One night I took a slightly inebriated cab ride home from Eastern Market to my apartment in Crystal City.  As I looked out to the right, I saw this:

A brilliant photo of the Cavalia Tent by Flickr user Kevin H.

(Well okay, It was night when I saw it and Kevin here took a much better picture than I could have-but that’s basically what I saw.  You get the idea)

Towering over the hotels surrounding it appeared to be either a circus tent or the fairy-tale castle of any one of a variety of princes.  I checked myself-nope, not that drunk…dreaming maybe?  Did the girlfriend put on a Disney movie while I slept (again?) A trick of the lights?  Nope.  I was left with the incredibly odd question “Just what is that tent?”

We drove by the next day and, sure enough, it was still there.  Signs read “Cavalia” but didn’t really explain what it was.  Just that it was “Cavalia.” After a week of meaning to look that up and trying to spell “Cavalia” right from memory, posters appeared in my building advertising the coming of:

CAVALIA!

As such I was able to remember the name from the short walk from the elevator to my computer, and found the web site.  What is Cavalia? Per the web site, Cavalia is an equestrian show.  Specifically:

“Homage to the poignant history and fascinating bond between human beings and horses, Cavalia is a poem written in the language of sound, image and extraordinary performance.  Blending dramatic visual effects, live music, dance and acrobatics with the bold presence of over thirty magnificent horses-including, the incredible Lusitanian Stallions-Cavalia raises the bar for spectacular entertainment in the 21st century.

So it sounds to me like some sort of fairy tale with horses, real live horses, in a kinda/sorta Cirque Du Soliel show.  Or more bluntly, something my buddy will get dragged to by his girlfriend during football.

For what it is though, it seems pretty cool-Clearly there is some cohesive story that goes through out the event, so it isn’t as if it’s just some horse show.  The pictures and videos.  Perhaps I’ll check it out before the run is over.

Tickets are available now, and if any of you go it would be great to hear your thoughts.  It appears as if the show runs through September 27th, and while ticket prices are steep I will say that the poster in my building advertised discounted rates for their neighbors.  Apparently if you punch in a certain promo code (and I don’t know if would be fair to give it away here) they give their neighbors a break on the price.  So maybe, even if you are not, say that you are a NEIGHBOR(S). EDIT: Yeah-you’ll have to show proof of residence, so just saying you’re a neighbor won’t work.  Hmmm, I wonder if that is a horse pun?  Neiiggghhh-bor.

Als0-if you need a job and don’t mind running away and joining the circus, they are hiring.

Preparations for Artomatic are in full swing, but as you can see from the snap at left taken late Monday evening, not everyone has finished installation.  The deadline to get everything put up and nailed down is 10 pm tonight, so you can bet things will be in full swing at 55 M Street, SE all evening.

The show opens this Friday, May 29 and runs through July 5.   It couldn’t actually be more convenient; the building is right on top of the Navy Yard Metro and is just down the block from Nationals Park.  Despite the photo, things are actually mostly in place, and there is — as always — some breathtaking art interspersed with some of the craziest things you’ve ever seen.  But hey! There are four bars, four stages, and over a thousand visual artists and 600 performing artists.   And a Zombie Prom!  What could be more fun?  Artomatic will clearly be the place to see and be seen this June in DC.

Artomatic is a month-long art festival in DC that is free to the general public celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. Monument Realty and the Capitol Riverfront BID have provided a brand-new 275,000 square foot building to host Artomatic, right next to the Nationals Stadium. The event features nine floors of visual and installation art, theater performances, dance and comedy, three music stages, street performances such as fire dancing and drum troupes, and a film screening theater. Workshops and seminars are held all month long and special events such as the Washington Post’s Peeps diorama finalists, Box Racing, body paint shows, and a no-holds-barred Art in Fashion Show.

In recession times theatre and other entertainment activities are more of a luxury than a necessity. However the Pay-What-You-Can reading series at Woolly Mammoth should be very recession friendly since you can pay whatever you want.

The reading series kicks off tonight at 8 PM with a reading of David Lindsay-Abaire’s “Snow Angel.”

Other readings this month will include “Box Americana, A Dream of Wal-Mart” on February 24th; “Restoration Comedy” on March 3rd; and  Kate Crackernuts on March 10th at the Wolly Mammoth Theatre Lab on 733 8th Street NW.

All shows start at 8 PM and include a talk-back after the show. A bargain for those interested in watching some acting (just remember a reading isn’t a full fledged show by any means.)

