August 18, 2015

Grant Circle Social is Wednesday, 8/19

August 18, 2015/ Drew

The next (and 8th!) Grant Circle Social is Wednesday, August 19th from 6-7pm at the Grant Circle, appropriately enough.

Stop by on your way home from work, on your way to the grocery store, before grabbing a bite to eat, or while walking your dog. Stop by with friends, neighbors, and/or kids for 5 minutes or the full hour! And please, invite your neighbors who may not be online and drag them along!

To help beat the heat, this week will feature refreshing ice pops courtesy of neighbor (and Petworth News sponsor) Eddie Suarez!

Hope to see you out there. And if you are interested in co-hosting a future Grant Circle Social please contact Rob Mandle.

August Grant Circle Social
Wednesday, August 19th (Every 3rd Wednesday)
6pm to 7 pm

About Grant Circle Socials
The Grant Circle Social series is a casual, no-agenda gathering of neighbors in Petworth's signature green space with an underlying goal of building social capital and fostering a sense of community. Grant Circle Socials are held from 6pm to 7pm the Third Wednesday of the month.

August 12, 2015

Take part in the AJ Cooper Day of Service

August 12, 2015/ Drew

I met AJ Cooper last summer at an ANC 4C meeting, when Joe Martin pointed him out to me across the room. "See him? That's AJ Cooper. He's going to run for council," Joe said. "Watch, he'll probably win." I looked over at Cooper and wondered who he was.

Monday is the AJ Cooper Day of Service in remembrance of a powerful DC activist. Read more after the break:

August 09, 2015

5K run for freedom with President Lincoln's Cottage

August 09, 2015/ Drew

If you're a runner or someone who loves freedom AND running, then President Lincoln's Cottage has the race for you. The Annual President Lincoln’s Cottage Freedom 5K is set for Saturday, September 26th, and early, discounted registration is open now. There's even a "tot dash" for kids! Olympic champion and running icon Joan Benoit Samuelson will participate in the race for a second year.

Details about the race and a link for early bird registration after the break:

August 06, 2015

Petworth Dance Project this Saturday

August 06, 2015/ Drew

The fourth Petworth Dance Project is set for this Saturday, August 8th at the Petworth Park (8th & Taylor St NW). There's a special kids' dance class at 6:30, and then the first dance starts after that.

Saturday's dance project should be special, as one of the companies performing is Aras Dance, led by Sara Herrera-Kopetchny, who runs the Petworth Dance Project. Also performing is Coyaba Dance Theater.

Timber Pizza Co. will have their mobile brick oven on-site for fresh pizza -- 10% of the proceeds go to support the Petworth Dance Project, so come hungry for culture and mozzarella and basil!

In an effort to continue to help raise funds for the Petworth Dance Project, Sara Herrera-Kopetchny will be teaching a dance class on Friday night. If you have ever wanted to try contemporary dance, here's your chance to learn. More info.

Friday August 7th from 7pm-8:30pm at Dance Loft on 14th, All levels, 18 and up, $10 cash only at the door.

August 02, 2015

Come hear seven stories of DC with Nicholson

August 02, 2015/ Drew

It’s great when a DC writer celebrates the culture and life of the city through fiction. Local DC author and former editor and book reviewer for The Washington Post Book World, David Nicholson does that with his latest book, “Flying Home, Seven Stories of the Secret City.”

His latest book takes a deeper look at DC, told through seven stories. “All too often, writing about black Washington focuses on pathology like drug use and crime,” David told me. “I didn't want to add to that body of work. Instead, I wanted to celebrate the extraordinary in the ordinary, to give glimpses into the heroic lives of ordinary men and women dealing with issues that are universal."

Read more and see dates of two local book readings by Nicholson:

July 28, 2015

Ward 4 public safety meeting notes

July 28, 2015/ Drew

Ward 4 Councilmember Brandon Todd held a meeting at the Fourth District Headquarters last Thursday night, July 23rd. The meeting was an opportunity for residents to get a quick update on crime in the Fourth District and asks questions of Chief Lanier and 4D Commander Manlapaz.

Brandon opened the meeting by thanking everyone and mentioned that he was now 60 days into his term as councilmember. He called the Public Safety Meeting to make sure residents were able to share their concerns and to discuss the recent uptick in break-ins and robberies in the area.

Read my full notes and see pictures after the break:

July 25, 2015

Gallery from July Petworth Jazz Project

July 25, 2015/ Drew

With a minor rain delay starting things off a bit slowly, the Petworth Jazz Festival was a great show of youth talent and the extremely smooth sounds of the Mark Meadow Quartet.

