SATURDAY: Forget the pubs. Try more than 50 live bands, thousands of screaming fans and endless amounts of green beer. Shamrock Fest 2009 features all this and more in what could possibly be the most massive Saint Paddy's Day festival this side of the Atlantic.
The day-long fete features a 40-acre "party area" with Irish American bands such as Flogging Molly and Carbon Leaf, as well as notable DJs Team Facelift and Junior Sanchez. Not enticed yet? Just head over to the festival's "Irish Village" for authentic Irish pub games and performances by the McGrath Academy of Irish Dance or the D.C. folk group The Flying Cows of Ventry to fulfill all of your traditional Irish needs.
The sultry sounds of bagpipes and kettle drums go perfectly with that $12 solo cup of Guinness you chugged between the SMZB set and whatever clog-dancing group was stomping it up before them.
» RFK Stadium, 2400 East Capitol St. SE; Sat., March 14, 1 p.m., $20-$80; 202-547-9077. (Stadium-Armory)
Written by Express' Brian Austin
Photo courtesy of Gerald Martineau/The Washington Post
YOU'VE PROBABLY NEVER heard of Frederic Gregory, but he was the first African-American to command a space shuttle mission. Which is pretty awesome. He'll talk about that and his childhood in Anacostia at a lecture tonight.
» Anacostia Community Museum, 1901 Fort Place SE; Tue., July 22, 7 p.m., free; 202-633-4844. (Anacostia)
Photo by Bill Ingalls/Nasa via Getty Images
The final blessing of the Mass celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI at Nationals Park is shown on the ballpark's massive scoreboard video screen. All photos by Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post
ABOUT 46,000 PEOPLE crowded Nationals Park today for the premier public event of Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Washington — his first Mass on American soil.
The pope pressed for peace, urged his audience to search for hope and "acknowledged the damage done by the church's sexual abuse scandal" in the United States, The Post's Petula Dvorak, Jacqueline L. Salmon and Michael Ruane report.
Said the pontiff:
No words of mine could describe the pain and harm inflicted by such abuse. ... Yesterday, I spoke with the bishops about this. Today, I encourage each of you to do what you can to foster healing and reconciliation, and to assist those who have been hurt.The service itself was grand in scale and expansive in size. The chorus included "570 voices singing in 10 languages," The Post reports, and Benedict was accompanied by 14 cardinals, 250 bishops and 1,300 priests.
Continue Reading "Pope Benedict at Nationals Park: The Event in Photos" »
SO YOU WANT to see the pope. Maybe you're a lapsed Catholic with a childhood attachment to the concept of papal authority. Maybe he reminds you of your granddad. Maybe you're a celebrity chaser. Maybe you think he's man's earthly connection to God. Whatever the reason, you're excited for a chance to gawk at Benedict XVI.
Well, you're in luck. Take a look at the schedule below and you'll learn not only where to see the pontiff on his way to and from various important places, but also where to get a bite to eat afterwards.
Continue Reading "Popewatch: Where to Catch a Glimpse of Benedict XVI" »
Photo of riders at L'Enfant Plaza on Monday evening by Nikki Kahn/The Washington Post
IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE the big test for Metro: the first baseball game at the new Nationals stadium that started at 7:10 p.m. on a weeknight — which meant fans would be traveling at the same time as evening rush hour riders.
I decided to dive in to the prospective craziness to sample it firsthand. But from this rider's vantage point, the big test ended up feeling more like a quiz. One that the teacher didn't collect or grade.
Maybe it was because the weather dipped into the upper 40s by evening — a bit chilly to sit in an uncovered ballpark. Maybe it was because the NCAA college basketball championship game was scheduled for the same night. Whatever the cause, the trip to the stadium on Metro wasn't that crowded. And, due in large part to the transit agency's efficiency, it was easy as pie.
OPENING WEEKEND for the new Nationals stadium was a big test for Metro — one that most accounts say the transit agency passed. Tonight, however, comes an even bigger test: Transporting people to Nationals Park for a 7:10 p.m. game while simultaneously handling rush hour traffic.
That sound you heard on the rails this morning was Metro's trains doing some extra stretches for the big race.