I hope to grab some change and make one of the readings, I haven’t been to the Wolly Mammoth theatre yet but it looks dazzling and the price is right for me.

Check out Wolly Mammoth’s website for more details.

Redskins Tight End Chris Cooley may not be playing in the big game this weekend but he has other things to keep him busy til the Pro-Bowl February 8th.

It appears that the star football player and avid blogger has found a new hobby with painting. He has posted a couple of videos of himself talking about his current project. It looks like he’s got all the right tools from the palette to the canvas. I wonder what his bombshell wife thinks about him taking over the kitchen to paint.

So my question is- how good do you think his art is? I was asking people in my office and they think it’s terrible, however the comments on his blog says otherwise. I have no art sense so I’ll leave it to you guys to judge.

Chris is the New Bob Ross

Chris is the New Bob Ross 2

I snapped a few shots of the main acts at the Manifest HOPE party tonight – Santogold, De La Soul, Moby

Full set is on flickr.

Last night I went to the opening reception for Manifest HOPE: DC and so so much Obama art I could barely process it all. In case you aren’t aware of it yet, Manifest HOPE is an exhibition which examines how “art plays a pivotal role in creating cultural momentum” by collecting political and progressive works by artists from all over the country – more than a few of which you are probably already familiar with.

Specifically focusing on the areas of workers rights, healthcare reform and the green economy, the show includes pretty much everything you can think of from sculpture to photography to painting and everything in between. You can see some of the works online here. It’s a massive group show so as to be expected some stands out from the others and some will leave you scratching your head but it’s worth seeing for sure, and you only have a short time to do that. The exhibition runs from today, January 17th through the 19th and is viewable from 10:00am – 6:00pm. It’s in Georgetown at 3333 M Street NW (More info here).

[image top right: Event organizer Yosi Sergant at the opening, introducing Shepard Fairey. Full disclosure, I consider both of those guys friends.]

Spotted this in Adams Morgan today, it’s pretty much the best thing ever.

FotoWeek DC’s photo contest ends tonight 11:59 p.m. PDT, so East Coast amateur and professional photographers have until the early morning hours to submit their best images for Spirit of Washington DC, Best of Show and Gold, Silver and Honorable Mention awards in categories including commercial/advertising art, architecture, fine art, personal project, photojournalism/editorial and wedding. Prizes total $37,000 and include cash and goodies like Chrome Imaging and Penn Camera shopping sprees. Finalists will also be exhibited at FotoWeek’s central hub in Georgetown.

The city’s so-called “premier photography event of 2008″ could arguably transcend any other from any year. Featuring a slew of sponsors from the national and regional photography, art and culture scene, the November 15-22 event will feature citywide lectures, workshops, exhibitions, portfolio reviews and will end with a Saturday gala at the National Geographic Society’s Grosvenor Auditorium.

The DC Fotoweek Blog highlights sponsors, exhibit spaces and event news.

It's Madness! Shear Madness!

After 9,000 performances at the Kennedy Center, along with a ton of shows elsewhere, I must have been the only guy in the world who had not seen Shear Madness yet… until Saturday. It is an audience driven Barbershop murder mystery that touches on current events and pop culture to produce a hilarious, interactive exhibition. The actors have an amazing ability to separate their feelings from their characters, which creates an atmosphere friendly to back and forth jabs between those on-stage and in the crowd.

If you haven’t seen it yet, join the 8 million who have experienced Shear Madness. You will not regret the decision. Shows are Tuesday-Friday at 8pm, Saturdays at 6pm and 9pm, and Sundays at 3pm and 7pm. Tickets are $40 and you can order them online.

Image courtesy Zandra Rhodes

Zandra Rhodes, a British fashion designer, presents “Designing an Ocean-Themed Opera: The Pearl Fisheries” tonight in the Baird Auditorium of the Museum of Natural History at 6:45 pm. This free illustrated lecture will delve into her inspiration for the production of Georges Bizet’s exotic opera. She will talk about the sets and costumes as well as the challenges of bringing the sea to stage.

A book signing will follow the lecture. Copies of “Zandra Rhodes and the Art of Textiles” will be available for purchase in the museum book store.

6:45 p.m. – lecture
7:45 p.m. – book-signing

Free and open to the public.

National Museum of Natural History
Baird Auditorium, ground level
10th and Constitution, NW
Washington, DC 20036