homage to a famous Guerrilla Girls poster. Photo by Oleks Yaroshynskyi.

L’Enfant Gallery’s new collection of American paintings includes the pastel “Head of Mme Albert D’Arleux,” c. 1906, by Mary Cassatt.

Photo by Kristian Whipple.

INS & OUTS

BY ROBERT DEVANEY

IN: CRUMBS & WHISKERS

Georgetown’s and D.C.’s first cat cafe, Crumbs & Whiskers, will reopen on March 11, after reaching an agreement with its employees, who are now unionized as Crumbs & Whiskers Workers United. The action makes the business the first unionized cat cafe in the world.

The feline fun place at 3109 M St. NW offers appointments — along with coffee and macarons — for those wishing to adopt cats or just play with them. The matches have yielded 3,000 cat adoptions over the years. Owner Kanchan Singh first opened her cafe on O Street in 2015.

IN: TUCKERNUCK

Tuckernuck, the Georgetown-grown lifestyle brand that sells apparel, accessories, home décor and gifts, opened a new 4,000-squarefoot flagship store at 1267 Wisconsin Ave. NW on March 9.

Founded by September Rinnier Votta, Jocelyn Gailliot and Madeline Grayson, Tuckernuck maintains its headquarters at 1250 24th St. NW, occupying the top floor and a ground-level studio. Its first brick-and-mortar store was at 1052 Potomac St. NW. The preppy-friendly business is named after an island off Nantucket.

IN: CLYDE’S REOPENS

Clyde’s reopened at 3236 M St. NW last week after a three-week closure due to a water main break in front of the classic restaurant. It was founded in 1963 by Stuart Davidson, who famously said, “It’s more fun to eat in a bar than drink in a restaurant.”

IN: CAFFÈ NERO BUYS COMPASS COFFEE

London-based Caffè Nero has acquired the assets of Compass Coffee for approximately $4.76 million following a February 2026 bankruptcy auction, according to the Washington Post. Caffè Nero plans to continue operating 17 of the D.C.area locations, providing a lifeline after Compass Coffee filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

MOVING: BARBOUR

Known for its waxed cotton outerwear, England-based Barbour left its M Street store on March 8 to move around the corner to 1214 Wisconsin Ave. NW, formerly home to Brompton Bikes. The new place will debut in April.

COMING (BACK): SÉZANE

Sézane will return to Georgetown at 1242 Wisconsin Ave. NW, a few steps from its old spot. The business says: “The Parisian wardrobe is back. Born in Paris, Sézane was created with a simple idea: beautifully made pieces, at the fairest price, made to last. This spring, our D.C. store reopens as a permanent home.” Merci beaucoup!

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COMING: FRANKIES BIKINIS

Bella Hadid and Sydney Sweeney never looked so good. Founded by mother-daughter duo Mimi and Francesca Aiello in their Malibu home in 2012, the celebrity-minded business, coming to 1240 Wisconsin Ave. NW, “is a female-led lifestyle brand recognized for its on-trend designs, innovative fabrics and a commitment to crafting styles that make women feel more confident.”

COMING: DAYGLOW

Dayglow, a Los Angeles coffee chain offering a variety of coffee roasts and nonalcoholic coffee cocktails, has selected Georgetown for its first D.C.-area location, according to the Washington Business Journal. The spot was formerly home to Alkōva yoga and co-working.

WBJ added: “The company, founded in 2018 by cousins Philippe and Tohm Ifergan, has inked a deal for about 2,000 square feet at 1510 Wisconsin Ave. NW, with plans to open this summer. It will be the seventh location for Dayglow, which has four outposts in California and one each in Chicago and Brooklyn.”

COMING: JOE & THE JUICE

Joe & The Juice, a Danish chain of coffee shops and juice bars, plans to open a Georgetown store at 1420 Wisconsin Ave. NW, according to Michael Brennan of Compass. The restaurant has 382 locations around the world and is known for its popular tunacado sandwich — as well as smoothies and veggie shots. Joe & The Juice was founded in 2002 by Kaspar Basse.

