The Georgetowner April 18, 2018 Issue

SINCE 1954

GEORGETOWNER.COM

VOLUME 64 NUMBER 14

APRIL 18 - MAY 1, 2018

TH E V IL L A GE :

The French Are Coming IN C OU N T RY :

Georgetown HOUSE TOUR THE DINNER PARTY IS BACK!

Salamander Savvy

Amy and Vin Roberti

plus

MARCEL‘S REBIRTH: ROBERT WIEDMAIER MEN’S FASHION SPRING GALAS HEAT UP

IN THIS ISSUE IN THIS ISSUE

NEWS · 4-6,9 Up & Coming Town Topics Community Calendar The Village

EDITORIAL/OPINION · 8 Editorials Jack Evans Report

BUSINESS · 10-11 Ins & Outs Feature: Kiersten Todt

REAL ESTATE · 11

ON THE COVER Amy and Vin Roberti are on the main floor of their Dumbarton Street home, ready for entertaining and ready to be on the 2018 Georgetown House Tour. Photo by architectural photographer Gordon Beall, who has captured interiors internationally for more than 30 years.

WHAT’S ONLINE

Featured Property Commercial Property

COVER STORY· 12-13 Georgetown House Tour

HAUTE & COOL: Off to the Races!

BY AL LYSON BU R KHARDT

DOWNTOWNER · 14 ANTIQUES ADDICT · 14 FOOD & WINE · 16 Dining Guide Chatting With Chefs: Robert Wiedmaier

Isabel Leonard: WNO’s Rosina

BY GARY TISC H L E R

ARTS · 17 Sally Mann at NGA

INCOUNTRY · 18-19 Salamander Savvy

PUBLISHER Sonya Bernhardt

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Robert Devaney

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Charlene Louis

COPY EDITOR Richard Selden

FEATURES EDITORS Ari Post Gary Tischler CREATIVE DIRECTOR Aidah Fontenot FASHION & BEAUTY DIRECTOR Lauretta McCoy GRAPHIC DESIGN Angie Myers PHOTOGRAPHERS Philip Bermingham Jeff Malet Neshan Naltchayan Patrick G. Ryan ADVERTISING Evelyn Keyes Richard Selden Kelly Sullivan

SENIOR CORRESPONDENT Peggy Sands CONTRIBUTORS Mary Bird Allyson Burkhardt Evan Caplan Jack Evans Donna Evers Michelle Galler Stephanie Green Amos Gelb Wally Greeves Kitty Kelley Rebekah Kelley Selma Khenissi Jody Kurash Travis Mitchell Shelia Moses Stacy Murphy Kate Oczypok Linda Roth Alison Schafer

1050 30th Street, NW Washington, DC 20007 Phone: (202) 338-4833 Fax: (202) 338-4834 www.georgetowner.com The Georgetowner is published every other Wednesday. The opinions of our writers and columnists do not necessarily reflect the editorial and corporate opinions of The Georgetowner newspaper. The Georgetowner accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs and assumes no liability for products or services advertised herein. The Georgetowner reserves the right to edit, rewrite or refuse material and is not responsible for errors or omissions. Copyright 2018.

Please send submissions of opinions for consideration to: editorial@georgetowner.com For advertising inquiries email advertising@georgetowner.com or call (202) 338-4833

“The Newspaper Whose Influence Far Exceeds Its Size” — Pierre Cardin

HAUTE & COOL · 20 BODY & SOUL· 20 BOOK CLUB· 22 GOOD WORKS & GOOD TIMES · 23 Social Scene Events Gala Guide

2

APRIL 18, 2018

GMG, INC.

Photo of the Week

To submit your photos tag #thegeorgetowner on Instagram!

Car parked on sidewalk at the corner of 30th and M on April 17, Tax Day. Its back window displayed a Lyft decal. Photo

by Chesley Wiseman.

The Georgetowner is a Certified Business Enterprise

Please recycle.

YOUR NUMBER-ONE SOURCE FOR EVERYTHING GEORGETOWN

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER

GEORGETOWNER.COM

Long & Foster | Christie’s is proud to be a Platinum Sponsor of the Georgetown House Tour 2018

50 Years of Iconic Neighborhoods Built on half a century of excellence. Bringing you the best in luxury homes.

Find your way home at LongandFoster.com Long & Foster | Christie’s International Real Estate Georgetown Office 202.944.8400

GMG, INC.

APRIL 18, 2018

3

UP & COMING

FOR FULL LISTING OF EVENTS OR TO LIST YOUR EVENT, VISIT GEORGETOWNER.COM/CALENDAR

Events Calendar APRIL 19 TO 29

APRIL 22

APRIL 27

D.C’s 32nd annual international film festival will screen 80 films from 45 countries over 11 days at AMC Mazza Gallerie, 3500 Wisconsin Ave. NW; Landmark’s E Street Cinema, 555 11th St. NW; the National Gallery of Art; and the Embassy of France. Tickets for most films are $14 ($10 for students); there are also fourticket and 10-ticket packages. For details, visit filmfestdc.org.

During Garden Week, the National Sporting Museum & Library will pay homage to Bunny Mellon, whose legacy lives on at the Oak Spring Foundation and in the White House Rose Garden. Meryl Gordon will speak about Mellon’s life, especially in and around Middleburg, as presented in her book “Bunny Mellon: The Life of an American Style Icon.”

Admission is $10. To register, contact Anne Marie Barnes at abarnes@nationalsporting. org or 540-687-6542, ext. 25. 102 The Plains Road, Middleburg, Virginia.

The Russian Chamber Art Society presents an evening of Old Russian, Gypsy (Romani) and folk songs of passion, longing and love. Mezzosoprano Susana Poretsky, bass Grigory Soloviov, pianist Vera Danchenko-Stern, guitarist Anna Kusner and the Russian Trio of domra, bayan and contrabass balalaika will perform. Tickets, including a post-concert reception, are $55. For details, visit thercas.com. Embassy of France, 4101 Reservoir Road NW.

FILMFEST DC

APRIL 21

CHORAL ARTS: ‘AFTER SPRING SUNSET’ Artistic Director Scott Tucker and the Choral Arts Chamber Singers will perform music inspired by nature, including works by Benjamin Britten, Peter Schickele, R. Murray Schafer and Ralph Vaughan Williams. The concert celebrates the hope, peace and renewal that come with the spring season. Tickets are $30. For details, visit epiphanydc.org. Church of the Epiphany, 1317 G St. NW.

MERYL GORDON ON BUNNY MELLON

APRIL 25

SMITHSONIAN CRAFT SHOW PREVIEW NIGHT The Smithsonian Women’s Committee presents the 36th annual Smithsonian Craft Show, “Asian Influence/American Design,” featuring 120 leading American artists. For the first time, the show will highlight Asian cultural influence on American crafts. Preview Night tickets are $250. Daily tickets on April 26, 27, 28 and 29, are $20 ($17 in advance).

For details, visit smithsoniancraftshow.org.

National Building Museum, 401 F St. NW.

RUSSIAN SONGS: ‘THE RESTLESS HEART’

MAY 3

MAY 6

The Warner presents a restaged performance of “Lazy” from burlesque superheroine Dita Von Teese’s residency at Crazy Horse Paris, including new Swarovski-sponsored costuming by British designer Jenny Packham and a revitalization of the Cowgirl Act including Von Teese’s sexy new male “Vontourage.” Tickets start at $33. For details, visit warnertheatredc.com. 513 13th St. NW.

This nonprofit cooperative in a historic Georgetown school houses more than 40 artists and photographers. At the spring open studios event, the public can chat with them and view and purchase their work. Admission is free. For details, visit jacksonartcenter.com.

3050 R St. NW.

DITA VON TEESE AT THE WARNER

JACKSON ART CENTER OPEN STUDIOS

CULTURAL LEADERSHIP BREAKFAST

with Scott Tucker, Artistic Director Choral Arts Society of Washington

THURSDAY, MAY 3

Sponsored by

8-9:30AM GEORGE TOWN CLUB 1530 WISCONSIN AVE NW $25 ($20 for George Town Club Members) RSVP: Richard@georgetowner.com

In 2012, after serving as Cornell University’s director of choral music for 17 years, Scott Tucker became the second artistic director of the Choral Arts Society of Washington, one of the top five American choruses by annual budget. He will talk about how he is carrying on the legacy of founder Norman Scribner while moving Choral Arts in new directions.

Photo by Joe Tresh.

4

APRIL 18, 2018

GMG, INC.

TOWN TOPICS

NEWS

BY P EG GY S A N D S A N D RO B E R T D E VA N E Y

2018

Montrose Park: Georgetown’s Cinderella?

Georgetown is fortunate to have a variety of well-used parks with active support groups, often called “Friends of Fill-in-the-blank Park.” The neighborhood’s green spaces — increasingly popular with residents of all ages and their dogs — include Rose Park on the east side and Volta Park on the west, the Waterfront Park on the south, Glover Archbold Park to the northwest and Montrose Park to the north.

Each park is known for its special features: Volta for its pool and children’s activity center; Rose for its new two-part playground, biking area and farmer’s market; Glover Archbald for its baseball games and woodland trails; and Montrose for its expansive garden terraces next to the historic Dumbarton Oaks estate and gardens.

But Montrose also seems to be the Cinderella among them.

“The maintenance of Montrose park is marginal,” Marilyn Worseldine emailed The Georgetowner recently. “Gates don’t work. The brick work is falling apart at the entrance. The 2 tennis courts are cracked and rarely used.

The chain link fence has deteriorated over time. Falling trees have smashed a few. And the sandbox where my children used to play every day now I’ve noticed the box has become earth.”

Worseldine didn’t think that sand had been delivered there for years.

“Montrose neighbors for years have longed for a new tennis court next to the charming but failing gazebo. But when it was clear it might be over $250,000 to replace ...”

Georgetown The

HOUSE TOUR

PRESENTED BY ST. JOHN’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH

Montrose Park tennis court. Photo by Peggy Sands.

Well, there’s news to report. The Cinderella Park is indeed getting some new clothes, according to Monica Roache, the advisory neighborhood commissioner representing the Montrose Park area.

“The realignment and complete refurbishment of the Montrose Park tennis courts are currently going through the review process with Old Georgetown Review Board — where all construction projects in historic Georgetown must begin. I reached out today for an update,” Roche emailed The Georgetowner on April 13. “Hopefully, they will start work in the upcoming months.”

There is also a Montrose Park Clean Up Day planned for Saturday, April 21, between 12:30 and 3 p.m. All are welcome to participate in the event, organized by the Friends of Montrose Park, which asks volunteers to bring their own shovels, gloves and clippers. Details can be found at info@montroseparkdc.org.

Our Doors Are Open SATURDAY, APRIL 28, 2018

11 AM - 5 PM

BUY TICKETS AT

WWW.GEORGETOWNHOUSETOUR.COM PLATINUM SPONSOR

Gateway Designs to Be Shared April 19 Whether you drive, ride or walk to Georgetown, there are four distinct entrances into our village: at K and 29th Streets, at M and 28th Streets, at the Georgetown end of Key Bridge and at R Street and Wisconsin Avenue.

Long anticipated “Georgetown Gateway” designs for the first three sites will be introduced at a Thursday, April 19, town meeting.

The meeting will take place at 6 p.m. at Georgetown Suites, 1000 29th Street, on the corner of K Street. “If the weather is good, we’ll walk the site to get a real feel for the gateway’s placement,” said Jamie Scott, economic development director for the Georgetown Business Improvement District, which is overseeing the project.

Each of the gateways is different in that they respond to their particular placement and site environment, Scott explained. But they all will share three elements: signage, lighting and landscaping. Signage will make use of the same color scheme, though the materials may differ in accordance with the requirements and feel of each site.

The K Street gateway may reflect more of

the industrial history of that site, while M Street will have a civic feel and the Key Bridge site will recall the busy jurisdictional crossing of the bridge from Virginia into the District.

GOLD SPONSOR

Hinckley Pottery Just in time for Mother’s Day Student Show & Sale

BRONZE SPONSORS

Sunday, May 6 12:00-5:00 pm 28 talented potters lots of beautiful finds 3132 Blues Alley NW Georgetown DC 202-745-7055 www.hinckleypottery.com

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE A SPONSOR FOR THE 2018 HOUSE TOUR, PLEASE EMAIL GEORGETOWNHOUSETOUR@GMAIL.COM.

GMG, INC.

APRIL 18, 2018

5

TOWN TOPICS

New D.C. Small Business Agency Head A new director of the District’s Department of Small and Local Business Development was welcomed last month.

She is Kristi Whitfield, “an executive, an entrepreneur, and an urban planner with over 20 years of experience implementing change,” according to the DSLBD. The agency oversees a wide range of programs and initiatives to help small businesses thrive in the District, from ExportDC to the Procurement Technical Assistance Center to a Certified Business Enterprise program. But the most relevant to Georgetown currently are the DSLBD’s neighborhood revitalization services.

Grants in the neighborhood revitalization area fund three of Georgetown’s most visible and growing initiatives: • Business Improvement Districts.

DSLBD certifies and recertifies all the Business Improvement Districts in D.C. • Clean Teams. DSLBD cleans the sidewalks and removes graffiti in designated retail corridors.

• Main Streets. DSLBD provides technical assistance and grants to community leaders seeking to use the Main Street Four Point Approach to revitalize their commercial districts.

Objections to Wee Hours at the Wing

A $175,000 grant for Georgetown’s new Main Street program was approved last October.

Whitfield “joined the ranks of entrepreneurs in 2006 first as a consultant, then at the helm of a transportation and logistics company, and most recently as the co-founder of Curbside Cupcakes,” according to the DSLBD. “Based on these experiences, Kristi is passionate about driving resources to small businesses and helping them grow.”

