Events in DC and back home (153Cong.Rec.3467)

Okay, this is going to be hard. In this downtime, blogging is beckoning. But the few posts I was working on all involved the fun known as "leaving my house." Initially, I thought I should wait until this is all over before I did a recap, but by that time, these thoughts might be sorely out of date. Besides, maybe this walk down recent memory lane will be cathartic, if a little bit masochistic.

I was looking forward to returning to DC from abroad for many reasons, but a primary one was easy access to many events. Events that I could learn about without using Google Translate, events that I could buy tickets for without my credit card being declined, events that I could go to without staying up way past my bedtime because they started an hour late. Like concerts. What better way to drench myself in U.S. culture than a cover band devoted to yacht rock, Boat House Row (left)? An event, at The Hamilton Live, where I didn't care about standing out as a tacky American, even though I didn't wear a leather vest (right). 

Also, events that indulged by inner groupie for people I know. Like grooving to The Porch Lights, when my friend, the lead singer, let me play much, much more cowbell (left). Like watching Forest Treas, when I swelled with pride for a former student, who was director of the conceptual play about the DC sniper (right).

And events that made me a fangirl of people I would like to know. Like walking 15 minutes from my house to the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop to watch the Taffety Punk Riot Grrrls' all-female production of Othello (top). Like hopping the Metro to the Kennedy Center to see so much funny: Tituss Burgess's musical revue with special guest Jane Krakowski (bottom left), Heidi Schreck's one-woman show What the Constitution Means to Me, and a Riot! comedy celebration for International Women's Day (bottom right). 

 

 

Plus, events that reunited me with people I hadn't seen for a while. Like at trip with friends to Wolf Trap Center for the Performing Arts, which was planned well before I landed back in the States (top left). After a picnic outside the amphitheater, we enjoyed our excellent seats for viewing Swan Lake with Misty Copeland (top right). Like another trip to the center, when we opted for lawn seats, so we could only see Wait Wait ... Don't Tell Me host Peter Sagal's actual face on the big screen (bottom). 

  

Which brings me to events that made me geek out over seeing some idols, especially those from radio shows. Like a tour of the NPR building (top left). Somehow, I managed to resist stealing a souvenir (top right); I mean, it was just lying right there! However, I did not manage to be subtle as we exited the recording booth (bottom) and saw Melissa Block sitting at her desk; there was some heavy pointing involved.

 

Then, events that paid homage to departed heroes. I tend to avoid the Smithsonians because of the crowds (oh, cruel irony). So this past summer, I happily slid into the Baseball Americana exhibit at the Library of Congress, where you could act like a slugger in the spotlight (top left). But I couldn't resist finding a spot among the museums on the Mall, when gatherings of 10 times 10s were still allowed, to watch the Apollo 50: Go For the Moon show on the anniversary of Apollo 11 launch (top right). In order to watch an earlier pioneer of the skies, I headed to the National Geographic Museum for a recording of the Overheard podcast about The Search for Amelia Earhart (bottom).

Sometimes, events that fueled my own sense of adventure. Despite the healthy array of art museums in Kyiv, I had neglected my interest in such works for too long, so I took advantage of a free-entrance community day at the National Museum of Women in the Arts (top), where I lingered a long while amid the photographs of the anti-selfie series STEFDIES. In another version of women in the arts, I attended my first Drag Bingo, at Red Bear Brewing (bottom left), where a few artists demonstrated their, um, techniques up close and personal on the tables (bottom right). 

 

On occasion, events that contributed to my personal causes. I manned the registration table for the Constitutional (N) Votes for Women walking tour near Eastern Market before I participated myself in a series of tastings to celebrate the anniversary of women's right to vote (top left). The most relevant offering was a flight of wines by female vintners at DCanter, but the most tasty was the "Something Like an Old Fashion" cocktail at the Harold Black speakeasy (top right). Earlier this year, I signed up to be a volunteer with the Humane Rescue Alliance (bottom left). After training, my first official duty was handling a dog for an adoption booth at a local pet store, where I helped find Mitri a new home (bottom right).

 

But finally, events that relaxed and rewarded me at the same time -- and for free even! This upcoming summer, I definitely will be missing all the open-air movies, like Films at the Stone, a series at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial that included The Hate U Give (top left). The only better outside group activity might be free sessions of Yoga on the Waterfront, offered by Yoga Factory in the District Wharf (top right). And if the current situation is protracted, it will be be most unfortunate for us and ArtRave DC (bottom left), a festival in the graffiti-festooned Dupont Underground (bottom right). But then again, it just might be the events that think outside of the box that get us through this year and beyond.