Enjoy as Alice partakes in a race where everyone wins, a mad tea party, stolen tarts and her dream-filled escape to a strange land of amazing creatures, including the Madd Hatter, King and Queen of Hearts and the grinning Cheshire Cat.

The World Premiere of Alice, at Round House Theatre in suburban Bethesda, blends the childlike fantasy with a wildly imaginative theatrical experience that should delight both children and adults alike. 

Alice
Round House Theatre
4545 East West Highway
Bethesda, MD 20814 (map it)

Dates and Times - Wednesdays - Sundays, November 26 – December 28, 2008.

Tickets - $50.00 - $60.00 and are available online.  Appropriate for children 6 and up.

Nearest Metro Subway Station - Bethesda, Red line, then a 1-block walk.

Parking - Paid parking ($4.00) in the attended underground garage across the street from the theatre. Entrance is on Waverly Street.

Image - Alice - public domain
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Are you attending the Inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama, on January 20th, 2009, in Washington, DC?

Potential presidential inauguration attendees estimates range from 1 million people, up to 4 million, making hotel rooms that week tough to find (or perhaps more accurately…tough to afford).  Flights in and out of Washington, DC are also more expensive during that week.

Even DC’s Mayor, Adrian M. Fenty mentioned that there could be as many as 3 million attending the inauguration.  

The largest crowd attending an inauguration was  for President Johnson, when close to one million attended the swearing in ceremony.  But the largest event at the National Mall, considered a logistical nightmare, was on July 4, 1976, for the Nation’s Bicentennial celebration. It drew an estimated 1 million people and resulted in hours of public transit and traffic gridlock around the National Mall and surrounding areas.  

But take the poll and let’s see if readers are planning on joining what is expected to be the largest crowd ever to attend not only a presidential inauguration, but any event on the National Mall.

So tell us if you are attending the inauguration — the poll is located in the right hand column —>

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The museum upgraded many of the environmental and physical facilities (mechanical, electrical, plumbing, lighting, fire and security systems, elevators, heating, etc., along with a 600-seat cafe), but will also feature several major upgrades and visitor enhancements, including:

• A new state-of-the-art gallery for the giant Star-Spangled Banner flag that flew over Fort McHenry that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the poem that became The National Anthem.
• 10-foot-high artifact walls on the 1st and 2nd floors displaying 400 of the museum’s 3 million historical objects
• A Visitor Welcome Center
• Hall of Invention and Spark Lab, a hands-on science and invention center

The major exhibits, favorites of visitors, such as America on the Move, The American Presidency and The Price of Freedom: Americans at War, will all be reopening.

Other favorite items will be on display, including:

• Mohammad Ali’s boxing gloves and robe 
• Dorothy’s Ruby Red Shoe and the Scarecrow costume from “The Wizard of Oz”
• Babe Ruth autographed baseball
• President Franklin D. Roosevelt NBC Fireside chat microphone
• Several First Lady’s Inaugural Ball gowns
• R2-D2 and C-3PO from "Return of the Jedi"
• White House copy of President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, penned by Lincoln himself (on display through January 4, 2009).

National Museum of American History
14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. (map it)

Dates and Times - Reopening starting November 21, 2008 - 10:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. (until 7:30 p.m. on 11/21/08)

Admission - FREE

Nearest Metro Subway Station - Federal Triangle and Smithsonian, Blue and Orange lines, then a 2-4 block walk or use the DC Circulator.

Parking - Limited metered street parking is available. 

Images - building from personal collection - ©2008, Jon Rochetti, all others courtesy of the NMOAH.   _________________________________________________

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In a play perfect for children ages 4 and up, Imagination Stage brings back this musical comedy about the “worst behaved class in whole school” - the fifth graders of Room 207 at Horace B. Smedley Elementary School.

The unruly and spitball shooting students are so bad, even during story time, that their behavior drives their beloved and sweet Miss Nelson away. The next day, the appearance of the dreaded and not-so-sweet substitute, Miss Viola Swamp, changes everything.

Desperately trying to create an excuse for their teacher’s disappearance, they come up with several implausible stories, including a trip to Mars and a deadly shark attack. But later decide to engage in a mission to find and bring back their wonderful teacher, by hiring a bumbling detective named McSmogg.

