Virginia Luce Allen: Community Leader

Virginia Luce Allen, founder and executive director of the Georgetown Senior Center and beloved community leader, died early Wednesday morning, October 28. She was 92 and had been in rehab following a stroke since August. She was active to the end, still running her non-profit up until her stroke.

She lived an extraordinary, beautiful and meaningful life. She was witty, quick as a whip, fiercely passionate about Georgetown, D.C., as well as incredibly thoughtful and generous. Her loss is deeply felt by the community she so loved, and by the countless senior citizens, dear friends, volunteers and staff of the center -- and family . . . all of whom treasured her friendship and joie de vivre. She touched so many lives. Even in illness, she was hopeful. She showed great courage and never complained.

If we are indeed judged not on what we accumulate or achieve through life, but more on our spirit of generosity toward others, then Virginia Luce Allen will be judged and remembered for her integrity and her absolute devotion to the senior citizens who made up the Georgetown Senior Center, housed in the parish hall at St. John's Church, these last 28 years.

Virginia Allen understood that there is something far greater than wealth and success: It is the sense of pure goodness that comes from the happiness and fulfillment of sharing one's blessings with those in need. Virginia understood and recognized the need and the loneliness of the elderly, and her senior center is indeed a blessing to the community. Over the years, Virginia Allen received many prominent and national and local awards as a testament to her work for the senior citizens of D.C.

Virginia is survived by a large extended family. They remember her with many fond memories as the matriarch of the Allen family. Virginia was a lifelong resident of Georgetown with a weekend-summer home in Annapolis. She attended schools in Washington, D.C., and was a retired senior employee of the Federal Government. She had a passion for art and the outdoors that she expressed through gardening and part-time work at art galleries in Georgetown for many years.

Virginia's father was George J. Allen, M.D., a graduate of Georgetown University Medical School and a practicing physician, who for a time saw patients in an office in the family home on P Street, which was still owned by Virginia. Her mother was Ruth O'Neal Allen, mother of five and an active church volunteer. Her two sisters were Mary Elizabeth Allen and Constance O'Neal Allen. Her brothers were George J. Allen and Richard L. Allen. Virginia Allen is survived by two sisters-in-law, Jeanette Allen Vaughan of Estero, Fla., and Betty Allen of Rockville, Md.; one niece, Amy Soderstrum of Mt. Airy, Md.; three nephews, Mark R. Allen of Reston, Va., Craig D. Allen of Emerald Isle, N.C., and Bruce Allen of Chapel Hill, N.C.; three grandnieces, three grandnephews, one great grandniece and one great grandnephew.

Viewing was held Oct. 30 at DeVol Funeral Home, 2222 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C.

Funeral Mass was offered on Saturday, Oct. 31, at Church of the Annunciation, 3810 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to The Georgetown Senior Center, c/o St. John's Episcopal Church, 3240 Potomac Street, N.W.

HALLOWEEN IN GEORGETOWN

Every year, actors from The Georgetown Theatre Company gather to read from the works of Edgar Allan Poe; every year, something supernatural happens. On Friday, Oct. 30, at 7 pm, The Georgetown Theatre Company will present Halloween in Georgetown at Grace Church (1041 Wisconsin Ave., NW). Actors from The Georgetown Theatre Company will read poems and short stories of Edgar Allan Poe. You are guaranteed a “supernatural” surprise. Halloween in Georgetown will feature Tony Greenberg, Shari Lewis, Kenny Littlejohn, Phil Baedecker and Catherine Aselford. A dessert reception will follow the reading. For more information about Halloween in Georgetown, call 703-271-7770 or visit http://www.georgetowntheatre.org/halloween.html

The Georgetown Theatre Company is presenting "DRACULA, A Family Musical" in a retail space in The Shops at Georgetown Park Mall, 3222 M Street, N.W. The original songs were written by Talia Greenberg, a musician and artist who performed with the company in its early days. The book was written by Edward L. Hudgins, a think-tank scholar who writes articles about economics and philosophy for a living, but he has always loved the theatre. The cast features Timothy R. King, as Dracula; King was most recently seen as "Willie Wonka" at the Alliance Theatre. Mina is played by Charlene V. Smith, last seen in The Georgetown Theatre Company’s Fringe Festival hit Jack the Ticket Ripper. Stefan Aleksander, Sarah Haft and Jonathan Lee Taylor round out the cast. Performances of "DRACULA, A Family Musical" will be presented at 1:30pm every Saturday and Sunday now through Nov. 8. Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for children; also available at the door. Tickets can be reserved: Contact 703-271-7770 or tgtc@earthlink.net. For more information about DRACULA, A Family Musical, please visit www.georgetowntheatre.org or call 703-271-7770.

(Above photo: Timothy R. King as Dracula.)

