11th Annual Brookland Day Festival - Saturday September 29th

11th Annual Brookland Day Festival 2007
Saturday September 29th, 2007, 10:30 AM - 5:00 PM
12th Street, NE (between Monroe and Otis Streets)

Brookland, one of Washington DC's Main Street communities, will hold its 11th annual Brookland Day Festival on Saturday, September 29th, 2007. The festival is a community-oriented event for all ages and it always captures and highlights the special small-town-in-town flavor of Brookland.

At 10:30 a.m., a parade featuring bands and the Festival's spoof brigades of neighborhood residents, including phalanxes of dog walkers, lawnmower pushers, and baby stroller pushers, will march up 12th Street from Franklin Street to Michigan Avenue, NE.

Between 12:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m., performance and exhibit pavilions, including nonprofit organizations, businesses, and arts and crafts exhibitors, will be featured in booths along Brookland's commercial district, on 12th Street, between Monroe and Otis Streets, NE.

Performance stages will feature the ADTI Inspirational Choir and Moroccan Ensemble led by percussionist Jason Walker, the Archie Edwards Blues Foundation, Bemcha - a latin Jazz ensemble, the Backyard Blues Band with members of Barrellhouse Brawl, the salsa group Movimiento, the Brian Settles jazz trio, and demonstrations by Northeast Tae Kwon Do, Dance Place's Carla & Company, and DC World Beat Ensemble, among others. You can view the complete performance schedule here.

Click here to see a slide show from the 2006 festival.

Festival Schedule:
Parade, 10:30 a.m.-12:00 noon
12th Street NE, between Rhode Island and Michigan Avenues

Children's Fest, 12:30-4:30 p.m.
Newton Street NE, between 12th and 13th Streets

Entertainment & Exhibits, 12:30-5:00 p.m.
12th Street NE, between Newton and Monroe Streets

Arts & Crafts Fair, 12:30-5:00 p.m.
12th Street NE, between Otis and Newton Streets


The Festival is sponsored by Citibank, DC Lottery, Douglas Development Corporation, EYA, Mayor Fenty's Constituent Services Fund, Horning Brothers, Keller Williams Capital Properties, Menkiti Group, PNC Bank, Verizon, and The Washington Post.

The festival is coordinated by the Brookland Community Development Corporation, the parent organization of Historic Brookland Main Street, the commercial district revitalization program working with property owners, business proprietors, residents, and other stakeholders to bring about focused improvements to the commercial district.

For further information on sponsorship or to participate in any events, contact the Brookland Festival Committee by phone at 202-526-4848 or e-mail rl.brookland@yahoo.com.

**Volunteers are still needed in the following areas:

Set up: 7:30-10 a.m. (10 volunteers needed to help filling balloons, setting up tents and chairs, decorating the children's area etc)

Cloths Line Art Sale 8:00-10:00 a.m. and 12-5 p.m. (2 volunteers needed for each shift to help set up and hang art for sale and assist in transactions throughout the day)

Parade Marshals: 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (10 volunteers needed to help coordinate parade participants, block off streets and direct participants during the parade)

Clean Up: 5-6 p.m. (10 volunteers needed to help take down the tents and decorations and put away chairs and tables)

Please email Mary Hodges at maryphodges@gmail.com to sign up for any of these volunteer jobs.

- - -


Neighborhood Tours of Brookland
Saturday September 29th, 2007 - 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
As part of Cultural Tourism DC's WalkingTown DC program, the Brookland Tour Committee will be offering neighborhood tours throughout the day. Teh "History of Brookland" tour offers insights into the development of the one-time trolley suburb and its rich heritage. Discover neighborhood architectural styles and the work of architects such as John Joseph Early, Howard Mackay, and Hilyard Robinson. See the homes of famous residents such as Ralph Bunche, Justine Ward, and Pearl Bailey (or in some cases, the sites where their homes once stood). Each tour is 1.5 hours long and meets at St. Anthony's Church at 3400 12th Street NE. Tours start at 9 a.m., 10:30 a.m., noon, 1:30 p.m., 3 p.m., and 4 p.m.

You can view more information as well as a listing of all the tours being offered that day here. You can also participate in the WalkingTown DC photo contest.

Volunteers and Participants Needed for the 2007 Brookland Day Festival on September 29th

From Mary Hodges and the Brookland Day Festival Planning Committee:

The Brookland Day Festival Planning Committee is in full force and could use some help from additional volunteers and participants.

Brookland Day is a great way to promote your company or organization to the Ward 5 community. If you would like to be in the parade or have a booth at the event, please contact me (Mary Hodges) at mary@menkitigroup.com or Richard Layman at rl.brookland@yahoo.com.

We are seeking help from volunteers in the following areas:

1. Exhibitor Recruitment (This would involve contacting a list of local community organizations, artists and craftsmen and businesses and encouraging them to participate in the festival)

2. Parade Participation Recruitment (Contact groups and encourage parade participation- antique car owners, duck tour etc.)