I've posted a bunch of the personal and posed shots I took on the Petworth News Facebook Page to make it easier to share those. Feel free to tag yourself or people you know in the pictures. If you see a photo that you want as a high resolution version, contact me

See all the photos after the break:

July 23, 2015

Petworth Jazz Project on Saturday, July 25th

July 23, 2015/ Drew

The next Petworth Jazz Project is this Saturday, July 25th at the Petworth Park (8th & Taylor St NW). This ongoing series is a gem in our local cultural crown. Each month it gets more crowded with people enjoying some of the best musicians in DC, starting with kids' music at 6pm and award-winning jazz performers at 7pm.

This upcoming Saturday is no different. The evening starts with "Planet Swagg" (a teen hip hop duo!). This artist duo is comprised of brothers Rasaan (aka Rasaan Tha Don) who's 15 years old and Master (aka Master Roc) who's 13 years old.

Grown-up music starts at 7pm, featuring the Mark Meadows Quartet. Recently named both “Artist of the Year” and “Composer of the Year” of 2014 by the Washington City Paper, Mark Meadows is a jazz pianist, vocalist, composer and jazz educator. He performs throughout the Washington-Baltimore region and across the US. He's an exciting modern jazz pianist and composer whose versatile musical background allows him to interconnect every walk of life.

It's sure to be a really fun evening. Plus, the Orange Cow Ice Cream Truck will be on site. (Summer = the right time for ice cream trucks.) They serve great ice cream by the scoop, ice cream sandwiches, sundaes, floats, and frozen banana on a stick coated with Belgian chocolate, heath bar crunch and coarse sea salt. Yowza.

July 15, 2015

Largest Grant Circle Social yet (because, ice cream)

July 15, 2015/ Drew

I think this was the largest crowd yet for the Grant Circle Social. Many thanks to Karima and Melinda for the really tasty ice cream.

If you're wondering why so many people are looking down in these photos, it's because there were so many kids. Kids on bikes. Kids drawing with chalk. Kids playing ball. Petworth is going to get the nickname "Stroller City" soon. If you move to Petworth and don't want kids, drink bottled water to be safe, lol.

If you'd like to host or co-host a Social like Karima and Melinda just did, please email Rob Mandle.

Please feel free to tag yourself and others in the photos on Facebook.

I think this was the largest crowd yet for the Grant Circle Social. Many thanks to Karima and Melinda for the really...
Posted by Petworth News on Wednesday, July 15, 2015

July 12, 2015

Petworth Dance Project charms with third performance

July 12, 2015/ Drew

The Petworth Dance Project third performance was on Saturday, July 11th at Petworth Park (8th and Taylor St NW). This time was a bit unusual, even for Petworth, as the first performance was in the spray park. And it was a cool experience.

"It's all about community," Sara said after the show with a big smile. "It's great to be able to do this in Petworth."

Read more and see a gallery from the night after the break:

July 09, 2015

Petworth Dance Project is Saturday in the Petworth Spray Park

July 09, 2015/ Drew

Yeah, in the spray park. How cool is that?

According to Dance Project organizer Sara Herrera-Kopetchny, the timeline for Saturday's (July 11th) activities featuring Light Switch Dance Theatre will be 7-7:30pm performance in the spray park, followed by Rainbow Joe doing a drum and dance party for kids from 7:30-8pm. Then the Light Switch Dance Theatre begins the second half of the show at 8:05pm.

I highly recommend coming to the Petworth Dance Project. It's a wonderful addition to our cultural activities in Petworth. (Here's my previous article about the Dance Project.)

"This is the first site specific performance of the season, with the first half of the show performed in the Petworth Spray Park. You do not want to miss this beautiful and thought-provoking performance," said Sara.

Light Switch Dance Theatre (established in 2012) is a sites-specific project based contemporary dance company dedicated to multi-disciplinary performances in non-traditional spaces. Sandra Atkinson, MA (Artistic Director) creates work in a collaborative manner inspired by the human condition, social justice, matters for science & technology and art of all mediums. LSDT strives to provide performances to the general public making any place a performance space.

The Girl Child Project: Private/Water & Traffic
Sextet: 25 minutes
Private/Water focuses on the lack of water, indoor plumbing, and privacy for women and children in certain parts of India. These elements have been sited a reason for the rise in sexual assault of women and children.

Water/Shed
Produced from research on the sustainability of the Patuxent River and the community this body of water serves in Maryland

"I hope you will join us for this performance! It's outdoors! It's FREE! It's dance! What's not to love!"