This year's Metro Cooking event was delightful. More vendors, more samples, great chefs, and a food…read moreand drink festival. I entered the Yelp giveaway and won. Yay me! Additional costs for the Sip & Savor event though. The lamb meatballs from Fig & Olive were divine. And the Código Tequila was out of this world delicious. Buy this tequila and thank me later. Metro Cooking DC outdid themselves this year. I'm so glad I attended. See you next year!

Very disappointing this year (2021). It was not the lack of vendors or the quality of the vendors…read morebecause of the pandemic they gave it a good try and hopefully it will be back bigger and better next year. They were very disorganized. I had bought tickets to a chocolate and port tasting demonstration demonstration. They could not find the people who had the wristbands or the tickets, it started 25 minutes late After they had us in line with everybody else who was trying to get into the tasting garden. They should have pulled everyone going to the class out separately.. The demo itself was great. The tasting garden was supposed to be from either 12 to 4 or 12 to 3 depending on what schedule you believed but I was there at 1 or 130 and places had already run out of food. There is a whole row that the restaurants didn't even show up. Show organizers need to regulate the type of tasting that goes into the room so there's a good balance of appetizers, sweets and savory. It appeared they had a good number of classes But it was sad very few people came. I would assume Carla Hall and Martha Stewart were much more crowded. I hope it gets better next year

I came to see Pippin at this theater and cannot begin to express how impressed I was with the…read moretalent here. From singing to costuming to choreography, each performer gave everything to the audience. Since this is a theater in the round in a very intimate setting, I had my concerns that I would be in a section in which the performers had their backs to me. Quickly I realized that the seasoned cast is skilled at playing to each side and the staging wouldn't inhibit anyone's view. I purchased tickets with a partial view ( Row 4), and felt that my view from there was better than many Broadway shows I've attended. I did not find them to inhibit the show in any way, and the leg room was spacious. I really enjoy watching the support cast (chorus) and in this show particularly their roles were important to every element and integrated into the foreground. This is something you often don't see in traditional shows where the leads are foreground and the chorus is just left to be background noise. Great job by all. The theater is located near some eateries and an ice cream shop, but take advantage of this before the show. I felt every single person headed right to the ice cream shop after the show, and some of the eateries closed just as we exited at 9:00pm on a Sunday.

Now that the Signature Theatre is on my radar screen, I am happy to report that my 2nd visit - to…read moresee Pippin - reflects a live theater experience that is fantastic. I have already rated the theater facility/building as great so I won't go into much more detail about that. Although here goes - the building's entry is grand, the lobby is welcoming and exciting and the ushers/staff are friendly and first rate. The performance of Pippin that I saw was likewise first rate. Signature Theatre has taken a show I have seen multiple times in the past, and freshened it up. A lot! Presented in the round - which I normally do not like - it presents like live-action happening right in front of your eyes for the 1st time. And the theater is small enough that I felt immersed in the action! Indeed, several times, players would come right up into the seats and interact with me and other audience members. It really made the show seem like a story being presented for first time, spontaneously, right in front of me. And, the performances were so fresh, so intense that I felt that each and every emotion/action was directed only to me. Very nicely staged! The quality of talent in this show is also noticeable. Particular kudos to the man who portrayed Pippin. The ensemble too was Broadway caliber. The dancing in particular was exhilarating! I felt every kick and twist. Fosse lives in this production! This show is old, however, having been first conceived in the early 1970's. But there was very little that was tired or old or vintage. It was fresh and cutting edge. The Signature production was unlike any of the other presentations of Pippin I have seen. The actors' entrances came in from the audience entrances - all 4 corners of the theater - and it was enthralling. The close proximity made every actor seem like they were talking/singing just to me. It was the kind of show that you really need to see more than once because there is so much going on all at once. Bravo to the Signature Theatre once again!

