Happy Funtime Friend Service

If you’ve got a craving for fried things - noodles, rice, and funnels - then make a note to chug on out to the Adams Morgan Day Festival on Sunday, September 9 from noon to 7 p.m. Just be sure to put on some sunblock so you don’t fry your face (still waiting for Lisa to write her memoir My Life in the Shade. Hello? Did you not know the sun lurks just waiting for an opportunity to burninate you?)
Right in my beloved ‘hood, Adams Morgan Day features fest food and two (maybe three?) stages with local performers entertaining drunkards all day. You can catch anything from Chinese dragon dancers to African drummers to bluegrass musicians. Belmont Street is usually dedicated to local artists and craftspeople hawking their cool, but sometimes pricey wares. If the weather’s warm, walk the street, grab a lemonade and some doro wat from an Ethiopian vendor, find a shady spot and dig in.

I keep forgetting that the Carter Barron Amphitheatre is in my backyard (well, if my backyard were really, really, really big). But there it is, and with a Schedule of Events no less - a schedule which is culminating with this Labor Day weekend’s 19th Annual DC Blues Festival on September 1 from noonish to 7:30. Man, am I a sucker for fests or what?
So grab a blankie, some snacks, doctor up a bottle of lemonade with a little something-something, and head on over to listen to Clarence “The Bluesman” Turner and Band, Mary Shaver and the Smokin’ Polecats, The Orioles, The Nighthawks, and more.

Can you resist a band called the Smokin’ Polecats?

While August is traditionally dead in Washington, we’ve also been traveling.  Alycia went off hiking in the west in celebration of her father’s birthday, and I spent 2 weeks in India with Habitat for Humanity.  So excuse our break.  We’ll be back shortly.

If you’re not good at making friends, trying a new restaurant together is a great way to get a conversation going. And Restaurant Week (August 6 - 12) is designed for trying new places - it’s a promotion designed to bring in business during their slow times. Participating restaurants offer 3 course lunches for $20.07 and dinner for $30.07. Many (but not all restaurants) use Open Table for easy reservations. In the past we’ve tried and really enjoyed Agraria, TenPenh, Rasika and Cafe MoZu. Invite someone out for lunch or dinner - it’s easy. “Hey, it’s Restaurant Week - any place you’ve been wanting to try?”

So there are the people who read Happy Funtime Friend Service and hopefully find some fun stuff to do around town.  Then there are those who have availed themselves of the higher level of service - calendar planning and ticket acquisition.  Those are the lovely people who let me do things like this:

Me:  I did something while you were away.

AMK: Did you buy tickets for something?

Me:  Yeah.  If you can’t go, that’s okay.
AMK:   What?

Me:  The Pogues

AMK:  I like the Pogues.  We had a great time.  (Look of puzzlement)  Where are the Pogues playing?

Me:  San Diego.

AMK:  Is it a weekend?

Me:  Yeah, it’s a Friday night.

AMK: Oh, Okay.  That’s all right then.

I love my friends.

Why I do what I do and live where I live. I work in Georgetown and live in Clarendon, so I take the 38B bus a lot. It goes straight through Georgetown and up Wilson Boulevard, leaving me a mere block from my apartment and also very close to the grocery store so I can pick up something for dinner on the way home.

The other night I was on the bus, contemplating the beautiful evening and the people eating outside at the restaurants in Clarendon, wondering what to cook for dinner and not having any brilliant ideas when I saw two of my friends walking down the sidewalk. Having a pretty good idea where they were going, I jumped off the bus, caught up to them and joined them for a lovely dinner in Clarendon.

Single tickets for David Beckham’s appearance with the LA Galaxy against the DC United finally went on sale at Ticketmaster.  They’re selling quickly, so if you want to see Mr. Beckham, who has apparently returned to form, be sure to get them soon or risk paying outrageous scalper fees.  7 p.m. on August 9th at RFK.  Metro is Stadium Armory and definitely the way to go.  This will be my first DC United game, and I’m looking forward to it.

My favorite local Celtic music played by Ukranian boys - otherwise known as Scythian - are the Thursday night regulars at Fado in Chinatown.  And they draw a regular crowd each week.  But this week marks their third anniversary at Fado, so try to get out and raise a glass with them.  And if you can remember “a flea on a feather, a feather on a bird, a bird in a nest, a nest on branch, a branch on a limb, a limb on a tree, a tree in a bog, and the bog down in the valley-o, you might win a prize.

(Just a hint - they are a lot of fun if you buy them a round of shots.)

That’s One Ton Wonton and while I admit I don’t understand the name of the band, I do like the funky / jazzy / rock thing they’ve got going on.  They’ll be at Ragtime at 1345 North Courthouse in Arlington on Wednesday (June 20).  I’ll be there with some past and present coworkers and as many of the Happy Funtime Crew as I can convince to come along.

Everyone is always asking how we know what’s going on around town.  I like to say “The Force” because it sounds cooler than telling people that I spend hours trolling ticket and theatre sites, going through print and web calendars, and (gasp) actually listening to people talk about what’s coming up. 

And in case I already didn’t have enough text messages because of Twitter, there’s a new site to help keep you up to date on what’s going on.  Their tag line is “be in the know” and they have customized content for a variety of cities - happily, DC is one.   I’ve signed up for the indie music alerts, but there’s also fashion, weather, hip-hop, and something to do with kids (but HappyFunTime is no expert on what to do with children).  They nicely limit themselves to one text message per day with the most relevant information and then you text back to get additional details.  Visit 80108 to sign up or learn more.  I’m looking forward to their adding additional authors and topics in the area.

 And in the interest of full disclosure, I learned about 80108 from BzzAgent - a word of mouth marketing group that I participate with.  No money involved but I do get samples of products to try and tell people about.  (Another good way to meet people, by the way.)