by Peggy Robin
Saturday, April 20, 2024
Still Life with Robin: The Problem with Porch Pirates
Thursday, April 18, 2024
Get Out! Earthy Takoma Park Is the Place to Celebrate EARTH DAY!
by Peggy Robin
The original Earth Day was declared (back in 1970) to fall on April 22 but that's a work day for most of us....and it's also the first night of Passover for a lot of us. Saturday is going to be a gloriously beautiful day, and that makes it a great day to celebrate Earth Day. And what better place than progressive, organic, solar-loving, hippy-dippy Takoma Park? And it's FREE.
What: Takoma Park Earth Day Celebration!
When: Saturday, April 20 · 10am - 2pm EDT
Where: Sligo Creek Stream Valley Park Playground, 8101 Sligo Creek Pkwy
Why: Because there is no Planet B.
In honor of Earth Month, the City of Takoma Park will host a celebration in the Sligo Creek Stream Valley Park! This event will feature 20+ exhibitors from both city departments and local environmental partners and will offer a variety of activities including free snow cones, face painting, art activities, energy efficiency prizes, and educational materials about sustainability programs for the whole family!
Come check out the EV showcase, attend a guided tree walk, and learn about the various environmental involvement opportunities in our community.
Rain date is Sunday, April 21st.
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The "Get Out" event of the week is posted on the Cleveland Park Listserv and on All Life Is Local on Thursdays.
Saturday, April 13, 2024
Still Life with Robin: More News Is Good News
by Peggy Robin
Thursday, April 11, 2024
Get Out! Japanese Street Festival, April 13-14 - Final Weekend of the Cherry Blossom Festival 2024
by Peggy Robin
Over two days, Sakura Matsuri – Japanese Street Festival brings Japan into the heart of the Nation’s Capitol. Stretching from 3rd to 7th streets NW on Pennsylvania Ave at the base of Capitol Hill, the festival features over 24 hours of Japanese cultural performances, authentic Japanese food and beverages, handmade Japanese crafts, and so much more.
Japan-America Society of Washington DC’s Sakura Matsuri – Japanese Street Festival, along with our National Japan Bowl Japanese Language Competition, celebrate the cherry trees that Japan gifted to the United States over 110 years ago, and which have come to define springtime in the Nation’s Capitol. We are proud to join this cooperative effort alongside the Embassy of Japan, the Government of the District of Columbia, the National Park Service, the National Cherry Blossom Festival, Inc., National Conference of State Societies, and many other dedicated partner organizations. The Sakura Matsuri is proud to participate in the National Cherry Blossom Festival as a Premier Event.
Matsuri Pro-Tips
- If attending Saturday, Try to arrive before noon or after three o’clock to avoid the post-Parade rush and potentially longer lines at the entrance gates. Buy your tickets online in advance for fastest entry.
- If you plan to have lunch in the Taste of Japan area, grab your food early! Lines from noon to 3 can be long.There will also be a wide range of Japanese snacks available at the Matsuri Markets. You are welcome to bring food and non-alcoholic beverages into the Matsuri.
- If you plan to watch performances, some seating will be available, but feel free to also bring a packable chair.
One-day admission to the Sakura Matsuri for either Saturday or Sunday - you decide. $15.00 Booking Fee: $0.60
Two Day Ticket - Advanced (available April 1 through 12) Admission to both days of the Sakura Matsuri - Japanese Street Festival! $25.00 Booking Fee: $1.00
Saturday, April 6, 2024
Still Life with Robin: Meet You at the Quill & Crumb...on Midsummer Night
by Peggy Robin
- Peaseblossom
- Gooseberry
- Hathaway’s
- Prologue
- Quill & Crumb
Folger Shakespeare Library: Painting of an Elizabethan feast (Sorry, not much of this will be on the menu at the Quill & Crumb Cafe!) |
Thursday, April 4, 2024
Get Out! Party on the Cleveland Park Promenade on Saturday, April 6, 4-6pm
by Peggy Robin
- A giant thank you card for residents to sign for the construction workers
- Live music
- BYO Lawn Chairs
- Happy hour specials hosted by restaurants along the Promenade:
- Additional delightful vendors and guests to be announced in the coming weeks
- Performances by Flamenco4Kids and School of Rock, and Foundation Fitness
Monday, April 1, 2024
Groundbreaking announcement: NPS reaches agreement with Gov. Youngkin to move Stumpy to Alexandria
Today, April 1, 2024 Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, in a surprise early morning announcement, disclosed that he had brokered a deal with the National Park Service (NPS) to acquire and transplant the iconic little cherry tree known as "Stumpy."
