Dress for Success’ Gala Kicks Off Thursday Night

Do not forget the Dress for Success Gala Kick-off at Ceviche’s Wine Bar tonight.  The event goes from 6pm-9pm in the restaurant’s Glover Park location.  Please stop by to learn more about this 6 year old organization, meet its supporters and of course, have some fine wine from the self-serve wine bar.

Please email maureenbryant@rocketmail.com for more information and to RSVP.

Stop Traffick with Fashion! Re-cap

Thank you to all who made it to last night’s “Stop Traffick with Fashion!” event at Lima.  It was quite a great success with a fabulous turnout.  I was honored to be a part of such a great cause and with such elite company (Beverly Kirk from Newschannel 8, Miss DC 2008 Kate Marie Grinold, Donna Rice Hughes, President of Enough is Enough; Deborah Sigmund of Innocents at Risk, and all the other fantastic folks who came out to support Charity Network Inc through buying tickets or sponsorship).

The fashion show was a hit and the models were gorgeous.  I personally saw  several designs I’d love to purchase and I am pretty sure Kate Grinold was eyeing a few hot numbers.  It would not have been such a well executed event if it hadn’t been for MC Natalie Buford-Young (Rainfield Group) and the co-Chairs:

Ingrid Mendoza
AMERICAN SYSTEMS Corporation
Dipika Bhagat Ahluwalla
First Trust Title & Escrow, LLC
Sakshi Bhagat
Keane, Inc.

Thanks to everyone again for your hard work to make last night happen and of course, to Lavika Bhagat Singh, who runs Charity Network Inc so that we can stop the horrible crime of child trafficking. 

(All photo credit: Pat Ryan, www.ryanphoto.com - above, local designer Aidah Fontenot with Kate Marie Grinold; all others, various look from the red carpet runway)

Rhodeside Grill - Friday fundraiser

Thanks to an old friend Ban Kirma for this tip.  This restaurant is in my neighborhood and is a good place to dine and cocktail, now especially for the following reason:

Fans of Rhodeside Grill in Arlington know there are lots of things to love there — great food, live music, tons of sports and a cool little patio. But the best thing is the great staff. One of our favorites, Priscilla Velasquez, was seriously injured in a car accident recently and remains in the hospital in a coma. This Friday, June 27th, there will be a fundraiser at Rhodeside to raise money to help cover what are bound to be staggering medical bills. There will be live music featuring Claire Gilbride and Brother Shamus, DJ Dan-O spinning, $1,000’s in raffle prizes and all of your Rhodeside friends and family. The event gets going at 7 p.m. Can’t make it by on Friday? Stop by anytime and drop of a contribution if you’re so inclined — it will be greatly appreciated.

Rhodeside Grill is located at 1836 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA. www.rhodesidegrill.com

Wednesday evening event

Tonight, is Stop Traffick with Fashion!  If you have not yet purchased your $65 ticket, there is still time.  Just go online http://www.stoptraffick.com/, hit the Paypal button on the bottom and register.  We are so very excited to announce that not only is the new Miss DC, Kate Marie Grinold involved, but so is Donna Rice Hughes, the President of Enough is Enough.  I also just found out that my dear friend and shoe designer Lacey Kirstein, will be providing the footwear for the models (LaceyK Shoes).  Hope to see you there at Lima (6pm-8pm)!

Interstages Fundraiser at Marvin - June 30th

Thanks to Cami Mazard for giving me the heads up on this upcoming fundraiser.

Please come out to support Interstages on June 30th for an event that Sheldon Scott from Restaurant Marvin put together to benefit Interstages.  Interstages provides arts and music education after school to 6th-8th grade women in Anacostia.  Marvin, by the way, is one of the hottest, most talked about U Street restaurants. 

The set-up this month is similar to last month’s event, which raised over $2100 for Pediatric AIDS/HIV Care Inc. in one night.  Sheldon waits tables and donates 100% of his tips to charity.  Due to the overwhelming success of last month, Sheldon instituted a 25% match program.  If he gets multiple 25% matches, he feels it more evenly spreads the burden of donation among his ‘matchers’ and ultimately makes the night more profitable!  But he’ll take whatever his ‘matchers’ and donators can give.  Basically, just come for dinner, drinks, conversation and fun with friends.

This month, Sheldon has chosen Interstages as the charity.

Interstages: Success is in the Experience

Interstages is a nonprofit after school youth development program designed specifically for middle school girls in Southeast DC.  Founded three years ago by two former D.C. Public School teachers, Interstages provides opportunities for early adolescent girls in low-income neighborhoods to discover talents, strengthen and develop skills, and heighten self-awareness, setting the stage for a successful transition into young adulthood.  Three key elements make the Interstages model uniquely effective in engaging 6th-, 7th-, and 8th-grade girls: (1) exclusive focus on early adolescence; (2) academic personalization; and (3) connecting to history through music. Please call (202) 824-0740 to learn how you can get involved!

We Want You To

help change the name of the Wisconsin Ave boutique: We One You Two.  The New Name Campaign has been extended, so all you creative folks out there who have a hidden talent for coming up with catchy names and phrases, come out of the closet.  Should your name be "it", you can win yourself a boatload of prizes:

A $250 cash prize
Dinner for two at the trendy Hudson Restaurant & Lounge                               Two first row tickets to a Nationals game located directly behind the visitors dugout
Haircut, Highlight and Styling from Salon Nadar
and Phyto Skincare products from Erwin Gomez Salon & Spa

Enter today at www.weoneyoutwo.com and great luck!

Also, check out the nice article in The Georgetowner.

Oh Canada!

Come celebrate our northern neighbor’s national day, actually, its 141st birthday, on Tuesday July 1st at the cool Canadian Embassy.  The event is free, open to the public, and during lunchtime (you gotta eat, right?) so you have no excuse not to come.

What you can expect: Meet Bravo’s Top Chef’s Spike Mendelsohn, who is now the Chef of Good Stuff Eatery, experience music, entertainment, tons of food and drinks, and activities for the kids.  These Canadians know how to party, eh?

Interested in attending? Subscribe to www.Connect2Canada.com to receive your invitation.

The Embassy of Canada is located at 501 Pennsylvania Ave, NW.

(Pictured: Explorer Samuel de Champlain, who started the first permanent colony at Quebec City in the early 1600’s, holding what appears to be a bowl of french fries)

How much is that building on the corner …. ?

That can be sung to the tune of "How much is that puppy in the window?" Or you can sing it to the tune of $18 MILLION.

According to restaurant owner Carol Joynt herself, the landlord of  where Nathan’s (corner of M & Wisconsin, one of the original Georgetown bars/restaurants - in fact, it was the first bar where you could stand and drink) is found, is selling for $18 million.  That figure is not including the $2-3 million in renovation plus whatever else for taxes and insurance. 

We don’t want to lose Nathan’s, the modest institution with the original wood on the bar, where we listen to icons chat with Carol at the Q&A Cafe. 

If you are interested and have the dough - please contact Jon Moss at 202.338.2000.. Great luck…

Stay tuned …

…for:  dinner at Domaso, Nathan’s lunch with Ted Sorensen, a wine dinner at Teatro Goldoni, the upcoming Vans Warped Tour and so much more (think Eco initiative).

Birthday wishes

The proud owners of this week’s birthdays fall into the "social butterflys" category.  Vanessa Meccarielli, Jennifer Murawski, Tony Hudgins, Marybeth Coleman and Melissa Squire get a Punch shout out.

Enjoy your celebrations and I will expect to see plenty of pictures on Facebook.