Thank you Mayor Bowser for your promise to run the streetcar along H St & from Georgetown to east of the river

Tonight in her, State of the District Address, Mayor Muriel Bowser offered her strong commitment to not only getting the streetcar running along H Street and Benning Road, but to completing the promised extensions of the line from East of the River all the way through downtown to Georgetown.

This is excellent news and ensures the continued success and growth of this neighborhood and others around it.  The streetcar will offer needed public transportation options to residents along H Street and in other neighborhoods nearby.  It will help connect communities, bring more residents access to our local small businesses and provide our ever growing community with much needed enhanced transit options.

Please join me in thanking Mayor Bowser for her leadership and her commitment to our community and help her and the streetcar team at DDOT as they work to bring streetcars back to DC!

2nd Annual EMULSION with East City Art at Gallery O on H (1354 H St) kicks off tomorrow

EMULSION—Second Annual East City Art Regional Juried Exhibition

Show features the work of 31 Washington-Baltimore area artists

March 21 – March 28, 2015 at Gallery OonH (1354 H St)

Opening Reception: Saturday, March 21 from 7 to 11 PM – Carolina Mayorga Performs Silent Celebration at 7:45PM; Awards Ceremony 8 PM. The event is FREE and open to the public. RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/emulsion-2015-tickets-15806044304

Closing Event: Saturday, March 28 from 7 to 10 PM – People's Choice Awards Ceremony at 8 PM

Gallery Hours: Sunday, March 22 noon to 4 pm; Tuesday-Friday, March 24-27 6:30 to 9 pm

EMULSION 2015 image courtesy East City Art

An emulsion combines two seemingly incompatible ingredients to produce a third yet entirely new substance.  In this spirit, EMULSION, now in its second year, seeks to show visitors a wide array of art forms and mediums - from two-dimensional work to performance based work - to create a unified ensemble.

East City Art and Phil Hutinet are pleased to announce Gallerist Adah Rose Bitterbaum has selected 31 applicants from the greater Washington-Baltimore region to exhibit at EMULSION. Three cash prizes will be awarded to the first, second and third place contestants on opening night. 

“EMULSION is the region’s premiere showcase for contemporary artists from the Washington-Baltimore metropolitan area,” says EMULSION Producer Phil Hutinet. “The great number of applicants demonstrates the wealth of artistic talent in our region. In our second edition, EMULSION 2015 will display the works of 31 diverse artists, from sculptors to painters to performance artists.”

From opening night through Friday, March 27, the audience will be able to select their favorite artist and vote via text messaging. The votes will be tallied and top two artists will receive the EMULSION People’s Choice Award. Winners will be announced on Saturday March, 28 at the closing.

An open call for entry to all artists residing in the Washington-Baltimore metropolitan area yielded 213 submissions.  Of these, Juror Adah Rose Bitterbaum selected the following 31 artists to exhibit:

Erick Antonio Benitez, Baltimore, MD

Joshua Araujo, Rockville, MD
Chris Bohner, Washington, DC
Bobby Coleman, Baltimore, MD
Rita Elsner, Washington, DC
Elissa Farrow-Savos, Sterling, VA
Roxana Alger Geffen, Washington, DC
Jay Hendrick, Fairfax, VA
Leslie Holt, Hyattsville, MD
Elizabeth Holtry, Frederick, MD
Ways R. Jones, Brentwood, MD
Jaime (Jimyung) Kim, Baltimore, MD
Chee Keong Kung, McLean, VA
Kyujin Lee, Washington, DC
Ruth Lozner, Bethesda, MD
Carolina Mayorga, Washington, DC
Bruce McKaig, Washington, DC
Anthony Palliparambil, Jr., Bowie, MD
John Paradiso, Brentwood, MD
Pam Rogers, Washington, DC
Rahshia Sawyer, Sterling, VA
Anne Smith, Arlington, VA
Casey Snyder, Gaithersburg, MD
Scott Speck, Pasadena, MD
Marsha Staiger, Alexandria, VA
Sidney Thomas, Washington, DC
Patricia Underwood, Castleton, VA
Alice Whealin, Arlington, VA
Amy Wike, Washington, DC
Andrew Wodzianski, Washington, DC
Andrew Wohl, Bethesda, MD

Plant trees with free ones from Pepco, discounts from Casey Trees, & free street trees from DDOT's UFA

See below for information on free, small trees that are available for planting in your yard. 

