This year the event was even bigger than last, it covered more blocks than the last I thought. I…read morevisited a few bars especially at the Granville Moore said hello to our friends there and to Smith Commons where there were Ommegang sponsored beer tents. It was a great event with lots of people coming out to support H St. I even had bought a BBQ turkey leg from the Biergarten Haus, it weighed about 2 lbs! And a locally made pickled jar of jalapeno peppers from Gordy's.

The biggest street fair I have ever seen (and I've been to several in NYC). Fun and definite must…read moredo for next year.

Since Covid ended our family has been frequent patrons of the Kennedy Center, Wicked being our 4th…read moreevent in less than 1 year. I've always heard good things and knew nothing about the plot or story of Wicked. Did a weekday matinee which was much less stressful to get to, though there are a lot of students/kids which I hadn't figured on. I used the brand new Ashburn Metro station to go into DC and it was awesome. Set and costume design were amazing and the story was a interesting spin on the original that we're all familiar with. To be honest, the tunes were not quite as catchy as some of the others that I've seen this year but good nonetheless. I was in the top balcony b/c seats were very inexpensive but to be honest a bit hard to hear and a bit of a vertigo if you have to walk down the steep stairs. I think in the future, I'll try to keep everything at the orchestra level.

I went to a Story League Story Contest last night at Busboys & Poets on 14th and V. It was really…read moregreat! The theme was gossip, and we heard several stories about gossip, rumors, and "evil tongue" in general. The theme was a difficult one (do that many people have stories about gossip?), but the storytellers were funny, poignant, and honest, often all at the same time. At the end, the audience votes for their favorite storyteller, and the audience favorite wins a t-shirt. The judges' favorite wins $100. The judges last night included a "story expert," a local stand up comedian, and a writer for the Washington Post. I felt that the legitimacy of the judges added greatly to the legitimacy of the event. Seating at the venue (it was in a back room) was communal, so strangers were sharing booths and making new friends. Others ordered food, but I just had a drink (an eco-brew beer, because obviously they have that) because I couldn't have possibly held off dinner until 9. Turns out, I was sitting right next to the guy who ended up winning! Brushing shoulders with a local celeb, nbd. While most storytellers have signed up in advance, they allow for one or more volunteers who feel the urge right then to stand up and share. Don't order too many of those eco-brews, or else you might find yourself on stage.

Thank you so much, Sydney and Jollof Festival, for allowing me to participate in this event!…read more There was a bit of a confusion in terms of how to redeem our tickets and the check-in process - it seemed a bit disorganized, as there was a line to 'enter' the festival on one side of the festival, but people were coming through the other side. The security seemed to be overwhelmed with the questions from the patrons and how to get their waistbands, since the event planners didn't seem to relay any of the protocol, procedures, and how to check people in... With persistence, we were able to get our wristbands and our tickets - the front staff didn't explain what the tickets were for... we did find out that the 'meal ticket' is to gain entry to the 'Orange Ticket Holder' area to sample various vendors' jollof rice, and the Yelp red tickets were to use to cast votes at the vendors that were located outdoors. We were able to check out: +Fly Chef +Hajara's Kitchen +Yvoni's There was a DJ playing some beats, vendors who were selling jewelry/accessories and clothing, and a bar located in the middle to order beverages. The hubs and I had a great time sampling the jollof rice and speaking with the business owners! Definitely a packed event! Street and lot parking can be found in the area. Thank you for a fun Saturday! +jollof tasting & contest +friendly vendors +music +local businesses +at Union Market

Ticket made possible through Yelp Elite Squad…read more First introduction to the Jollof Festival was unorganized. With 2 entrances open for guests to arrive, only 1 was designated for ticketing which was unmarked. Signage had directions for way-finding only for the festival itself rather than the ticketing portion. This made for getting into the festival a longer (even if you arrived close to opening time there was a minimum of 1 hour wait in peak DC summer heat) excursion. With not being able to properly check in, no designated between VIP or general ticket holders, a wristband shortage, a line down the block, and abundance of under trained staff, and increasingly agitated guests, it was visibly rough for everyone there. For tickets above general entry that included a Jollof Rice Tasting, visitors had to stand along to the Union Market garbages for their 5 (realistically 4 samples due to shortages) of jollof. The option to taste the samples in the venue itself was open to visitors, but had no tables or chairs to accommodate so folks were eating a box of jollof either standing or on the concrete ledges only at the edge of the interior building. Despite this, the festival itself was lively with all the external contractors independant to the festival really carrying the enjoyment factor. The Dj was well placed in the center and had festival goers moving. The bar was also centrally placed with more access to alcohol and beverages. Food vendors brought BBQ pits, making jollof fresh, and added a modern twist to these familiar food palettes. We spoke to some of the chefs and they are incredibly proud of the food they're sharing. Mascot was on point! Jewelry vendors were fair and approachable.