KEEP YOUR TEETH FOR LIFE!

Washingtonian Magazine Top Dentist 2013-2018 • Focus on Systemic and Dental health • Adult + Children Dentistry • Full Mouth Reconstruction • Payment Plans, Insurances • Invisalign and Cosmetic Dentistry • Same Day Emergency • TMJ, Sleep Apnea, Lumineer Veneers • We Speak Farsi and Arabic

TIRDAD FATTAHI, DDS

5 Star Rating

(202) 338-7499 | www.drfattahi.com | admin@drfattahi.com 4840 MacArthur Blvd NW., Suite 101 Washington, DC 20007 Across from Black Salt Restaurant and Safeway

6

APRIL 18, 2018

GMG, INC.

5 Star Rating

An “after-hours work permit” request for the Wing, the new women-only coworking space and social club at 1056 Thomas Jefferson St. NW, was not approved by Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E at its monthly meeting April 2. The proposal not only sought an after-hours permit for construction, but also a permit to stay open until 2 a.m. on weeknights and until 3 a.m. on weekends.

The negative protest vote was not unexpected, according to the Wing’s legal counsel, who attended the event. “We wanted to be able to

have a permit on hand to cover maybe six or so events a year like weddings that might go so late. It’s not like we would market those late hours as regular.”

The 10,000-square-foot, high-style women’s club, with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Georgetown’s C&O Canal, opened last week with crowds of interested women filling every inch. But club spokespeople told The Georgetowner that the Wing would close at 9 p.m. — at least for now.

Bowser Tackles State of the Schools “Education is part of D.C.’s great story,” said Mayor Muriel Bowser during an April 11 conversation with philanthropist David Rubenstein, a discussion she requested they undertake about the state of the District’s public schools.

“We have increased the District budget in education every year since I’ve been mayor,” Bowser said at the gathering of D.C. education leaders and major donors. The event, including a sumptuous early morning breakfast at the Hamilton downtown, was sponsored by the DC Public Education Fund.

But there was little mention of the high school absenteeism scandal, in which almost one in three graduating students in 2017 did not meet attendance requirements. And the selection of new hires to fill the now vacant positions of DC Schools chancellor and deputy mayor for education seemed less than urgent.

“Beginning a search for a new chancellor will be among my top priorities once the election primaries in June are over,” Bowser announced.

The mayor is running virtually unopposed for reelection.

Her vision for education? “Good schools in every neighborhood so that everyone in the District can share in its growing prosperity.” A good education system also could be one of the top factors in convincing Amazon to establish its second headquarters in the District, the mayor added.

D.C.’s public school population has grown to 50,000, with the highest paid teachers in the area if not the nation. But the mayor admitted to some problems.

“We’re doing better than five years ago, but there’s still much work to do,” she said. “We have to focus more on secondary schools. We want to be sure our high school students are prepared to go to college and are prepared to get good paying jobs, because in this city, everyone needs to earn a good wage.”

New computer initiatives could be the answer, Bowser suggested. “New school buildings, libraries and computer access systems will give more access to computers to all students at

Philanthropist David Rubenstein and Mayor Muriel Bowser at the Hamilton. Photo by Peggy Sands. home and where they study,” she said. “New engagement initiatives will help parents and teachers better track homework and absences of students at all times.”

Bowser said the District’s unicameral government system, in which the mayor controls the schools, is the best for fixing any school problems. The Council acts as overseer and the DC State Board of Education, headed by the chancellor and the deputy mayor for education, are the implementers. ‘The people of D.C. want the accountability they get from this single line of authority,” she said.

“What is better,” Rubinstein asked. “Public schools or charter?”

“They are all public schools,” Bowser said somewhat sharply. “Some charters are specialized, focusing on science, technology, the arts or a particularly neighborhood. But they all are treated equally as public schools.”

The free-flowing question-and-answer session between Rubinstein and Bowser included some banter about parking tickets.

Rubenstein, with tongue in cheek, complimented the efficiency of the D.C. parking enforcement system. “My car was ticketed just after I had been honored and awarded the keys to the city,” he complained good-naturedly.

“The best way not to have to pay parking tickets is to park legally,” the mayor told the founder of billion-dollar private equity firm the Carlyle Group, sounding a bit like a schoolmarm.

TOWN TOPICS

CRIME & SAFETY

GU Grad Students Can Hold Union Vote Georgetown University administrators agreed April 2 that graduate students who are teaching and research assistants on campus will be allowed to vote this spring on whether or not to join the American Federation of Teachers union.

For years, graduate students throughout the country have argued that collective bargaining is the only way universities will take seriously their demands for better working conditions.

But the decision to allow the grad students to unionize became embroiled in politics.

In 2016, during the Obama administration, a National Labor Relations Board ruling had granted teaching and research assistants legal protection to unionize. In 2017, however, after Donald Trump was elected, the Georgetown Alliance of Graduate Employees, which was organizing a possible union vote with the AFT, feared a shift on the labor board from Democrat to Republican would result in the ruling being overturned.

In December, Georgetown University administrators had refused to support graduate students’ effort to unionize, arguing that graduate students are not employees and that the work they contribute should

Thieves Target Yoga Studios

Georgetown University School of Nursing & Health Studies be considered part of their education. In the past three months, administrators at Boston University, Yale University and the University of Chicago have fought against graduate student unions on those grounds.

But now Georgetown officials have said that, regardless of the NLRB’s actions, the university will respect students’ right to vote for a union and engage in collective bargaining over a contract.

By adopting voluntary agreements, schools can avoid costly litigation that often arises over the scope of the bargaining unit or other disputes, according to the student alliance, known as GAGE, which has been calling for University President John DeGioia to back their unionization campaign for months.

The Metropolitan Police Department is investigating thefts at yoga studios in Georgetown and downtown. One video obtained by MPD shows a theft in Petworth, where two women distracted the receptionist in front and another stole items and money from “unsecured cubbies in the studio’s lobby,” according to the Washington Post.

No one was injured in any of the crimes.

Police and business owners ask customers to secure their valuables.

Good (If Obvious) Advice at ANC Meeting The crime report at the April 2 meeting of the Georgetown-Burleith advisory neighborhood commission touched on typical incidents, but one piece of advice by the Metropolitan Police Department belabored the obvious. The officer mentioned thefts from cars being up, adding: “If you see people going from car to car, call 911. They’re probably not admiring the car … And don’t leave anything visible on the seats.”

Fake Cop Who Handcuffed Real One Arrested Never meet a cop when you’re pretending to be one. On April 9, Evan Graham is alleged to have been bothering customers and waving handcuffs at the Foggy Bottom Whole Foods at 23rd and I Streets NW, the Washington Post reported. When police arrived, Graham put a handcuff on one of the real cops. He demanded that the officer “stop resisting,” MPD said. Graham was “taken into custody on charges of simple assault, resisting arrest and false impersonation of a police officer,” according to MPD, which also seized three pairs of handcuffs.

From the Metropolitan Police Department April 14: Robbery Force and Violence at 2320 hrs in the 3000 block of K Street, NW. Lookout for B/M, 5’9, Medium build, short hair, wearing white long sleeve shirt, and dark pants.

April 15: Theft, 2900 block of M Street NW; theft, 3200 block of M Street NW.

Opening Doors to Architectural Beauty

SUBSCRIBE ONLINE TOWN TOPICS EDITORIAL HAUTE & COOL SOCIAL SCENE FOOD & WINE REAL ESTATE FINANCE ARTS & SOCIETY LE DECOR BUSINESS DINING GUIDE

T H E L AT E S T N E W S. R I G H T I N Y O U R I NBO X.

F

or over 85 years, St. John’s Episcopal Church has organized and hosted the Georgetown House Tour to raise funds for ministry and outreach.

The Georgetown House Tour is believed to be the oldest such house tour in the nation. The first Georgetown House Tour originated in 1931 to raise funds to comfort those in need during the Great Depression and it also coincided with the period when many residences were being renovated and refurbished to their antebellum elegance.

It’s a great pleasure to join the Host Committee for the Georgetown 2018 House Tour and I am very much looking forward to meeting so many wonderful patrons at the party on Wednesday and during the tour.

MARC COWAN Vice President Compass Real Estate m: 202.476.9790 o: 202.448.9002 marc.cowan@compass.com www.marccowanhomes.com 1232 31st St NW, Washington D.C.

GMG, INC.

APRIL 18, 2018

7

EDITORIAL / OPINION

Jack Evans Report

The Downside of the Estate Tax

BY JAC K E VA N S Please Send More Feedback, Questions or Concerns, Tips and Suggestions to 202-338-4833 or editorial@georgetowner.com

Who’s Voting on June 19?

We’ve got news for you. There’s a District of Columbia primary election coming up June 19, which is only two months away, approximately.

While campaign observers have been talking about — heck, screaming about — the November general elections, which could cause all kinds of upheaval and drama, there’s been hardly a whisper about the primary election in the District.

Usually, a District primary election is a pretty big deal, especially among Democrats, where a victory is tantamount to a win in the general election, given the scarcity of Republican voters.

The near-silence about the primary has a lot to do with what’s seen as the citywide popularity of incumbent Mayor Muriel Bowser, in spite of scandals surrounding the workings of the public schools and other noticeable issues such as rising homelessness and a failing Metro system.

For all intents and purposes, Bowser has no viable opposition in the race for the Democratic Party’s nomination, a situation extremely rare in the history of D.C. elections (matched perhaps only by the high-tide years of Marion Barry). She has also built up a pretty hefty war chest should things change.

Early in the game, it looked as if District Attorney Karl Racine and Ward 7 Council member and former Mayor Vincent Gray — both with strong name recognition — were thought of as possible challengers, fueled

by Racine’s ambition and, in Gray’s case, a desire to complete unfinished work.

There are problems: the scandal surrounding the swift and shocking departure of Schools Chancellor Antwan Wilson, another scandal over graduation rates and test scores and the controversial closing of the shelter at D.C. General, to point to three. The mayor has frequently spoken about the twin issues of homelessness and affordable housing, but with few visible results so far.

A while back, Jeremiah Stanback, a 32-year-old homeless man, showed up to announce that he was running for mayor. His

name is on the ballot, along with Bowser’s, James Butler’s and Ernest E. Johnson’s.

There is also a ballot measure, asking for a yes or no response: Initiative 77. A yes vote is a vote in favor of gradually increasing the minimum wage for tipped employees to the city’s standard minimum wage by 2026. The question pits supposedly progressive intentions against the wageplus-tips structure customary in the restaurant business. It also shows how much the city’s economy has shifted in recent years. [Editor’s note: More on this initiative in an upcoming Georgetowner editorial.]

There’s an air of self-satisfaction in the District, reflective of demographic changes and growth. The population has reached 700,000 and the city is no longer “Chocolate City.” There are grumblings — and louder reactions — in some wards regarding gentrification.

The physical landscape is changing, too. Witness the downtown area, H Street, Southwest, the Wharf. There are new projects even in change-resistant Adams Morgan, where a new hotel complete with a fancy restaurant has sprung up.

There is an air of hope and confidence coming out of the Wilson Building. The prospect of Jeff Bezos’s second Amazon headquarters landing in the metropolitan area, possibly in the District, is being taken seriously.

If you’ve been away for a while — not too long necessarily, either — a drive or a walk through the city will reveal unfamiliar buildings, hip and expensive restaurants and a record number of construction cranes. We are a historic city, but a brand-new one, too, in many ways.

This is mostly well and good. This month, the retrospective coverage of the days of rioting in the District in the wake of the 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. showed just how stubbornly resistant to change D.C. was until the years before the turn of this century. Barry had something to do with that, as did other mayors, including Anthony Williams, Adrian Fenty, Gray and, yes, indeed, Bowser.

What do you think of a D.C. proposal to lower the voting age to 16?

YOUR OPINION MATTERS. Post your response to Facebook.com/TheGeorgetowner

8

APRIL 18, 2018

GMG, INC.

Every year, when the cherry blossoms bloom, we rejoice for the official end of winter and the beginning of spring.

There’s only one day during this season every taxpaying resident dreads, and it is Tax Day. On April 17, federal and D.C. taxes are due and it’s important to prepare, seek consultation if necessary and file on time.

Earlier this week, one of my colleagues on the Council sent a letter to the other members and the press regarding a tax issue and a possible bill. Any legislation addressing District taxes would fall under the purview of the Committee on Finance and Revenue, of which I am chairperson. This letter addressed the complexities of the estate tax and how it should be changed in the District. The following are my thoughts on the matter.

The estate tax in the District has always been coupled to the federal estate tax, except in 2010. The 2014 Tax Revision Commission recommendations adopted by the Council recommended that D.C.’s estate tax be coupled with the federal estate tax. As such, the District’s estate tax exemption was raised to $5.6 million. With the increase of the federal estate tax exemption to $11 million, the District’s exemption is now also $11 million.

I recommend that D.C. remain coupled for the following reasons: • Most states, 35 to be exact, do not have an estate tax. Only 15 still have one.

• Our main competitors, Virginia and Florida, are two of the 35 states that do not have an estate tax. Therefore, many D.C. residents re-domicile to homes in Virginia

and Florida, depriving the District of their income tax.

• The estate tax is widely regarded as the most unfair of all taxes. The estate tax is essentially a double tax. All assets in one’s estate have already been taxed. To tax them again after death is a double tax. The very rich never pay estate tax, because they organize their finances in trusts and other tax avoidance plans.

• The estate tax largely falls on working-class people and small business owners. In both cases, many children are forced to sell their family home or their parents’ business in order to pay the estate tax.

• As our CFO has indicated, coupling with the federal tax code simplifies our D.C. taxes, making it easier on our residents.