Perhaps a bit predictable for the adults, kids are sure to smile at the silly, innocent and funny characters, as well as the discovery that the substitute teacher may not really be who they think.

Miss Nelson is Missing
Imagination Stage - Lerner Family Theatre
4908 Auburn Avenue
Bethesda, MD 20814 (map it)

Dates and Times - Weekends from November 22, 2008 - January 4, 2009 - Performance times - Saturdays and Sundays 12:30 & 3:30 p.m., with an additional show on Saturdays at 7:00 p.m. Additional weekday matinees on Dec. 24, 26, 29–31, and Jan. 2, 2009

Tickets - $10.00 - $21.00 and are available by phone at 301-280-1660.

Nearest Metro Subway Station - Bethesda - Red line, then a ½-mile walk or take the free Bethesda 8 trolley to Auburn and Norfolk Avenues.

Parking - Free parking is available in the area.

Image - 5th grade class - Flickr
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Selected by Playboy as one of the top five parties for New Year’s Eve in the country, and with an estimated 1,600 guests, this party  attracts singles, couples and groups of friends alike.

While most New Year’s Eve parties simply offer a band and cocktails, the 007 Around The World party offers multiple country themes rooms, where you can pretend you are your favorite Bond character on a mission. 

Are you the suave “Bond…Jams Bond”? Or the evil Goldfinger or Dr. No? Perhaps you are one of Bond’s famous femme fatales? Or does the character of the always charming Miss Moneypenny suit you better?  Whoever you select, you’ll be issued a “license to party”.

Need to brush up on your James Bond knowledge?
Take the James Bond Trivia Quiz at the end of the post.

The party boasts:

• Celebrity Lookalikes (Sean Connery & Pierce Brosnan)
• Mock Casino Gambling
• Martinis “shaken not stirred” from Ice bar
• Midnight Champagne Toast
• Themed Cocktails, Free Freixnet Champagne and Open “Premium” Bars All Night
• International Buffet and Dessert Stations
• Golden Girls Living Statues
• Samba Dance Performances
• A carnival-like atmosphere with a strolling magician, stilt walkers, fortune tellers, tarot card readers, juggler, and a steel drum player

Tickets include party favors - hats, tiaras and noisemakers, or bring your own.

Besides an 18-piece big band orchestra, select from DJs spinning in 4 internationally themed rooms - featuring musical styles from around the globe, including:

• Euro and Russian hits
• Bollywood and Middle Eastern
• Hip Hop
• Salsa, Merengue, Calypso and Reggae
• Rock & Roll from 1970 through 2000

Click here for prior event photos.

New Years Eve James Bond 007 Around The World party
Hilton Alexandria Mark Center
5000 Seminary Road
Alexandria, Virginia 22311 (map it)

Date and Time - Wednesday, December 31, 2008, 8:30 p.m.

Tickets - $139 - $179 depending on when purchased and are available online.  Special discounted room rates are also offered.

Nearest Metro Subway Station - Van Dorn - Blue line, then a 3-mile cab ride.

Parking - Paid event self parking is available. 

James Bond Trivia Quiz

Q1 - Can you name all six (or seven) actors played James Bond?

Q2 - When Bond drinks champagne, what’s his favorite? And at what temperature should it be served at?

Q3 - What was the first James Bond film?

Q4 - What does SPECTRE stand for?

Q5 - Which actor, prior to portraying James Bond, was a Navy sailor, a chorus singer, a milkman, and worked at a funeral home?

FOR THE ANSWERS - CLICK MORE —>

James Bond Trivia Quiz Answers

Q1 - Can you name all six (or seven) actors played James Bond?
A - Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnon, Daniel Craig.  David Niven might be added to the list if you count the 1967 parody spoof Casino Royale.

Q2 - When Bond drinks champagne, what’s his favorite? And at what temperature should it be served at?
A - Dom Perignon 1953, at 38 degrees Fahrenheit.