Marine Corps Marathon: A Sunday Best

Anyone near Key Bridge and M Street heard the bagpipes announcing the runners' entering the District of Columbia from Arlington, Va., during the eight o'clock hour on Sunday morning. The 34th annual Marine Corps Marathon -- the People's Marathon -- had runners turn left off Key Bridge, go up Canal Road and turn down MacArthur Boulevard back to M Street. Then, they turned right at Wisconsin Avenue towards the monuments. Besides cheering on the runners (could you do 26.2 miles, man?), Georgetowners contended with closed streets and confused drivers, whether leaving or going to church. Winner for the men: Navy lieutenant commander John Mentzer (his first time in this race) at 2 hours, 21 minutes, 47 seconds. Winner for the women: Ethiopia's Muliye Gurme at 2:49:48.

Moving east on M Street; master sergeant Kenneth Williams, USMC, hands powerade to the runners.

Trolleys Ran Through It

The D.C. Department of Transportation will soon be seeking everyone's approval to begin reconstructing O and P Streets between Wisconsin Avenue and 35th Streets. And for those of you who would like to see the treacherous trolley tracks just paved over with asphalt, forget about it.

O and P Streets, trolley tracks and all, are protected by the Georgetown National Register Historic District/National Historic Landmark act. Thus, DDOT is committed to retaining the historic appearance of the two streets, including retaining and reinstalling the components of the streetcar tracks and the surrounding pavers and curbs. The tracks will be removed, straightened, cleaned, and refinished and then refastened to the yokes.

Yikes! Won't that take like . . . forever?  You are probably right, madam, but that's the way the cookie crumbles in an historic community. And the trolley tracks do represent a significant part of our history. The few blocks of trolley tracks are a reminder that streetcars were a big part of transportation, not only in Georgetown, but throughout the City of Washington. At one point, five streetcar companies provided service in the city. The company that ran trolleys in Georgetown was the Metropolitan Railroad Company, incorporated on July 1, 1864, and tracks reached Georgetown in 1876.

If you look closely at the tracks, you'll notice a third "track" in the center, which is not a track at all, but rather a conduit. A sliding "shoe" on the underside of the trolley carriage ran along this conduit and took electric power from an underground source along the rail.

The Metropolitan, acting on a charge from Congress, began conversion to underground electric power in 1895 and all Metro lines had complied by 1897. Other lines in town used overhead trolley wire and some even used cables.

The trolleys were converted to bus lines and eliminated in the early 1960s. Much of the track in D.C. was removed and sold for scrap. In other places, the track was buried under pavement. The only remaining visible tracks and conduit in the region are in the center of the cobblestone streets in Georgetown.

And now, the DDOT will see to it that the tracks are preserved forever. While they are dangerous in their present state of neglect, it won't always be so.

Public School Boss Michelle Rhee Wows CAG

Michelle Rhee Wows CAG

D.C.. Public Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee was well received at the Oct. 22 meeting of the Citizens Association of Georgetown, held in the cafeteria of the newly refurbished Addison School on P Street. Addison is now part of the Hyde School campus, serving students from first through fifth grades.

About 100 or so CAG members and Hyde-Addison School parents were on hand to greet the controversial school administrator. Rhee has been getting some critical press regarding her dismissal of more than 400 teachers, but she was upbeat and open in her discussion before CAG.

Introduced by Hyde-Addison Principal Dana Nerenberg, Rhee praised her as "an absolutely exemplary principal" and the school -- "Hyde is an example of a school that can work if you provide the resources." The chancellor then took questions from the audience with "no holds barred," as she said.

Although Rhee was very proud of the fact that D.C. was number one in the nation in fourth-grade growth and eighth graders who tripled the national average last year, she admitted that "We're nowhere near where we should be," pertaining to test scores on a national average. In fact, when asked by a fifth grader at the meeting how she would grade her performance thus far, the chancellor said she would take an "F." Wow, a little harsh there, aren't we?

Some of Rhee's most telling comments were:

"Universities are not doing a good enough job in preparing future teachers for teaching in an urban environment. This is a big hole in teacher education today."

"Our obligation is to graduate students with options . . . either in seeking a college education or in getting a job to support oneself after high school by developing those skills that could be applied in the workforce."

"The reason we see a mass exodus of students from public schools after fourth grade is that we don't have the middle school dynamic in place." (Rhee did reveal that she has a plan which will roll out in December, before private school applications for middle schools are due, however.)

Before the CAG meeting, audience members were given guided tours of the "new" Addison faclity. Student ambassadors Cameron, Lewis, Taylor, Cami, Louis II, Ron, Kira, Talia, Adriano and others showed off their shiny, new classrooms with their high-tech projectors and colorful geography rugs.

Above: Hyde-Addison Principal Dana Nerenberg, D.C.. Public Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee and Citizens Association of Georgetown President Jennifer Altemus.

Rhee, thanked by CAG members after address, with John Hays and Barbara Gordon.

Hyde-Addison students with their chancellor.

ANNOUNCEMENT!

Hyde-Addison Elementary will hold its 12th annual EcoFest Gala & Auction on Friday. Nov. 13 at the House of Sweden, the Swedish Embassy's award-winning architectural space on Georgetown's waterfront.