For these and other reasons, I believe we should join the majority of the states and get rid of the estate tax completely. However, I am willing to compromise and remain coupled with the federal tax code and keep our exemption at $11 million. Surprisingly, the amount of money involved is $6 million, a relatively small amount to forego when compared to our $14.5-billion annual budget.

There are many serious issues facing the District in the coming years, but to be double taxed is something that our residents should not be worried about when a relative passes away.

Jack Evans is the District Council member for Ward 2, representing Georgetown and other neighborhoods since 1991.

Notifications Prevent Panic

BY PEGGY SAN D S Last week, The Georgetowner received a panicked email. “The Georgetown Waterfront Park is under attack! A large drilling rig and truck have been installed in a fenced area in a grassy area of the park. That is not acceptable!”

The Georgetowner immediately went to investigate. There it was. A truck with a single drilling rig, tightly fenced in with some metal coverings on the grass in the park between 33rd and Water Streets.

There were no signs. The email did mention that DC Water “had obtained a permit” to drill. But for what? Why? For how long? How extensive? Where else?

“We weren’t notified,” said Joe Gibbons, who chairs Georgetown’s advisory neighborhood commission. “We give all agencies at our meetings the chance to update us. But they didn’t.”

“Neighbor notifications technically are required under D.C. law,” wrote Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Jim Wilcox.

All of Georgetown is a designated historic district. Every construction project must give public notification and be reviewed by the Old Georgetown Board. Notification placards should be posted two weeks before the review.

But the Waterfront Park is a National Park.

The rules are different.

Turns out the drilling was a mandated test of soil and rock elements for the clean water and runoff tunnel project. Eighteen holes needed to be bored in Waterfront Park

by April 13. A professional turf restoration company was scheduled the week after to repair any damage. Neighbors were notified by email, according to DC Water.

But emails are not enough. They can do harm and sow mistrust.

For instance, on an early morning last September, several longtime residents of the 3200 block of O Street found parking tickets on their cars on the street where they had parked for years. The area had suddenly become a temporary (for two years?) school bus zone for children from Hyde-Addison Elementary while it is under construction.

DDOT had posted new parking signs a few days before. DC Public Schools officials had sent out emails on Saturday. But no notifications were hung on doorknobs to be sure that immediate neighbors knew; they had to pay fines.

A small sign on the fence at the Waterfront Park, briefly describing the who, what, where, why and when, would not only have satisfied curious journalists and park fans. It would also have helped soothe the nerves of an increasingly jumpy citizenry, which sees collusion everywhere.

COMMUNITY CALENDAR THURSDAY, APRIL 19

BID MEETING ON GATEWAYS The Georgetown Business Improvements District will hold a town meeting to share “Georgetown Gateway” design concepts at 6 p.m. at Georgetown Suites, 1000 29th St. NW, at the corner of K Street. For details, visit bid.georgetowndc.com.

THURSDAY, APRIL 26 CAG ORAL HISTORY PANEL

Retired ANC member Tom Birch will moderate a Citizens Association of Georgetown oral history panel with speakers Chris Addison, Keith Lipert, Edith Schafer and Gunther Stern at the City Tavern Club, 3206 M St. NW. The 7:30 p.m. program will follow a 7 p.m. reception. A prix-fixe dinner option is available by reservation. To reserve, email Eliana Ramirez at membership@ citytavernclubdc.org or call 202-337-8870.

For details, visit cagtown.org.

FRIDAY, APRIL 27

SCHOLAR AT KESHER ISRAEL Rabbi Moshe Miller, author of “Rising Moon: Unraveling the Book of Ruth,” will give three talks at Kesher Israel synagogue, 2801 N St. NW, where he is scholar in residence: “Boaz and the Joys of Tolerance,” “The Problem of Chesed” and “Ruth and the Need for Assimilation.” For details, visit kesher.org.

FRIDAY, APRIL 27, TO SUNDAY, APRIL 29

GEORGETOWN FRENCH MARKET The Georgetown Business Improvement District presents the 15th annual French Market on and along Wisconsin Avenue from O Street to Reservoir Road. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday. For details, visit georgetownfrenchmarketdc.com.

SATURDAY, APRIL 28

GEORGETOWN HOUSE TOUR For more than 85 years, St. John’s Episcopal Church has organized and hosted the Georgetown House Tour to raise funds for ministry and outreach. This year’s tour of eight Georgetown masterpieces runs from noon to 5 p.m. Tickets are $50, including the Parish Tea, served from 2 to 5 p.m. in Blake Hall at the church, 3240 O St. NW. Note: The Patrons Party will take place April 25 at a private residence. For details, visit georgetownhousetour.com.

Send your community event listing to editorial@georgetowner.com or call 202-338-4833.

SUNDAY, APRIL 29

CHANTICLEER AT ST. JOHN’S The last concert in the 2017-18 series at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 3240 O St. NW, will feature Chanticleer, a Grammywinning, San Francisco-based “orchestra

THE VILLAGE

FRENCH MARKET Returns April 27 to 29

BY R I CHARD SEL D EN More than 40 Wisconsin Avenue merchants, restaurants, salons and galleries will be proclaiming “Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité” on the last weekend in April, when Georgetown’s French Market returns to Book Hill, just south of the public library.

In addition to sidewalk displays and discounted merchandise, there will be French food items, live entertainment and children’s activities — all to conjure up an April-inParis, outdoor-market ambiance along the blocks from O Street to Reservoir Road.

Hours for the 15th annual French Market, presented by the Georgetown Business Improvement District, are: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, April 27, and Saturday, April 28; and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday, April 29.

French Market Central — with French and Gypsy jazz and swing streaming from the performance stages — will be the parking lots on Wisconsin Avenue at P and Q Streets. The Saturday lineup is: Rachel Sparrow and Didier Prossaird from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Bitter Dose Combo from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Jeremy the Musicador from 1 to 2 p.m. and the Swing Orphans from 2 to 4 p.m. On Sunday, Laissez Foure will play from noon to 3 p.m.

The “Say Fromage!” French-inspired photo booth, sponsored by Getaround, will be open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and from noon to 3 p.m. on Sunday. From noon to 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, activities for kids — billed as “Family Fun Du Jour” — will include face painting, a caricature artist and “roaming whimsical street performers.”

Repeat after me: “Ce n’est pas juste un chien. C’est mon amour!” Bring your dog (that is, your love) to the French Market and you may win a $100 gift card. Here’s how: Photograph him or her dressed up in “a Parisian ensemble” — either at the “Say Fromage!” photo booth or with your own camera — and post it on Instagram with the hashtags #georgetownfrenchmarket and #dogsoffrenchmarket, then tag @officialgeorgetowndc and @dcdogmoms.

The Georgetown BID and DC Dog Moms will select a “Best in Show” winner and honorable mentions. To be eligible, you must follow both Instagram accounts.

From the French Market website, below is a list of participants and special offers.

A MANO, 1677 Wisconsin Avenue Up to 75 percent off tabletop items, furniture and garden items.

HIGHLAND INK, 1647 Wisconsin Avenue Free areola tattoos for breast cancer survivors and free T-shirts with gift card purchase.

PILLAR AND POST DC, 1647 Wisconsin Avenue 10 percent off books, Sophie Allport ceramics and art. Receive a Daylesford organic candle gift with $100 purchase.

ARTIST’S PROOF, 1533 Wisconsin Avenue 20 percent off all art books from Phaidon and Taschen.

BACCHUS WINE CELLAR, 1635 Wisconsin Avenue Tasting French wines from 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Six bottles of French wine package for $50. 10 percent off all French wines.

BESPOKE AESTHETICS, 1625 Wisconsin Avenue Free consultation and sample products. 20 percent off of treatments booked during free consult.

CAFE BONAPARTE, 1522 Wisconsin Avenue 50 percent off savory and sweet crepes.

CHRIST CHILD OPPORTUNITY SHOP, 1427 Wisconsin Avenue Sidewalk sale, 10 percent discount off in-store purchases and French wine tasting.

CROSS MACKENZIE GALLERY, 1675 Wisconsin Avenue Special prices on everything.

DAVID BELL ANTIQUES, 1655 Wisconsin Avenue EGG & FRIENDS CHILDREN’S BOUTIQUE, 1661 Wisconsin Avenue Sample sale. Up to 70 percent off, newborn to size 12y. Receive a scratch-off ticket with your purchase for up to 50 percent off any future purchase.

ELLA RUE, 3231 P Street Biggest sale of the year, 50 to 80 percent off designer items from Chanel, Alexis, Vince, James Jeans, Akris and LnA. Jewelry 50 to 75 percent off.

FORNASH, 3217 P Street Discounts of 70 to 95 percent off.

FRAMEWORKS, 1670 Wisconsin Ave GEORGETOWN LUTHERAN CHURCH, 1556 Wisconsin Avenue Free goodies.

GEORGETOWN OLIVE OIL CO., 1524 Wisconsin Avenue Free 2 oz. bottle of champagne wine vinegar or Herbes de Provence olive oil with purchase of $35 or more.

ILLUSIONS OF GEORGETOWN, 1629 Wisconsin Avenue 10 percent off select regular-priced retail items. Complimentary express makeup session and DJ on our patio.

JACO JUICE & TACO BAR, 1614 Wisconsin Avenue Reduced-price tasting menu of our favorite tacos, smoothies and juices.

JARYAM, 1531 Wisconsin Avenue 50 to 70 percent off select merchandise.

KUNG FU TEA, 1529 Wisconsin Avenue LILI THE FIRST, 1419 Wisconsin Avenue Bubbles and cupcakes as you shop, up to 70 percent off sale items.

LITTLE BIRDIES BOUTIQUE, 1526 Wisconsin Avenue Discounts 40 to 80 percent off.

MANNY & OLGA’S, 1641 Wisconsin Avenue $3 pizza slices and $1.50 drinks.

MARSTON LUCE, 1651 Wisconsin Avenue MAURINE LITTLETON GALLERY, 1667 Wisconsin Avenue OLIVER DUNN, MOSS & CO., CATHARINE ROBERTS, 1657 Wisconsin Avenue Up to 75 percent off home accessories, antiques, furniture, garden items and jewelry. & OTHER STORIES, 3241 M Street 15 percent off the entire store. Only valid in store. Mention promo code: Paris & Other Stories.

OWN YOUR WONDER, 1659 Wisconsin Avenue $10 makeover while kids get free face paint.

PATISSERIE POUPON, 1645 Wisconsin Avenue French linens and African baskets in addition to French pastries and favorites from our grill. Outdoor seating.

PHO VIET & GRILLE, 1639 Wisconsin Avenue

PRETTY CHIC, 1671 Wisconsin Avenue 50 percent off clothing, shoes and bags except consignment. Up to 60 percent off on jewelry. Secret garden specials behind the store: pillows, rugs, pots and home accessories.

REDDZ TRADING, 1413 Wisconsin Avenue 20 percent off at booth.

SUSAN CALLOWAY FINE ARTS, 1643 Wisconsin Avenue 50 percent off discontinued and seconds Middle Kingdom porcelain bowls and cups.

25 percent off vintage and antique French paintings. Miscellaneous discounts on various antiques and stock from the Annex.

T & U MONGOLIAN CASHMERE BY GOBI, 1663 Wisconsin Avenue Cashmere garments 40 percent off and featuring D.C.-made linen clothing line.

TD BANK, 1611 Wisconsin Avenue Get your photo drawn by our caricature artist on Saturday and Sunday.

THE BEAN COUNTER, 1665 Wisconsin Avenue 10 percent off all beverages, famous Helloumi sandwiches and other gourmet Aegean delicatessen items. $5 baklava and Turkish coffee combo special.

THE PHOENIX, 1514 Wisconsin Avenue 25 to 70 percent off select clothing, jewelry and home goods.

VIA UMBRIA, 1525 Wisconsin Avenue Discounted merchandise and food specials.

VILLAGE ART & CRAFT, 1625 Wisconsin Avenue Free Indian gold bangle with any purchase.

WASHINGTON PRINTMAKERS GALLERY, 1641 Wisconsin Avenue Original fine art prints on sale, with a special selection of “Euro-focused” items.

Art activities for kids, origami and edible treats for dogs.

ZANNCHI, 1529 Wisconsin Avenue Special homemade dumplings.

GMG, INC.

APRIL 18, 2018

9

BUSINESS

INS & OUTS

BY RO B E R T D E VA N E Y A N D ST E P H A N I E G R EE N

In: The Much-Ballyhooed Wing Opens An initial reaction after walking into the Wing, the new women-only club at 1056 Thomas Jefferson St. NW, overlooking the C&O Canal, was that it seemed like a really chic sorority: tasteful floral displays, modern furniture and light-filled, loft-like spaces.

The club’s founder, Audrey Gelman, didn’t seem offended by this assessment. “Sororities get a bad rap,” she said.

So do women, which is why so many private clubs and civic organizations excluded them in years past, denying women important networking opportunities. Not in 2018.

Today, Gelman, a former Democratic Party operative, is harnessing the zeitgeist of women’s empowerment to build her budding empire.

She got the idea for the Wing while on an Amtrak train, she recalls. Gelman needed a place to change clothes and freshen up before meetings at her destination. “Nobody wants to do that in the Union Station bathrooms.”

The Georgetown location, her fourth club, opened April 12. She operates three others in her home state of New York and is winging out to Los Angeles, Toronto and London this year.

The not-so-subtle undercurrent of feminist politics wafts throughout the pastel salons; names of pioneering women (Anita Hill is given such a distinction) grace the doors of the “phone booths” to ensure maximum conversation privacy.

There’s a color-coded library, a restaurant, a meditation room, a lactation room, showers and a beauty bar, where bottles of Chanel stand like elegant little soldiers. “We have a great partnership with Chanel,” Gelman says proudly.

