A Wedding Moment to Remember…read more Tonight at the absolutely stunning 2941 Restaurant, we were soaking in all the beauty--great food, amazing company, and even better dancing. And then something magical happened. While in the lobby, I noticed a mariachi band wrapping up from a nearby party. Without missing a beat, I walked over, greeted them in Spanish, and asked if they could wait a moment. They smiled--of course. I rushed back into the wedding, found the bride and groom, took their hands and said, "Close your eyes. Just trust me." They did. We walked them outside, positioned them in front of the mariachi, and said, "Now open your eyes." And then the music began. The joy on their faces was everything. Guests came pouring out to join the spontaneous celebration. The bride and groom danced to the rich, vibrant sounds of live mariachi. It was unscripted, unforgettable, and full of soul. These are the kinds of moments that make weddings truly special--the kind you carry with you forever. #WeddingMagic #MariachiSurprise #UnforgettableMoments #2941Restaurant #WeddingDayJoy #SpontaneousMagic

This mariachi showed up on time, knew all the traditional mariachi songs, the main singer had a…read moregreat voice and they have an excellent repertoire. Good job, would highly recommend.

I love a lot of classical symphonic music and especially like live performances. McLean Symphony…read morehas been around since 1972 and is certainly one of McLean's pearls of the arts. It's unique for its annual composition competition hosted by the Northern Virginia Music Teachers' Association. Young musicians have an opportunity to have their own compositions performed by professionals. Prices are very reasonable and support nurturing of the arts by allowing children 12 and under to attend for free. The full adult price is capped at $25 with discounts for seniors and students. Performances are at various locations; I prefer the McLean Community Center. The seating is elevated, so there are no bad seats. Sound reaches the back rows. The seats are padded and large enough to be comfortable for a full performance. Parking is very close to the building

I heard about the McLean Symphony because my son's violin teacher gave us tickets to see the…read moreconcert on May 31, 2014. The orchestra was very good and it was especially enjoyable when Carlos Alberto Ibay performed in the second half as the feature piano soloist. I play the piano, but I am nowhere near as a good as an average piano concert musician. Carlos was AMAZING at the show. I was amazed as how he was able to memorize the entire repertoire that he played and the songs that he played were not short. They had the concert at the McLean Community center. It is a small and intimate theater so there is no bad seat in the house. I also like the fact that parking is free.

A historic building with an ostentatious name which has somehow eluded my attention until now. It…read morehouses a free (!) art gallery, which is just a big room with a little add-on at street level. The basement is open and is also visibly historic, but doesn't have much in the way of art. It does have cool air and a restroom. The scope of the art gallery clearly isn't large (bearing in mind that a free art gallery the size of a mansion is ho-hum by DC standards), but I enjoyed what they had and it was a perfect use of the time I had to spend on it. Surprisingly enough, they seem to allow people to bring their dogs inside.

All of the Athenaeum staff was excellent to work with. During the initial planning stages, Veronica…read moreand Richard were my main points of contact, both of whom were very helpful answering questions. They were happy to entertain our questions both via email and during the various trips to check out the space. The contract process was fairly straight forward and fortunately renting out the space includes both the art gallery and the outside garden (it rained on our wedding day and the ceremony was initially going to take place in the garden). A few days before the wedding, we were informed that Amanda would be the staffer on hand on the actual wedding day. I sent Amanda my proposed timeline and we reviewed it over the phone. She was willing to assist with flow of show and confirming chair and floral deliveries/set up. She advised us of some renovations that were taking place in the alley behind the garden, which is where the ceremony was originally going to take place. While the staff had not previously informed us of the planned renovation, it all worked out in the end. Amanda emailed me photos of the renovations, offered alternate solutions to ensure the scaffolding wouldn't be as visible, emailed the contractor to ensure they would be done with the renovations for the day prior to our scheduled photo time and ceremony start time, and offered to be at the venue early to ensure that everything was clean. When I realized it was likely going to rain on the wedding day, I emailed Amanda asking for a quick discussion on a rain plan. She contacted me right away to confirm a time and we spoke the morning of the wedding to come up with a rain plan. She handled the new set up with both the chair rental company and the florist. The set up came out beautifully. Also, one of the photographers left a water behind and Amanda emailed me about the item so I was able to retrieve it the next day. I would definitely rent this space again!