With an exciting new theme, this year's event is aimed at supporting the school's new environmental science program along with Hyde-Addison's other educational programs. In keeping with the green theme, the auction co-chairs even had the year's invitations printed with soy ink on 100% recycled paper. A number of the items to be auctioned off will have green themes as well.

A little background: Hyde-Addison, located on O Street just west of Wisconsin Ave., is the only D.C. public school in the heart of Georgetown. About half its 220 students are neighborhood kids; the rest come from across the city to attend this wonderfully warm, diverse and high-achieving school. The school, with an expanded campus this year to encompass the Addison building which backs up on P Street, celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2007.

Hyde's students are blessed with a wonderful principal, Dana Nerenberg, a top-notch group of teachers and administrators and an engaged set of parents. But budget cuts across the D.C. public school system and hard economic times have made it difficult for the school to buy all the supplies it needs for the next generation of young scientists. So this year's auction is more important than ever to raise money for everything from science periodicals and lab coats to books for our library.

Tickets this year are $50 per person and the auction runs from 7-10 p.m. Guests will be served light fare, a dessert buffet, champagne, wine and beer.

For tickets, please call:

Tracey Weisler, PTA VP and Auction co-chair at (202) 329-1425 or Lee Murphy, Auction co-chair at (202) 277-7477.

Georgetown Merchants Support Senior Center

Several Georgetown merchants have held fundraising efforts of late to support the Georgetown Senior Center, a non-profit group that offers hot lunches, comraderie and special programs for senior citizens from all over Washington, D.C.

Karen Snyder of Snyder Properties, Inc., recently held a fashion show party at L2 Lounge on Cady's Alley and raised over $5,000 for the center. St. John's Episcopal Church has chimed in with a $6,000 contribution and several of the merchants of Book Hill on upper Wisconsin Avenue held an outdoor fair which raised $450 for the center. Jane Huelle of The Dog Shop and Susan Calloway of Susan Calloway Fine Arts were instrumental in the day's activities. Thanks also goes to Ilo, Bacchus Wine, Patisserie Poupon, Sassanova, Georgetown Birdcage, Sugar, Presse, Carling Nichols and For Your Home.

GEORGETOWN GALLERY WALK

James Osher: Three Seconds with the Masters
October 24 - December 5
Opening Reception, Saturday, October 24, 5-8 PM

A photograpy exhibit that promises a new way to see old-master paintings. These photographs deal with the gallery viewing experience and its residual memories. Brilliant and gorgeous.

Addison-Ripley Fine Art
1670 Wisconsin Avenue (across the Avenue from Book Hill Park at Resevoir Road)
(202) 338-5180
http://www.addisonripleyfineart.com/

Kathryn Mapes Turner, "Magnifique"
November 13 - December 12
Opening Reception Friday, November 13, 6-8 pm.

Whether she turns her eye to the mountains and valleys of her nativeWyoming, or to the bridges, parks and monuments of Washington, DC, Turner captures the inherent beauty of her subject. Her superb drawingability and familiarity with her subjects allow her to break at willfrom pure representation, successfully abstracting her subject matterwithout losing its essence. She moves seamlessly from watercolor tooil without changing her style, using each medium to its fullestextent to bolster her own style, rather than changing her style tosuit the medium. This show will feature her cityscapes, landscapes andfigurative works. She states: "Painting for me is a language. Withcolor and light, I strive to communicate my appreciation of the visualworld. My paintings are my response to what I find magnificent. This magnificence can be found everywhere from the monumental to themundane." Turner lives and paints in Jackson Hole, WY.

Susan Calloway Fine
Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington, DC 20007
202.965.4601
gallery@callowayart.com

TABLE FOR TWO, PLEASE

Chestnuts Are Roasting Over An Open Fire at 1789 Restaurant
Along with A Cooking Class for Those Who Cannot Resist Them

Executive Chef Dan Giusti of the historic 1789 Restaurant in Georgetown is unveiling his next seasonal prix fixe, three-course menu for the entire month of November, which highlights roasted fresh American chestnuts from Toigo Orchards of Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. The delicious prize chestnuts are incorporated into the appetizer, entrée and dessert courses. Priced at $40 per person (beverages, tax and gratuity not included), standouts include chestnut soup served with crispy duck confit, maple glazed chestnuts and foie gras followed by Eco-Friendly Farms roast poussin with chestnut polenta, Brussels sprouts, “Surryano”ham and red wine jus. Then for the perfect ending, Pastry Chef Travis Olson has created a chestnut and pear sundae with warm Comice pear, chestnut honey, roasted chestnut ice cream and candied chestnuts. Guests will be given a bag of roasted chestnuts as a complimentary take-away for the ride home.

Available from September to January each year, the American chestnut is a rare commodity; most chestnuts found at local markets are imported from Europe and Asia. Toigo Orchards, with its six giant chestnut trees, provides 1789 with fresh chestnuts. Although American chestnut trees were nearly wiped out by the Chestnut Blight over 100 years ago, the six trees found at Toigo Orchards are some of the few that survived.