Members (sorry, no “cisgender” men allowed, but trans women are cool) are encouraged to relax, network and attend speaking engagements by what is said to be a diverse group of influencers and authors. Hillary Clinton stopped by recently at the Wing’s New York branch.

Gelman says she’s already got 1,000 “Wing Women” signed up in Georgetown and “many thousands” waiting to be let through the velvet pink rope. Her criteria for membership is based mostly on what she calls “diversity.” Gelman explains that women from a wide variety of professional backgrounds from engineering to media fill her roster.

To the Wing’s credit, its affordable monthly rate of $215, plus a $100 initiation fee, allows an even greater diversity to the mix.

In: Modern Trousseau and Angelo Replace Hitched, Pier 2934 Fear not, brides of D.C. The shop at 1523 Wisconsin Ave. NW is still a bridal boutique — just no longer Hitched, which closed March 31.

Wrote the former occupants (since 2008): “Thanks to you we are signing off with a heart full of memories. We will always be happily ever Hitched. With all our gratitude. — The Hitched Gals!”

Modern Trousseau, with eight stores in the U.S., is fixing up the space. As with Hitched, its products have been seen in The Georgetowner.

Modern Trousseau’s Australian-born designer, Callie Tein, the company says, “evokes classic couture while expressing a vision of modern style and sophistication. The hallmark of Modern Trousseau is customization.”

Meanwhile at the corner of 30th and M Streets NW, there is another revolving door.

The aptly named Angolo Ristorante Italiano takes over where Cajun seafood restaurant Pier 2934 was until three months ago. The new place is open, and the backyard outdoor seating is being reconstructed in time for warmer weather.

Out: Zara, Abruptly Zara, the modern-chic destination for mostly millennial shoppers, closed its Georgetown outpost at 1238 Wisconsin Ave. NW March 30.

The Georgetown store, which sold affordable men’s and women’s clothing and accessories, occupied a prime location on the corner of Wisconsin Avenue and Prospect Street, decades ago the site of Billy Martin’s Carriage House and Tramp’s Disco.

No explanation was given for the closure, and calls seeking comment were not returned as of press time. Signage referred customers to locations in downtown, Bethesda, Pentagon City and Tysons Corner.

With more than 6,000 stores in nearly 90 countries, Zara is the main brand of the world’s largest apparel retailer, based in Spain.

10

APRIL 18, 2018

GMG, INC.

Sold: Georgetown Theater Building; Compass Coffee to Come Owner and architect Robert Bell, who bought the formerly rundown property at 1351 Wisconsin Ave. NW in 2013, sold the iconic Georgetown Theater building in early March to Martin-Diamond Properties LLC, headquartered in Delaware and with an office on Connecticut Avenue. The firm is led by Christopher Martin.

When asked by The Georgetowner how much the sale price was, Bell replied. “Enough … it’s fine.”

Meanwhile, the property will add to its tenants’ list. Compass Coffee plans to open a 112-seat eatery in the renovated space’s main floor, which requires a zoning variance, according to Urban Turf (which misreported that the building was empty).

A theater for decades, the building fell on hard times and was rehabilitated and reopened

by Bell in 2016. The first and lower levels each measures 120 feet deep by 30 feet wide.

Upstairs are offices and apartments, already leased, as well as a studio in the back. Nearby buildings on the avenue are now undergoing renovations.

The building is best known for its iconic theater sign with “GEORGETOWN” in capital letters, switched back on and aglow in neon-red as part of the renovation.

Happy 54th to Georgetown Tobacco!

Georgetown Tobacco on M Street was established March 15, 1964. The business is well known across the nation and the store’s sights and smells are a delight. Whether it be superlative cigars, pipe tobacco, elegant cuff links or Venetian masks, Georgetown Tobacco deals in the best. Congratulations to founder David Berkebile and his team.

New Four Seasons Spa Director Dinka Cammett has taken over at the Four Seasons Fitness Club and Spa, a three-level facility. With decades of experience in the fitness and spa business, Cammett, who hails from Bosnia and Herzegovina, has also worked at Sisley Paris and Guerlain.

Have some business news on people on the move or anniversaries? Email editorial@georgetowner.com.

REAL ESTATE

BUSINESS

Kiersten Todt: The Spark for Public Service

BY SELMA K HENISS I Looking back, Kiersten E. Todt said that, while in high school, her plans for college changed dramatically. She had planned to major in chemistry and German, but found herself drawn more to ethics, philosophy and international affairs.

As a result of these budding interests, when she was a student at Princeton University, she cold-called the office of the governor of Connecticut, Lowell P. Weicker Jr., for an opportunity to work in his administration. At age 19, she got her foot in the door in an unpaid position, representing the state where she grew up.

The spark for public service was ignited in her when she worked with Stan A. Twardy Jr., the governor’s chief of staff at the time. “He was a tremendous mentor,” she said.

Drawn to public policy, Todt majored in the field at Princeton, where the degree program had an interdisciplinary approach.

She also studied public policy at Harvard, getting a master’s degree and learning how to communicate effectively, she said.

Both experiences served her well when she proceeded to work for the federal government.

In 2001, working for Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Connecticut), she wound up in the heart of the process of bringing the Department of Homeland Security into existence after 9/11. That summer, she had been responsible for organizing a Sept. 12 hearing on critical infrastructure protection. The hearing, which took place while the rest of the government was shut down, “ended up being quite different than originally planned,” she said.

When the legislation to create the Department of Homeland Security was being developed in 2002, Todt found herself needing to draw on the expertise of people knowledgeable in key fields such as bioterrorism, science and technology, emergency management, critical

Commercial Property 2461 Wisconsin Avenue NW Just north of Georgetown along Metrobus routes, this property, with parking, is ideal for an owner-occupant, including a charter school or a church.

Walking distance to hotels, restaurants, Embassy Row and the vice-presidential compound, the building is delivered vacant. Tours are by appointment only.

PROPERTY TYPE: OFFICE BUILDING: CLASS C SALE TYPE: INVESTMENT RENTABLE AREA: 11,463 SQUARE FEET JAMES CONNELLY 202-491-5300

infrastructure and cybersecurity.

After working in the public sector for many years, Todt decided to go into the private sector. Following employment with a consulting firm, she started Liberty Group Ventures in 2011. She and her life partner, Roger W. Cressey (they aren’t married, but are raising four children), work closely together. That business model isn’t for everyone, Todt said, but it has worked for the two of them. “My partner is tremendously supportive,” she said.

A risk management company that focuses primarily on cybersecurity, Liberty Group Ventures is an opportunity for Todt to pursue her passions and interests, but also to use the expertise she has built up over the years. She said that accountability and responsibility are vital components of the current work she does.

The dedication to her clients is apparent.

In addition to using space in the Carr Workplaces building in Clarendon, Virginia, she works from home, meets people outside of the office and travels often. “There is no such thing as a typical day,” Todt said.

The Genau Group was proud to help Retired Senior Airman E-4, Kyle Cook, purchase his first home after recovering at Walter Reed.

Welcome home, Kyle, and thank you for your service to our great republic.

202-735-5382 www.thegenaugroup.com

Featured Property 1414 29th Street NW Thoughtful craftsmanship went into the complete restoration of this graceful Victorian home — with four bedrooms, four baths, a majestic fireplace and a monument view — in Georgetown’s East Village.

Features include a truly unique designer kitchen, a stately master suite with his-andher closets, a spa-like bath, a fully finished in-law suite and an intimate English garden.

THOMAS LANDSCAPES 202.322.2322 | www.thomaslandscapes.com

Design with Excellence

Derek Thomas / Principal - Certified Professional Horticulturist, Master Gardener

OFFERED AT $2,245,000 LONG & FOSTER REAL ESTATE ADRIENNE SZABO 202-944-8400 ADRIENNE@ADRIENNESZABO.COM

Member of the MD Nursery and Landscape Association & the Association of Professional Landscape Designers

GMG, INC.

APRIL 18, 2018

11

2018 HOUSE TOUR: Showcase for Tablescaping “What’s the point of having a house like this if you don’t entertain?” asks Vin Roberti as he peruses the finishing touches on the dining table in his Dumbarton Street salon — the selling point of the 1860s Greek Revival residence he has completely restored.

The room is the first thing visitors see when they enter the nearly 2,500-square-foot home that he, his wife Amy and their toddler daughter, Brette, moved into last fall.

Their Valentine’s Day dinner for 24 guests and clients (Roberti is a high-profile lobbyist) was a perfect debut for the salon, which boasts two fireplaces and a 1901 chandelier from the Waldorf-Astoria.

Architect Christian Zapatka likes the salon’s French chic. He calls the discreet portal leading to the kitchen “the Marie Antoinette door.”

Zapatka encouraged Roberti’s purchase of the home and oversaw its renovations, including the reconfiguration of the backyard, where a pristine lap pool is at the ready for the warmer months.

The house is on this year’s Georgetown House Tour, mainly because of its suitability for dinner parties — a dying custom in Georgetown, but back on the upswing, according to co-chairs Hannah Isles and Kelly Stavish. The 2018 event is scheduled for Saturday, April 28, with the Patrons Party on Wednesday, April 25.

Entertaining comes easy to the Robertis.

What’s more, it’s part of their love story.

They met at a gathering hosted by fellow uber-lobbyist and entertainer par excellence Tony Podesta. Today, the two are just passing along the good vibes to others. “I often tell Tony I should send him the bills,” Roberti jokes.

He explains he wanted his house to be part of the tour to showcase the work of his friend, Zapatka, but many of its features, notably the art collection, are Roberti signatures. His love of photography is present in his other homes in Connecticut and New York, where he was appointed to the board of contemporary art museum MoMa PS1 by Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2013.

12

APRIL 18, 2018

GMG, INC.

BY STEPHANIE GREEN

Roberti proudly shows me black-andwhite prints in his kitchen, and a prized photograph of Kate Moss. (I was impressed that a Washington lobbyist would even knew who Moss is, much less have a photo of her in his powder room.)

These are just a few of the surprises visitors will encounter on this year’s tour. Every home will be presented as if prepared for a dinner party, so visitors can get a sense of the Georgetown flair for “tablescaping” — setting a table to “wow” guests.

“Too matchy is boring, and not in good taste,” explains master tablescaper Marie Daage. “If you set your table to match the curtains, the flowers and the room, it’s not chic.”

I stopped by her appearance at A Mano on Wisconsin Avenue to learn more about “La haute couture de la table.”

For decades, Daage’s family has been at the center of creating hand-painted porcelain. Daage works with Limoges to design plates and dinnerware from her palette of 50 colors, which she mixes in the most original ways.

She likens tablescaping to the art of dressing: it should be personal, imaginative and fun. So you want to wear those leopard-print shoes with a green dress? Go for it, just like she whips up a tablescape with purple chargers under grey and ivory dessert dishes.

As she is inspired to dress by something she sees in a magazine or on the street, Daage takes equal inspiration for her tables from nature and the visual arts, like paintings.

The trend is moving away from the classic white dishware you got for your wedding to loud and rich hues that make more of a statement than the flowers.

House Tour guests should expect every table on the tour to be not a reflection of the room or the house, but of the passions of the people who live there.

Top: 2018 Georgetown House Tour co-chairs Kelly Stavish and Hannah Isles and architect Christian Zapatka.

Bottom: Along with the other seven houses, the table is set at 3009 Dumbarton Street for the Georgetown House Tour.

Photos by Gordon Beall.

3009 Dumbarton Street

2823 Q Street

2905 Q Street

3029 Q Street

The townhouse and the adjoining townhouse at 3011 Dumbarton were built in 1869 by Claudius B. Jewell, a Georgetown merchant who died in 1912 and is buried in Oak Hill cemetery in Georgetown. For details, see opposite page.

On the tour in 1954 and 1962, this Second Empire style home has been made even more charming by Ms. Boone's clever antique store finds, like the mantels from the mid nineteenth century, the era when the house was built.

This 1890 Victorian was cherished by its previous owners who lived here for 50 years. Today it's the happy abode of a family with young children who appreciate its contemporary adjustments, like the garden patio.

This 6,700 square foot home was once owned by the first territorial governor of the District of Columbia, who probably needed the house's vast size and 12-foot ceilings for his 12 children.

The current owners just moved in within the last two years after taking on extensive renovations to the house's four levels and six bedrooms.

3128 P Street

3107 N Street

This house, which underwent extensive renovations in 2012, was once owned by diplomat Averell Harriman.

The land was originally deeded in 1795, and now boasts a charming garden with koi pond. The art collection includes local artists as well as those from Nantucket and South Africa.

This 1870s Victorian is home to Renoir and Matisse paintings, but what you should really be impressed by are the original oak floors and 12-foot ceilings.

The Club Tavern Club. Photo by APK. 3130 P Street Once the home of Henry Cabot Lodge, this Federal style home was on the tour twice in the 1940s, and boasts plenty of other historical owners from civic minded socialites to comedian Carol Burnett, who is rumored to have lived here briefly in the 1970s. This house dates back to before the Civil War and has retained many of its original mantels on its nine fireplaces.

3206 M Street Built in 1796, the City Tavern Club is one of the oldest Federal buildings, which was frequented by the founding fathers in their time. Today, it’s a private club whose members celebrate its heritage, mindful that it was nearly lost. In 1959, a group of committed Georgetowners saved the house from demolition after it had fallen into disrepair.

It is now on the National Register of Historic Places.

Information provided by the Georgetown House Tour. At press time, details were unavailable for 3216 O Street.

GMG, INC.

