Come to the Southwest Waterfront on Saturday, April 3, 2010 at 5:00 pm as the Washington Waterfront Association kicks off the fifth annual Prelude to the Fireworks – a free, three-hour festival of family entertainment that includes live musical performances, kids craft activities, cuisine from local restaurants and special guest appearances for the kids to enjoy.

At 8:30 pm, all eyes will head toward the sky for a spectacular Fireworks display. Enjoy the sky spectacle on land at the festival or watch them from the water on the fireworks cruise aboard the Spirit of Washington.

The Fireworks occur rain or shine; only extremely inclement weather will cause their delay or cancellation. For up-to-the-minute status reports if weather is questionable, please call (877) 44BLOOM.

The Maury PTA announces an exciting event in support of Maury Elementary School, a DC Public School (DCPS) of Capitol Hill. “Maury at the Market”, a silent auction and reception, will be held Saturday, March 20, from 7 to 9:30 p.m. at the historic Eastern Market North Hall. All proceeds will go for PTA programs to enrich the educational experience of Maury’s students, pre-school through 5th grade.

We are very grateful for all of the community’s support. The funds that we have raised have been put to very good use. For example, we have hired part-time educational aides for the school’s teachers in grades 3 through 5, something not budgeted for by DCPS. We have provided the school’s growing music program with new instruments and we have supported educational outings, special assemblies and workshops for our students, as well as other important supplemental educational programming.

We hope that you will join us at this fun event! Eat some delicious food and have a drink (wine and beer courtesy of Schneider’s of Capitol Hill); bid on the great auction items; talk to the dedicated parents and community supporters of our school; meet some of the amazing Maury teachers; and get to know our treasured new school principal, Carolyne Albert-Garvey.

Some of exciting bid items include a sunset schooner ride for 35 people, a Disney Princess doll castle, hand-made jewelry, a pool party at Ms. Albert-Garvey’s, hand-knit items, a West Virginia cabin stay, a weekend at the W Hotel, and dinner for six with wine pairings at the home of Rick Gendersen and Staci Walkes.

Child care is available for Maury at the Market guests for only $5 per child! Polite Piggy’s friendly staff will care for your child (ages 3 and over) at The Family Room from 6:30 until 9:45 p.m. Registration and $5 (per child) must be received by close of business on March 16.

Advance tickets are $20, or $25 at the door. Ticket price includes heavy hors d’oeuvres and two drink tickets. For advance tickets, ask a Maury family or come to Port City Java on March 13 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Forms for tickets and babysitting can be downloaded here.

Want to help promote your PTA events? Let us know and we'll help post them on Tommy's website.

Whats below: Elephants on Parade Industry Gallery Exhibit Opening Saturday Community Gardens @ the Rec DDOT To Unveil Bike Lane Plan For Downtown DistrictDDOT To Unveil Bike Lane Plan For Downtown District Elvis in PennQuarter; Eagles (the Band) to Play Nats Park on June 15; Fences Come Down!
 
Elephants on Parade - In case you were stuck in your office yesterday and had to miss the elephant parade –Here are some parade photos on the Hill is Home.

Industry Gallery Exhibit Opening Saturday  - "Hands On" will open at Industry Gallery (1358 Florida Ave) this Saturday, March 20 from 6-8. It will be the first solo exhibition for designers Tejo Remy and Rene Veenhuizen. To learn more check out the H St Great Street blog.

Community Gardens @ the Rec. – Frozen Tropics reports that the DC Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) will be providing a community garden at every recreation center in the District of Columbia this year. In addition to the gardens, a set of bee hives will be added in every ward.

DDOT To Unveil Bike Lane Plan For Downtown District - DDOT has announced that it will hold a meeting on March 18 (Thurs), from 6pm – 8pm to unveil its plans to install bike lanes on Penn Ave, 9th St, 15th St, I St, and L St! The meeting will be held at PQ’s very own US Navy Memorial Heritage Center (701 Penn Ave NW). See it on PQ Living.

Elvis in Penn Quarter - Elvis Presley would have been 75 years old this year. The Newseum and National Portrait Gallery are both celebrating the legend with exhibits this year. This Friday “Elvis! His Groundbreaking, Hip-Shaking, Newsmaking Story” will open at the Newseum. 

Eagles (the Band) to Play Nats Park on June 15 - It was announced this week that the Eagles, with special guests the Dixie Chicks and Keith Urban, will be playing at Nationals Park on Tuesday, June 15, with tickets going on sale at tickets.com on March 29 at 10 am. Learn more on JDLand.

Fences Start Coming Down! - Pedestrians can now freely walk up and down 4th Street and access the Waterfront-SEU Metro station from north of I Street. SW Quadrant has a report.

The National Marathon is scheduled for this Saturday, March 20, 2010. The race will include a full and half marathon and approximately 11,000 runners. 

The race will touch all four quadrants of Ward 6, as well as many other parts of the city, but it both starts and ends in Ward 6.

Starting at RFK Stadium, the race will wind through the city and return to its finish line at RFK (specifically, 21st Street NE and East Capitol Street). Many streets in the Ward will be impacted, and some will close as early as 6:30 am and as late as 2:00 pm when the race is over.

The race starts at 7:00 am and the highest street closure impact will be between 7:00 and 10:00 am, when many Ward 6 streets and intersections will be blocked for cross traffic. If you have to travel through the neighborhood during this time, it’s strongly encouraged to review the race and route information linked below.

Tommy has been working with ANC leaders to minimize the impact of the race and ensure that police officers at closed intersections will allow periodic traffic crossings during breaks in the race pack.  Selected crossings will be opened by MPD Special Operations Officers as needed when runners are not visible on the race route.  These crossing streets will be:

East Capitol Street and 4th Street
East Capitol Street and 6th Street
East Capitol Street and 8th Street
East Capitol Street and 10th Street
North Carolina Avenue and 15th Street NE
C Street and 17th Street NE 

Independence Avenue will remain open during the entire race. 

The race organizers will have a command center on location during the race and have shared their day-of emergency contact phone number: 202-727-9099.

Specifics on the race, route and timings are posted here: http://www.nationalmarathon.com.