Sign up for 1789's monthly cooking class to work with chefs Giusti and Olson to learn how to make the three-course American chestnut menu. The class begins at 10 AM on Saturday, November 21st and is followed by a three-course lunch, featuring the American chestnut dishes paired with wines from 1789’s expansive list. Priced at $75 per person, seating is limited and reservations are required.

With complimentary valet parking, 1789 Restaurant on 1226 36th Street, NW, is a must for autumn dining and reservations can be made by calling (202) 965-1789. For additional information please visit www.1789Restaurant.com

Blue Ridge Partners with Sports + Spinal Physical Therapy DC to Host A
Women, Wheels and Wellness Event This Saturday, October 24th

In an effort to promote healthy living amongst the women of Washington D.C., Sports + Spinal Physical Therapy DC will host a Women, Wheels and Wellness event at Glover Park’s newest neighborhood restaurant, Blue Ridge. From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. guests will have an opportunity to learn cycling training tips for improving health, fitness and performance; healthy eating and nutrition instructions; yoga poses for cyclists and the latest in cycling and apparel for women. The event is free, and open to the pubic with door prizes including complimentary bike fittings, injury assessments, cycling gear and massages. For additional details please call (202) 463-7611.

WHEN: Saturday, October 24th, 2009 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

WHERE: Blue Ridge is located at 2340 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20007. Phone: (202) 333-4004.

NOVEMBER EVENTS UPCOMING

Friday, Nov. 6, 9-11 a.m.
Preview of Esprit de Noel
An annual breakfast and exclusive shopping event held at and benefitting Georgetown Visitation. Win a 2010 Ford Escape Hybrid! A raffle drawing will be held 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 7. Shop early at the Preview Cafe on Nov. 6 or come to the 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Esprit de Noel on Saturday, Nov. 7. Vendors, silent auction baskets, moon bounc. Food and beveragers under the tent. Free admission and parking. This is Georgetown at its finest folks!

Saturday, Nov. 7
TD Bank, Georgetown's newest bank, will celebrate its opening at Wisconsin Avenue, NW, and Q Street, NW, with a street fair on Saturday, November 7, from 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Celebrate with the TD Bank team at this opening party, which is free and open to the public and will feature free food, refreshments, and giveaways, a balloon artist, carnival games, and more.
Enter to win $500 cash (drawing at 2:00 p.m.; must be present to win). Exciting games and prizes, including a drawing to win a $1,000 Shopping Spree! $5,000 donation to a local nonprofit organization TD Bank focuses on delivering legendary customer service by providing seven-day branch banking with extended hours, free Penny Arcade coin-counting machines, hassle-free products, free online banking and bill pay at www.tdbank.com, and treats for kids and dogs. Customers also have access to a network of 2,600 ATMs from Maine to Florida.

Sunday, Nov. 15
Music Festival Sunday
At Saint John’s Episcopal Church, Georgetown Parish, 3240 O Street, NW. It's a festival of readings, hymns and anthems with Saint John's Choir and Samuel Carabetta, organist and choirmaster. It all starts at 11 am. This service features beloved hymns and anthems, along with a selection of poetry and writings by authors, Christina Rossetti, John Milton, T. S. Eliot, Edna St. Vincent Millay, George Herbert and Madeleine L’Engle. Childcare available. Early seating is advised. Free and open to the public – no tickets are required. For further information please call St. John’s at 202-338-1796 or visit our website www.stjohnsgeorgetown.org

G.U. campus notes: Shot Fired; Asst. Not Yet Hired

Georgetown University News the P.R. Dept. Rather You Not Tweat: 

SHOT FIRED; ASST. NOT YET HIRED --

Georgetown student plays with a Park Police pistol; Hoya sophomore wants a Jeeves or Aunt Jemima

Shot Fired in Gym

== The Hilltop campus was buzzing about the kid who allegedly stole a woman's gun during the G.U. basketball program's "Midnight Madness" at McDonough Gymnasium. He fired it in the bathroom; she is a U.S. Park Police officer. Yes, the college student was arrested, and that service pistol is back in the hands of the U.S. Park Police.

See the story in the Washington Post, which also reported -- within the same 24 hours -- on a youth wounded near the Georgia Avenue Safeway and on a man shot and killed in Southeast D.C.

Click here for the Washington Post story.

 Job Listing Irks Hoyas

== This is really not helpful for Georgetown University's image. Its students are not self-absorbed, self-entitled, pampered little princes and princesses.  One student posted an ad on the campus job board, seeking a personal assistant to do wash, make the bed, etc. Hours short; pay, kind of lame. Other students are not liking it, as reported in the campus newspaper, The Georgetown Voice. Blog replies are flying about this one. Click here for the Voice blog.

[We recommend that Charlie Cooper hire Ryan McLendon, the student at New York University, who recently applied for food stamps. As one blogger wrote at the Georgetown Voice site, such a hiring could be a good thing: A "Driving Miss Daisy" epithany might occur.]

Click here for the New York Times piece on the poor NYU student.

