WOW! Summer Special

Montgomery County Juneteenth Celebration. Saturday, June 17, noon to 10 p.m. BlackRock Center for the Arts, 12901 Town Commons Dr., Germantown, MD. For more information, visit blackrockcenter.org/ Juneteenth.

Locks Road. juneteenthscotland.org.

Montgomery County Juneteenth Celebration. Saturday, June 17, noon to 10 p.m. BlackRock Center for the Arts, 12901 Town Commons Dr., Germantown, MD. For more information, visit blackrockcenter.org/Juneteenth.

Light in the Darkness: When Monuments Attack. Wednesday, June 21, 7 p.m. The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture and The Washington National Cathedral will host a discussion exploring the politics of memory and how questions and debates about memorials and monuments help to understand the past and present around matters of race, community, identity, and nation. National Museum of African American History and Culture, 1499 Constitution Ave. NW. nmaahc.si.edu. u

Things are hopping in Shaw this summer. Mexico meets Japan as Haikan, 805 V St. NW, melding its signature ramen noodles with South-of-the-Border tacos. All summer long, chef/owner Katusya Fukushima is showcasing these cross-cultural creations to honor Japanese immigrants who arrived in Mexico in the 1930s. Many of these newcomers opened restaurants in their new country.

On a glorious Sunday afternoon, we explored Haikan’s new menu. e extensive drink lineup has myriad tequila cocktails, Japanese whisky, beer, wine and sake. But we just had to taste the prickly pear Margarita. Called “tuna” in Spanish, prickly pears are the fruit of a owering plant in the cactus family. e resulting drink—sans spines--was refreshingly tangy.

From Señor Fukushima’s “small plates” listing, the grilled avocado tasted as good as it looked. e dainty avocado half is anointed with queso fresco, cilantro and ponzu, with a spritzing of what tasted like soy sauce. I consumed the attractive dish with a