COMING: GO GREEK YOGURT

Coming to 1363 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Go Greek Yogurt — with spots from Laguna Beach to Miami — “is an authentic yogurt bar and cafe where passion for quality meets the inspiration of Greek culture and cuisine,” they tell us. “We believe in nourishing both the body and soul through probiotic-packed options that promote a healthier lifestyle.”

COMING: DUTCH DARLINGS

Dutch Darlings Stroopwafels & Sweets is coming to 1003 Wisconsin Ave. NW, close to Georgetown Waterfront Park. Follow @ dutchdarlings for the latest shop news and opening details.

OUT: OUTERKNOWN

Sustainable clothing brand Outerknown, co-founded by surfer Kelly Slater, has closed its retail location at 1240 Wisconsin Ave. NW.

OUT: MYKITA

At 3001 M St. NW for 10 years, the Mykita eyeglass shop has said “Goodbye, Washington.” Customers in the area can still purchase Mykita eyeglasses through the company’s authorized partner, Georgetown Optician.

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Bella Hadid collaborates with Frankies Bikinis.

Sézane will return at 1242 Wisconsin Ave. NW. Georgetowner photo.

Courtesy Crumbs & Whiskers.

Compass Coffee at 1351 Wisconsin Ave NW.

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COCKTAIL OF THE MONTH: ARAK PUNCH

BY JODY KURASH

Where is the oldest bar in the world? That title can be “complicated” based on how “oldest” is defined.

For example, in Washington, D.C., the Old Ebbitt Grill is widely recognized as the oldest saloon. It began in 1856 as a boarding house and tavern, but has moved several times, from today’s Chinatown to the National Press Building, then to its current 15th Street location in 1983.

The Round Robin Bar in the Willard Hotel, often called the “Oval Office of Bars,” was established earlier, in 1847. However, the hotel was closed from 1968 to 1986, disqualifying the bar’s claim to continuous operation.

Georgetown’s darling, Martin’s Tavern, which opened in 1933, is the oldest bar in the nation’s capital to remain in its original location under continuous ownership.

But what if we were to talk about the actual structure containing a bar? Despite having a reputation as a “dry” region, we need to look to the cradle of civilization for the answer.

Outside the main gate of the ruins of Petra in southern Jordan, one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, lies the Cave Bar. Located in the Petra Guest House, this restaurant-bar-lounge is set inside a

2,000-year-old Nabataean tomb.

I stumbled upon this gem by accident while exploring the breathtaking, rose-red sandstone architecture of Petra’s top sights, including the Treasury, the Monastery, the Theater and the Royal Tombs.

After my second day of playing Indiana Jones, I saw an advertisement for a bar just outside the site’s main entrance. There were several outdoor tables, but it was the stone entrance with a simple wooden sign announcing “The Cave” that piqued my interest. Inside the cavernous space, carved into the rocky landscape, ancient pillars and walls had been chiseled to create intimate coves holding tables and chairs covered in traditional Bedouin fabrics.

The cocktail menu boasted several “themed drinks” such as “One Night in Petra,” “Petra Summer” and “Between the Caves.” These concoctions sounded refreshing, but all used ingredients I could easily find in any Western bar.

When I asked the bartender for something local, he suggested the “Arak Punch,” made from a Jordanian-produced spirit, Arak Haddad.

Arak is a traditional, clear, anise-flavored

spirit that is a staple of Jordanian and Levantine culture. It is typically distilled from grapes and flavored with aniseed, resulting in a strong liquorice-like taste.

Dating to the 8th century, arak likely originated from early distillation experiments by Arab alchemist Jabir ibn Hayyan. Derived from the Arabic word for “perspiration” (referencing condensation in

instant relaxation.

Jordanian arak can be purchased in the States. You can make your own pomegranate syrup by reducing pomegranate juice. Mix them with freshly squeezed orange juice to make this cocktail, a bracing and fresh elixir that would be an enlivening treat in any season.

the still), this high-proof grape brandy, nearly as old as the ruins of Petra, has become a cultural staple in the region.

The Arak Punch combined this traditional liquor with orange juice and grenadine (a pomegranate syrup), both of which come from native Middle Eastern fruits. Served in a goblet glass with a striped paper straw, it innocently looked like something one would order from an old-fashioned soda fountain.