In mid-March of this year, NPS unveiled plans to remove 159 cherry trees -- including Stumpy -- from the portion of the Tidal Basin where the sea wall needs to be rebuilt to control flooding. All the impacted trees were slated to be mulched, but NPS arborists had promised the public to take cuttings from Stumpy to be used to propagate multiple
Stumpy clones.
Governor Youngkin's last-minute intervention to save Stumpy was a stunner. From the governor's announcement:
The governor's plan included a proposed site for the tree's replanting -- a portion of the site in the Potomac Yard section of Alexandria formerly chosen to be the site of the Monumental Arena, before the collapse of the governor's plan for Virginia to acquire the Washington Capitals hockey team and the Wizards basketball team.
According to the governor's message: "The DC Tidal Basin is no longer adequate for the needs of all the tourists who come from all over America to enjoy Stumpy in expectation of safety and convenience. There's hardly any parking, virtually no services. The entire road system around the Tidal Basin is bumper-to-bumper at peak season. I am proud to say that Virginia will lead the way out of this mess."
The governor's plan calls for Stumpy to become the centerpiece of a new broad plaza, with high-rise parking garages on both the north and south ends. The project is to be seeded with state tax dollars initially, with a contract going to the best bid for construction and management of the parking garages. Based on an anticipated parking fee of $30/hour, Stumpy Plaza is projected to produce earnings to turn the development into a profitable venture for both the developer and the state of Virginia, in record time.
Economic stimulus packages for shops and other attractions on all sides of Stumpy Plaza will make the entire area into a booming and attractive business district, according to the plan.
There are, however, some significant logistical and technological problems that must be solved before the plan can be put into effect. The first big hurdle is to find a way to keep the aged, hollowed-out cherry tree from dying a natural death at the end of a long life. The transplant project is dependent on finding a way to preserve Stumpy in its present form.
A new and experimental preservation process is the key. Once the bloom is over, Stumpy will be moved, roots and all, to a new, state-of-the-art plant biology lab in Virginia's "Research Triangle." There, all the leaves will be removed, and the trunk and all the branches will be completely coated with a polymer preservative, which will "freeze" the entire tree into a permanent state of stasis. Samples of blossoms taken from the tree when it was in full bloom will then be processed by an AI program, and 3D models of the blossoms will be generated. From these models a 3D printer will turn out thousands of blossoms so lifelike, they will be completely indistinguishable from the natural samples on which they are based.
The computer-printed 3D blossoms will then be reattached by hand to the polymer-protected branches, resulting in a regenerated Stumpy in full and magnificent bloom -- and engineered to keep it looking that way in every season of the year, in perpetuity.
A Virginia state contract to carry out the permanent preservation of Stumpy has already been awarded to a Research Triangle bio-engineering startup called ArborTech, whose 24-year-old CEO, Charles ("Chip”) Greenbaum-Ling could not be reached for comment.
Governor Youngkin's statement concluded with this reflection: "We may not have come away with the sports teams we hoped to bring to our state, but we will end up with something even more iconic – an enduring symbol of the can-do spirit that seems to have gone out of style in bureaucratic Washington today. We may not have Monumental, but we will have Stumpy, a Monument that we all have come to love -- and as we all know, Virginia is for lovers!"
The National Park Service did not make a spokesperson available for an interview but issued its own statement, which you can read at this link: https://bit.ly/NPSpress04-01-24
Saturday, March 30, 2024
Still Life with Robin: Flyover Spring Flowers
by Peggy Robin
Friday, March 29, 2024
Get Out! It's the Blossom Kite Festival on Saturday, March 30 on the Washington Monument Grounds
Blossom Kite Festival - FREE In-Person Event
Date and time: Saturday, March 30 · 10am - 4pm
Rain Date: March 31, 2024 10am - 4pm
Location: Washington Monument Grounds