Celebrate the founding of Quebec City this Tuesday at the Embassy of Canada. There will be free hot dogs, hamburgers, soda, beer and poutine–a Canadian dish that consists of fries topped with cheese with gravy. Spike Mendelsohn from Top Chef will be at the celebration, along with musician Lennie Gallant and special guest Michelle Campagne.
My Canadian friend tells me the embassy is pretty awesome, and it has a waterfall (not flowing with maple syrup, sadly). RSVP for the free Canadian party here by June 30.
The celebration will go from 11:30 to 2:30 at the embassy, located on 501 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20001.
So of course all of you are going to be heading to AFF’s June happy hour at Rocket Bar on Thursday to mingle with your fellow AFF-ers, bask in The Cult of Gene Healy and enjoy the establishment’s myriad shuffleboards, pool tables and ski-ball lanes (I’m scheduled for an Ultimate Ski-Ball Showdown with J.P. Friere, but after that I welcome any other challengers. Yep. Throwing down the gauntlet. I spent many a formative Saturday at Chuck E. Cheese, baby). But for those rare creatures who work downtown and actually get off work at 5 p.m., this begs the question: What do to between leaving the office and heading to the AFF shindig at six? Never fear! Washington Post’s Express, in conjunction with Lindy Promotions and Miller Lite, is hosting a “Summer Luau Happy Hour” at the Greene Turtle, just down the street from Rocket Bar (601 F St NW). Early birds can enjoy $1.50 Miller Lites, $4 Cuervo margaritas and 1/2-price appetizers, plus free giveaways from Miller, Express and Lindy Promotions. So do a little pre-AFF-drinking drinking at the Greene Turtle—it’ll grease up your ski-ball arm, I swear. Or maybe I’m just trying lessen my competition’s hand-eye coordination. Either way—$1.50 beers. You can’t beat that.
On Sunday, June 22, Polichicks (motto: just enough to get by at a cocktail party) hosted their first event, at the Saks Fifth Avenue Chanel (co-opting most of the surrounding cosmetics department). Champagne flowed, makeovers were had, and I did hear some political chat. Organizer Meghan Cosby’s very worthy goal is to provide women-centric spaces for political discussion that complement the more traditionally male-oriented golf outing. What’s the next event? “I think a cocktail party.”
Maybe you read about this event in the Washington Post, or Politico…maybe you’re friends with one of the 25 eligible bachelors and bachelorettes who are being auctioned…or maybe you’re just plugged into the foreign policy world and know that tonight’s event at City Tavern Club, hosted by the Young Professionals in Foreign Policy, is THE event to be at this evening in Georgetown.
From 8:30-2, DC’s bright young things in foreign policy (and other related fields) will dance to the dulcet tones of Sick Feed lead singer Tom Snedeker while bidding on lunches with foreign policy experts and hot dates with future foreign policy experts and other eligible young Washingtonians.
Purchase tickets here by 5:00 pm for $35 tickets…otherwise, it’s $40 at the door. I’ll be there as an emcee for the auction, and AFF folks like Nicki Kurokawa will be up for auction, so save your pennies and come out!
The social event of the summer season is this Saturday! DC socialite Andrea Rodgers brings us the 5th annual Courage Cup match, where at risk urban youth in the Work to Ride program play along with professional polo players and celebrities. The “Gavels and Mallets” is the event to watch, where DC law firms throw their people on segways to combat in a polo charity challenge. I can’t wait! Also there will be lots of hats. 11am-5pm at the Great Meadow Polo Club in The Plains, VA (you know, where Gold Cup rocks out). There are only a few tickets left so act fast!
La Maison Française will host la Fête de la Musique this Saturday, June 21, beginning at 5 pm. With its origin in France, la fête de la musique is now celebrated worldwide to mark summer solstice (the official beginning of summer and the most daylight hours of any day of the year!). In France, la fête de la musique is one of the only nights of the year where no noise restriction is in effect, meaning musicians can play all night long. Sadly, the DC version culminates at midnight, but the Embassy promises to squeeze in more than 30 bands before the clock strikes 12.
Beer, wine, champagne, barbeque, sweets and coffee will be available for purchase. Admission is $5 in advance, $10 at the door (kids under 12 get in free). Advance tickets available via Instant Seats. For directions/more info visit La Maison Française site. Can’t make it Saturday? The Alliance Française de Washington is hosting it’s own Fête de la Musique celebration Friday night.
In the ever-expanding repertoire of Washington Planner posts about Things You Can Do While Drinking—you’re not a lush if you’re drinking while networking, drinking for charity, drinking while debating Important Political Issues, or drinking while being culturally enlightened—here’s another suggestion: imbibe while supporting local comedians. The inimitable Solly’s Tavern hosts a free comedy night the first and third Tuesday of every month. Tonight’s show features Mike Way, Kojo Mante, Jake Young, Eli Sairs, Travis Irvine (who — fun fact — ran for mayor of his hometown of Bexley, Ohio, on an anti-city-eminent-domain platform) and Keith Irvin.
9 p.m, Solly’s Tavern, 11th & U NW
Jazz, art, food and wine—the Sculpture Garden has it all.
Brazilian jazz band Origem will be performing this Friday at the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden in front of the Pavilion Café. The free concert goes from 5:00 to 8:30 p.m.
You can order a picnic basket online (not free, alas!) stuffed with fruit, cheese, bread and wine to enjoy during the concert.
Can’t make it this Friday? No worries, the concert series is going on through Oct. 3. Check the website for the full jazz schedule.
More info here: http://www.jazzinthegarden.com/
Need more Steve Carell in your life? The Young Benefactors think so.
The Young Benefactors of the Smithsonian Institution are holding an advanced screening of Carell’s new flick, Get Smart. The movie chronicles the misadventures of bumbling detective Maxwell Smart (Carell, obviously) and his lethal partner, Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway). You can see this comedy before it opens to the general public and support the Smithsonian simultaneously—what’s not to love? The screening is June 17 at 7 p.m. in Regal Gallery Place Stadium 14 (701 7th Street–Chinatown/Gallery Place metro stop). Tickets are $15 for non-YB members and $12 for members.