Q3 - What was the first James Bond film?
A - Dr. No

Q4 - What does SPECTRE stand for?
A - Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion

Q5 - Which Bond actor, prior to portraying Bond was Navy sailor, a chorus singer, was a milkman, and worked at a funeral home?
A - Sean Connery
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Created by J. Seward Johnson, Jr. as part of a sculpture exhibition, the 5-piece cast aluminum piece is now at its new home on a sandy beachfront location at Washington’s National Harbor, near the stage and plaza. 

The new location is inches off the waters edge and a smaller, somewhat less inviting and playful place than the former locations in a large grassy park.

Watch the video of the statute’s removal from Hains Point and installation at National Harbor.

The Awakening
National Harbor
137 National Plaza
National Harbor, MD 20745  (map it)

Dates and Times - Open daily, 24-hours a day.

Admission - FREE

Nearest Metro Subway Station - Branch Avenue – Green line, then a 20-minute bus ride (NH-1 Metrobus).

Parking - Garage parking is available at $1.00 per hour ($10 max.)

Images - from personal collection   ©2008, Jon Rochetti 
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Read more about their history here.

The Lipizzaner Stallions
Patriot Center
4500 Patriot Circle
Fairfax, VA 22030 (map it)

Dates and Times - Friday and Saturday, November 21 and 22, 2008 at 7:30 p.m., with a matinee on Saturday at 2:00 p.m.

Tickets - Adults - $25.50, $33.50 and $41.00,  Seniors and kids under 13 - $2.00 less, and are available online.

Nearest Metro Subway Station - Vienna - Orange line, then a 10 minute cab ride. Cabs are NOT usually waiting for passengers after concerts so it’s smart to make prior arrangements.

Parking - Parking is included in the ticket price. ____________________________________________________

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If you are planning on attending the inauguration from out of town, start your planning now.  In fact, start planning two weeks ago, because most, if not all of the 95,000 area hotel rooms are already booked.  And expect to look hard for alternatives.  An estimated million and a half people are currently expected to attend what may be one of the largest events, and the largest inauguration, on the Mall National in Washington DC’s history.

The last inauguration, in 2005, drew 300,000 for President Bush’s second inauguration. President Lyndon Johnson’s inauguration drew the largest inauguration crowd, around 1 million people watched the ceremony at the Capital. 

After checking over 450 area hotels, none were accepting online reservations.  Some hotels were already sold out, others had multi-day (4 or 5 nights) stays required, while others required calls directly to the hotel.  A travel representative mentioned area hotels, normally in the under $200 range, had increased hotel room prices to double or more for the inauguration. 

I also checked for available hotel rooms in the Baltimore area and found nothing available.  But I did find a few rooms available in Richmond, Virginia, about 100 miles from Washington, DC. some rooms were still under $125 and even a Days Inn offered a room for just $60.  But I suspect these rates will soon jump as well.

Here’s ten ways to try to find an alternative place to stay for the inauguration:

1. Call around to hotels not generally frequented by tourists, such as conference centers in in the suburbs.
2. Check out temporary housing on home, condo and time share vacation rentals sites, but beware, prices for inauguration week have skyrocketed.
3. Look for ads in the Washington Post and Examiner.com housing section (print and online) for short term rentals for inauguration week.
4. Check Craigslist (temporary housing section) in Washington, DC and the surrounding suburbs for people renting homes or rooms during inauguration week.  I found several hundred ads, ranging from someone’s basement bedroom in the suburbs, to a beautifully furnished 3-bedroom high-rise condo just blocks from the National Mall for $12,000 for the week. Make sure to look for convenient Metro access and parking.
5. Check DC Message Boards for rooms available for the inauguration.
6. Rent a motor home for a few days. If none are available in DC, look in the surrounding areas and drive it to DC for the inauguration.
7. Search out that long lost school friend who lives in Washington, DC on Classmates.com
8. Get on the phone and search out some of the smaller suburban motels, that may not have websites.
9. Find friends who are going to the inauguration and try to crash with them, on the sofa, a roll-away, or on the floor.
10. Make an offer to stay in The DC Traveler’s guest room…all bids will be entertained. Plus, an Inauguration Continental Breakfast is included!!

You can still request inauguration tickets, but it’s probably too late to make the cut. Visit your Congressional Representative’s website at http://www.house.gov/.

Image - Wikipedia - public domain
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