If you're interested in planting a tree, you can also work with Casey Trees who will provide up to $100 rebates towards the cost or can plant one for you for $50.  Either of the options that Casey Trees offers would allow the planting of a larger tree. 

If you have an empty tree box in the sidewalk near you that needs a tree, please request one through 311 and DDOT's Urban Forestry Administration will plant one there next year. 

If you plant a new tree or have DC do so, remember that new trees need regular watering -- Casey Trees and DDOT UFA recommend 25 gallons per week during summer for the first 2-3 years. 

Thanks,

Phil Toomajian

Chair, Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6A

facebook.com/Phil4ANC

PhilANC6A @gmail.com

---------- Forwarded message ----------

Pepco Providing 1,500 Free Trees to Maryland and D.C. Customers;

Trees Offered are Lightly Branched and 2-4 Feet Tall
Fifth Year of Partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation

Washington, D.C. — Pepco is providing 1,500 free trees to customers in Maryland and the District of Columbia through the Energy-Saving Trees program. It’s the fifth year of the Pepco-Arbor Day Foundation partnership that provides two trees per household while supplies last. This year, the free trees are more developed as they’re lightly branched and 2 to 4 feet in height. The Energy-Saving Trees program helps customers conserve energy and reduces household electricity bills through strategic tree planting.  Pepco customers can reserve up to two free trees by visiting www.arborday.org/pepco or by calling 1-855-670-2771. The types of trees offered are Eastern redbud, Crapemyrtle, Northern red oak, red maple and river birch, which will be delivered directly to the customer at an ideal time for planting.
“Our Energy-Saving Trees program is another way that Pepco is committed to helping our customers continue to conserve energy as well as improve the environment,” said Donna Cooper, Pepco region president. “By strategically planting the right trees in the right places, we help maintain a balance between the aesthetics of the tree canopy and the reliability of the electric distribution system while also offering our customers energy reductions.”
An online tool can help Pepco customers find the most strategic location for planting and estimate the annual savings that will result from the tree. The Energy-Saving Trees online tool was created by the Arbor Day Foundation and the Davey Institute, a division of the Davey Tree Expert Co., and uses peer-reviewed scientific research from the USDA Forest Service’s i-Tree Software to calculate estimated benefits. This tool requires an up-to-date internet browser. If customers experience an issue, we ask them to please call (855) 670-2771, for help.
For more information and updates, visit www.pepco.com, follow us on Facebook and Twitter at PepcoConnect, and download our mobile app at www.pepco.com/mobileapp.  

H Street Runners Club resumes Tuesday, March 24 with run & happy hour at Big Board (421 H St)

H Street Runners Spring Fun Run and Happy Hour on Tuesday March 24th

After a bit of hiatus, H Street Runners is up and running again! And just in time for spring! Join as we re-launch this neighborhood running club next Tuesday evening, March 24th at 6:30 pm. Meet at the corner of 5th and H Street, NE, outside of The Big Board, for an easy run (~3 miles) up along the Metropolitan Branch Trail and back. Happy Hour at The Big Board (upstairs) starting at about 7:00 pm (after the run). RSVPs encouraged.  

EVENT FACE BOOK PAGE: https://www.facebook.com/events/1633022136921094/

H STREET RUNNERS PAGE:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/hstreetrunners/

Star & Shamrock (1341 H St) celebrates St. Patrick's Day tonight and all day tomorrow

A spring of fun events at Star and Shamrock (1341 H St) continues tonight and tomorrow with Irish/St. Patrick’s Day themed trivia by Trivia Kings at 8pm, and a reprise of the bar’s $5 Irish Mule Punch and $5 Murphy’s Irish Red specials.

The extended celebration ends tomorrow with the deli/tavern’s St Patrick's Day celebration. Always an H Street holiday hotspot, this year’s events will build on Star and Shamrock’s St. Patrick’s Day party tradition of an 8 am start time, with an all-day array of bar and menu specials including a classic house-cured Corned Beef and Cabbage platter, a wide selection of Irish Whiskeys, and live music by Klezcentricity.

Happy St. Paddy's Day!

East Side Yoga now open at 518 10th St NE

East Side Yoga recently opened just south of H Street at 518 10th St NE.  It comes to the neighborhood from Alia Khan and is located near the corner of 10th and Maryland NE -- directly above 10th Street Auto. 