APRIL 18, 2018

13

DOWNTOWNER

ANTIQUES ADDICT

Match Safes: Hot Items for Collectors

BY KATE OC ZYPOK

BY M ICHE L L E GA L L E R From around the 1830s through the 1920s, almost everyone carried the newfangled “strike anywhere” matches to light lanterns, stoves and candles. Proceeded by old-fashioned wood splints — which were dipped into melted sulphur and primarily used to light candles after being ignited from burning tinder — these novel friction matches burst into flame when rubbed against a roughened surface.

Although those first friction matches were very convenient, they could ignite spontaneously when carried loosely in the pocket or purse.

To prevent these hair-trigger fire sticks from rubbing together and combusting prematurely, the original inventor of the match, Englishman John Walker, designed special containers to hold the matches to prevent starting a fire in a gentleman’s pants.

Early match safes, sometimes called Vesta boxes (after the goddess Vesta, a Roman deity of the hearth), were round tin boxes that cost two pence each and held 100 matches. There was no roughened surface on the boxes to ignite the matches; a piece of sandpaper was inserted for that purpose. A distinguishing characteristic of later match safes is that they have a ribbed surface on the bottom for lighting the matches.

By the late 1800s, most men carried ornately decorated match safes in their coat pockets. By the turn of the century, it was becoming more permissible for women to smoke in public, so match safes with a feminine motif and shape were designed for this expanding new market.

Beyond rectangles and ovals, which conformed nicely to the shape of friction matches, match safes were made in the forms of animals, boots, even body parts. Other match safes were treated like canvases for tiny sporting, rural or city scenes. Many were made of sterling silver and embossed or engraved with images of people smoking or abstract patterns resembling smoke. Others were wrought of gold or enamel, and a few match safes were carved from antler or ivory.

Promotional match safes were produced by various companies. The Gillette Company designed a brass razor-blade case with a ribbed bottom that could be used as a match safe after the blades were used up. Some match safes incorporated a cigar cutter or a small knife blade, and some were small enough to be suspended from a fob chain from a gentleman’s vest pocket.

American match safes tended to be more elaborate than those from Europe or Asia, thanks greatly to the Gorham Manufacturing Company (the name used from 1865 to 1961) of Providence, Rhode Island. One of the most prolific manufacturers of match safes, Gorham made more than 1,180 different varieties, which are highly collectable today. Since the match safe cut across every segment of society, from the nobility down to the ordinary workingman, it is no surprise that these convenient cases ranged from the fabulous and elegant to the absurdly cheap and vulgar.

Typically, wealthy people had match safes made of silver or gold, while common folk had ones made of brass and tin. Today, as was true in their heyday, the most coveted match safes are those created by brilliant American 14

APRIL 18, 2018

GMG, INC.

Still an affordable collectible, this sterling silver, 19th-century American example shows Venus and

Still an affordable sterling silver,19th-century American The inaugural Petalpalooza took place at the Wharf. a cherub, and sold atcollectible, auction for this $215.

Courtesy example shows Venus and a cherub, and sold at auction for $215. Credit: Cowan’s Auctions.

Cowan’s Auctions

Petalpalooza Premieres at the Wharf

ThisThis brass match safe commemorates the St. brass match safe commemorates the 1904 St. Louis World Fair1904 and shows the "official flag,” an American Indian holding a bow, and a female Louis World’s Fair and shows the “official flag,” an figure representing " Progress.” It sold for $120. Credit: Rubylane.com American Indian holding a bow, and a female figure representing “ Progress.” It sold for $120. Courtesy Rubylane.com. designers like Tiffany, Gorham, Bristol and Whiting and by the European firms Cartier and Fabergé, who exported their products from overseas.

A single-owner collection of match safes recently sold at a Cowan’s auction, yielding some insights into collecting in this highly specialized segment of the antiques market.

Sold in 200 lots, there was a notable emphasis on condition and material. Buyers were willing to pay several thousand dollars for individual examples, like the sterling silver example of a guard in a peaked sentry box that sold for $3,000. They balked, however, at bidding on pricey single lots, several exceeding $60,000 estimates. Enamel safes did very well, realizing prices of $1,800-plus. Examples in silver are the most common and affordable, covering an array of designs; many in that auction brought less than $200.

Match safes remain a relatively affordable small collectible, as many beautiful examples are still available under $100, but hallmark, material and condition will affect the price.

The heyday of the match safe was around 1920, when the lighter was created and one no longer needed to carry around a box of matches.

Once the Zippo became ubiquitous, it pretty much killed the match safe.

Michelle Galler, based in Georgetown and in Washington, Virginia, specializes in American primitives and antique folk art. Her shop Antiques, Whimsies & Curiosities is newly located in Hazel River Antiques, 12625 Lee Highway, in Washington, Virginia. Reach her at antiques.and.whimsies@gmail.com.

Formerly known as the Southwest Waterfront Fireworks Festival, Petalpalooza made its debut April 1 as part of the National Cherry Blossom Festival. The celebration at D.C.’s new Wharf development included interactive art installations, games, activities, live music and a beer garden, culminating in a fireworks show by Pyrotecnico.

Buses Pulled for Safety Inspections Last week, Metrobus riders were hit with suspended routes due to bus shortages. Earlier this month, 164 buses were taken out of service due to two incidents in which engines cut off at lower speeds. WMATA spokesman Dan Stessel told WTOP that the shortage affected just one percent of scheduled trips.

One route affected in particular was the 16G, which operates from Pentagon City in Virginia to Columbia Heights West.

Howard Students Prevail After Protests After a nine-day sit-in at their school’s administration building, Howard University students reportedly got the administration to agree to give the student body a greater say in university decisions. Hundreds of students occupied the campus building after learning that an outside audit found that Howard employees mishandled financial aid money for nearly a decade.

Metro Testing Color-Coded Escalators Color-coded escalators have caught the eyes of Metrorail passengers recently, sparking debate. The transit agency hopes that the candy-colored handrails — being tested at the Fort Totten station — will help riders find their way to the right trains. One former D.C. resident tweeted: “I would rather have a metro that doesn’t catch fire and cause delays every day than colored handrails but it is a nice stylistic choice of how to avoid the blue, orange and silver lines.” Another tweeted that it was a “cool change,” especially for a “Shady Grove guy who kept getting lost around Metro Center.”

Mark Ein and his family celebrate at the annual Garden Brunch in Georgetown.

Photo by Kate Oczypok.

White House Correspondents’ Parties Axed As they did last year, People and Time Magazine axed their party before the White House Correspondents’ Association’s annual dinner. The New Yorker took a pass on its party again, too. Samantha Bee, who hosted the starstudded “Not the White House Correspondents’ Dinner” show and after-party in 2017, won’t repeat that extravaganza. And President Donald Trump is expected to skip this year’s dinner, as he did last year. Now for the good news: Tammy Haddad’s Garden Brunch, celebrating 25 years, will be back at the Beall-Washington House, owed by Mark Ein.

THE CLOISTERS—GEORGETOWN $2,200,000 | 3533 Winfield Lane NW, Washington, DC Michael O’Connell +1 202 765 4973 | Irene Block +1 301 910 4899

GEORGETOWN $1,579,000 | 1526 34th Street NW, Washington, DC John Vardas +1 301 807 1119

GEORGETOWN $975,000 | 2801 New Mexico Avenue NW #808, Washington, DC Diana Hart +1 202 271 2717 | Margaret Shannon +1 202 486 4752

GEORGETOWN $1,725,000 | 3317 Q Street NW, Washington, DC Michael Brennan Jr. +1 202 330 7808

CHEVY CHASE $4,475,000 | 3911 Bradley Lane, Chevy Chase, MD Jonathan Taylor +1 202 276 3344

GEORGETOWN $1,389,000 | 3500 P Street NW, Washington, DC Michael Brennan Jr. +1 202 330 7808

GEOREGTOWN $5,990,000 | 2720 Dumbarton Street NW, Washington, DC Michael Rankin +1 202 271 3344

GEORGETOWN $3,195,000 | 1609 35th Street NW, Washington, DC Constandinos Economides +1 202 438 4900

BROKERAGES: GEORGETOWN, DC +1 202 333 1212 • DOWNTOWN, DC +1 202 234 3344 • CHEVY CHASE, MD +1 301 967 3344 • McLEAN, VA +1 703 319 3344 ALEXANDRIA, VA +1 703 310 6800 • ARLINGTON, VA +1 703 745 1212 • ANNAPOLIS, MD +1 410 280 5600 ttrsir.com ©2018 TTR Sotheby’s International Realty, licensed real estate broker. Sotheby’s International Realty and the Sotheby’s International Realty logo are registered service marks used with permission. Each Office Is Independently Owned And Operated.

Equal housing opportunity. All information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Price and availability subject to change.

GMG, INC.

APRIL 18, 2018

15

WASHINGTON DC’S FINEST RESTAURANTS

Chatting With Chefs: Robert Wiedmaier

BY EVAN C APL AN

ENO WINE BAR

CLYDE’S OF GEORGETOWN

HAPPY HOUR: Offered nightly Tuesday - Thursday from 5 - 7 PM & Sunday from 4 - 7 PM. Enjoy select $7 wines on tap. Join us on Wednesday’s for College Nights from 9 - 11 PM and Sunday’s for 30% off bottles. Our delightful wines are best enjoyed with local charcuterie, cheese and small plates.

This animated tavern, in the heart of Georgetown, popularized saloon food and practically invented Sunday brunch. Clyde’s is the People’s Choice for bacon cheeseburgers, steaks, fresh seafood, grilled chicken salads, fresh pastas and desserts.

2810 PENNSYLVANIA AVE., NW 202–295–2826 | enowinerooms.com

3236 M ST., NW 202-333-9180 | clydes.com

THE OCEANAIRE SEAFOOD ROOM

TOWN HALL

The Oceanaire blends a sophisticated atmosphere with simple, seasonal and regionally-inspired cuisine – the result is “the ultra-fresh seafood experience”. From our wines and cocktails to our seafood, steak and desserts, our commitment to sustainable and locally-sourced ingredients is apparent in everything we do. Reserve your table today for an extraordinary dining experience.

Situated just north of Georgetown on Wisconsin Ave, Town Hall has been a neighborhood mainstay in Glover Park since 2005. Whether you’re popping in for dinner, drinks, or weekend brunch, Town Hall is the spot you’ll want to call home to Gulp, Gather & Grub. Free parking is available nightly after 7 p.m., and, our outdoor courtyard is one of DC’s best kept secrets.

1201 F ST., NW 202–347–2277 | theoceanaire.com

2340 WISCONSIN AVE., NW 202-333-5640 | townhalldc.com

DAS ETHIOPIAN

FILOMENA RISTORANTE

DAS Ethiopian offers you a cozy two-story setting, with rare outside dining views and al fresco patio dining.

DAS is located at the eclectically brilliant historic corner of the shopping district of Georgetown. A tent under which all come to feast is the very Amharic definition of DAS. Enjoy the casual yet refined atmosphere that serves up the freshest Ethiopian dishes from local and sustainable food sources.

A Georgetown landmark for over 30 years featuring styles and recipes passed through generations.

Balanced cutting-edge culinary creations of modern Italy using the fresh ingredients and made-from-scratch sauces and pastas. Seen on The Travel Channel, Awardwinning Filomena is a favorite of U.S. Presidents, celebrities, sports legends, political leaders. “Don’t miss their bakery’s incredible desserts” - Best in D.C.

1201 28TH ST., NW 202–333–4710 | dasethiopian.com

1063 WISCONSIN AVE., NW 202–338–8800 | filomena.com

Each month, Evan Caplan speaks with a chef of a local eatery. In April, he chatted with Robert Wiedmaier of Marcel’s — as well as Brasserie Beck, three Mussel Bar & Grille restaurants, Wildwood Kitchen, live-music venue Villain & Saint and his newest, Siren. The Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington’s 2009 Chef of the Year, Wiedmaier was inducted into the Knighthood of the Brewer’s Mash Staff, a Belgian guild. Most recently, RW Restaurant Group’s Foggy Bottom flagship, Marcel’s, known for its Old World, haute French cooking, underwent a brilliant upgrade while maintaining its traditional elegance.

Tell us about yourself and your family in Washington.

Robert Wiedmaier: I have been cooking in D.C. for over 30 years. My two landmark restaurants, Marcel’s and Brasserie Beck, are named after my two sons, who are now 19 and 15 years old. My wife, Polly, works with the RW Restaurant Group as the CMO. And I can’t forget Stella, our English lab, who loves to fish with me on the Chesapeake.

How does your Belgian American identity set your inspiration apart?

RW: I was born and raised in Europe, primarily in Germany and Belgium. Outside of school, I worked part-time on farms and I always enjoyed exploring various markets with my mom. Together, we would go shopping at fish markets, meat markets and bakeries, searching for the best ingredients. My father was born and raised in Antwerp, and I naturally gravitated toward my heritage when it came to cooking. I was lucky enough to have spent time working in Michelin-star restaurants like Eddie Van Maele in Brussels.

What’s the best part about your job?

RW: I get to do what I love every day, and I feel privileged to have the freedom to do it on my terms, with the help of my incredibly loyal and talented staff. Each one of my restaurants offers a range of experiences, so every day is different. This is from my music venue, Villain & Saint, to my flagship fine-dining spot, Marcel’s.

What does it mean to you to cook and serve in Washington, D.C.?

MARTIN’S TAVERN

CAFE BONAPARTE

Fifth generation Lauren Martin learns the family business from her dad, Billy Martin, Jr. Since 1933, the warm atmosphere of Martin’s Tavern has welcomed neighbors and travelers looking for great food, service and years of history within it’s walls. Fourth generation owner Billy Martin. Jr. continues the tradition of Washington’s oldest family-owned restaurant.

Captivating customers since 2003, Cafe Bonaparte has been dubbed the “quintessential” European café, featuring award-winning crepes and arguably the “best” coffee in D.C.! Other can't-miss attractions are the famous weekend brunch every Saturday and Sunday until 3 p.m. and our late-night weekend hours serving sweet and savory crepes until 1 a.m.