While the other review (at the time of this writing) is one of the least useful reviews I've ever…read moreseen on this site, I hope mine can shed some more light and encourage you to attend in future years. A brief overview: - The Festival is held on Walter Reed, between the Arlington Drafthouse/Bangkok 54 and Twisted Vines (which if you know Arlington well, should give you a good idea of the location). It stretches from the Pike to just before the library (where the stage is). I can't personally comment on the parking, but I heard it was tough, so Metro or rideshare. - While there are black folding chairs available, I recommend bringing a blanket (there's lawn space) or your own chairs. - You could bring a picnic, but they had interesting food options, such as Suya To Go (Nigerian kabob), Sloppy Mama's (BBQ), Mazagan (Morrocan), Cantina Mexicana, Carol's Jamaican Cuisine, Mac's Donuts, and some lame festival/fair concessions. - You can buy beer and wine, which is basically a necessity. Beer was from Yuengling and Twisted Vines did the wine. - There were a lot of stands to explore, but many were for timeshares, or doors, or windows. Quite boring. However, there were some fun vendors selling jewelry, arts, etc., and I appreciated that. There were also Arlington civic organizations. I had a fantastic time at this festival. While I was unfamiliar with the performers, I thought they were all great, and represented a mix of styles. There were a few traditional performers, and then some that had more a funk or R&B mix. The festival started at 1, but didn't really get busy until around 4 or so. For food, I tried Suya, Cantina, and Mac's. I had a pupusa from Cantina, but didn't love it. It's a little hard when pupusas are not straight from the griddle. Suya To Go was delicious, though you get a tiny portion for $14. The jollof was boring, but the chicken kabob was spicy and delicious. The plantains were an interesting blend of of tostones and platanos. Basically, they took a yellow plantain and fried like a green plantain. I've never had one like that, but I loved it. I've had Mac's Donuts before and those are always a good bet. I think this festival is a great way to showcase more Pike restaurants, so I'm not sure why only two were there. I'm super looking forward to following years, and definitely think this is a festival worth checking out.

The Columbia Pike Blues Festival is a perfect family friendly event. Located right off of Columbia…read morePike and S. Walter Reed. Music rocks and the food tents are pulling out all the stops.

The Smithsonian Folklife Festival in D.C. is a popular annual summer event, but this was my first…read moretime attending. The six day festival highlighted indigenous cultures and honored the 20th anniversary of the National Museum of the American Indian. I enjoyed the food, performances, presentations, and crafts. It's definitely worth a visit and is a nice event for the whole family. I was also really happy the festival was set up in shaded areas under the trees instead of the National Mall lawn. The heat was brutal today!

This marks my one year anniversary for moving to Washington DC. And one of the first things I did…read morewas attend the Folklife Festival. Last year it was a bit larger as it was highlighting China and Kenya. This year the focus is on Peru. Both years ave consisted of different showcases of traditional life in the respective countries. This year they had native Peruvians marking clay scultures, tin work, a Andean mountain rope bridge, boats,and other items. They also had different organizations (a native village's homegrown radio station for instance), traditional dancing and singing, and of course alpacas. They always have local restaurants which specialize in authentic food from the respective country(ies). Prices are cheaper for what you'd pay for food in the metro DC area so this is a welcome change for those working in the area to grab a quick bite to eat for lunch. Everything but the food and handicrafts at the marketplace are free. Come get a window on life in another country.

My wife and I went to a few of the earlier iterations of this festival, but we have been away from…read moreit for a couple of years, and came back having scored a couple of free tickets. We both agreed that had we paid full price would would have been dissatisfied. Maybe I am just remembering with false nostalgia, but it seems to me that the price of admission has been going up while the number of separate stages and number of acts has been going down. Too many of the acts that we saw were overly electrified, and the amplification of the instruments overwhelmed the voices of the singers. A number of the acts seemed to be much more rock-ish and less bluegrass-y. Too many in the audiences were shouting at each other so that they could hear each other over the music, making the experience even less pleasant. The lack of any brochures that we could carry around to keep track of the schedules at various stages made it harder to find what we might have wanted; I thought the explanation for the no-brochures -- we are ging green" might well be an excuse for cutting a cost. And given the lack of brochures, the paucity of signage listing the various acts and times and stages was especially telling. I don't expect to be back

This festival by far exceeded my expectations, I won two free tickets on Yelp and my only…read moredata-point about the event was the then, only one very negative review by someone who, apparently needed to be hammered to enjoy anything. At this year's event there were literally dozens of beer tents, and kudos on the distribution of stainless steel pint glasses. But this festival has so much more to offer than just beer. Free kayaking, boat rides, food trucks and stages tucked into intimate pockets of forest make this festival a must visit event . We were able to take a guided pontoon boat tour with Trey of Anacostia Riverkeeper, seeing the river firsthand and hearing about the ecology and policy issues therein was definitely a highlight. This event reminds me of camp out jam session and we left feeling like we had considerable more outdoor time than just a few hours. Getting to the festival was super easy via metro then shuttle ride. Very kid and dog friendly.