3. Event Promotion and Marketing (Work with designers to create flyers and distribute to local businesses and organizations)

4. Day of festival set up and cleanup support.

We meet Mondays from 7:00-8:00 p.m. at the Brookland Visitors Center. Please email me at mary@menkitigroup.com or call 202.243.7717 if you would like to volunteer.

ABOUT THE FESTIVAL:
The annual Brookland Day Festival on 12th Street NE between Monroe and Otis Streets is scheduled for Saturday, September 29th, 2007.

Greater Brookland celebrates this year the 80th Anniversary of what could be considered the first Brookland Festival, held in 1927 to celebrate the paving of 12th Street NE. The occasion included a parade, an 80-piece band, remarks by District Commissioners, and dancing at St. Anthony’s Hall.

In honor of this auspicious anniversary, we are planning a grand event, with special emphasis on expanding dance, music, and spoken word performances and on enhancing the Children’s Fest, an area of the Festival designed to engage children.

Mark your calendars for September 29th and be sure to join us for Ward 5's premier annual celebration!

Mary Hodges
202.243.7717
mary@menkitigroup.com

10th Annual Brookland Day Festival - Saturday, October 7th

From the official press release:

Brookland, one of Washington DC's Main Street communities, will hold its 10th annual Brookland Day Festival on Saturday, October 7, 2006. The festival is a community-oriented event for all ages and it always captures and highlights the special small-town-in-town flavor of Brookland.

At 11:00 AM, a parade featuring the Archbishop John Carroll High School Band and the Festival's spoof brigades of neighborhood residents, including phalanxes of dog walkers, lawnmower pushers, and baby stroller pushers, will march [on 12th Street] from Franklin Street to Michigan Avenue, NE.

Between 12:00 PM and 5:00 PM, performance and exhibit pavilions, including nonprofit organizations, businesses, and arts and crafts exhibitors, will be featured in booths along Brookland's commercial district, on 12th Street, between Monroe and Otis Streets, NE.

With Amanda Sweet as its Master of Ceremonies, the main stage on Otis Street will feature performances by The DC National Guard's Capitol Sounds, The Dance Place, The Archie Edwards Band, Benat Baharat, and The High Signs. Performances will start at noon.

The Festival is sponsored by the National Capital Revitalization Corporation, Keller Williams Capital Properties, The Washington PostCitibank, DC Lottery, and PNC Bank.

The festival is coordinated by the Brookland Community Development Corporation, the parent organization of Historic Brookland Main Street, the commercial district revitalization program working with property owners, business proprietors, residents, and other stakeholders to bring about focused improvements to the commercial district.

For further information on sponsorship opportunities or to participate in any events, contact the Brookland Festival Committee by phone at 202-529-8400, fax at 202-526-0837 or e-mail brooklandcdc@aol.com.

The Brookland Community Development Corporation (BCDC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation that was created to promote the arts and to protect and capitalize on the cultural resources of the Brookland neighborhood for the purpose of building community pride and fostering responsible economic development. The BCDC is located at 3420 9th Street NE, Washington, DC 20017.

# # #

Can't wait to see you there!

Brookland Festival Committee Meeting - Wednesday, September 13th

With less than a month to go, here's a message from Heather Phipps, Brookland Festival Committee Chair:

The Brookland CDC and I would like to invite all neighbors in the greater Brookland area to attend the next Festival Committee meeting at 7:00 pm this Wednesday, September 13th, at the Brookland Visitors Center, 3420 9th Street NE.

The Brookland Festival and Parade will be taking place on Saturday, October 7th along 12th Street from Monroe to Otis. We are making great progress with planning this event but we could always use more volunteers to help with the final tasks! So if you are interested in making the Brookland Festival a fantastic event this year, please join us this Wednesday evening.

Thanks so much and hope to meet you soon,
Heather Phipps
Brookland Festival Committee Chair
and Your Neighbor on 15th!

Brookland Festival Committee Meeting - Wednesday, August 30th

A message from Heather Phipps, Brookland Festival Committee Chair:

The Brookland CDC and I would like to invite all neighbors in the greater Brookland area to attend the next Festival Committee meeting at 7:00 pm this Wednesday, August 30th, at the Brookland Visitors Center, 3420 9th Street NE.

The Brookland Festival and Parade will be taking place on Saturday, October 7th along 12th Street from Monroe to Otis and we could really use a group of volunteers to help organize and plan the event. So if you are interested in making the Brookland Festival a fantastic event this year, please join us this Wednesday evening.

We could really use volunteers to help with the following event activities:

• Contacting vendors, businesses, non-profits, community organizations, government agencies, schools, etc. to participate in the festival


• Organizing the parade


• Organizing childrens activities


• Logistics; set up and break down of event


• Developing banners and posters

Thanks so much and hope to meet you soon,
Heather Phipps
Brookland Festival Committee Chair
and Your Neighbor on 15th!