1264 WISCONSIN AVE., NW 202-333-7370 | martinstavern.com

1522 WISCONSIN AVE., NW 202–333–8830 | cafebonaparte.com

EMAIL advertising@georgetowner.com

APRIL 18, 2018

Any celebrities you’ve served?

RW: As a music lover, many of my favorite “celebs” to serve are musicians — talents like Quincy Jones, Pat Metheny, Derek Trucks, Lou Rawls and Bryan Ferry, among others.

JOIN THE

16

RW: I love working and living in an international city like Washington, D.C. Many of Marcel’s patrons have eaten all over the world, and I like hearing their feedback on the places they’ve been and how it compares to their experience at Marcel’s. I feel really connected to this area, having raised my family and grown my business in this community.

GMG, INC.

Chef Robert Wiedmaier.

Marcel’s got all wet this year and was recently renovated. Give us the history of Marcel’s. How has its refresh affected your cooking?

RW: The flood in January of this year shut Marcel’s down for a month, allowing us to repair water damage to the interior of the restaurant. We remain so grateful and were truly invigorated by the outpouring of support we received. Last fall, we also added a baby grand piano and we now offer live music on Friday and Saturday evenings. Oftentimes, the pianist is accompanied by a bass player. Marcel’s will be celebrating its 20th anniversary next year.

What does your cuisine concept involve?

How do you see American food evolving?

RW: The biggest thing for me, as a chef, is continually sourcing the best ingredients from around the world. For example, we source sole from Denmark, sea urchins from Japan and truffles from Périgord in France. We source items like our bass and oysters locally. For me, “American food” is a hybrid of many foods.

I have noticed the trend of more fast-casual eateries that specialize in one ingredient. It’s fast and affordable, and, if done correctly, it’s delicious.

Siren has been a sweet song for seafood fanatics.

RW: Siren is my third D.C. restaurant. It had been 10 years since I last opened a D.C. location, and it felt like it was time. I’m a passionate fisherman and love to cook with seafood from around the world. It seemed like the natural next step. Siren is a celebration of our global waterways and is committed to serving truly unique seafood.

We hear you have a boat and love fishing, so opening Siren made sense. Tell us more about your life on the water.

RW: Anytime I can, I will fish! Right now, I’m counting down the days to rockfish season — April 21. There’s nothing better than taking out my boat on a beautiful day with my dog Stella and fishing on the Chesapeake Bay. What’s in store for you?

RW: Right now, I’m focusing on keeping my restaurants healthy. I’m also growing my restaurant-hospitality consulting business, Primal Cut Consulting. And RW Restaurant Group will also be opening Villain & Saint at the Ocean Resort Casino in Atlantic City.

VISUAL ARTS

Sally Mann at the National Gallery

BY ARI POS T Southern culture rests permanently at a crossroads of public opinion, at once fetishized and villainized for its traditions and its temperament. On the surface, we adore its quirks: its languid good nature, its blue-collar earnestness, its humble confidence, its sassy, homespun intellect.

Within that, of course, runs a vein of everevolving racial oppression, regressive social practices and cultural turmoil that is the root of all that divides our country.

At the National Gallery of Art through May 28, “Sally Mann: A Thousand Crossings” explores Virginia photographer Sally Mann’s artistic relationship with her family and country, and how the South’s legacy — as both homeland and graveyard, refuge and battleground — continues to permeate American identity.

Born in 1951 in Lexington, Virginia, Mann began to work as a professional photographer in 1972 after graduating with degrees in literature and creative writing. For more than 40 years, she has made meticulous, intimate photographs bursting with narrative, literary and artistic allusion that explore the shifting, disparate forms of Southern identity.

“The South is redolent with the spirits of the past,” says Mann, which in some way serves as a spiritual explanation of her painstaking, antiquated photography techniques. For years now she has used antique box cameras and lenses — wonderfully imperfect equipment — and employed a collodion wet-plate technique, in which she hand-pours a syrupy, glue-like material over her photo plates to painterly results.

Mann allows these old machines and processes to seep into her photographs, creating imperfections in the negative and bringing the “angel of uncertainty” into the work of a compulsively meticulous artist. The resulting photographs are simultaneously hyperspecific and chimerical, like pictures taken by ghosts, like the ether of fading memories caught impossibly through a lens in the moment of their passing into some great beyond.

What is also imbued within that quote is a strange particularity of Southern culture: the presence of a strain of nostalgia for things that still exist.

Before Mann began experimenting with antique techniques, she was already exploring with her camera the space of time slipping away. In the late 1980s and early ’90s, she spent summers photographing her family, her children and husband, at their summer cabin in central Virginia.

Her work from this period is woven with allusions to the internal, mysterious, fragile, fleeting state of her children’s “childness,” its immediacy of emotion and its loss through maturation, seemingly moment by moment.

“Last Light” shows her daughter Virginia at about age 6, hanging shirtless between her father’s seated knees, splayed in a playful crucifixion and staring back at the camera provocatively, listlessly, half asleep. He is checking her pulse beneath her jaw, somewhat ambiguously, maybe checking for life, and a watch on his wrist suggests that maybe it is the time he is checking in his daughter’s pulse. An

Explore the Art of Buddhism April & May 2018

“Bean’s Bottom,” 1991. Photos by Sally Mann.

Courtesy NGA. ashy smudge over her nipple and a different, sticky smudge on her collar bone, like jam or mud, gesture at the surrounding wildness.

There is a lot of allusion to death in these photographs (in all her photographs, really), but in this case it seems more like the death of a particular phase of life, of youth, of these seminal years of parenthood. It seems an odd but natural thing to long for while actively living it.

Other phases of the exhibition cover Virginia landscapes, Civil War battlefields and some fascinating racial complexes of Southern identity, explored through Mann’s childhood Nanny, Virginia “Gee-Gee” Carter, who raised her like a mother and for whom Mann named her own daughter. Here, Mann confronts a truly worthy personal issue, struggling with the “fundamental paradox of the South: that a white elite, determined to segregate the two races in public, based their stunningly intimate domestic arrangements on an erasure of that segregation in private.”

What might be the most powerful single image in the show is a double portrait, “Two Virginias #4.” Mann’s daughter, no older than 5, lies in the lap of her namesake, who is visible only in the back of her head of long white hair and one arthritic hand that reaches up from the bottom of the picture. Young Virginia’s hand mimics Gee-Gee’s gesture, and they reach up together obliquely toward the sky.

The final gallery is a powerful room. Taken in recent years, these photographs cover her husband Larry’s late-onset muscular dystrophy, her daughter Virginia, now an adult, and a series of self-portraits after a serious riding accident.

Photos of Larry’s deteriorating body are made difficult in their intimacy. “David” exhibits his legs, posed like those of Michelangelo’s statue, so oddly similar, only ravaged, sapped of all the muscle and vitality and youth. And then there is “Was Ever Love,” a suddenly gorgeous, sexy picture of his reclining head in profile — young, white stubbly beard and flowing long hair against a dark, rugged face of a lover.

The thing Mann feared in her earliest series of photo — the escape or disappearance of youth — happened. But she is still here, and so are her children and husband. What remains is everything, but none of it is the same.

In Search of the Lotus Sutra Sunday, April 22, 2 pm Join us for a talk by University of Michigan professor Donald Lopez exploring the important Buddhist scripture the Lotus Sutra, preceded by a 1 pm curator-led tour of Buddhist art from Japan.

Screening the Buddha film series Friday, May 4–Sunday, May 13 Take a global tour of the Buddhist experience on film.

Copresented by the Buddhist Film Foundation.

The Buddha’s Birthday with Silkroad Ensemble Saturday, May 19, 11 am–4 pm You’re invited to a museum-wide celebration of Vesak, a holiday that commemorates the Buddha’s birth and enlightenment.

LEAD SPONSOR

Encountering the Buddha received Federal support from the Asian Pacific American Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center. The Freer|Sackler is grateful for the contributions of University of Michigan Humanities Collaboratory and the Multidisciplinary Design Program.

freersackler.si.edu

GMG, INC.

APRIL 18, 2018

17

IN COUNTRY

WANDERGOLF

Salamander

SAVVY

BY WALLY GREEVES

Hammock Beach Resort in Palm Coast, Florida.

W

hile Georgetowners are very aware of the Salamander Resort & Spa located in the Blue Ridge Foothills in nearby Middleburg, only some seem to be aware that the Salamander is on the move. The Salamander now has seven hotel and resort options throughout the southeastern United States, offering a multitude of activities, and appealing to all types of travelers. Hotel Bennett is just opening this year in Charleston, with 179 luxury rooms and rooftop pool complete with cabanas and French patisserie.

The recently opened swanky New Orleans NOPSI (Former New Orleans Public Service Inc. Building) hotel just opened its doors.

In addition to the top notch Florida-based

Innisbrook (Home of the Valspar PGA event) and Reunion Resorts, The Henderson in Destin, Florida, just opened up on the pristine sands of the West Coast.

Two weeks ago, ducking out of another cherry blossomless, long-winded D.C. winter, I visited Salamander’s Hammock Beach Resort in Palm Coast, Florida. Just south of St. Augustine along 19 miles of unspoiled beach in Flagler County, Palm Coast has recently been acknowledged by Money magazine as a “Best place to retire.” Hammock Beach is ready and able to absorb some of this recent interest. A Washingtonian friend of mine just retired there, and it was a pleasure to play the Nicklaus Ocean Course and Watson

MOUNT GORDON FARM

OLD GOOSE CREEK FARM

128 acres and immaculate 3 level, 13,000+ sq ft stone & shingle main house • 5 BR • 8 FP • Exceptional finishes on every floor • Caterer’s kitchen • Elevator • Spa • Separate guest cottage • Pool • Farm manager residence • 3 additional tenant houses • 12 stall center-aisle stable • Pond • Extraordinary land w/incomparable views extending beyond the Blue Ridge Mts • Orange County Hunt

Immaculate equestrian property in turnkey condition • Exceptional location • Stone home expanded to approx.

7,000 sf. includes 4 main level suites • Lovely gardens, pool, garage apartment & pond • Blackburn designed 6 stall stable w 70x210 indoor arena includes observation deck, tack room, 2 wash stalls & office • Addtl 4 stall barn • Entire property is fenced and cross fenced on 26 acres & 8 paddocks

Helen MacMahon

Helen MacMahon

The Plains, Virginia • $9,850,000

(540) 454-1930

BELVEDERE

Middleburg, Virginia • $1,950,000

Middleburg, Virginia • $4,500,000

(540) 687-5588

MARLEY GRANGE

Millwood, Virginia • $1,875,000

Gracious home with 5 BRs • Gourmet kitchen • Two story floor-to-ceiling window display of the Blue Ridge Mountains • 3 FPs, coffered ceilings, random width rustic cherry floors • Large home office, gym, rec room, multiple porches and patios • Three finished stories, approx. 10,000 sf. • Carriage house • Garage • 27 acres

Understated elegance • Finely appointed home built in 1997 on 76 acres • 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, 2 half baths, 5600+ sq. ft. • Very private • 10 stall barn • 224 ft. X 128 ft. blue stone ring • Fine horse property • Choice ride-out • In conservation easement, bordered by farms in conservation easement

Helen MacMahon Margaret Carroll

Tom Cammack

(540) 454-1930 (540) 454-0650

info@sheridanmacmahon.com www.sheridanmacmahon.com

18

APRIL 18, 2018

GMG, INC.

(540) 247-5408

(540) 687-5588

Conservatory Course while visiting him there.

The Nicklaus course boasts the only six consecutive ocean golf holes in Florida.

Heralded in many publications in the golfing world for a variety of reasons, what I liked about it was its “Nestledness.” I found it to be perfectly arranged within the setting so that we could walk off into a lunch situation, pool, cigar bar, fine dining, fitness or beach area.

This is what a resort course should offer. If I am playing bad after a long winter, I want the option to walk down a 14-foot path from an oceanside tee box and go swimming instead.

The insulated pocket in my golf bag is a good place for a swimming suit too.

Watson’s Conservatory Course was the

CREST HILL

Hume, Virginia • $3,600,000

203 acres in Fauquier w/nearly 1 mile of Rappahannock river frontage • Elegant stone & clapboard house • 5 BR, 4 full & 3 1/2 BA • 4 FP • Wood floors • Gourmet kitchen • Gunnite pool w/stunning views overlooking Blue Ridge Mtns and private pond • Situated amongst protected properties • 5 stall Jim Fletcher barn w/pristinely maintained paddocks, pasture and gdns • 2 car garage w/inlaw suite • Old Dominion Hunt territory • VOF Easement

Alix Coolidge

exact opposite experience and I loved that about it. Expansive, challenging, and the highest slope of any Florida course make this a true undertaking. An elevated 18th green gives you a great view of the property. The many Watson trademark sand traps are beastly, and I recommend staying out of them. Why not?

The two of these courses could not be more different and make a wonderful pairing within a membership.

Hammock Beach has all the trimmings, and it was a pleasure to enjoy the fine food at Delfino’s and take a spinning class while there also. All of the amenities would make it an easy place to hang out with eight buddies or eight kids and a wife. It made me feel good to

MAYAPPLE FARM

Middleburg, Virginia • $3,400,000

“Mayapple Farm,” purist delight • Original portion of house built in 1790 in Preston City, CT • House was dismantled and rebuilt at current site • Detail of work is museum quality • Log wing moved to site from Western Virginia circa 1830 • 4 BR, 4 full BA, 2 half BA, 9 FP & detached 2-car garage • Historic stone bank barn and log shed moved from Leesburg, VA • Private, minutes from town • Frontage on Goose Creek 37.65 acres

(703) 625-1724 Paul MacMahon

GRASTY PLACE

Middleburg, Virginia • $800,000

(703) 609-1905

HUNTS END PLACE

Leesburg, Virginia • $697,000

Charming home in desirable Melmore • Adjacent to the town of Middleburg offering proximity to town & privacy of almost 4 acres • High ceilings, light-filled rooms • New kitchen w/ granite counters & stainless appliances • Family room w/ fireplace, screened-in porch • 3 BR including bright master suite w/ bay window • Home office (Verizon high speed internet) & finished LL & 2 car garage.