That was soon to change. While my first sip provided a fruity, yet tangy flavor, I was quickly hit with a tingly smack from the arak. Its peppery tang imparted a slight numbness to my tongue. After a few more mouthfuls, the arak went straight to my head.

Perhaps it was due to a steady week of teetotaling in the Wadi Rum desert, or just the strain of pushing my muscles into threeto-five-mile hikes every day. The drink went down smoothly and put me into a state of

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Arak is typically distilled from grapes and flavored with aniseed, resulting in a strong liquorice-like tast

THE LATEST DISH: THE JAPANESE EXPERIENCE ... REIMAGINED

BY LINDA ROTH

The Rhythm & Eats team has opened Katsumi , a not-your-father’s Japanese restaurant near Logan Circle at 1520 14th St. NW, where their Bar Japonais was. Chef Masaaki “Uchi” Uchino helms the kitchen while GM Andra “AJ” Johnson oversees the front of the house.

the second location of their signature “FiveStar Dive Bar,” featuring pub fare and drinks, with the addition of Chicago tavern-style pizza … Philippe and Tohm Ifergan will open a Georgetown location of Dayglow, a coffee company founded in Los Angeles, at 1510 Wisconsin Ave. NW in the third quarter.

Just Opened: Carlos Delgado (Causa, Bar Amazonia) opened Maru San, a 25-seat Peruvian-Japanese handroll counter, in Capitol Hill’s Eastern Market at 325 7th St. SE … featuring Mediterranean and Turkish menus, Otto has opened at 1834 Wisconsin Ave. NW, where Café Divan used to be, on the border of Georgetown and Glover Park … Atlantic City-based Tony Boloney’s pizzeria and cheesesteak place opened at Upside on Moore at 700 N. Moore St. in Rosslyn. Along with its new Museum of Exploration at 1600 M St. NW, the National Geographic Society is slated to open The Explorers Eatery in the third quarter. The 320-seat

A new restaurant, Capitano, has raised the bar for dining at the Canopy hotel at the Wharf, managed by Concord Hospitality. Located at 975 7th St. SW, it’s open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, featuring southern and coastal Italian flavors.

Quick Hits: Sorso, a prosecco-on-tap bar, will open in Adams Morgan at 2475 18th St. NW, where D Light Cafe used to be … Call Your Mother bagelry is slated to open at 4000 Wilson Boulevard in Arlington, where a Starbucks closed … Rob Van de Graaff and Steve Kim are soon to open The Commodore at 220 N. Lee St. in Old Town Alexandria, where Mystic Bar & Grill was. This will be

Leukemia Ball

Walter E. Washington Convention Center 801 Allen Y. Lew Place, NW Washington, D.C.

Reception & Silent Auction: 6:30 p.m. Wayne Berson Chief Executive Officer, BDO

international food hall will have a bakery café, a 15-foot wraparound bar and indoor and outdoor seating. Its five food stalls will rotate cuisines, opening with American, Italian, Moroccan, Peruvian and Vietnamese. The eatery’s Ballard Bar is named for Robert Ballard, who discovered the sunken Titanic.

Linda Roth is the founder and CEO of Linda Roth Associates, a D.C.-based public relations and marketing firm that specializes in the food service and hospitality industries. Follow her at: @LindaRothPR, #LindaRothPR or lindarothpr.com.

Alex Okafor

Katie Yanushonis Senior Vice President, TMG

The Rhythm & Eats team has opened Katsumi, a not-your-father’s Japanese restaurant near Logan Circle at 1520 14th St. NW, where their Bar Japonais used to be. Photo by Scott Suchman.

The interior of Katsumi. Photo by Scott Suchman.

Spring 2026 Gala Guide

COMPILED BY MIA PECH AND KATE OCZYPOK

It’s time to think spring! Prepare for Washington’s blooming social season with The Georgetowner’s Spring Gala Guide. As more events are announced, this list will be updated at georgetowner.com.

FRIDAY, MARCH 13

The Annual Pink Tie Party

7 to 11 p.m., Union Station, 50 Massachusetts Ave. NW

A pink-themed evening with food and cocktails from top D.C. restaurants, music and an auction in support of the National Cherry Blossom Festival.

