Events

UrbanArias To Perform ‘Craigslist Opera’ Next Weekend

By Aaron Kraut

Local “contemporary opera” company UrbanArias will put words from Craigslist ads to opera music during a 90-minute program on Aug. 5 at IOTA Club and Cafe in Clarendon (2832 Wilson Blvd).

The performance also includes three “mini-operas” about blind dates and Opera Improv, in which the four UrbanArias singers take audience suggestions to create scenes on the fly.

From the press release:

Craigslistlieder, with music by Gabriel Kahane and text from, well, Craigslist, catapulted the young composer to national prominence several years ago. This is an eight-song set, each of which is an actual, unadulterated ad from Craigslist. Subjects range from the “neurotic and lonely” man looking for a woman who “must have a video game system,” and the crazy woman with an ice cube fetish looking for a roommate, to an advertisement selling “assless chaps.” Kahane’s Mahlerian music is the perfect foil for the hilarious ads.

The show starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are $12 and will be sold at the door.

Registration Open For 9-11 Memorial 5K

By Aaron Kraut

Registration is open for the Arlington Police, Fire & Sheriff 9-11 Memorial 5K, set for Saturday, Sept. 8 in Crystal City.

The event sold out about a week ahead of last year’s race day, said race organizer and retired Arlington County Police Capt. Matt Smith. Registration is capped at 5,000 runners.

The race starts at 6 p.m. at the DoubleTree Hotel in Crystal City (300 Army Navy Drive). Runners can register online for $25 through Aug. 3, $30 from Aug. 4 to Sept. 7 and $35 on race day. Team registration ends on Sept. 1. Proceeds will be donated to charities including the Wounded Warriors Project and Homes For Our Troops.

Lubber Run To Host Trio Of Shows This Weekend

By Aaron Kraut

The Lubber Run Amphitheater will host a trio of events this weekend, including a Shakespeare play and a Hawaiian music and hula concert.

Lubber Run’s summer series of free outdoor shows will offer a change of pace with Traveling Players Ensemble’s performance of Shakespeare’s “As You Like It,” at 8 p.m. on Friday, July 27.

The series, which typically features local music acts, will welcome Baltimore-based band The Project, on Saturday.

From a Lubber Run Amphitheater Foundation press release:

 Selected as a “Summer School in the Arts” by the NEA, Traveling Players Ensemble is a professional theater company dedicated to bringing great theater into the great outdoors through a thriving summer camp and year-round acting classes and workshops

The Project will play at 8 p.m. on Saturday, July 28. Also from the release:

Baltimore musicians Bob Goldberg (lead vocals and guitar), Eric McCleaf (guitar), and Jason Wilson (bass guitar and backing vocals) rock the house with everything from classic rock to current pop, with some 80s rock, 90s modern rock, and lots of other stuff in between.

Finally, a group from Arlington-based “native Hawaiian school” Halau O ‘Aulani will take the stage at 6 p.m. on Sunday, July 29:

Native music and dance presented by Halau O ‘Aulani, founded in 1996 for the sole purpose of creating a learning environment for students interested in the preservation of the multi-faceted cultures of Hawai’i with primary emphasis on the Hawaiian culture.

Crystal City To Host Dog-Friendly Beer Festival

By Aaron Kraut

Crystal City will be hosting an event this fall geared to lovers of both dogs and beer.

The inaugural “Pups and Pilsners” outdoor beer festival will be held on Sept. 23. The Crystal City Business Improvement District and Washington Wine Academy is stocking the event, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at 1405 Crystal Drive, with a beer garden of 10 craft brews and food from Crystal City restaurants.

Entry to the “dog-friendly festival” is free — and bringing Fido is optional. The beer garden will cost you, though. Tickets will be available at washingtonwineacademy.org.

Disclosure: Crystal City BID is an ARLnow.com advertiser

Signature Theatre Kicking Off New Season With Open House

By Katie Pyzyk

Signature Theatre (4200 Campbell Avenue) is kicking off its 2012-2013 season with an all day open house on Saturday, August 4.

Free performances will be taking place approximately every 15 minutes on four stages, starting at noon. They feature sneak peeks at some of the upcoming season’s shows, such as The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Dreamgirls and Hello, Dolly! The event culminates with a finale concert at 8:30 p.m., scheduled to include both local and Broadway actors, as well as the winner of the “Signature Idol” competition. A list of performers and performance times is available online.

“The open house is a great way to get people acquainted with the new season,” said Signature Theatre publicist Peter Eramo, Jr.

Eramo noted that the open house will be the one day all year that tickets are available for the new season’s shows at a 50 percent discount. There’s no minimum purchase necessary, but the discounted tickets do have to be bought that day at the box office.

The celebration will take over parts of the plaza in the Village at Shirlington. Visitors can enjoy a moon bounce and skee ball, or munch on free snacks like popcorn, sno-cones and cotton candy.

Staff will be on hand at the event to answer questions about the Signature Theatre and the upcoming season.

Weather Cancels Rosslyn Outdoor Movie

By Katie Pyzyk

Rosslyn’s Outdoor FilmFest movie, “Dave”, will be canceled tonight because of expected rain and thunderstorms throughout the evening.

Weather permitting, the screening of “Swing Vote” will still take place next Friday (July 27) as scheduled.

The region is still under a flash flood watch from the National Weather Service until 11:00 p.m.

WIDESPREAD RAINFALL RATES OF ONE TO TWO INCHES PER HOUR CAN BE
EXPECTED FROM AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS.

