The DC Traveler

And no, I’m not talking about the Presidential race, but the 70th annual running of the Washington, DC Soap Box Derby Race.
In 1938, Norman Rocca beat 223 other racers to win the first Soap Box Derby Race held in Washington, DC.  The race was held on New Hampshire Avenue, but later moved to run down Capitol Hill, along the Capitol Building on Constitution Avenue.
The Soap Box Derby is open to racers aged 8 to 17, who custom build and race non-motorized, gravity powered cars. Regional winners move on to the annual classic race in Akron in late July.

Every year, …read more

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With $40,000 in prize money up for grabs, not to mention bragging rights, the barbequed meats served at the always-popular annual National Capital Barbecue Battle in Washington, DC is sure to please.
Besides thousands of pounds of Carolina chicken, Texas brisket (my favorite), Memphis ribs, pulled pork and that great barbeque smell, there’s also:

Over 30 live bands on 3 stages, including headliners Roy Ayers, Leon Russell and Chuck Brown
Cooking demos and celebrity chefs
Lots of food sampling
National Pork BBQ Championship contest
BBQ marketplace for all types of sauces, rubs, marinades and more.
Children’s play area

So what’s my favorite place in the U.S. for barbeque? …read more

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The Spirit Cruise Line is a Washington, DC floating landmark that offers lunch, dinner, moonlight and Sunday brunch cruises aboard the Spirit of Washington. Cruise around the Potomac and Old Town Alexandria while enjoying the sites, or take the Spirit of Mount Vernon on a half-day round trip cruise to George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate.

The 3 indoor decks of the ship are surrounded by windows, and provide room for over 500 dining guests. Each level also has a dance floor and popular dance music spun by the ship’s DJ. Lunch and dinner cruises usually have live music reviews, that get …read more

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Two time Grammy winner — Best Female Rock Vocal Performance, and Best Original Song academy Award winner, Melissa Etheridge brings her issues-oriented powerful voice and feminist love song singer rocker to Constitution Hall, in Washington, DC  for one performance.
 
Melissa EtheridgeDAR - Constitution Hall1776 D Street, NWWashington, DC 20006 (map it)
Date and Time - Wednesday, June 25, 2008, 8:00 p.m.
Tickets - $36.00, $56.00, $76.00, $101.00 and are available online.
Nearest Metro subway station - Farragut West - Orange and Blue lines or Faragut North - Red line, then a 10-15 minute walk.
Parking - Limited metered street parking is available, but …read more

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My mother didn’t get the chance to visit Washington, DC until she was in her mid-70s. But by that time, her ability to get around on foot, as well as her stamina, was a bit limited. But that didn’t stop our plans to see all the big sites in Washington, DC.

I played tour guide for my parents as we visited multiple museums, memorials and other attractions. But long walks, from one end of the National Mall to the other (2.2 miles each way), plus the extra walking inside a few museums, was out of the question for Mom.
I tried to …read more

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Time again for Comments on Controversy, the ongoing series where Starked DC’s J-Michael and I look at controversial news-making issues in Washington, DC.  This time, the new police checkpoints that were set up in NE, after a recent slew of murders last weekend.
The checkpoints established over the weekend in Washington DC’s Trinidad neighborhood 5th Police District, near the National Arboretum, accomplished their goal.  DC Police stated no violent crimes or murders were committed in the area being targeted. 
Six shooting murders in just 7 hours, and eight shooting deaths, plus three others wounded in 8 unrelated incidents, all within a two-mile …read more

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I wrote about the Potomac Nationals, one of DC’s minor league pro baseball teams last month. And yet another new minor league team, the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs minor league baseball are now playing their first season in Southern Maryland.
The Blue Crabs are the sixth non-MLB pro baseball team in the Washington, DC area, for baseball fans to follow.
The others include the Washington Nationals, Baltimore Orioles, Frederick Keys, the Hagerstown Suns, and Bowie Baysox.
Owned by Orioles Hall of Famer, Brooks Robinson, the Blue Crabs are one of the eight teams in the independent Atlantic League. Other teams include:

Bridgeport Bluefish
Camden Riversharks
Lancaster …read more

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In it’s 6th year, Silverdocs, the annual international documentary film festival in Washington, DC brings 108 documentary films from 63 countries, including 20 U.S. premieres to the Capital region.
Providing a forum for international filmmakers with access to American audiences. Various awards are presented during the festival as well as a 5-day International Documentary Conference and the Guggenheim’s symposium award for artistic excellence.
The range of topics is wide as the list of films from ballet to war, nature to AIDS.
Some of the more interesting documentaries are:

Corridor 8 - a road trip documentary down the Balkan equivalent of America’s Route 66.
Dust - …read more

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Hop aboard the Ferris wheel, the carousel or the Dizzy Dragon and enjoy the Alexandria Waterfront Festival at Oronoco Bay State Park in suburban Old Town Alexandria, Virginia.
The festival includes historic tall ship tours, live entertainment from bands such as on Saturday.
Take the kids to the free Children’s Harbor Tent for great crafts and activities, and then visit the Ocean in Motion interactive traveling aquarium and learn about the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean.
 
Toad the Wet Sprocket video - Walk on the Ocean
Your admission price also includes a tour of the tall ship Schooner Sultana, a replica of …read more

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A couple years ago, I laughed my butt off at the off-Broadway play, Jewtopia. It’s the story of Chris, a nice Gentile guy who decides he wants to meet and marry a nice Jewish girl, but to do so, he needs to pass himself off as being Jewish. Between looking for a possible mate at the Jewish singles mixer at the local synagogue and posting a profile on a Jewish singles dating site, he meets up with Adam, a shy and inexperienced Jewish former neighbor who agrees to keep Chris’s secret.
In return, Adam has been dating non-Jewish girls, but his …read more

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