Shamrock Bear by Wednesday Elf – Mountainside Crochet
This weekend brings that pukiest of holidays St. Patrick’s Day. Somehow the feast day for the patron saint of both Old Sod and New York City has become an excuse to drink your face off and/or eat things which normally are not green but have since been dyed green. Why? I have no idea. As an Irish Catholic kid in New York City, we celebrated by eating soda bread and watching the “Irish Man” with John Wayne on TV, so I don’t claim to know how one authentically celebrates the day. But, to each his or her own I guess? Aside from the green eggs and ham, how else will you spend this weekend?
Tonight the Talk of the Hill series of conversations with journalist with Bill Press continues at 7pm. His guest this evening is Senator Bernie Sanders. Senator Sanders serves on Budget; Veterans; Energy; Environment; and Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committees and it interested in global warming, the plight, veterans, health care and preserving family farms. The talk is free but reservations are strongly recommended. Register here or call 202-549-4172.
Friday at 8 p.m. the Folger Consort celebrates the Irish through music in a concert titled Dublin: Celtic and Art Music. The Consort will be performing a selection of lively pieces for bagpipe, harp, and fiddle. The program also includes English court music of the era. The program will be performed on Saturday and Sunday as well. Tickets are $37 and can be purchased here.
Friday night, you can prep for March Madness at a Hill Center screening of DUKE 91 & 92: Back to Back, a documentary about the Duke Men’s Basketball squads that captured the team’s back-to-back national championships in the early 90’s. The film also focuses on is produced and directed by Duke alumnae Amy Unell ’03 and Madeleine Sackler ’05. Teammates and coaches reveal never-before-told stories about what drove their success and, simultaneously, drove them apart. The documentary includes an emotional 20-year reunion with the players. The screening begins at 7 p.m. and is free. Learn more here.
Saturday celebrate the new pope and get ready for Easter at the Capitol Hill Chorale performance of Handel’s Messiah. The chorale is using Mozart’s orchestration which is kind of a big deal, you can learn why here. Performances are at 7:30pm Saturday evening and at 4pm on Sunday at the Lutheran Church of the Reformation, 212 East Capitol Street. $25 preferred, $20 for 30 and older, $15 for 29 and younger (or students and interns), free for 12 and younger. Tickets are available here and at the door.
Sunday the Hill Center hosts a screening for the Environmental Film Festival, Idle Threat. In 2006, one man began a quest to make the world a better place for everyone to live, and show that if you try hard enough, one person really can make a difference. Self-described vigilante, George Pakenham walks the streets of New York to stop what many see as a victimless crime: idling their cars. What they don’t realize is how they are contributing to the oil crisis, asthma, air pollution and global warming by trying to control the climate inside their automobiles. In order to raise awareness, he goes door-to-door – that is car door-to-car door – explaining to unknowing drivers that they are breaking New York City law when they idle for more than three minutes. The screening begins at 12 p.m and is free. Register here.