In short: my wedding was nearly ruined because of this business…read more We hired this mariachi band to serve as our only live entertainment for our Cinco de Mayo wedding - AND THEY NEVER SHOWED. They never ever even called to let us know they weren't coming. On our wedding, I was in tears because I was terrified my guests were bored. We ended up hooking up an iPod, which turned out okay, but no bride or groom should be sweating bullets on their wedding day. They took a huge deposit months ago, but to my knowledge, it hasn't been returned yet. I'll update this once they do - but nothing can take back the stress and worry they caused on what should have been the happiest day of our lives. And an iPod can't take the place of the energy of a live band - but at least it's a hell of a lot more reliable than Mariachi Las Estrellas. The manager of the band did call the next day to apologize to my mother, saying they didn't show up because someone's mother's house had flooded. While their commitment to family is admirable, they should have enough respect for their clients to at least call and cancel the day of. **UPDATE: They returned the deposit. But it doesn't change my opinion of them in the least. Avoid.

The Mariachi Estrellas played for my surprise birthday party. Having spent considerable time in…read moreMexico, I know good mariachi music when I hear it. They were great and even played my request for an old "ranchera: cancion. They are excellent musicians and singers. Judy Benavides couldn't have been more gracious. My family, friends and I had a great time. I would use them again without hesitation.

I really liked this show, but stopped short of loving it. Despite rave reviews from almost all…read morecritics I could find, I did not love the lead. She was great-- I think this is one of the most difficult roles to play-- but just didn't quite capture the nuances of the part or something (sorry, that sounds super douchey, but that is the whole point of this show, after all!) Still, she was on, and she sang the HELL out of "Don't Cry For Me Argentina." I thought the choreography/dancing was great, and the set, though simple, was beautiful. The costumes were perfect. Evita is not one of my favorite scripts because I think it simplifies what is a fascinating story, but the music can't be beat and they did it justice!

14th Annual Ukrainian School Holiday Bazaar was a wonderful event. You get an ethnic festival…read morewithout crowds, hanging around with kind people. There was a food stand, market stands, musical program and the never ending table with the Ukrainian sweets. I have experienced before that the best desserts festival was the Ukrainian bazaar at their shrine so it is not surprising that this bazaar offered a huge quantity of delicious cakes. There were many layered cakes that somebody spent a lot of time making it from scratch. You can eat stuffed cabbage and enjoy home made tea or coffee before you get (inexpensive) deserts with the price range between $1 and $3. This bazaar could be an annual tradition for any non-Ukrainian who aspire to be an Ukrainian for 45 minutes. Hope to make it again next year. TIP: do not arrive at start (9:30AM) but more for lunch time (Noon). You will have everything available and ready for you.

I saw a Groupon deal for Sunday Fun Day $25 for VIP tickets for unlimited drinks. Bonuses were…read morethat we got a free bottle opener,souvenir stein to carry our drinks in, free pickles, speck and sausage in the VIP tent and a pretzel necklace to munch on while you try all the beers and liquors you want. Plus a good variety of German food. I totally recommend the potato pancakes I think it was 2 for $5.00 it's like a steal because they are so good and so crispy they have apple sauce or sour cream if want. The brautwarst sandwich was just as good as when I had it in Austria. Perfect snap when you bite into in. Only negative I have is that they did run out of a few beers mainly the pumpkin beers which bummed me and my friend out but we made due and since Sunday was the last day they rushed us out of the venue as quickly as possible. Major buzzkill.But another bonus they gave us soft pretzels on the way out lol.Other then that I had a positive experience and will probably have to go again.