Mt. Gilead location, minutes to Leesburg & Greenway • Major upgrades to home since 2010 • 4BR with great master suite • 2-1/2 BA, 3 FP, high ceilings, wood floors throughout • Pool w brick & stone terrace, paved driveway • 5-stall brick barn, tack room, hay storage • New board fencing, run-in shed.

Helen MacMahon

Paul MacMahon

(540)454-1930

(703) 609-1905

110 East Washington Street Middleburg, Virginia 20117

IN COUNTRY

Watson’s Conservatory Course. see my friend meeting like-minded, successful East Coast transplants that he could talk to at this club, and it got me thinking…a lot.

Retirement is not too far down the road for my family. When I was younger I just could not understand why everybody wanted to head south to retire. Now it makes sense, and I hear myself listening to people’s travel experiences and ideas about retirement a little more closely. The forever-baffling to me when younger second-home purchases that friends are making seem to make a little more sense, and I want to know why they purchased and where.

Without really realizing it, my friend joined Hammock Beach because he was familiar

The Henderson Beach Resort in Destin, Florida along the Gulf Coast. with the Salamander brand. Having watched Sheila Johnson develop her resort locally and be an active Washingtonian for many years has endeared her to the community, and we now know the Salamander name well. I cannot count the number of times I have stopped into Middleburg and visited the Salamander Market for a quality sandwich or bowl of soup.

It has a comforting feel to it.

Southern destinations can sometimes be daunting, and communities can be hard to break into. Even if they were not (and they are), knowing that I can count on a certain level of service, a varied amenity base, and a friendly name in a place I am not extensively familiar with is comforting. It is nice to be able to bring

a little bit of home with me as I explore these destinations with eyes towards the future.

Association with a Salamander Resort opens the doors to relationships at all of its resorts, and my friend is already talking about visits to the other Salamander Resorts.

This year, I plan to visit their new Charleston location when it opens, since this is one of the stops on our pre-retirement tour. I know it will be a nice stay and will be a great base from which to explore a potential permanent location. Even if southern belles do not run across the street to immediately relinquish their family recipes to us, I will have a secret weapon. I will have a little Salamander in my pocket.

The Spa at Hammock Beach Resort.

THE 98TH ANNUAL

SATURDAY, APRIL 21, 2018 Glenwood Park Racecourse Middleburg, VA Post Time 1:00 p.m.

General Admission $20.00 per Person Tailgate Spaces from $250.00

Ticket Information: www.middleburgspringraces.com (540) 687-6545 Sponsors The Family of J. Temple Gwathmey • The Grassi Family Merrill Lynch Private Banking and Investment Group Sonabank • Mr. and Mrs. Rene Woolcott The Red Fox Inn • Middleburg Bank Sanctioned by The National Steeplechase Association • Races run rain or shine

GMG, INC.

APRIL 18, 2018

19

STYLE 3 1

4

HAUTE & COOL

He Has It Made!

BY ALLYS ON BURK HA R D T What’s going on in men’s fashion these days? Having it your way, all the way. The trend toward made-to-measure is no longer dedicated to an exclusive clientele. Custom fit has diffused into the mainstream in a most affordable way.

Although suiting reflects executive style, shirting is at the core of a man’s wardrobe.

Multiple measurements allow for a fit to your specs. Broad shoulders, long arms or a hardto-find neck size are easily accommodated and with amazing turnaround times.

How about a polo shirt, golf slacks or even jeans? These are all emerging categories in tailor-made. Options for wrinkle-resistant, performance and stretch fabrications are available to build your on-the-go wardrobe.

Whether you are a custom enthusiast or a first-timer, here’s where to go to have it made.

TIBI Cashmere Cropped Pullover $595 | Intermix

5

1) IKE BEHAR

Gold Label Shirting $265 Ike’s expert shirting is now customizable in a flash.

4) EVERARD’S Da Vinci Cuff Links $250 Add a touch of class with handcrafted coin cuff links.

2) IKE EVENING

5) J.HILBURN

Peak Lapel Tuxedo $399 If you are looking to modernize your formal wear, try a navy blue hue.

Plum Pique Polo $115 Give your downtime dressing a functional lift with this performance polo.

3) EVERARD’S

Bold Blue Sport Coat $895 Experience madeto-fit luxury in a standout jacket.

Fabric by Loro Piana.

Allyson Burkhardt is the founder of Let’s Get Dressed! Image & Style Services. Visit her on the web at letsgetdresseddc.com.

2

BODY & SOUL

Trending: Cold Pressed Juices Are Hot!

BY R EB E K A H KE L L E Y Cold-pressed juices are hot! Why? The health and wellness trend has caused a shift in behavior and purchasing patterns.

Millennials and modern agers are more aware of and actively making healthy decisions and incorporating them into their everyday life. One of these choices is consuming organic fresh-pressed juices.

The juice market is booming, becoming a reported $3.4-billion industry, as people incorporate juices into their daily diets.

Don’t Miss a Beet!

Most health authorities recommend getting eight servings of vegetables and fruits per day, and very few Americans actually do.

Juicing...

• Helps more easily absorb all the nutrients from vegetables.

• Allows the efficient consumption of the right amount of vegetables.

• Can add a wider variety of vegetables into one’s diet Focus on Green Juice, Not Fruit Juice Raw green vegetable juice is packed with micronutrients that many people’s diets are lacking. The bulk of juice consumption should come from organic green veggies like spinach, celery, kale, Swiss chard, cucumber, etc., and not fruits, which are higher in sugar.

20

APRIL 18, 2018

GMG, INC.

Not All Juice Processing Is Equal — Check the Label Pasteurized Juice. For large companies with national distribution, where juice will be sitting in the grocery store refrigerator, pasteurization is necessary to kill the bacteria and allow an extended shelf life.

The problem with pasteurized juice is that it maintains its sugar content (yes, even vegetable juices have sugar — think carrot and beet juice) but doesn’t have its original nutrition. Pasteurized juice has the lowest enzyme and nutritional benefits.

High Pressure Processing (HPP).

Instead of heat, HPP uses pressure, leading to the inactivation of certain microorganisms and enzymes in the food. Treatment occurs at low temperatures and does not include additives. The nutrition of the juice is not completely diminished by this process, so it allows the juice to maintain a partial natural state while keeping the juice safe for short shelf life.

Cold-Pressed Juice. Cold pressing first crushes fruits or vegetables and then presses the juice from them. This process keeps the nutrition and enzymes intact, providing the most nutritionally active juice. It has a limited shelf life and should be consumed within 24 hours of processing. Cold-pressed raw, unprocessed juice contains the fullest amount of nutrients.

Local Juice Resources Freshly squeezed juice made on site, such as at a restaurant, juice bar, grocery, health food store, cider mill or farmer’s market, is not required to be pasteurized.

Jaco Juice & Taco, located in Georgetown, 1614 Wisconsin Ave. NW. Try the Mean Green, made with apple, kale, cucumber, ginger and lime juice. jacojuiceandtaco.com Jrink, located in Foggy Bottom, 1922 I St. NW (above El Chalan Restaurant). Try Fuel Me Up, made with pear, kale, romaine, cucumber, lemon and ginger. jrink.com South Block Juice, located in Georgetown, 3210 Grace St. NW. Try Detox, made with cucumber, apple, kale, spinach, celery, parsley, lemon and ginger. southblockjuice. com Fruitive, located at the Freshfarm Dupont Circle Market on Sundays. Try the Kalevolution, made with red apple, cucumber, kale, romaine, lemon and ginger. fruitive.com Top: Allyson Burkardht enjoying juice at South Block. Photo by Rebekah Kelly. Bottom: Puree juice bar. Photo by Erik Cox.

Puree Artisan, located in Sibley Hospital, 5255 Loughboro Road NW. Try the Easy Green, made with cucumber, kale, apple and lemon. pureejuicebar.com

Rebekah Kelley is the creator and founder of Virtue Skinfood, a wholistic luxury skin care line. Visit her on the web at virtueskinfood.com.

CLASSIFIEDS / SERVICE DIRECTORY

ADVISORY NEIGHBORHOOD COMMISSION 2C MONTHLY MEETING MONDAY, MAY 14, 2018 AT 6:30 P.M. 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Room G 9 Washington DC

LESSONS

SERVICE

LEASE/RENT

TENNIS LESSONS

LANDSCAPE INSTALLATION & GARDEN DESIGN

Ideal vineyard development opportunity on historic river front property in Charlottesville, VA. Mountain views and equestrian facilities. 434-249-4667

$25 for a private, 1-hour lesson in Foggy Bottom and Georgetown. Excellent with beginners, intermediate, and children.

Mark 202-333-3484

FOR SALE FLUTE GEMEINHARDT

THOMAS AND TALBOT REAL ESTATE LAND AND ESTATE AGENTS

SINCE 1967

Silver plated open hole. Recently serviced and cleaned. In excellent condition with hard case and carrying bag. Appraised at $800. contact Mark 202 333 3485

PROPERTY FOR SALE OFFICE FOR SALE

No. 2 South Madison Street Middleburg, Virginia 20118 (540) 687-6500

THOMAS-TALBOT.com

Office Condominium For Sale (Will Consider a 7 yr lease).

DC Central Business District, Near Dupont & Foggy Botom Metros. 1147 20th NW. Email sergio@jbsventures.com or call 202 258 8860

A Sales Record of Historic Proportion

FOR SALE

Mulching, yard cleanups, flower, shrub and tree installation. Shrub pruning, lawn renovation. Landscape Consultations, Quality Work and Craftsmanship Contact Landscapesplus@hotmail.com or call 301-593-0577 Landscapesplus.com

FOR RENT IN GEORGETOWN Furnished 1BR/1BA Bright Basement Apartment Included: W/D, Utilities, Wi-Fi, TV & Cleaning $1900/month (negotiable) Near GTU, AU & GWU (202) 669-1202

NANNY AVAILABLE FOR HIRE

Local French speaking nanny with experience and excellent reference.

Available as a live in or live out.

Call: 818-331-5013.

APARTMENT AVAILABLE FOR RENT Basement efficiency, near GU. W/D, A/C. $1000.00 plus utilities.

202 965-5798.

GARDEN, LAWN, AND HANDYMAN SERVICE

Expertise include home repairs, hauling, painting, carpentry, and firewood for all your house hold needs. For a free estimate, call Robert at 240 477 2158 or 301 987 1277.

NAIS’S CLEANING SERVICES

House cleaning service. Experience reliable and professional with excellent references.

We clean bi-weekly monthly or seasonal.

Call Nais today to request a customized quote according to your needs.

703 992 3907

For ADVERTISING inquiries, contact 202-338-4833 | advertising@georgetowner.com Georgetowner File Server

GEORGETOWN RENTAL

1 bedroom apartment with north & south exposure. Living room includes fireplace.

Available for $2,065.

Please call 202 333 5943

GEORGETOWN GEM 2018 COMPLETE RENOVATION.

Studio, murphy bed, custom built-ins, furnished. Huge private outdoor patio.

Hardwood & marble floors. 4 Blks from Dupont Metro. 24hr Concierge Building, $2100 includes utilities 202-957-4965.

THE POWER OF LOCAL. The Georgetowner is mailed to all

7,700 RESIDENTS & BUSINESS in Georgetown.

BUY THREE ADVERTISEMENTS, GET ONE FREE CALL TO LEARN MORE 202-338-4833

A Cleaning Service Inc Since 1985

Residential & Commercial Insured, Bonded, Licenced - Serving DC, VA, MD

703.892.8648 - www.acleaningserviceinc.com

GMG, INC.

APRIL 18, 2018

21

FEATURE

‘The President Will See You Now’

A worshipful ode to the Gipper from his private secretary REVIEW ED BY KIT T Y K E LLE Y

I

picked up “The President Will See You Now: My Stories and Lessons from Ronald Reagan’s Final Years,” a memoir

by Peggy Grande of her 10 years with Ronald Reagan after he left the White House in 1989, with misgivings.

Since that time, more than 500 biographies and staff memoirs of Reagan have been published, in addition to his own autobiography and 15 volumes of his presidential papers.

There is also the Ronald Reagan Legacy Project, which works to place a monument or memorial to the former president in every state; to date, it has established Reagan landmarks in 38 of them.

The next stated goal is to place a public building named after Reagan in the 3,140 counties in the U.S. — proving, if nothing else, a continuing commitment to the Gipper.

At one time, I, too, was fascinated by all things Reagan and researched the subject thoroughly to write “Nancy Reagan: The Unauthorized Biography,” a 1991 book featured on the covers of Time and Newsweek. Some people, particularly the Reagans, who held a press conference to denounce the book, felt it was too critical of the former first lady, although I gave her full marks for making possible all of her husband’s stunning success.

So I did not come to Grande’s memoir without interest. Truth to tell, I was seduced by her rationale for writing the book. She said she couldn’t shake a passing comment from a colleague: “If there was a woman who sat outside Abraham Lincoln’s office every day for ten years, don’t you think we would want to know what she saw?

And wouldn’t she owe that to history?”

