around my way: Anacostia Cherry Blossom Festival

Anacostia Cherry Blossom Festival Press Release
Come be a part of Anacostia’s premiere spring event, the Anacostia Cherry Blossom Festival to be held on Saturday, April 11th, 2009 from 10 am to 4 pm. The festival draws residents and tourists from throughout the city. It will be a day packed with activities, including an Opening Ceremony & Tree Dedication, an Arts Walk, live Music and more. The majority of the days’ activities will take place along Good Hope Road S.E. toward the Anacostia Park Entrance and on up the 1900-2000 Block ofMartin Luther King Jr. Avenue~ The Historic Anacostia Corridor.

The Main Street Anacostia Promotions Committee strives to create a thriving and robust business district for its residents, while encouraging folks from other neighborhoods and towns to come experience what we have to offer. We are thrilled to have the support of some great sponsors including DC Lottery, Environmental Design and Construction, Four Points Properties, ARCH Development Corp, 1918-1922 Partnership LLP, Venable and Anacostia River Realty.

The day kicks off at 10 am in the Anacostia Park with a cherry blossom tree planting and dedication as part of the National Cherry Blossom Festival’s Neighborhood Tree Planting Program, presented by The Home Depot and supported by the DC Lottery and the DC Chamber of Commerce. Tree dedications will be awarded to Phil Pannell, Marion Barry and Butch Hopkins by the Anacostia Garden Club. The festival continues with live jazz music by The Young Lions at Honfleur Gallery at 1241 Good Hope Road at 1 pm. More music can be heard throughout the day from 11am – 11pm at Eric Whitehead’s JazzNSoul Café, located at 2020 Shannon Place S.E. Musicians include SamO & JFC, Earl Carter, Glenn Arnett, Jamie Jones, Paul Chew, Nonya Whitley, DJ JAMMER and many more!

The Art Walk begins just a short distance from the Anacostia Metro with the grand opening of Vivid Solutions, a new photographic gallery located at 1227 Good Hope Road S.E. Sakura: Awakened by Spring is a group show of photography all submitted with the Spring theme in mind. It is full of color, nature and some unexpected visions. Outside in the open lot next to the gallery is the Art + Craft Market, open all day with local artists ready to sell their work. Please stop by and see the assortment of jewelry, paintings, books and other crafts. At the market, Curbside Café offers their homemade burritos, and pick up an Anacostia Cherry Blossom Festival t-shirt as well. Other food is available along the Art Walk; check out the Jamaican cafe or renowned Soul Food restaurant on MLK Jr. Ave.

Continue on the Art Walk to the storefront at 2204 MLK Jr. Ave SE where you will find a Pink Line Project exhibit in collaboration with Critical Exposure, with curatorial assistance from Chanel Compton. Don’t forget to also check out the Cherry Blast event the night before the festival on Friday April 10th from 9pm-2am, also hosted by The Pink Line Project. Cherry Blast highlights fine art, live music, dance, a DJ, fashion, anime, and origami, presented in association with the National Cherry Blossom Festival and through funding from the DC Commission for the Arts and Humanities.

Alison Spain will paint “live” in a raw studio space on the next stop on the Art Walk at 2200 MLK Jr. Ave S.E. She is offering a charcoal drawing workshop for area youth from 2pm – 4pm; all are welcomed to join. Spain’s colorful abstract paintings are larger than life in both size and dynamism. Upstairs is a showcase of eight selected artists invited to use the space to display their work in any way possible. Don’t miss all this creative energy!

Stop into the American Poetry Museum at 1922 MLK Jr Ave, to hear some live readings by local poets. The current exhibit, Beats to the Rhyme: Visual Representations of Hip-Hop Poetry features works by Franc Rosario, Sami Miranda, Fred Joiner, Howard Fleming, Kenneth Robinson, and Nia Smith. The next space on the Art Walk is at 1231 Good Hope Road S.E. at Arch Training Center, showing local student photography in Spring Visions and Inspirations. Just a few doors down at Honfleur Gallery, take in Darren Smith’s solo exhibition Cross & Ladder. This DC-Based artist pushes the boundaries of photography with handmade photo mosaics and a few large installation pieces.

Stay tuned for updates, directions and more info. Save the date: Anacostia Cherry Blossom Festival, April 11, 2009 from 10am to 4pm! For more information on the Anacostia Cherry Blossom Festival and Art Walk, go to www.archdevelopment.org/events.html. For more information on the Cherry Blast event, see www.pinklineproject.com.