Alia explains that "We are not a typical yoga studio in many ways, from our space's design to our teaching philosophy, and we are the first studio of this caliber to come to the east side of town.  We hope to build a strong community around the studio by reaching out to all of our neighbors here in NE." 

Our Design - We put a lot of work into making this a one-of-a-kind space, and not just for a yoga studio. Using locally-sourced material, my contractor custom-built furniture, fixtures, and finishes that really set our space apart from any other. I call my design "Farmhouse-Spa-Chic." Our students have found that the investment we've put into our space has made their experience at the studio much more enjoyable, and a number of them have already told me this is the most beautiful yoga studio they've ever been to. 

 

Anti-Fluff Yoga - Let’s face it - yoga culture in US can be a little…out there. We get it, and to be honest, we’re not really into the “hippie-dippie” style of teaching ourselves. (Chalk it up to my being a recovering attorney.) When we discuss philosophical & spiritual principles, we do so using modern-day language and anecdotes that you will be able to relate to you in your everyday life simply by virtue of living in today’s world. So rather than offering vague instructions like “become one with the earth and the light and the universe,” we’ll talk about things like practicing patience & compassion the next time you’re jostled on the Metro platform.

East Side Yoga

518 10th St. NE

www.EastSideYogaDC.com

Facebook.com/EastSideYogaDC

@EastSideYogaDC

 

Celebrate Ethiopic's 5th anniversary with special menu to benefit charitable cause on Sunday

Unprecedented dining experience for a cause to celebrate Ethiopic's 5^th year anniversary

 

On Sunday March 15, Ethiopic is celebrating their 5th Anniversary, by offering an exotic Ethiopian food that you can rarely find at any Ethiopian restaurants.

 

They will offer lentil Sambusa and kategna (toasted pieces of injera coated with berbere)-red pepper spice, spiced butter/oil) as an appetizer. The exotic platter will consist of charred chicken liver, gored gored (spiced cubed raw beef), dulet (a stew of spiced beef, liver and lamb tripe),  milasna sember (beef tripe and tongue) and finally gomen besiga ( mixture of greens and beef).

 

They will also have a vegetarian/vegan platter that will consist of over 15 different items. The exotic platter will go for $50 and vegetarian platter will go for $40 and we will donate 50% from each platter to Ethiopia Reads the next day.

 

Congrats to Meseret and Sam -- two wonderful H Street residents, owners of DC's best Ethiopian restaurant, the reason there's a bakery on H Street and two of the nicest people around! 

3rd Annual Bel'le Dinner w/ Erik Bruner-Yang, Aaron Silverman & John Copeland 3/11 at Toki Underground

Each year, Toki Underground hosts a dinner honoring the memory of one of its former chefs Thang Le.  We highly recommend it.  Details below:

THIRD ANNUAL BEL'LE DINNER

ERIK BRUNER-YANG x AARON SILVERMAN x JOHN COPELAND

Toki Underground, 1234 H Street NE, Washington, DC 

Please join us on Wednesday, March 11, 2015 for the third annual Bel'le Dinner in loving memory of chef Thang Le. Chefs Erik Bruner-Yang, Aaron Silverman of Rose's Luxury, and John Copeland of Ghibellina will prepare a 4-course dinner at $50 per person. A portion of the proceeds will go to benefit To Write Love On Her Arms (TWLOHA). Space is limited and reservations are required. Please email neil@tokiunderground.com for reservations.

Third Annual Bel'le Dinner

In Memory of Thang Le

Benefitting To Write Love On Her Arms

http://twloha.com

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

4-Course Dinner, $50

Beverage Pairing Optional

For Reservations: neil@tokiunderground.com 

March 3 Open House celebrates new arts wing at Capitol Hill Cluster's Stuart-Hobson Middle School (410 E St NE)

The long running construction adding a new arts wing to Stuart Hobson Middle School (410 E St NE) -- the 6-8 component of the Capitol Hill Cluster School -- is coming to an end.  It seems like years since the construction along 4th Street extending the building to the north started, so it's great to see it finally producing a space that can be well-used.  Stop by  on Wednesday, between 4 and 7 to see the space and enjoy music, drama and other art. 

Stuart Hobson is the neighborhood middle school for most of the north side of Capitol Hill, including most of the homes between Florida Ave, 12th Street, and East Capitol.  Local elementary schools Peabody, Watkins, Ludlow-Taylor, and J.O. Wilson all feed into Stuart-Hobson.