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Washington DC,
Social Profile
Food & Drink: Washington, DC has a renowned selection of excellent restaurants and almost any national cuisine can be found.
Theatres & Concerts: Pennsylvania Avenue houses the National and Ford Theaters. The John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts stands at the foot of New Hampshire Avenue, overlooking the Potomac River. Here there are four theatres for live performances of opera, concerts, musical plays, drama and festival occasions; free performances are held every day of the year from 6pm at the Millennium Stage. A fifth theatre houses the American Film Institute. Open-air concerts are held at the Jefferson Memorial in the summer, and the National Gallery of Art has Sunday evening concerts in the West Building, West Court Garden. US military bands play free concerts at the Washington Monument, the Capitol, and the Navy Memorial during the summer.
Nightlife: Washington enjoys a growing number of nightclubs with live entertainment. There are, however, numerous bars and discos in central Washington, Adams-Morgan, Georgetown and the suburbs.
Shopping: There are several shopping areas in Washington, DC. A collection of self-contained shops known as the ‘Shops at National Place’ can be found off F Street, between 11th and 15th Streets; Connecticut Avenue (between K Street and Dupont Circle) has many speciality shops; and Georgetown offers a wide range of boutiques, bookshops, antique dealers, arts and crafts shops, and pavement stalls as well as a very attractive mall on M Street. More traditional malls include the Pentagon City Mall, located in Arlington, VA (15 minutes by Metro from the downtown area), and the Mazza Gallerie, at the corner of Wisconsin and Western Avenues. Some of the government buildings offer unique souvenirs in giftshops open to the public.
Special Events: The following is a selection of special events occurring in Washington, DC in 2005; for further details see online (website: www.washington.org):
Feb 9-13
44th Annual Washington Boat Show, Washington Convention Center. Mar-Apr
AmericArtes (Mexican and Andean music festival), John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Mar 12
Washington Marathon. Mar 13
St Patrick’s Day Parade, Constitution Avenue. Mar 17-20
The Washington Home & Garden Show, Washington Convention Center. Mar 26-Apr 11
National Cherry Blossom Festival, Constitution Avenue. Apr
White House Easter Egg Roll, South Lawn, White House. Apr 13-24
Filmfest DC International Film Festival. May 28-30
Taste of DC, Historic Pennsylvania Avenue. Jun 5-12
Capital Pride (gay pride festival), Dupont Circle and Pennsylvania Avenue. Jun 23-Jul 4
Smithsonian Folklife Festival, National Mall. Jun DC Caribbean Festival. Jun 25-26
National Capital Barbecue Battle, Pennsylvania Avenue. Jul 4
National Independence Day Celebration, Constitution Avenue. Jul 30-Aug 7 Tennis Classic, William HG Fitzgerald Tennis Center. Aug 30-Sep 19 Prelude Festival. Oct 4
National Book Festival, National Mall. Nov
Washington Craft Show, Washington Convention Center. Nov 11
Veterans Day Celebrations. Dec-Feb 2006 Holiday Homecoming (ongoing festive celebrations).
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