This event needs to be held at a much bigger venue, or they need to limit ticket sales more. There…read morewas a line out the door to bathrooms at all times, to the point where bathroom attendants had tip jars out (and in exchange they stayed right there cleaning constantly. Not bad!) The indoor part of the festival was packed shoulder to shoulder. Getting anywhere meant ducking through gaps when you could, and otherwise shuffling along with a crowd so dense I could feel the texture of people's clothing on my arms. I had to take my contact lenses out, because of the smoke from the indoor BBQ, and with people smoking the cigars that were for sale, my eyes started burning. It got better once the plastic was out though so for people who don't wear contact lenses it probably wasn't an issue. I noticed that the stage was a bit too close to the indoor merchant area; the crowd was backed up into the building, blocking about 20 booths as well as one of the bathrooms. There was a literal wall of people all the way up to the Yelp.com booth. On the PLUS side: For a beer festival I was impressed with the low level of drunkenness. I was there all day and only saw 2 people leaning on each other. I didn't see a single fight. No one who talked to me was slurring their speech. I did see a group of young men playing a hand slapping game; if anyone spilled beer, everyone in their group took turns slapping their hand as hard as they could for the sacrilegious act of shame. Any time anyone broke a glass, a group "Ohh!!" would sound through the entire crowd. It was hilarious. I brought a huge stein with me, and in hindsight it wasn't very nice of me. People who had paid $35 for the 4 oz tasting tumbler who saw my stein were a little saddened. I felt bad. One guy held his tumbler up to my big 24 oz glass and took a picture. The food smelled amazing and was typical faire-fare price; about $6 for BBQ or a turkey leg. Lots of German meats. The aroma was great. Overall, fun and silly. There were people in costume and all crowding aside people were generally having a good time. Oh: To the guy selling $12 candied apples: try offering samples of that particular item. Otherwise they seem far too expensive. I understand that you're a gourmet candy shop but for customers who don't seek your business out for it's gourmet reputation the price was daunting and samples would have helped. Not for general consumption; but for anyone who asked about the apples. You wouldn't even need to advertise that you were sampling; just offer if it looks like you're going to lose the sale otherwise. It might turn them around. These festivals are all about advertising, getting the name out there, right?

Max Major is a mentalist, he is a master of influence and phycology. He is brilliant. His…read morepersonality completely different from any magician I have ever met. He lightening entire auditorium with his charming smile and super friendly personality. He "doesn't wear crown" on his head like everybody else who as popular as he is. His not-traditional presentation spark entire crowd, build excitement and left crowd with their mouth opened for another 15 min and then entire evening talking about him.

For the Yelper who mentioned that there was no hypnosis in the show, I have to politely disagree. I…read morewas absolutely hypnotized by how tight Max Major's skinny jeans are. Hipsters beware, he will put you to shame! Back before I was Community Manager or even Yelp Elite I used to enviously read other Yelpers reviews when they got exclusive access to Max Major shows in the city. My cousins and I used to geek out on magician shows as a kid so when the opportunity came for me to check out one of Max's show I jumped on it! I bought one of my besties who is not as easily amused as I am but I sneaked a few peeks at her during the show and definitely saw some O faces of wonderment. The show has the elements of a good time: Gore - Russian Roulette with a staple gun? Your night immediately got more exciting. Celebrity - I won't spoil it for you but be prepared for a celebrity guest appearance. Laughs - Max is super funny and down to earth. Even my ADD was kept in check for two hours! Education - Get schooled on the art of psychology by the mentalist himself Surprise - So...many...surprises.... and if all else fails.... Alcohol - If you are lucky enough to get pulled on stage, you can partake in whiskey shots with the dashing host. It's no wonder he was voted Best Performance Artist in the Washington City Paper several years in a row!