Everyone knows that I don't give out five starts very often. A business must go way over and beyond…read moremy expectations to get all five! I have been to several paint nights and have even left in tears from one of those... that was not the case with Creative Mankind. This company travels around to different venues and offers a variety of painting options. I met up with a group of friends and we painted a Mardi Gras themed picture. Right off the bat I knew it was going to be an awesome experience. We were greeted with upbeat music and beads to celebrate the occasion. Our instructor really put a lot of thought and passion into the class ahead of time. Laying on the canvas was a template of the mask we needed to transfer to our painting. She let us know that we could "go rogue" and change up the colors and skip the sketching parts but I am way not that talented! She had one completed painting on an easel and another blank canvas for demonstration up on an elevated easel. It was visible to everyone in the room without having to stand up. She was extremely accommodating as far as time given for each step, which I really appreciated! It was fun how she would tell us how many songs she would play for us to finish each step... "okay you have two songs to do this step!" There was an assistant who walked around and offered advice and guidance which was helpful. Creative Mankind had partnered with a restaurant that offered drink specials and happy hour pricing for apps! The restaurant provided a dedicated server to us which was a nice touch. And huzzah... my painting actually looked a lot like the sample! Which for me is a huge deal because I am really not artistic or creative with paint. We were all encouraged along the way and our confidence was bolstered by telling us that everyone is an artist but we express our artistry in different ways. I was with a party of six and all of our paintings turned out different and reflected our personalities. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Creative Mankind for any event they host. They also do private parties!

I'm a remote employee in CA and work with a virtual team. We meet up on a quarterly basis in…read moreArlington, VA, (DMV area) so when we do come together, we try to make the most of our time and make it a point to sneak in some fun! For our last trip in July, I was tasked with coordinating the fun team activity and stumbled upon Creative Mankind. I was considering a couple other options, but when I started communicating with Staci (the owner and host), there was really no question that this was the activity (painting class) I wanted to plan for my team. She was so nice, so patient, and super accommodating in every way possible. She even found the most perfect venue to hold our team event (Lyon Hall). She provided all supplies, ensured the ambiance was great and lively, and her instruction was so thorough! She guided us -ever so patiently- every step of the way. We had so much fun! I would, 100% recommend Creative Mankind for your next work team event!!

My wife and I went to a few of the earlier iterations of this festival, but we have been away from…read moreit for a couple of years, and came back having scored a couple of free tickets. We both agreed that had we paid full price would would have been dissatisfied. Maybe I am just remembering with false nostalgia, but it seems to me that the price of admission has been going up while the number of separate stages and number of acts has been going down. Too many of the acts that we saw were overly electrified, and the amplification of the instruments overwhelmed the voices of the singers. A number of the acts seemed to be much more rock-ish and less bluegrass-y. Too many in the audiences were shouting at each other so that they could hear each other over the music, making the experience even less pleasant. The lack of any brochures that we could carry around to keep track of the schedules at various stages made it harder to find what we might have wanted; I thought the explanation for the no-brochures -- we are ging green" might well be an excuse for cutting a cost. And given the lack of brochures, the paucity of signage listing the various acts and times and stages was especially telling. I don't expect to be back

This festival by far exceeded my expectations, I won two free tickets on Yelp and my only…read moredata-point about the event was the then, only one very negative review by someone who, apparently needed to be hammered to enjoy anything. At this year's event there were literally dozens of beer tents, and kudos on the distribution of stainless steel pint glasses. But this festival has so much more to offer than just beer. Free kayaking, boat rides, food trucks and stages tucked into intimate pockets of forest make this festival a must visit event . We were able to take a guided pontoon boat tour with Trey of Anacostia Riverkeeper, seeing the river firsthand and hearing about the ecology and policy issues therein was definitely a highlight. This event reminds me of camp out jam session and we left feeling like we had considerable more outdoor time than just a few hours. Getting to the festival was super easy via metro then shuttle ride. Very kid and dog friendly.

Tenth Annual Celebration of Chinese New Year (Year of Dog) was another opportunity for everyone to…read morelearn more about Chinese and Asian cultures. The venue (enormous new high school with huge auditorium) was a perfect venue with plenty of parking. The program was very good and things moved quickly. At the end, everybody went to the school cafeteria for FREE Chinese refreshments - noodles, spring rolls and dumplings. Although, it was unheard off that festival food is free it is unfortunate that visitors could not have a better experience of Chinese cuisine. Bottom line, free event, nice cultural immersion with a lot of space for the improvements in future.

Visiting the cherry blossoms has been a wonderful tradition in my family. We would pack a picnic…read moreand head towards the tidal basin. The parade is a wonderful way to celebrate the ending of the cherry blossom season. Hubby and I usually work during the parade in the telecast area. The cherry blossom festival organization is non-profit. The parade is free, however you can sit in a ticketed area for a closer view. Ticket sales help fund the various cultural activities that the festival sponsors. I love watching the cherry blossom & lantern balloons. There are usually funny characters, including clowns on tricycles.The musical numbers are fun. I enjoy seeing the park police on horses. Bonus points to the clean up crew.

After all these years, I finally had the chance to attend the National Cherry Blossom Festival…read moreParade. The weather was cooperative (very nice considering the recent patterns), except that standing in one spot too long without shade proved to get very hot after awhile. The section of the parade that was free for spectators was on Constitution Avenue right in front of the National Museum of American History (between 10th and 14th Streets). This section is easily accessible from the Federal Triangle Metro Station. The steps of the EPA made for some decent seats if you couldn't get to one of the large flower pots that lined the road. In at least one spot, they had a performance artist (singer) in between two marching bands -- that was so not cool -- it came out sounding like a bunch of noise. I couldn't hear the singer at all nor could I separate the music sounds for each performance. I think that was a bad call - I hope that someone on the coordination team noticed and won't do that again. Overall, not bad but I'm still not sure how I feel about the guy selling "fresh" pretzels out of a Petco shopping cart... :/