The Luminary Ball

7:30 to 11 p.m., Anderson House, 2118 Massachusetts Ave. NW

If you’re passionate about “Bridgerton,” Jane Austen, “A Court of Thorns and Roses,” Disney princesses and all things romance and romantasy, this is a must-attend event.

SATURDAY, MARCH 14

The 38th Annual Lombardi Gala

6 to 11 p. m., Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium, 1301 Constitution Ave. NW

An evening featuring a cocktail reception, auctions and awards in support of cancer research at Georgetown University’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center.

MONDAY, MARCH 16

The Ireland Funds National Gala National Building Museum, 440 G St. NW

A celebration of 50 years of the Ireland Funds and 250 years of the deep ties, heritage and friendship between the island of Ireland and the United States.

TUESDAY, MARCH 17

The TAPS Honor Guard Gala

5:30 to 7 p.m., National Building Museum, 401 G St NW

An evening honoring military families and bringing together survivors, leaders and supporters to celebrate patriotism and remembrance with TAPS.

SATURDAY, MARCH 21

The Washington Performing Arts Gala Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, 901 G St. NW

A gala celebrating 60 years of music and impact with cocktails, dinner and live performances in support of Washington Performing Arts.

National Cherry Blossom Festival Opening Reception

This invite-only VIP reception is the official start of the festival.

MONDAY, MARCH 23

Washington Nationals Foundation Dream Foundation Gala

The Anthem, 901 Wharf St. SW

Supporting youth-focused events throughout the D.C. region.

SATURDAY, MARCH 28

Greater Washington Region Heart Ball

6:30 p.m. to midnight, Waldorf Astoria, 1100 Pennsylvania Ave. NW

The Greater Washington Region Heart Ball brings the community together to support the American Heart Association’s mission to save lives and advance health equity.

SATURDAY, APRIL 4

Petalpalooza at Navy Yard

1 to 9 p.m., 1022 O St. SE

The National Cherry Blossom Festival’s spring street party is back for another year.

THURSDAY, APRIL 9

The Latino Student Fund Annual Gala Washington National Cathedral, 3101 Wisconsin Ave. NW

The Latino Student Fund was founded in 1994 to address disparities in access to education for underrepresented youth in D.C.

FRIDAY, APRIL 10

Imagination Stage’s 2026 Annual Gala

5:30 p.m., Imagination Stage, 4908 Auburn Ave., Bethesda, Maryland

An evening celebrating your inner child with whimsy, imagination and friends old and new.

SATURDAY, APRIL 11

Red & Black Gala

6 to 11 p.m., Washington Golf & Country Club, 3017 N. Glebe Road, Arlington, Virginia

Celebrating the legacy of Chamber Dance

Project Artistic Director Diane Coburn Bruning with cocktails, dinner, a performance and dancing.

MONDAY, APRIL 13

All the World’s a Stage: STC 40th Anniversary Gala

6 p.m., Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium, 1301 Constitution Ave. NW

A celebratory evening honoring Wendell Pierce and arts leaders, with performances and tributes marking Shakespeare Theatre Company’s 40th anniversary.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15

The Georgetown House Tour Patrons’ Party

6:30 to 8:30 p.m., Anderson House, 2118 Massachusetts Ave. NW

See April 18 House Tour listing below.

THURSDAY, APRIL 16

Calvary Women’s Services Hope Gala

The Ritz-Carlton, 1150 22nd St. NW

Celebrating women overcoming homelessness and raising critical support for the work of Calvary Women’s Services.

FRIDAY, APRIL 17

The Washington Ballet’s 2026 Annual Gala

6 p.m., Washington National Cathedral, 3101 Wisconsin Ave. NW

An evening with cocktails, dinner and special performances celebrating artistry and movement, in support of the Washington Ballet.

SATURDAY, APRIL 18

The Annual Catholic Charities Gala 6:30 p.m., Washington Hilton, 1919 Connecticut Ave. NW

Supporting the vital work of Catholic Charities, serving neighborhoods in need across our community.