BULLETIN BOARD

There will be a super Art Show opening on October 22 titled "Impressions of Ireland 2007-2009" by Nevin Bossart Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center Lobby on the campus of Georgetown University Hospital, entrance at 13800 Reservoir Road, N.W. A reception will be held from 5 to 7:230 with an Irish fiddler and light refreshments.

This show is a retrospective of Mr. Bossart's impressions of the landscapes of Ireland from his travels throughout the island. Twenty percent of all proceeds go to the Arts and Humanities Program at Lombardi.

Visionaries In Our Midst

By Dave Roffman

Sunday, Oct. 18 was a blustery, gray, who cares about the Redskins-Chiefs kind of day. Thus, we found ourselves on upper Connecticut Avenue at the one-of-a-kind bookstore Politics & Prose where author Allison Silberberg was speaking about her new book "Visionaries In Our Midst," published by University Press of America, Inc. Allison is a writer and an advocate who has extensive grant making experience. Her columns have appeared in The Washington Post and The Dallas Morning News, and she has written for PBS.org, politicians and television.

We were drawn to this book signing and talk because Allison featured Georgetown's very own Virginia Luce Allen in her new book. In fact, she devoted an entire chapter to Virginia and the Georgetown Senior Center which she founded. We had to be there.

Allison, in her marvelous book, puts a face on the non-profit sector. Her stories are about people from the D.C. area who have stepped up to do good things to help people with a social need. The stories (18 in all) are lively and full of detail. At its core, the book is about individuals who saw a social need and decided to do something about it...to make something happen. People like Virginia Allen, who back in 1981, started the non-profit Georgetown Senior Center on a shoe-string budget and continues to this day, three days a week at Georgetown's St. John's Episcopal Church, helping seniors from all over D.C. combat loneliness. The Center offers a good hot lunch, exercise, a program consisting of guest speakers, authors, musicians and the like. It is most importantly a place for making friends.

"Visionaries" is an inspiring collection of essays about people with hearts full of grace, people who have made a difference in this city. Ordinary people who are changing our world. It is a book about what is possible when individuals stand up for one another.

Allison Silberberg will be the guest speaker at the Georgetown Senior Center on Monday, Oct. 26. If you would like to attend, her talk will begin at 1 p.m. at St. John's, Potomac and O Streets.

McFarlanes Bestowed 'Spirit of Georgetown 2009'

The Spirit of Georgetown 2009 honored Jonda and Robert "Bud" McFarlane for their community work Oct. 14 at the sparkling Smith Row home of Dr. Tina Alster and Paul Frazer (once owned by author Herman Wouk and just renovated by Hugh Newell Jacobsen). The annual gathering benefits the Georgetown Ministry Center, located at Grace Episcopal Church, 1041 Wisconsin Avenue, which fights homelessness and houses a winter shelter. The center's board members come from 14 local churches.

The McFarlanes were cited for "their tireless commitment to making Georgetown a better place" as well as "a stronger and more welcoming community" since moving to Prospect Street in the late 1980s. Jonda was hailed for her work as president of Francis Scott Key Foundation and the completion and transfer of Francis Scott Key Park on M Street. She also has chaired the local Advisory Neighborhood Commission, worked on the Georgetown Waterfront Commission, which guided the execution of Georgetown Waterfront Park on K Street. Jonda, who has also worked on the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics, thanked the group for the accolades and the floral bouquet, the likes of which she said she had not seen since her wedding. Bud, noting his experience with non-profits, praised the high efficiency and effectiveness of the Georgetown Ministry Center which reaches so many in need.

Photos, from top, left to right: Bud and Jonda McFarlane with Dr. Tina Alster; Tina Alster and Paul Frazer; Jacobsens with Frida Burling; McFarlanes during awards ceremony; Merritt Schatz with Gunther Stern, executive director of the Georgetown Ministry Center; Shannon Pryor and Maral Skelsey.

http://www.georgetownministrycenter.org/GMC/Home.html

Taste of Georgetown: Hmm, Hmm . . . Good Again

The Taste of Georgetown on Oct. 10 attracted residents, foodies and weekenders alike for its 16th annual event that features the hip and historic village's wide range of eateries, worth more than a pasting visit. The thirty plus participants included 1789, Agraria Farmers & Fishers, Bangkok Joe's, Bourbon Steak, Café Bonaparte, Chadwicks, Clyde's, Dixie Liquors, Filomena Ristorante, J. Paul's, Morton's, Neyla, Nick's Riverside Grille, Paolo's and Tony & Joe's. (Wisconsin Avenue between Blues Alley and South Street was closed to traffic for the crowd.)

Scenes from the Taste of Georgetown, coordinated by the Georgetown BID to benefit the Georgetown Ministry Center: Jina Kang and Daniel Giusti, executive chef of 1789 Restaurant; Anne Navin serves the Clyde's winning lobster roll; Clyde's Group's Maureen Hirsch and corporate chef John Guattery with "Best Entree" plaque; Dino of Filomena's keeps the line moving; Neyla's top chef Abdul Hash Housh shouts out "baba ganoush"; Paolo's chef Bill McPartland shows off his flavorful butternut squash pasta.