It's a hybrid, a cross between a fun-park and a road. It's "Half Fairground, Half Street." Hence…read morethe name. But not really. These fairgrounds are actually multiple-use grounds with tons of spots to buy beer (The Bullpen) right across from the Baseball stadium near downtown DC. It's a really fantastic concept and one which more cities should be taking notice of. I've been here for concerts and for Truckeroo food festivals, and it's also fantastic before and after Nationals games. It's just a really great space and if it weren't for the masses of overpriced beer and the fact that they sell tobacco (and even have Cigar Trucks here ew) I'd give them a 5, but it always smells so bad and is so dirty here due to the presence of so much alcohol and tobacco. It's not fair. But it is fair grounds.

My husband and I stopped here before a National game to grab a couple of beers and people watch…read more There was a lot of people watching going on and would recommend that for sure. The beer prices were crazy but cheaper than inside the stadium. This was a free area to get in and they had a band playing live music. The port a potties were still in decent shape when I got there too so that was a bonus. Would I come here again? Yeah probably but only if I was going to another national's game.

We enjoy going to the annual Greek festival to eat/hangout and support the local community. This…read moreyear was the first time they added tents outdoors for rain due to the forecast so that was helpful as it did end up raining quite a bit. Usually folks who buy gyro want to sit outdoors so they still had a chance to do so comfortably with the covered areas. The outdoor food lines had two kinds of gyro, fries, loukoumades (one of my favorite desserts), and a new item lamb chops. The small hall had a few vendors (I wish they had more like how they had in the past) like jewelry and Greek imports, and there's also a kid area with moon bounces, popcorn, etc. There's a station for drinks outside too like canned soda, Mythos beer, and other drinks like lemonade but that was a bit underwhelming since it was just regular lemonade with a lot of sugar (would've been nice if maybe it was fresh squeezed lemons). Indoors you have the hot bar items like moussaka, pastichio, spanakopita, etc. I enjoyed the tiropita, crunchy/flaky baked well with a tasty cheesy filling. There's also the coffee station and dessert line. There were a few coffee options like Greek coffee which is a shot of coffee made in the briki, and also frappe a cold version (they didn't ask how you want it though like with/without sugar or milk). In the pastry line they had koulouria, melomakarouna, and a new item called kok that's almost like an eclair. Indoors they also have live music/dj and dancing. I enjoyed the chicken gyro, just hopefully they'll have the option to add a few fries on top in the future like how they do traditionally in Greece!

Beautiful church. Disappointing experience as a newcomer and someone exploring Orthodoxy. I…read moreintended to purchase several books, icons, etc. but the book store only took cash, which I did not have, nor was there another solution offered. I tried to speak with some people but was made to feel awkward and pushed out by other regular churchgoers.

(e)merge art fair was a huge disappointment…read more.. First, I purchased the Gilt City VIP Party and Preview Tickets, for a $65 for a $5 savings... Frankly, I thought Gilt would have vetted this 'VIP party' ...There was NOTHING VIP about the VIP PARTY... perhaps I should have read the fine print more clearly --- no complimentary cocktail, canapes, blah blah blah....there would have been no difference from viewing this art show any other day or time. Speaking of cocktails, they had ONE bartender at the main bar. Then one outside by the pool...one on the second floor. Interestingly enough, I just paid $65 for this event and NOT one cocktail included. When I went to buy a beer by the pool, the sign said 'Domestic Beer $5, Imported Beer $6.' The woman asked me for $8, and I told her the sign in front of her said $6. She said the price was $8 for this event. Nice. Clearly, the high price of the VIP Party and just the $15 show fee are to subsidize the Capital Skyline because no one would come here otherwise... Second, this show was questionable for both quality and quantity. It was definitely quite sparse... As someone who attended last year, I am pretty confident in saying that there were far more exhibitors and far more international exhibitors last year. Whilst there were a few nice pieces here and there, the rest of the works reminded me of the Artomatic, which I greatly support as a wonderful effort in promoting the arts to the community at large but is not curated or presented as a professional art show. The (e)merge art fair is a big #FAIL... If they seek to survive in DC, they will need to do a better job of curating because no one is going to continue to pay this kind of entry fee to subsidize a motel. *(e)merge art fair, if you would like to hire me, I consult on business strategy including revenue strategy for cultural arts organizations, so ping me...

Great experience! This fair had a variety of international artists and also provided a great…read moreopportunity for local artists as well. My favorite part was the section in the garage that had different musical and performances art showings... The trapeze act was pretty awesome, too... The staff was super friendly and helpful, very willing to talk about the art.