The Lab School of Washington’s 41st Annual Gala

The Ritz-Carlton, 1150 22nd St. NW

Honoring outstanding achievers with learning differences and raising support for students and educators at the Lab School of Washington.

The Georgetown House Tour 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Organized by St. John’s Episcopal Church, the tour invites visitors to experience the architecture, design and history of Georgetown, raising funds for ministry and outreach.

MONDAY, APRIL 20

Atlas 20th Anniversary Benefit

6 p.m., Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St. NE

Helping fund the Atlas Performing Arts Center’s mission to support artists, engage the neighborhood and bring people together through the arts.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22

The 2026 Smithsonian Craft Show Through April 26, National Building Museum, 401 F St. NW

The Smithsonian Craft Show is the country’s premier showcase for the finest in hand-crafted, American artisanal works.

THURSDAY, APRIL 23

9th Annual BlueFest 2026

6 p.m., Ronald Reagan Building, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW

A fun and festive evening showcasing the Boys & Girls Clubs’ kids and programs.

FRIDAY, APRIL 24

The Folger Gala Folger Shakespeare Library, 201 E. Capitol St. SE

The annual Folger Gala is a celebratory evening to benefit the Folger and its many vital and creative program offerings.

SATURDAY, APRIL 25

The Children’s Ball 2026

6 p.m. to midnight, The Anthem, 901 Wharf St. NW

An annual black-tie gala celebrating the future of children’s health.

The 2026 Hyde-Addison PTA Gala

7 to 10 p.m., St. John’s Episcopal Church, 3240 O St. NW

A jazz-inspired gala with live music, food and drink, bringing the school community together in support of programs and resources at Hyde-Addison Elementary School.

The 2026 White House Correspondents Dinner Washington Hilton, 1919 Connecticut Ave. NW

One of D.C.’s biggest weekends.

MONDAY, APRIL 27

Fashioning Power, Fashioning Peace Exhibition and Gala

6 p.m., President Woodrow Wilson House, 2340 S St. NW

An exhibition of international style, where cultural diversity and elegance unite, promoting global connection and bridging nations.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29

The Metro DC Capitol Swing 2026

6 p.m., Army Navy Country Club, 1700 Army Navy Drive, Arlington, Virginia

Supporting the mission to cure cystic fibrosis and to provide all people with CF the opportunity to lead long, fulfilling lives.

Wine & Dine at Wolf Trap

6 p.m., The Barns, 1635 Trap Road, Vienna, Virginia

A culinary experience inspired by America’s 250th anniversary.

THURSDAY APRIL 30

All Aboard: Arts & Heritage

6:30 p.m., C&O Canal Mule Yard

A soirée benefitting Georgetown Heritage.

D.C. Environmental Film Festival Is ‘Working Against the Current’

BY FRANCIS RIENZO

Under the unifying theme of “Against the Current,” the 34th annual Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital, also known as DCEFF, will take place from March 19 to 28. A preview this past week at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy gave attendees a taste of what to expect.

In 2025, the festival drew a total of over 10,000 people to more than 20 venues across the city, including the U.S. Navy Memorial, the

Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library and the National Museum of Women in the Arts.

The annual event, which began in 1993, has provided viewers with opportunities to see top-tier journalists, researchers, scholars and activists speak and showcase their art through film. As always, this year’s DCEFF will feature panel discussions and Q&As after the programs, allowing viewers to explore the filmmakers’ intent and process.

The “Against the Current” theme is meant to amplify the voices of those who continue to work to defend our planet. In light of the tensions with the current administration, the festival urges viewers to reject cynicism and find hope in art and coalitions.

“People feel right now that there are forces beyond our control,” said Executive Director Monica Schorn in an interview with The Georgetowner. Schorn spoke about the activists, artists and scientists who come together for the festival, adding: “What’s so critical is that we do not exist in a vacuum. People are trying to right the course.”

Jacob Crawford, DCEFF director of marketing and operations, said that there have been “efforts made to alter the DNA of D.C.,” referring to recent actions by the Trump administration.