Seniors Lunch at Filomena's in Honor of Columbus and View "Capitalism"

Filomena's Restaurant was busy on Columbus Day. The Georgetown Senior Center chose the popular Italian restaurant at Wisconsin Avenue at the C&O Canal as its field trip choice for lunch. The charming step-down restaurant was already decorated to the hilt for Halloween (that's Juan Piaciguad of the Georgetown Senior Center with one of the restaurant's decorations) and all the seniors were thrilled by the wonderful cuisine and attentive service. "It was delightful," said Clair Lice Levin. After lunch, the seniors went to the Loew's theaters on K Street to see Michael Moore's "Capitalism: A Love Story." The seniors meet every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at St. John's Episcopal Church Parish Hall for exercise, lunch and a program, and once a month they take a field trip around town. 

= For further information on how to join the non-profit organization for senior citizens, call 202-338-2219 on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Entertainment Notes

Entertainment Notes -- for You

= On Sunday, Oct. 18, 4 p.m.., the Cathedral Choral Society will present the Verdi Requiem at Washington National Cathedral. The performance will include soloists Lise Lindstrom, soprano; Ann McMahon Quintero, mezzo-soprano; John Horton Murray, tenor; and Wayne Tigges, baritone, under the direction of J. Reilly Lewis. Tickets for the concert are priced from $20 to $80 and are available at 202-537-2228 or www.cathedralchoralsociety.org

 

= Bob Dylan is hitting the road this fall in support of a new holiday album, Christmas In The Heart, set for release on Oct. 13.  Dylan will perform live at the Patriot Center on Nov. 11 at 8 p.m. Royalties from the sales of the new album will benefit charitable organizations both in the United States and in the United Kingdom which provide meals to those in need during Christmastime. Through this partnership with Feeding America, The World Food Program and Crisis UK, Dylan will assist in guaranteeing over four million meals being provided to those in need.

 

= On Saturday, Oct. 24,  2 to 4 p.m., there will be a screening of "Sergeant Pepper" at the Goethe-Institut downtown. The kids will love this film. It tells the story of a dog who was named after the Beatles album and inherits his master's fortune. His owner's two children, however, devise a plan to make off with his wealth. A mask-making workshop follows the screening. Ages 6+.   It's all part of the Kids Euro Festival Oct. 15 - Nov. 10. Reservations and more information at www.kidseurofestival.org [German film with English dubbing]

Georgetown Gallery Gaze Launches Friday, Oct. 16

Celebrate Georgetown's art community with an array of artists and artisans at the first monthly art walk

This is the eye on Georgetown artists for all who are in search of more than great retail and dining.   Georgetown's monthly gallery walk -- coined the "Georgetown Gallery Gaze" -- kicks off Oct. 16. It is scheduled every third Friday of the month. The participating gallery owners will be opening their doors with extended hours, from 6 to 9 p.m., welcoming people with art, music, libations and nibbles throughout our historic Washington, D.C., neighborhood.

Fine art, wearable art to adorn, and artful patrons will be there. All are invited to explore the festivities along the cobble-stoned streets of Georgetown, enjoying, appreciating, and socializing with an array of local and visiting artists that each gallery spotlights monthly.

Start the night young by visiting The Lucille and Richard Spagnuolo Gallery at Georgetown University. The Spagnuolo Gallery host exhibitions by professional fine artists in all media and genres of visual art. Next, find yourself at Addison/Ripley Fine Art is one of Washington's foremost contemporary galleries, featuring changing exhibitions of the work of leading area and of internationally recognized artists. The Ralls Collection, known for its red "tube" sculpture by Bret Price, specializes in contemporary photography, painting, works on paper, sculpture, and has over 150 artists in inventory, including Tom Baril, Caio Fonseca, Mira Hecht, Annie Leibovitz and Michael Kenna. Also located on Book Hill, is Susan Calloway Fine Art, which showcases contemporary art by local, regional, and international artists, antique American and European oil paintings, and a careful selection of 17th-19th century prints.

As you wander down Wisconsin Avenue, you'll arrive upon yet another world of art and artisans. A roaring crowd and live music coming from L'Enfant Moderne artists' openings, found tucked away in the alley of P St.  Across the street at Poppy, you may find artist Heidi Hess forging away on her anvil, creating her newest pieces of silver adornment.  Stop by next door at Living Rooms, Art & Antique to see the newest oils by Ron Demetro. See Homayoun Yeroushalmi on Georgetown's main street, Wisconsin Ave NW. There, he will be painting inside or out of his studio, scenes of Washington.

Travel south toward the canal and as one gets closer, they will hear a soft hum of an acoustic guitar.  Through the small passageway from M St. NW, you'll find yourself surrounded by a handful of art galleries.  Along with many well-established and fairly new art spaces, you'll find the Cross Mackenzie Gallery. Rebecca Cross specializes in showing the best of contemporary functional and sculptural ceramic art along with work by local and national painters and photographers. Next door, The Parish Gallery primarily, but not exclusively, represents contemporary visual artists of significance from Africa and the African diaspora.  In selecting art and artists, Parish Gallery exercises high ethical, curatorial and market selection standards, catering to the spirit of social preservation and regeneration in collecting the art.  All of this is found in such an intimate enclave of art and history.

