So what might strike your fancy this weekend?
RUNNING FAR …
The 2nd annual Fairfax CASA Run for the Children 10K Race & 3K Run/Walk is coming up on Saturday at 8 AM — prizes, food, and entertainment all included. Sign up right here. And in running-related events, Girls on the Run founder Molly Barker will share words of wisdom at a brunch to benefit the GOTR of MoCo scholarship fund on Saturday at 8 AM. Admission tickets are sold out, but you can still buy raffle tickets here!
The cost of a nation of incarceration (CBS News): “Nationwide, the numbers are staggering: Nearly 2.4 million people behind bars, even though over the last 20 years the crime rate has actually dropped by more than 40%.” Michael Jacobson, director of the Vera Institute of Justice, points out that the US has “about 5% of the world’s population, but we have 25% of the world’s prisoners.” A report from Vera, “The Price of Prisons, finds that the cost of incarcerating one inmate runs up to $60,000 per year in some states. Says Walter McNeil, president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, “… the vast majority of the people in prison are going to return to prison unless we do something different.”
O for a Muse of fire, that would ascend
The brightest heaven of invention,
A kingdom for a stage, princes to act
And monarchs to behold the swelling scene!
(Henry V)O, wonder!
How many goodly creatures are there here!
How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world,
That has such people in’t!
(The Tempest)
— William Shakespeare, whose 1564 birth is observed today
And here are some great DC-area destinations for the weekend …
Happy Hour Fundraiser with Art Enables (at Lace, 2214 Rhode Island Ave NE)
On Friday at 4:00 PM, join Art Enables for cocktail and food specials at Lace — while having a fun time for a good cause.
Latino Youth: Reach for the Stars! with Educacion Para Nuestro Futuro (at NRECA Conference Center, 4301 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington)
Edu-Futuro honors the talents & spirit of Latino youth on Friday at 6:30 PM in their first-ever talent show — which will also support grassroots education and leadership development.
“Oh, I’ve never forgotten for long at a time that living is struggle. I know that every good and excellent thing in the world stands moment by moment on the razor edge of danger and must be fought for — whether it’s a field, or a home, or a country.”
(The Skin of Our Teeth, 1942)“But the love will have been enough; all those impulses of love return to the love that made them. Even memory is not necessary for love. There is a land of the living and a land of the dead and the bridge is love, the only survival, the only meaning.”
(The Bridge of San Luis Rey, 1927)
— American novelist & playwright Thornton Wilder, born today in 1897
What are your plans for the weekend? Consider “meeting up” with a Catalogue nonprofit, such as …
Capitol Hill Arts Workshop (545 7th Street SE)
Tango dancers of all levels have an opportunity to practice, collaborate, and learn in a collective space at a Free Tango Practica on Friday at 7:00 PM.
District of Columbia Arts Center (2438 18th Street NW)
At DCAC on Friday & Saturday at 7:30 PM, Landless Theatre Company presents a DC premiere: SPIDERMUSICAL: A Second Chance for Awesome. Nab tickets .
Rock Creek Conservancy (over 50 locations around the DC area)
Join in the 4th annual Extreme Cleanup on Saturday at 9:00 AM when thousands of volunteers will help keep trash out of Rock Creek, the Potomac River and ultimately the Chesapeake Bay. Click here to register at your local clean-up.
For those celebrating, have a very good holiday! And here’s a quick look at some upcoming events:
Arias with a Twist at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company (April 6 – May 4): Drag chanteuse extraordinaire Joey Arias and master puppeteer Basil Twist invite you on a magical mystery tour through space and time. Nab your tickets right here for this trippy, madcap, musical fantasia.
LearnServe Panels and Venture Fair with LearnServe International (April 12): What would you change in your community? Find out how the next generation answers that question, as LearnServe Fellows — high school students from nearly 30 schools — debut their plans to make a difference in their communities. Picture a science fair for social action projects! More information right here.
“There are two men inside the artist, the poet and the craftsman. One is born a poet. One becomes a craftsman.”
— French writer Emile Zola, born today in 1840
“Creativity is that marvelous capacity to grasp mutually distinct realities and draw a spark from their juxtaposition.”
— German artist Max Ernst, born today in 1891
Have a creative month, Greater Washington!
Coming up this weekend …
Limited Visibility, featuring Christopher K. Morgan Artists from CityDance Ensemble (Alden Theatre, 1234 Ingleside Avenue, McLean, VA)
Inviting the dancers to reveal things they might only do in private, the piece will be a suite of dances connected in theme and design. Performances are Friday and Saturday night at 8:00 PM; tickets available right here.
Lemons and Lost Belongings at District of Columbia Arts Center (2438 18th Street NW)
Through Saturday, the Dolce Revolution presents a double feature: Lemons by Barry Eitel is an examination of class struggle through the metaphor of a lemonade stand, while Lost Belongings by Jennifer Berry explores human sexuality, identity and the longing for connection in the era of Facebook. More info this way!
Intermediate Concert from DC Youth Orchestra Program (Eastern High School, 1700 East Capitol Street NE)
All young performers in Concert Orchestra, Concert Wind Ensemble, and more, will after just five weeks of rehearsals on Sunday at 4:00 PM. Learn more about the youth orchestra season right here!
And next week …
FREE Noontime Cantata Series at Washington Bach Consort (Church of the Epiphany, 1317 G Street NW)
At the popular series of fifty-minute concerts presented on the first Tuesday of the month at noon, music director J. Reilly Lewis shares his enthusiasm and love for the music before presenting an organ work and one of Bach’s cantatas. Directions available right this way!
Affordable housing means financial incentives, experts tell MontCo (Washington Examiner): “Yet 44 percent of renters in the county spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing, said Michael Bodaken, president of the National Housing Trust. A minimum-wage earner would need to work four full-time jobs to afford a “modest” two-bedroom apartment in the county. The most realistic solution is to try to preserve some of the existing housing where rents are in danger of climbing, because working with existing structures costs one-third as much as building new housing, Bodaken said.” According to Roger Lewis, professor emeritus at the University of Maryland, “it is going to take some public-sector financing, which then gets into the political briar patch.” (We also touched upon the high housing costs in Arlington in yesterday’s In The News)