Happy Funtime Friend Service

More festivals - this time with authors.  And a great place to get started on your Christmas shopping (I know - it’s early, but trust me, personalized autographs from favorite authors make books seems like great presents).  And this Saturday you can get them all in one place - on the National Mall.  It’s the Library of Congress Book Festival with pavilions for Home, Fiction, Poetry, History & Biography, Children, Teens, and more.  Authors include Terry Pratchett, DC’s own Stephen Hunter and Ann Amernick, Ken Burns, and Dr. Sanjay Gupta.  There will be readings and book signings.  They do have books for sale but they do run out if it’s particularly popular, so if you absolutely have your heart set on getting something signed, it’s not a bad idea to bring it with you instead of relying on buying it there.  Be sure to check the signing schedule - sometimes it’s a tough choice about seeing someone speak or getting a good spot in line.  And if the lines get long the authors will limit the number of items they’ll sign to get through everyone, so be understanding if that happens - they’re trying to get to everyone.

It does seem to be a weekend of Festivals, and if you don’t want to drive to Baltimore (but alas, no sour cream), you can join me at the Rosslyn Jazz Festival at Gateway Park (the corner of North Lynn and Lee Highway - a mere two blocks from the Rosslyn Metro).  It starts at 1 p.m. and runs til about 7.  The headliner is Regina Carter and there’s a mystery piano guest (I have my theories) and the whole shebang is hosted by WAMU host Kojo Nnamdi.  It’s free and fun, and it’s a great lead off for a week of great jazz all around the city for the Duke Ellington Jazz Festival.  We’ll be at the Lincoln Theatre on Saturday night for the big concert but if you can’t make that, there are plenty of other opporunities to see both local and national artists. 

Whether you want to plan to go or stay as far away from the Mall as possible, the Folklife Festival run from 27 June through 1 July and 4 July through 8 July on the National Mall.  This year the highlighted cultures include Northern Ireland, the Mekong River, and Virginia.  There are a variety of crafts, demonstrations, concerts, exhibitions, etc. planned for the week.  Check the schedule for any events you’re particularly interested in.  Related events will be taking place at the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center (inside in the air conditioning).  Take Metro to the Folklife Festival, pack a lunch or be prepared to deal with the vendors (or try to go to the National Museum of the American Indian - that’s where the best food court is), and dress for the weather.  It always seems like the Folklife Festival is the hottest and unrelentingly sunniest time of year.

If you are so inclined, they are still looking for volunteers.  It’s a great way to get a different perspective on the event.

I can’t believe I totally missed the start of Jazz in the Garden. But after the lingering cold and lack of spring like weather (other than the raging pollen count), it just escaped me that it could be that time already. But here we are, so it’s time to skip Friday happy hour, grab a blanket, and head over to the National Gallery of Art’s Sculpture Garden to listen to some great local jazz artists. If you’re not a bring a picnic and sit on a blanket kind of person, the cafe stays open until 8:30 on jazz nights. Tonight is Frank LoCrasto Group and coming up soon is one of my favorites - Thad Wilson.

In DC, the best house tour to score is the White House. And while the rules on getting to tour the White House are more complicated, they still do the occasional open tour. This weekend is the first of three summer garden tours at the White House. The other scheduled dates are July 21 and August 11. There will be two tours each day at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Everyone (even small children) must have a ticket. Tickets will be distributed (one per person) beginning at 8 a.m. at the Ellipse Visitors’ Pavilion until they are gone. In case of inclement weather, the tour will be canceled.

I know it’s short notice, but if you wake up and are surprised to find that it’s nice outside (contrary to yesterday’s weather report) then mosey over to Adams Morgan and Kalorama for 86+ Yard Sales because you can never have enough crap.

I’m trying not to be intensely bitter or disappointed now that the line-up for the Virgin Festival has been announced and the pre-sale has begun.  Oh, my disappointment isn’t over the line-up… how could it be?  The Police, Beastie Boys, 311, Velvet Revolver, Wu Tang Clan, TV on the Radio, Interpol, the Fratellis, Amy Winehouse, oh did I mention THE POLICE? are all going to be just up the road at Pimilico.  Okay, my disappointment might be at the $175 (ouch) ticket price and the fact that at the moment, only 2-day tickets are available.  One-day passes will go on sale at a later date, availablility pending.

No, my disappointment is that I will be flying back from India on the first day of the festival, Saturday, August 4 and not getting to Dulles until 7:00 p.m.  And I have severe doubts at my ability to rally for a concert the next day, even if I could get a one day pass for Sunday.  Okay, if it were U2 I’d be there, but I don’t see it happening.

If you have the pre-sale password, tickets are onsale now at Ticketmaster through 10 p.m.  Otherwise, the general onsale is Saturday, May 5 at 10 a.m.

Who knew?  The schedule for Loudon Summer Music Fest 2007 has just been announced.  It includes Blues Traveler on June 24th (and I’ve been denounced for not accepting John Popper as my personal savior).

Sponsored by AOL, the festival’s tagline is “The most fun you can have without saying you’re sorry” which I have to admit is pretty good.

Other acts include Sugar Ray, Pat Benatar, and Eddie from Ohio and apparently it all benefits a local charity.  They haven’t yet selected the charity yet, so go visit the form if you have a charity you’d like to have considered as this year’s beneficiary.Good music for a worthy cause - there are worse ways to spend a summer evening.  Be sure to go by and visit Hawaiian Scoop in Ashburn if you’re out that way.

Wolftrap, a national park for the performing arts, has just announced their summer schedule for the Filene Center. Most of the shows aren’t to my taste (I think they are programming for an older crowd), but there are a couple that might be worth checking out.

I’ll definitely see Bugs on Broadway where Bugs Bunny joins the National Symphony Orchestra (August 3 & 4), and Common joins Joss Stone on June 13 (check out her new album if you haven’t already).

Last summer, the one show I went to see at Wolftrap was Play - the video game orchestra. And the conductor made a point of thanking the younger audience members for coming out and about how important it was to introduce a new generation to orchestral music. And other than Bugs on Broadway, I see no attempt to reach out to that audience and bring them back to Wolftrap.

Note to the programming staff: Start reaching out to your future subscribers. I have no interest in Celtic Woman and I saw Riverdance 12 years ago - once was enough. There have to be other new shows (but please god not Cirque de Soleil) that you can find to interest an audience. Or are you content to be the fast food equivalent of the performing arts - safe and familiar, but bland and uninteresting. You should want to be better than that.