Working against these changes, the festival offers partnerships with organizations such as the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art. The museum sponsored a film that will be screened at the festival.

explores climate activists across party lines. Brad Forder, DCEFF director of programming, spoke about his goals for the festival. “We want to showcase the people in these films,” he said, labeling them as character-driven.

This year’s films range from fun animated films to dramatic scientific explorations. There are about 60 programs, with half the festival’s offerings being feature films and the other half short films. There will even be a Sundance Film Festival winner, “Nuisance Bear,” which won in the documentary category.

Several films will have their world premieres at the festival, including “The (Conserv)atives,” directed by Dominic and Nadia Gill, which

DCEFF also presents four awards, three for features and one for a short film, each slightly different in format. The majority of the festival programming is free. However, viewers are urged to donate to allow these stories to be seen on a more global scale. It was announced at the preview event that a board member is offering to match gifts dollar for dollar.

As of Feb. 16, friends of the festival and donors can start purchasing tickets; sales are open to the general public the day after. Schorn commented: “As long as we are making people feel connected to the work that’s happening right now, it’s a successful festival.”

A photo from a previous year’s DCEFF. Photo by Joy Asico-Smith.

DCEFF Executive Director Monica Schorn speaks at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy. Photo by Bruce Guthrie.

Portraiture Festival

Saturday, March 14 | 11:30 a.m.–4 p.m.

Celebrate art, identity and creativity at the National Portrait Gallery. Explore portraiture through artist talks, art-making activities and workshops for all ages.

Forever Is a Feeling

Saturday, March 14 | 3:30–4 p.m.

Experience a new performance by the National Portrait Gallery’s resident choreographer Diana Movius, inspired by “The Outwin 2025: American Portraiture Today.”

NeuroArts Collective Unites Public Health and Performing Arts

BY CELIA SHARPE

Among the various recommended approaches for reducing the effects of dementia — from nutrition and medicines to mental games and physical activities like yoga and walking — one is an art form that has been repeatedly endorsed over the centuries, including by Plato and Shakespeare.

Modern musicians have followed the lead of philosophers, scholars and authors in citing the power of music to heal. And in recent years, medical science has offered proof that, indeed, music affects the cells of the brain in a health-enhancing way.

Now, George Washington University and Washington Performing Arts have launched the NeuroArts Collective to unite public health and the performing arts, bridging science and creativity to promote cognitive health and compassionate care.

Milken Institute School of Public Health, are collaborating to bring public health students into art-based communities to “harness music, dance and creativity as catalysts for wellness.”

Focusing on dementia conditions associated with Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, the joint initiative is led by Washington Performing Arts’ Director of Arts Education & Partnerships Amber Pannocchia and Community and Global Programs Manager

Jenny Bilfield, president and CEO of Washington Performing Arts, and Dr. Sydnae Law, director of applied public health at GW’s

Hannah Katz, working with GW faculty members and the staff of the retirement and assisted living community Ingleside at Rock Creek.

Pannocchia notes that the program is twofold in not only educating future caregivers, medical professionals and the public, but also in developing programs for patrons no longer able to attend concerts or classes, who would benefit from Washington Performing Arts’ goal of bringing one-time performances directly to seniors.

Two GW Master of Public Health degree

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Mall The Art of Quillwork | Saturday, March 14 | 11 AM–4 PM Celebrating “Water’s Edge” | Saturday, April 18 | 11 AM–3 PM

Water’s Edge: The Art of Truman Lowe exhibit. Photo by Norwood Photography.

candidates have already begun to work on the project. Ciel Vidale’s practicum focuses on the role of dance and movement in improving motor function and emotional well-being among residents with Parkinson’s. Neneh Sheriff’s practicum is centered on the use of music to support cognitive function in the Memory Support Assisted Living group.

Public health outside of traditional clinical settings offers hope for living with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, which affect more than memory. Sheriff points out that “they impact identity, emotional well-being and a person’s sense of connection to others.”

She continues: “Through music and based on research, there is an improvement in residents’ access to moments of joy, familiarity and presence that are often difficult to reach through standard health interventions alone.”

How is it that musical activity helps to preserve parts of the brain, even as other cognitive functions decline?

