With "Academy Award Movies" having been the
winning theme for the Capitol Riverfront BID's 2011 summer outdoor movie series, the BID is now asking people to
vote on which Academy Award movies should be screened. The series starts on May 26, and will once again be on Tingey Plaza, at New Jersey and Tingey just behind the
USDOT building. (Last year's screening location, the
Canal Park footprint, will be unavailable this summer because the locusts have arrived, dogs and cats are sleeping together, and it appears that construction is about to get underway.)
While the movie series isn't being held at the
Yards Park (just a smidge to the north of it) the BID is working on an ever-growing list of events that will keep the park hopping through the year:
* Kicking off the slate, there will be a
Family Fun Day on April 2 from 11 am to 4 pm, in conjunction with the
National Cherry Blossom Festival. According to the
press release, activities at the free event will include sake tasting and a Japanese beer garden by Mie N Yu, lantern making, sushi from Nooshi Sushi, a moonbounce, and more. (Then everyone can take a leisurely walk down M Street to the Southwest Waterfront for the
Fireworks Festival, which actually starts at 1 pm and runs until the fireworks kick off at 8:30 pm.) This is also the day of the first Saturday home game of the year at
Nationals Park, just two blocks to the west, starting at 1:05 pm against the Braves.
*
Sensorium, the "culinary and sensory experience" announced
a while back, starts its multi-week run on April 12.
* While the summer movies will be on Thursday nights, the park will also host a free
summer concert series on Friday nights from 6 to 8 pm, kicking off on May 13 and running through August 19. This will be in addition the the lunchtime concert series that the BID has run for the past three years, and is expected to feature music ranging from jazz and blues to rock and reggae. (If you're a food provider and you want to serve at the concerts, here's
the RFP.)
* July 9 will see
MetroDash, the "country's premier obstacle race series," which includes obstacles such as tire flips, rope swings, 15-foot cargo net climbs, wall jumps, monkey bars, the "strongman shuffle." You can
sign up here (if you
dare), though the web site doesn't seem to be responding right now.
UPDATE, 3/20: According
to their web site, the May 7 DC Music Fest has been cancelled, "due to lack of funding and sponsorships."
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