Other preparations are a bit more concrete. Said a Metro press release:
Due to anticipated crowds on Monday evening, Metro will have additional station managers, rail supervisors, and Transit Police at the Gallery Place-Chinatown, L’Enfant Plaza and Navy Yard Metrorail station to assist customers with service questions, and how to get to and from the ballpark. Customers will be reminded to spread out along the platform to board six-and eight-car trains.
Continue Reading "Metro Warns of Big Crowds for Evening Nats Game" »
WHO ISN'T A BIG FAN of Nationals Park? Post architecture critic Phil Kennicott, for one.
He, frankly, likes RFK Stadium better. As an architectural experience, anyway.
An excerpt:
The old and much-maligned RFK Stadium, where the Nationals played the past three seasons, might be a better building -- more visual interest, more presence on its prominent site, and a better mix of modern style with the city's vernacular gravitas -- but it was a lousy experience. Today, we have a great experience but, alas, a lousy building.Indeed, when people say it's a better experience, the building almost disappears in their judgment, which is exactly what the new stadium does in its location. Although it is positioned on one of the most symbolically significant and potentially beautiful axes of the city, aligned with the Capitol and next to the Anacostia River, it all but fades into the landscape. Two disastrously situated parking garages -- reserved for high-paying ticketholders -- obscure the front entrance, and its other three sides present a bland face to the world.
Continue Reading "Critics, Neighbors Warily Eye Ballpark's Effects" »
THE PRAISE KEEPS pouring in for Nationals Park, the new home of D.C.'s baseball team, which had its official opening on Sunday.
Whitney Shefte and Akira Hakuta of washingtonpost.com filed the video above, which shows fans queuing up to get into the stadium, generally gushing about the ballpark's accoutrement or playing their own game in the building's PlayStation video gaming area. That's where they caught up with Dan Cook of Bethesda and Jeanne Lombardo of Philadelphia.
"It's beautiful," Cook said of the ballpark, "I love it. They did a great job putting it all together," he said.
"RFK Park was good, historic," fan Tee Williams told The Post. "But this is new and exciting. It's something to look forward to for the future.
» "Nationals Park a Home Run" [WaPo]
FANS SWARMED. Fireworks crackled. Even the president showed up, taking the field to toss out the first pitch.
After years of debate, bucketfuls of controversy and millions of dollars in public funding, the first bona fide, official, in-season Major League Baseball game at Nationals Park got underway Sunday.
The Post's Daniel LeDuc, filing a report before the game began, said that there were no major backups keeping fans from the park, either on the roads or on Metro.
The view from Metro:
About 6 p.m. the fans leaving the Navy Yard Metro station said trains had been running quickly, but were often very crowded. "We were on a cattle train coming in here," said Dave Shineman, 63 of Annapolis. "It was absolutely full. I mean, it wouldn't have mattered if you were holding on."On the roads:
Despite fears about heavy traffic, thoroughfares such as South Capitol Street and M Streets SE were not heavily backed up at 6 p.m. Larry Buck, 61 of NW, Washington took a cab from Dupont Circle and said the trip took perhaps fifteen minutes. "I mean, there was no traffic," Buck said. "It was beautiful."And inside the stadium, mouths were agape.
"It's the best park I've ever since in my life," Tim Jensen told The Post. "I like how much space there is."
Continue Reading "The Weekend in Pictures: Opening Night at Nationals Park" »
IT WAS THE LITTLE GAME that wasn't. An exhibition between the Nationals and the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday didn't get all the attention thrust upon Sunday night's big season opener, but it did serve as a dry run for the brand-new ballpark, Metro and local highways.
It was also a test for the Nats. They won 3-0.
According to The Post's Daniel LeDuc, a crowd of 34,000 used trains, buses and automobiles to make their way to the big game. The drivers, he said, reported little trouble. On highly promoted Metro, however, fans noticed some delays.
"It was standing room only, and they had to stop putting passengers on for a while," J.D. Almond of Marshall, Va., told The Post. Almond rode Metro to the Navy Yard station, the closest stop to the ballpark.
Lisa Gibney, who said she took the train from Rockville to Navy Yard, had a different story.
"It was a snap," she told The Post. "I can't imagine coming any other way. You're steps from where you want to be."
Continue Reading "The Weekend in Pictures: Nats/Orioles Exhibition" »
Addison Road