Sheriff has observed in sessions that “residents who were initially quiet began humming, tapping along or softly singing as familiar melodies played, and these small responses carried deep meaning.”

In a focus group demonstration with Washington Performing Arts teaching artist Lucy Bowen McCauley, Vidale could physically see that shift happening.

ARTS

“Participants who initially hesitated became more animated, more confident and visibly happier as the movement progressed,” recalls Vidale. “Their posture changed, their faces lit up and they were eager for the next sequence. It was remarkable to witness.”

She noted that “Parkinson’s disease affects far more than motor function. It impacts confidence, identity and social connection.”

Vidale saw residents reclaim a sense of agency and joy through movement and dance to an extent that traditional health interventions can rarely match. “People stepped out of their shells,” she says.

The room soon transformed into a space of fellowship and community. Participants laughed, encouraged one another and were fully present.

“Parkinson’s disease can be profoundly isolating, so seeing people smile, laugh and genuinely enjoy themselves underscored what this work is really about,” she adds.

The arts and medicine are both needed for enjoying life. The arts are not a luxury, emphasizes Bilfield, but a vital component of public health. Her message, and the combined efforts of artists and medical professionals, are shaping a future to be shared by all of us.

Bilfield, Law, Sheriff and Vidale talk about the collaborative in a video uploaded to the George Washington University Vimeo channel on Jan. 6.

ALL SPRING PERFORMANCES NOW ON SALE

TREEMONISHA

March 7, 8, 15

Lisner Auditorium

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Damien Sneed and Kyle Bass bring Scott Joplin’s forgotten opera into a new era.

Treemonisha: Viviana Goodwin

Remus: Justin Austin

Conductor: Kedrick Armstrong

Director: Denyce Graves

THE CRUCIBLE

March 21, 23, 25, 27, 29

Lisner Auditorium WASHINGTON, D.C.

Robert Ward’s Pulitzer Prizewinning opera, based on Arthur Miller’s Tony Award®-winning play, puts truth on trial.

Elizabeth Proctor: J’Nai Bridges

John Proctor: Ryan McKinny

Conductor: Robert Spano

Director: Francesca Zambello

WEST SIDE STORY

May 8, 9, 11

Lyric Baltimore BALTIMORE, MD

May 14, 15

The Music Center at Strathmore NORTH BETHESDA, MD

Experience the Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, and Arthur Laurents’ Tony Award®-winning classic on a grand scale.

WNO 70TH ANNIVERSARY GALA

May 16

National Building Museum WASHINGTON, D.C.

Co-hosted by famed Wicked composer Stephen Schwartz and Jamie Bernstein, author and daughter of West Side Story composer Leonard Bernstein. Gala packages will be available soon.

‘Judy Blume: A Life’ — An adoring ode to the beloved author.

REVIEWED BY KITTY KELLEY

All the little girls — now mothers and grandmothers — who grew up reading Judy Blume will celebrate this biography of the beloved author. Great-grandmothers will applaud the cover photo of the 88-year-old writer, who still looks great. (Yes, she follows the Katharine Hepburn rule for women of a certain age: Wear turtlenecks.)

“Judy Blume” is a coronation of sorts. Mark Oppenheimer grew up reading and rereading Blume’s books. His essay “Why Judy Blume Endures,” which ran in 1997 in the New York Times Book Review, extolled Blume as the professor of puberty: popular with children but lacking adult acclaim.

“I was assigned [Scott] O’Dell’s “Island of the Blue Dolphins” three times and was made to read each volume of [Madeleine] L’Engle’s “Time” trilogy,” he wrote. “No teacher ever assigned Judy Blume.” Oppenheimer, who holds a Ph.D. in religious studies from Yale, chose to read Blume because of her books’ realism: They dared to address subjects like birth control, religion and even class.

An unabashed fan, he decided to honor his idol with his first biography, for which Blume gave him full access. She sat “for

hours of interviews, in person and on the telephone.” She answered “hundreds of questions by email” and offered access to her husband, her children, her assistants, her friends. Oppenheimer sent her his first draft, and she responded with dozens of pages of corrections and additions. Not since Boswell has a biographer bagged such a bonanza.