Next stop, Georgetown's very own slice of Europe, Cady's Alley. This cobblestone alley houses high end interior design showrooms, clothing boutiques and some of the most delicious Austrian cuisine at Leopold's. The alley is known for its world-renowned design boutiques and art most notably at Jewelers' Werk Galerie.This jewel of a shop represents contemporary international jewelry artists, often avant-garde, sometimes experimental, along with a collection of well-designed jewelry that is done on a small-production basis by international designers.  Meander down the alley and enter through the back door of L'Eclat De Verre. This unique French frame shop is new to Washington, DC's Georgetown. his is the first store in the States with over 40 in France. L'Eclat de Verre is truly one of a kind creatively  "mating" artwork.  Instead of the traditional white mat board they use paper from around the world. The papers enhance a person's art by pulling out all of the colors, textures, and patterns. L'Eclat de Verre's gallery exhibits the stores own creative works as well as local artists.

== For more information, contact Heidi Hess at 202-290-1377

or Gaze@GeorgetownGalleryGaze.com -- www.GeorgetownGalleryGaze.com

Oktoberfest for Fenty, Oct. 14

Developer "Mr. Deep Pockets" Anthony Lanier (as in "veneer") is throwing a fund-raiser to re-elect D.C Mayor "Slick" Fenty at Lanier's Cady's Alley in Georgetown. Two hundred bucks per person; see below for time.

Upcoming Events in Georgetown

Highly Recommended Events

Ghost Story Tours

Oct. 23, 24, 30 & 31

The Ghost Story Tour of Washington returns for a 9^th year in Lafayette Square! An alternative to the “hack and slash” movies and haunted houses of the season, Ghost Story Tour is an introduction to the Ghosts of old Washington City. Your ghostly costumed guide (which historic ghost can it be???) leads you to the Square where you will meet historic ghosts while hearing the legends of the City’s specters. Who is haunting the Hay Adams Hotel? Find out the answers to this and other questions on this unusual dramatic walk. This year’s production is named in honor of Edgar Allan Poe’s who was born 200 years ago this year and in 1842, had a most unfortunate visit to the City. Can his presence still be felt in Washington? $10 adults, $5 under 16. Meet your costumed, ghostly guide on Vermont Street NW, right in front of the McPherson Square Metro Station exit at Vermont and I (eye)Street NW. The guide will have the lantern and ghost tour sign. No reservations. Rain or shine. The website is www.historicstrolls.com the phone # is 301-588-WALK (9255).

Sat.& Sun., Oct. 24-25

Clyde’s Willow Creek Farm Hosts

Third Annual Fall Festival

Located just 30 miles outside the nation’s capital, Clyde’s Willow Creek Farm will be hosting a two-day outdoor fall festival with live music, a petting zoo and BBQ for friends and family. Featured on the menu are a variety of favorites, including BBQ beef brisket, grilled pork loin sandwiches, hot dogs and bratwurst, grilled chicken and homemade pumpkin cheesecake. This two-day extravaganza is ideal for families as local musicians Kerry McCool, James Stevens and Laurence McKenna enrich the fun. Delicious homemade treats will be available like candied and caramel apples and there will be an apple butter demonstration courtesy of 1789 Restaurant Pastry Chef Travis Olson. The event, from 12 noon to 5 p.m. each day, is open to the public and prices range from $3 to $5 for menu items. Clydes of Willow Creek Farm is located at 42920 Broadlands Boulevard, Broadlands, Virginia.

Saturday, October 17

Family Day at House of Sweden

From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., the friendliest embassy in town will offer

storytelling, movies, games and performances for children ages 4 to

12. Free.

www.houseofsweden.com/

Tuesday, October 20

Georgetown University Community Meeting

Georgetown University's Alliance in Local Living will meet to discuss

community issues with residents and students. 6:30 p.m. at the GUY

Career Center Conference Room in the Leavey Center.

http://offcampus.georgetown.edu/all.html

Thursday, October 22

Citizens Association of Georgetown Monthly Meeting

Controversial school chancellor Michelle Rhee will speak at the

Hyde-Addison Elementary School at 7:30 p.m. The school is at 3219 "O"

Street, N.W.

http://www.cagtown.org/News/1009cagmeeting.html

Georgetown Buzz: Fenty Party; McFarlanes Honored; O Street Biz Squeeze

WHAT'S THE BUZZ IN GEORGETOWN

-- First Week of October --

Fenty '10 to Get Gray 

 The very first campaign signs to appear in Georgetown for the 2010 elections in D.C. were the green and white "Re-elect Fenty" signs in Ward 2 Councilman Jack Evans tree box in front of his home on P Street. Two weeks later, the signs came down. Was our councilman having second thoughts? Did the recent poll conducted by WJLA showing Mayor Fenty's popularity plunging perilously close to rock bottom persuade Evans to tidy up his tree box? Or perhaps it was rumors circulating that Councilman Vincent Gray is, oh, so close to throwing his hat into the mayoral merry-go-round. Thirteen months to go until election time . . .