I was all in and wanted to know about the last decade of Reagan’s life, when Alzheimer’s began robbing him of his golden ability to communicate. The most poignant recollection in the book comes when the author, who writes worshipfully of her boss, recounts the first time she knew something was wrong. She had escorted a group of visitors in to see the former president in his Los Angeles office, and he began telling his pony story but could not remember the punchline.

Anyone familiar with Reagan lore knows about the pony. It was an old chestnut the president had polished to perfection and told so often that staffers knew every word by heart: A father had two sons — one exceedingly pessimistic, the other eternally optimistic.

The father locks the pessimist in a room full of

Georgetown Garden T

O

U

R

S AT U R DAY M AY 1 2 , 2 0 1 8 10 AM TO 5 PM T I C K E T S $40 $35 B E F O R E M AY 1 Tickets can be purchased the day of the tour at Christ Church 31st and O Streets, NW Washington, DC Or online:

georgetowngardenclubdc.org

COME 22

TO

APRIL 18, 2018

DC! GMG, INC.

Garden Club

toys, convinced the youngster will jump for joy. Instead, the little boy cries because he says the toys will eventually break. The optimist is locked in a room piled high with horse manure, which the father feels sure will elicit yowls of complaint. But the youngster laughs with glee and starts digging. “With all this manure, there has to be a pony in here somewhere.”

Five years into his retirement, the former president could no longer find his pony. After he visited the Mayo Clinic and received his dreadful diagnosis, the buoyant man who always saw “Morning in America” announced that he was entering the dark shadows of the Alzheimer’s disease that would finally claim him in 2004.

Grande writes with knee-bending reverence for Reagan, but she circles Nancy with the kind of arm’s-length respect one reserves for a tiger. This is the point in her story where the author could have heaped praise on the former first lady as she began her campaign to expand stem-cell research into the disease that was taking her husband.

In 2004, Nancy Reagan put herself at odds with her own political party to publicly oppose President George W. Bush’s policies, which limited federal funding to stem-cell

colonies created before August 2001. She joined Michael J. Fox and helped raise $2 million for stem-cell research into Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. She lobbied members of Congress to revive legislation to expand federal funding.

At the age of 86, looking frail but sounding firm, she continued speaking out. “There are so many diseases that can be cured or at least helped,” she said. In 2009, she praised President Barack Obama for overturning the restrictive Bush policy. “We owe it to ourselves and our children to do everything in our power to find cures for these diseases.”

It’s puzzling not to applaud Mrs. Reagan’s efforts to find a cure for the disease that killed her husband, whom the author describes with all the genuflecting adjectives of an adoring acolyte. In another glaring omission, she writes that “the Reagans loved children.”

Trying to prove her point, she includes many photographs of her own children visiting the president and first lady at their home in Bel Air, where she tells us the president frequently wore a “striped matching pajama set and white monogrammed RWR robe with leather slippers.”

Yet her book, which purports to chronicle the president’s last years, makes no mention of the Reagans’ own children or grandchildren.

She cites no visits, no phone calls, no letters, no emails. She does not even acknowledge the death of the president’s eldest child (with first wife Jane Wyman), Maureen Reagan, at age 60 in 2001, three years before the president died.

That the Reagans put their marriage before their children will come as no surprise, but that they substituted staff for family, as Grande writes, seems such a sad ending to a book that proposed to pay a debt to history.

Georgetown resident Kitty Kelley has written several number-one New York Times best-sellers, including “The Family: The Real Story Behind the Bush Dynasty.” Her most recent books include “Capturing Camelot: Stanley Tretick’s Iconic Images of the Kennedys” and “Let Freedom Ring: Stanley Tretick’s Iconic Images of the March on Washington.”

VIEW MORE EVENTS ONLINE VISIT GEORGETOWNER.COM/CALENDAR

GOOD WORKS & GOOD TIMES

Sen. Larry Pressler Celebrates Birthday, Diagnosis

BY P EG GY S A N D S The 76th birthday and “all clear” cancer diagnosis (after five bladder surgeries) of Larry Pressler, former Republican congressman and senator from South Dakota, was celebrated April 7 with a happy crowd of close friends, veterans, congressional colleagues and fans at the historic home of Chang Turkmani on Foxhall Road next to the Kreeger Museum.

Those on hand included Pressler’s wife Harriet, Bill Lammers, Barbara Kahlow, Dr. Ron Smith, Tony Ted Proxmire, Harriet Pressler, Larry Pressler and Kelley Georgiadis, Steve Fletcher and Bill Proxmire. Courtesy Janet Donovan.

Adams. Apart from the whole lamb roast, Turkmani prepared all the Lebanese dishes for the more than 50 guests. Copies of the senator’s latest book, “Neighbours in Arms: An American Senator’s Quest for Disarmament in a Nuclear Subcontinent,” were displayed, along with Pressler’s three earlier books on his historic shift to an independent political position.

Blue Jeans Ball Aids Food Bank

BY M A RY B I R D Dressed down to support nearly 12 percent of area residents at risk of hunger and ensuing health concerns, over 800 people gathered at the Marriott Marquis April 8 for the 15th annual Blue Jeans Ball, “Unlocking the Power of Food.” Emmy Award-winning husband and wife journalists Peter Alexander and Alison Starling emceed the event. Ben’s Chili Bowl received the Community Champion Award in recognition of 60 years of service to the community. More than 40 local restaurants and purveyors showcased their food and drink.

With the help of auctioneer B.J. Jennings, the evening raised $432,000 to further the Capital Area Food Bank’s mission to end hunger.

‘Wish Upon a Star’

BY C H R I ST I N E WA R N K E The Make a Wish Foundation Annual Gala at the Ronald Reagan Trade Center April 7 centered on those who come together to change the lives of critically ill children. Through one wish at a time, a child’s life is transformed. Kids are all stars in their own right and they deserve the chance to “twinkle” – a heartfelt feeling which permeated the evening.

Top to Bottom: Husband and wife emcees Peter Alexander of NBC and Alison Starling of ABC. Event chair Valerie Mallett, Radha Muthiah and Nancy E. Roman.

Board member John P. Hynes Jr. with board chair Peter Schnall.

Courtesy Capital Area Food Bank.

Katie Couric, executive producer and host of “America Inside Out,” at its National Geographical premiere April 5 with the episode, “Re-Righting History.” Photo by Neshan H. Naltchayan.

Make-a-Wish’s Cooper Young, aged five, with his father Eric Young at the Evening of Wishes Gala.

Photo by Neshan H. Naltchayan.

Gala Guide

APRIL - MAY

APRIL 20

APRIL 21

PLANNED PARENTHOOD GALA

MAKE-A-WISH MID-ATLANTIC TICKLED PINK

Titled “Sharing Our Past/Shaping Our Future,” the gala, honoring those who have promoted reproductive health care in D.C., will include VIP and general receptions, dinner, a dessert soirée and dancing. CNN Political Commentator and NPR Political Analyst Angela Rye is the special guest speaker. Union Station. Contact Mara Kaiser Braunger at 202-763-7361 or mara.braunger@ppmw.org.

The 15th annual Tickled Pink event, a mother-daughter afternoon tea fashion show featuring the latest collection from Lilly Pulitzer, will also include a silent auction, a program and unmissable goody bags.

All proceeds will be donated to Make-AWish Mid-Atlantic. Fairmont Washington, D.C. Email Georgia Katinas at gkatinas@ midatlantic.wish.org.

APRIL 25

APRIL 27

SMITHSONIAN CRAFT SHOW PREVIEW NIGHT

CATHEDRAL CHORAL SOCIETY GALA

The Smithsonian Women’s Committee presents the 36th annual Smithsonian Craft Show, “Asian Influence/American Design,” featuring 120 premier artists.

Proceeds support the Smithsonian Women’s Committee Grants Fund. National Building Museum. Visit smithsoniancraftshow.org.

APRIL 26

BALL FOR THE MALL

The ball, featuring authors Cokie and Rebecca Roberts with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer as emcee, will include a general reception, a seated dinner and a dessert reception.

Proceeds support the National Mall as a vital historic and cultural landscape. Madison Drive at 12th Street NW. Contact Vanessa Chelbi at 202-407-94415 or vchelbi@ nationalmall.org.

Legendary soprano Jesse Norman is honorary chair of the “Sing a New Song” gala, which will pay tribute to chorus members and introduce new Music Director Steven Fox. The evening will include a cocktail reception, a silent auction, a reception-style dinner, performances and dancing. Washington National Cathedral. Contact Lindsay Sheridan at 202-537-5526 or lsheridan@cathedral.org.

MAY 10 ARENA STAGE GALA

Broadway’s Maurice Hines and singersongwriter Mary McBride will join this gala event, at which Mayor Muriel Bowser will receive the Beth Newburger Schwartz Award in recognition of her commitment to and support of the arts. All proceeds from the event, which will include a cocktail reception and a seated dinner, support Arena Stage’s awardwinning artistic productions and community engagement programs. Arena Stage. Call Maria Corso at 202-600-4025 or email rsvp@arenastage.org.

GMG, INC.

APRIL 18, 2018

23

202.944.5000

24

WFP.COM

MASS AVE HEIGHTS, WASHINGTON, DC Breathtaking Rock Creek Park views in over 10,000 square feet designed by Marshall/Moya. 4/5 bedrooms, 5 baths, media room, pool, sauna, gym, eight car garage. Beyond imagination. $10,750,000 Marilyn Charity 202-427-7553

WESLEY HEIGHTS, WASHINGTON, DC NEW LISTING! Incredible renovated home with 12,000+/- square feet living on majestic halfacre corner lot with pool and pool house. $9,995,000 Robert Hryniewicki Adam T. Rackliffe 202-243-1620

MASS AVE HEIGHTS, WASHINGTON, DC Stately residence on private St. surrounded by parkland features. Turnkey interior with sun-drenched, grand-scale rooms throughout. Fabulous kit/FR w/ 10’ + ceilings. Gorgeous back garden w/ pool . $5,995,000 Margot Wilson 202-549-2100

MCLEAN, VIRGINIA Hugh Newell Jacobsen contemporary masterpiece on a private setting. Light filled residence with seven bedrooms, six baths, pool, tennis court and caretaker’s cottage on nearly 10 acres. $4,995,000 Mark McFadden 703-216-1333

CLEVELAND PARK, WASHINGTON, DC NEW LISTING! 140’ frontage on coveted Newark Street with pool and nearly one acre of grounds. Sundrenched, open, & airy interior w/ large kitchen/ family room. Steps to schools, restaurants, Metro! $3,995,000 Margot Wilson 202-549-2100

KENT, WASHINGTON, DC Exquisite, newly constructed 6BR/7.5BA by AR Custom Builders in prime location. Unmatched finishes & design.

Pool, elevator, roof deck w/ views. 4 car gar. $3,995,000 Liz D’Angio 202-427-7890 Nancy Taylor Bubes 202-386-7813

GEORGETOWN, WASHINGTON, DC Charming East Village townhouse with original HWFs and natural light throughout. LR with fireplace, 3BR, 2BA on upper level + BR & BA in the lower level.

Private terrace; driveway parking in rear. $2,295,000 Nancy Taylor Bubes 202-386-7813

GEORGETOWN, WASHINGTON, DC UNDER CONTRACT! Estate sale! Large E. Village 3-4BR, 3.5BA semi-detached home w/ 2 car garage needs renovation. Southern exposure across from Rose Park, 2 FPs, finished LL w/ guest suite & family room. $1,995,000 Eileen McGrath 202-253-2226

GEORGETOWN, WASHINGTON, DC Light-filled and authentic detached Federal with four bedroom, three full, two half baths and four fireplaces. South terrace, and incredible lush deep garden; parking. $1,995,000 Jamie Peva 202-258-5050

WEST END, WASHINGTON, DC Handsome three unit in fun location. Main house three floor unit with 2BR, 2.5BA; ground floor studio; 1BR duplex in back. Two-car parking. $1,895,000 Anne Hatfield Weir 202-255-2490 Heidi Hatfield 202-258-1919

CLEVELAND PARK, WASHINGTON, DC NEW LISTING! Spacious and enchanting 5 bedrooms in Cleveland Park with grand-scale rooms. Two levels of screened porches overlooking large, level yard.

Walk to schools, restaurants, Metro! $1,695,000 Margot Wilson 202-549-2100

SPRING VALLEY, WASHINGTON, DC Gracious 5BR/4.5BA Colonial near shops, restaurants.

Large entertaining rooms, FR w/ fireplace, eat-in kitchen, nicely finished LL, 1 car attached gar. $1,425,000 Sally Marshall 301 254-3020 Kim Gibson 202-256-3628

BETHESDA, MARYLAND Elegant, gracious 6 bedrooms, 4.5 baths on .61 acres.

Generously sized rooms with fantastic floor plan, 9’ ceilings, and accent moldings. Approx. 4,900 finished SF, 2 car garage. Close in location. $1,099,000 Susan Koehler 703-967-6789

GEORGETOWN, WASHINGTON, DC NEW LISTING! Wonderfully updated 2BR, 2.5BA unit, balcony & Potomac views at The Flour Mill. Over 1,500 SF of living. Bosch W/D, extra storage, gar pkg avail. $979,000 Robert Hryniewicki Christopher R. Leary 202-243-1620

CLEVELAND PARK, WASHINGTON, DC Charming & bright 3BR+den, 2.5BA semi-detached in heart of Cleveland Park. Living room with porch, private terrace & garden. Walk to everything! $950,000 Tammy Gale 202-297-0169 Andrea Hatfield 202-487-4294

COLUMBIA HEIGHTS, WASHINGTON, DC NEW LISTING! Two bedrooms, two baths with HWF, SS appliances, 2 private patios, entirely sundrenched, chic, urbane home! Both BRs have ensuite baths and enormous walk-in closets!

Nate Guggenheim 202-333-5905

APRIL 18, 2018

GMG, INC.