In his chatty narrative, Oppenheimer states that Blume had “three great assets” as a writer: She was productive, she was hungry for criticism and she knew when to take the criticism and when to leave it.

Judy Blume began life in 1938 as Judith Marcia Sussman, born “scrawny, chronically underweight” in Elizabeth, New Jersey, to a mostly secular Jewish family. Her father was a dentist; her mother kept house for Judy and her older brother, David.

After graduating from Battin High School — a “large comprehensive high school with a student body that was diverse, if not by sex or race (all female, about 90 percent white), then by interest,” writes Oppenheimer — Blume briefly attended Boston University before enrolling at New York University, where she earned a B.A. in education.

“I married at twenty-one, had two children and at twentyeight, with a five-year-old daughter and a three-year-old son, realized I needed something else in my life,” she recalled. “A creative person with no outlet is in real danger of falling apart.”

So she made felt wall hangings that she sold to Bloomingdale’s. She tried songwriting. Then she took a night course in creative writing and decided to compose stories for children, with a “dream of becoming the next Dr. Seuss.”

Feeling suffocated in her marriage, Blume got divorced after several years and immediately rebounded to a second husband; she left him two years later. In 1987, she married George Cooper, and they remain together.

I grew up with Winnie-the-Pooh, the Bobbsey Twins and Nancy Drew, so I missed the bounty of Blume’s books, but what a feast she’s served. Of her 30-plus titles for children, teens and adults, the most popular were published in the 1970s, her most productive decade, including: “Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing” (1972), which recounts an elder brother’s envy of his younger sibling; “Deenie” (1973), which explains scoliosis and masturbation; “Blubber” (1974), which chronicles an overweight girl’s adolescence; and “Forever...” (1975), which deals frankly with teenage sexuality and features a penis named “Ralph.”

That latter book has been a target of censorship for 50 years. Blume explained on her website that she wrote it because her daughter “asked for a story about two nice kids who have sex without either of them having to die.” National Public Radio lists “Forever...” as one of the 100 Best-Ever Teen Novels. Yet it remains banned in Florida, the number-one state for book banning. (Ironically, Blume has a home in Key West, where she co-owns a bookstore in which no books are banned.)

One of the author’s most famous books is the 1970 tale of a little girl who shares her intimate secrets with God. “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” has sold millions of copies. More than five decades after its publication, the middle-grade novel is still banned in some schools because it addresses menstruation.

By the 1990s, multiple Blume books were on the American Library Association’s list of the 100 most-banned books in America — again because, in them, she addresses topics such as sexuality, fat-shaming, divorce and bullying.

Throughout her career, Blume has fought hard to protect her work. She challenged school boards on their bans, testified in court, disputed religious groups that denounced

her and always cheered the librarians and booksellers who supported her. At times, the criticism was ferocious. On an episode of the TV show “Crossfire” in 1984, conservative commentator Pat Buchanan asked her, “What is this preoccupation with sex in books for 10-year-old children?” Blume smiled. “Are you hung up on masturbation?” she retorted. When Blume wasn’t writing, she bought houses in New Mexico, Martha’s Vineyard, London, Florida and New York. Then she redecorated them. “The truth is, I’m a houseaholic,” she told Architectural Digest in 2013. “I love to create a new nest.” Now that Blume has retired, she’s been blessed with an adoring biographer who is also a longtime believer in her work. While “Judy Blume” will never rival Boswell’s tome on Samuel Johnson, it’s a 480-page paean that should earn Oppenheimer a front-row seat in “Blume-world.”

Kitty Kelley is the author of seven number-one New York Times Best Seller biographies, including “Nancy Reagan,” “Jackie Oh!” and “Elizabeth Taylor: The Last Star.” She is on the board of the Independent and is a recipient of the PEN Oakland/Gary Webb Anti-Censorship Award. In 2023, she was honored with Biographers International Organization’s BIO Award, given annually to a writer who has made major contributions to the advancement of the art and craft of biography.

All the little girls who grew up reading Judy Blume will celebrate this biography. Courtesy Washington Independent Review of Books.

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WESLEY HEIGHTS $1,895,000 4438 Lowell Street, NW Washington, DC

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