 

BID Promotes Lanier Party for Fenty

The Georgetown BID public relations crew sent out a notice about an Oktoberfest for Fenty party to be held in Cady's Alley in Georgetown on Oct. 14 -- at $200 per person. Was the Georgetown BID holding a political event? we asked. No, it quickly replied: this is an Anthony Lanier event all the way. Now, wouldn't you think that the EastBanc developer could afford to advertise the event? Say in . . . The Georgetowner . . . the newspaper whose influence far exceeds its size? No, that would probably violate all of Lanier's principles. Pay for advertising? C'mon . . . get outta here. Thank goodness that GT BID is so willing to promote his endeavors, free of charge, gratis . . . danke schon.

 

O Street Office Squeeze, But Workers to Get D.C. Driving Licenses

There's a new office building jammed behind what's left of the 19th-century store at 3214 O Street. Construction of that office building cut away two-thirds of the charming building and added on two stories and a basement extending all the way back through what was a charming garden. Now, there are at least six spiffy offices renting for top dollar, while the one-third of the original building is going for $2,800 per month. The owner is trying to get a permit for the adjoining property at 3212 O Street, where he intends to add a two-story addition with basement and rent out at least six more office spaces. Meanwhile, half of the 3200 block of O Street is unoccupied with "For Lease" signs everywhere. We hear the new office space tenants are getting D.C. driver's licenses, listing the O Street office space as their address, thereby getting a Ward 2 sticker, thereby parking on the street, free, all day, every day. There ought to be a law! Oh, wait a minute, there is.

 

Spirit of Georgetown Benefit Honors the McFarlanes

On Wednesday, October 14, 2009, Georgetown Ministry Center will hold its annual Spirit of Georgetown benefit.  This event is the most important source of support for Georgetown Ministry Center.  We will be honoring Jonda and Robert McFarlane for their contributions to the community.

We are thrilled to announce that Dr. Tina Alster and Paul Frazer have graciously agreed to open their new home to us for this important fundraising event. The home, at N & Potomac streets NW, is the original Smith’s house of the famed Smith row, in the West village.  Built in 1810, it has undergone a complete renovation, which was completed in 2009. Internationally renowned Georgetown resident Hugh Newell Jacobsen served as the architect.  The house will be featured in an upcoming issue of Architectural Digest and is a perfect setting for the Spirit of Georgetown benefit, which is always a festive fall gathering.

Since its founding in 1987, The Georgetown Ministry Center has been a highly effective resource for Georgetown’s homeless population, many of whom have profound mental disabilities. Georgetown Ministry Center’s success stems from its humane approach to finding solutions that range from social service referrals or help obtaining legitimate disability income to temporary shelter and placement in housing.  Georgetown Ministry Center moves people off the streets and into better lives, forging a partnership with Georgetown residents and businesses alike.
 
For more information, visit the www.gmcgt.org , or contact the Georgetown Ministry Center office at spirit@gmcgt.org, 202.338.8301.  We look forward to seeing you at the Spirit of Georgetown on October 14th! 

Georgetown's Old Town Spirit Survives

 

During the 1950s, Georgetown was feeling a resurgence of the old community spirit. The Georgetown Citizens Association and the Progressive Citizens Association were leading the fight to preserve the town's character.

 

When apartment builders threatened invasion during the revival's early days, Georgetonians marshaled such a persuasive case that the District Zoning Commission fixed 40 feet as the maximum height for new structures in residential areas. Next they won their fight to have the town rezoned, so that commercial enterprises were largely confined to Wisconsin Avenue and M Street, or the waterfront district. The biggest feather went into the town's cap with enactment of the "Old Georgetown" legislation restoring the town's identity in 1950.

 

The Progressive Citzens Association is no longer, having merged with CAG, but the work continues to this day. While Georgetown is protected to a great degree, there are many loopholes in our villaqe's historic legislation. Developers and speculators are always seeking ways to cash in on our town's history and charm. The Advisory Neighborhood Commission of Georgetown has joined the CAG as the watchdogs of our community. The Old Georgetown Board and the Fine Arts Commnission are likewise supposed to be keeping the developers and speculators at bay, but it is a constant daily struggle. The last meeting of the ANC 2E was a case in point. Five different zoning issues were being debated. Five projects, some residential, some commercial, were before the ANC commissioners, all asking for permission to build rear two story additions, some with basements as well, most of considerable size.

 

The ANC monthly meetings are a good example of democracy at work. People living side by side in amity and mutual respect suddenly find themselves on opposite ends of an issue such as rear 2 story addition with basement. The architects too are usually local ... so the conversation, debate, and final rulings usually end in a civil tone.

 

Thanks has to go out to CAG's Barbara Zartman, and the ANC's Ed Solomon, Tom Burch and the rest for doing their best in trying to adhere to our Town's long history of vigilence in preserving Georgetown's character as a place of historic interest. Old Georgetown needs more like them.