EXCESSIVE RAINFALL COULD CAUSE CREEKS AND STREAMS TO RISE
QUICKLY OUT OF THEIR BANKS AND COULD FLOOD LOW-LYING AND URBAN
AREAS…PARTICULARLY THOSE THAT HAVE HAD RECENT SIGNIFICANT
RAINFALL.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

A FLASH FLOOD WATCH MEANS THAT CONDITIONS MAY DEVELOP THAT LEAD
TO FLASH FLOODING. FLASH FLOODING IS A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION.
YOU SHOULD MONITOR LATER FORECASTS AND BE PREPARED TO TAKE ACTION
SHOULD FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS BE ISSUED.

Bolivian Cultural Night Comes to Arlington

By Margaret Doyle

Arlington residents can enjoy a musical taste of Bolivia without even leaving the county, as the Comité Pro Bolivia will be holding a Bolivian Cultural Night on Saturday (July 21).

As a non-profit cultural organization now celebrating its 25th anniversary, the Comité Pro Bolivia will showcase eight large Bolivian dance and music ensembles. Each performance will vary from Suri Sicuris, which is traditionally performed before the ostrich (suri) hunt, to the Tinku dance of strength and agility.

The event is free, open to the public and will begin at 8:00 p.m. It’s being held at the Lubber Run Amphitheater at North Columbus and 2nd Street North (two blocks north of Route 50). The amphitheater is wheelchair accessible.

Bolivians make up 20 percent of the approximately 33,000 individuals in Arlington’s Hispanic community. Numerous Bolivian dance groups have been active throughout the county since the 1990s. The Comité’s stated goal is to focus on the dancing traditions which help bring together the Bolivian Community in Arlington and to also create a feeling of belonging and home.

The event and is co-sponsored by Arlington Cultural Affairs, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Folklore Studies Program at George Mason University. For more information, call 703-228-1850 or visit www.arlingtonarts.org.

Photo courtesy Arlington Cultural Affairs

Central Library Hosting Family Friendly Outdoor Movies

By Katie Pyzyk

Central Library (1015 N. Quincy Street) is hosting two free outdoor movie screenings next month, as part of Summer Reading 2012.

Viewers are welcome to bring a blanket and picnic while watching the family friendly movies. Films will begin shortly after dusk, around 8:00 p.m.

The first movie is “Hugo,” which will be shown on Thursday, August 2. The second movie is “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2,” and will be shown on Thursday, August 9. Trailers for the films are available on the library’s website.

The screenings will take place in the field facing the Washington Blvd side of the library. If there is inclement weather, the movies will be shown in the library auditorium.

Priest Deported from Syria to Speak in Arlington

By Katie Pyzyk

A priest who was recently expelled from Syria for criticizing that country’s violence against its people will be speaking in Arlington next week.

Father Paolo Dall’Oglio is an Italian Jesuit priest who had lived in Syria for 30 years, but was deported last month. He was reportedly targeted because he spoke out against the Syrian government’s crackdown on the widespread public uprising.

“The very fact that I am for change, for democracy, for human rights and dignity, this is very provocative,” said Father Paolo after his expulsion was ordered.

While living in Syria, Father Paolo had helped to restore the 1,000 year old Mar Musa Monastery and to establish it as a center for interfaith dialog and Muslim-Christian understanding.

Father Paolo will speak at Rock Spring Congregational United Church of Christ (5010 Little Falls Road) on Monday, July 23, at 7:00 p.m. He will highlight his experiences while living in Syria, current conditions in that country and the circumstances surrounding his deportation. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Recent Sexual Assaults Prompt Emergency Forum

By Katie Pyzyk

In response to recent incidents throughout the county, the Arlington Commission on the Status of Women is hosting an emergency community forum on sexual assault.

The forum will be held at the Fairlington Community Center (3308 S. Stafford Street) at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, July 19.

Speakers include Theo Stamos, Commonwealth Attorney for Arlington County, who will discuss the prosecution of these crimes, as well as Jo Johnson, project coordinator for domestic abuse prevention program Project PEACE. The Arlington County Police Department will also have a Special Victims Unit representative present to speak about recent incidents, provide safety tips and take questions.

Samantha Sewell with the Arlington Commission on the Status of Women said the forum will not only provide safety information, but will examine the services currently available for sexual assault victims. Part of the program will focus on shortcomings in what’s available throughout the community and what improvements can be made.

Sewell stresses that the intent is not to blame victims, or for example, to tell people not to run in certain areas. The goals are to talk about safety and education regarding sexual assaults. Everybody is welcome to attend the forum.

“We don’t want to put this all on women,” Sewell said. “We want to educate the community as a whole, and educate our men as well.”

Organizers say although there’s been concern about the number of sexual assaults for some time, the emergency forum was initiated specifically in response to recent incidents, such as the rape on Four Mile Run trail, and a sexual assault in the Ballston Public Parking Garage.

Event: ‘Dog Days of Summer’ Walk and Yappy Hour

By ARLnow.com

The Arlington Food Assistance Center’s Young Professionals Committee will be holding its second annual “Dog Days of Summer” dog walk and yappy hour fundraiser on Wednesday (July 18).

The event, which will benefit AFAC’s efforts to fight hunger, will take place after work in Clarendon.

Young professionals are invited to bring their dogs — and a $5 donation — to the (now closed) James Hunter dog park at the corner of  N. Herndon Street and 13th Street around 6:00 p.m. The walk will start at 6:30 p.m., will wind through the residential neighborhoods around Clarendon, and will end by 7:30 p.m. with a “yappy hour” on the patio at Mexicali Blues (2933 Wilson Blvd).

Those without dogs are welcome to participate — and perhaps even adopt a pooch of their own.

“Although this is a dog walk event, walkers do NOT have to have a dog to participate,” organizers said in an email. “Volunteers from the Animal Welfare League of Arlington will… join the walk with dogs in need of loving homes.”

Those interested in participating are asked to RSVP to [email protected].

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