Mask Up for Your Summer Activations

Constantly amazed by the creativity in this city...

Bethesda Street Eats 
In partnership with Montgomery County, Bethesda Urban Partnership has launched  the “Bethesda Streetery,” a new dining concept that creates additional restaurant seating, outside in downtown Bethesda. To implement this extended, outdoor dining space, temporary street closures will be in place.  The “Streetery” will be set-up as open seating, with all tables placed at least 6’ apart and a limit of four people permitted per table. Restaurant patrons can dine within this open-air area after picking up food and beverages from a local Bethesda restaurant. Tables will be cleaned after each use. For more information on street closures and enjoying the “Streetery”,  visit bethesda.org

Camp Anthem
The Anthem’s new pop-up waterfront bar and restaurant, Camp Anthem, is open to the public Thursdays through Saturdays. Located on District Pier, each table on the pier is covered by a cabana tent, and seats up to six people. Reservations must be made in order to attend, with a two-hour max at each table to allow thorough cleaning in between time slots. The reservation fee is $250 per cabana (approximately 40 dollars each when you attend with a group of 6). This amount is applied toward the cabana’s food and beverage tab. The rotating menu includes light fare, entrees, dessert, wine, beer, and specialty cocktails. Guests must be 21 or over but children are welcome when accompanied by an adult, and Camp Anthem is also pet friendly if dogs are leashed. All reservations can be made by clicking here.

Celebrating Melanin + Black Heritage Exhibit at Union Market
Union Market District is showing an outdoor art installation by photographer Bryon Summers. CELEBRATING MELANIN + BLACK HERITAGE is an outdoor gallery showcasing the beauty, variety, interest, and pride of Black heritage, as seen through the lens of five DMV photographers: @bryonsummers @thearthype @ashleighbing @jive.shot @iamjamesanthony. For more information, please click here.

Cook Kitz Got Your Kids Covered
Camp may be closed for the summer, but Cook Kitz is an “almost” de-facto camp activity. The “Kitz” provide a fun activity that is already curated, scripted, and measured out.  So while parents may have varying levels of involvement, the work of pre-planning, shopping, and measuring is contained and there isn’t a lot of waste sitting on the pantry shelves. It’s awesome for the kids too.  Cook Kitz are fun cooking projects that are kicked up a few levels. While making cookies at home may be something that is normal, transforming the cookie dough into something frozen, cooked, customizing it with 5+ mixins, and more makes it a little more appealing than the standard Tollhouse recipe.  AND, there’s education in there as well. Each Kitz has a “Becoming a Chef 101” card with important kitchen reminders, helping to lay the foundation for good kitchen behavior, with an emphasis on cleaning while you work.  These kits can be done as a family project or individually as kids become more comfortable in the kitchen. The legwork, guesswork, and ingredient waste is removed but the creativity and fun is left in. For more information, visit cookkitz.com

DC To-GoGo
Ivy and Coney’s Josh Saltzman, Adam Fry and Chris Powers have launched a platform called DC To-GoGo that allows bar and restaurant owners to regain control of their food delivery process, especially those forced into delivery by the pandemic.  These business owners are paying up to 30% of their profits to larger food ordering platforms.  DC To-GoGo provides the ability for restaurants and bars to minimize these fees, at a time when sales and profits are down. With the number of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. continuing to grow, many state and city officials have ordered the closure of dining rooms and bars across the country and millions of hospitality workers remain without income.  Ivy and Coney/DC To-GoGo  wanted to figure out a way to help restaurants and bars survive while providing as much employment to their furloughed workers as possible.  In addition to paying 10% in fees versus 30% or more, restaurants are strongly encouraged to hire their furloughed staff as couriers. The DC To-GoGo team is also adamant that the platform will not create gig economy-style jobs, and that all restaurant partners must agree to pay their staff a living wage. Unlike larger ordering platforms, DC To-GoGo will not delay payments due to the COVID-19 emergency. As a nonprofit, DC To-GoGo’s 10% fee is strictly for operations.  The service charges paid by the restaurants will be split evenly and go right back into their pockets once the bills are paid. DC To-GoGo will not only save restaurants from predatory fees, but the name is a show of DC pride with a nod to the official music of DC: Go-Go.  Patrons can order at DCToGoGo.com

Eric Adjepong's Cooking Classes
Chef Eric Adjepong, a first-generation Ghanaian-American bringing West African cuisine to the mainstream, has released a series of live virtual cooking classes that offer an engaging and approachable way to learn about Black history through the lens of food and the African diaspora. Classes are available to purchase on Adjepong’s website, and each highlights a different dish. A few days prior to class, students receive a shopping list to source ingredients for the recipe, as well as a Zoom link the day before. Classes hold a maximum of 30 students or households and range from $50 to $80. chefadjepong.com

Hook Hall Summer Garden
Hook Hall’s Summer Garden has reopened with seven private cabanas and an Astro-turfed lawn with picnic tables. Socially distance in style with each  private  and covered cabana fashioned with sectional lounges, table, large bean bags and ceiling fans.  Cabanas have power with USB ports, bottle service and in-house catering options. Rental for cabanas is $100 for 2.5 hours; the largest cabana, The Captain’s Quarters, is $125 for 2.5 hours. Food may be ordered by servers tableside. In the backyard beer garden, picnic tables  are spaced six-feet apart. Rentals for picnic tables are $35 for a table of six for 2 hours; $10  for two to four people for two hours. The Summer Garden  will meet all DC safety compliances and codes with tables 6-feet apart and curtains separating the cabanas. Reservations are required for tables up to six guests and cabanas which  also seat a maximum of six. Mask protocols will be in effect. Hook Hall is dog-friendly and pets must be on leashes. Open Wednesday through Sunday. 3400 Georgia Avenue NW; For more information, call 202.629.4339 or visit HookHall.com

Park Up DC Drive-In Movie Pop-Up
Broccoli City has launched Park Up DC, a pop-up drive-in movie summer series, in partnership with Events DC. The series will take place on the RFK Stadium Campus from July 17th through October 31, with film favorites such as Jurassic Park, FRIDAY, Paddington, and more. Throughout the summer, movies will be shown on a 45-foot wide HD LED digital screen with high-quality sound delivered through each vehicle’s FM radio. Beyond movie screenings, Park Up DC will host community partner events like church services and pop-up concert experiences. To accommodate social distancing, multiple safety measures have been put in place in accordance with Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Phase Two reopening guidelines. This includes properly distanced vehicles, cashless prepaid tickets, mandatory masks worn outside of vehicles, cashless mobile delivery options from local food trucks, and fully sanitized porta potties. Each vehicle will receive information that will include a code of conduct, a parking map, restroom locations, food order details, and an FAQ list at the point of purchase and upon arrival. General admission starts at $29 per vehicle. For more information on Park Up DC or to purchase tickets, visit ParkUpDC.com.

Pike District Pop-Up Picnic Parks
Grab a seat, bring your lawn chair, or lay down your picnic blanket: the Pike District now has a pop-up picnic park initiative aimed at giving local restaurants additional outdoor seating options for their customers. As Montgomery County moves through its COVID-19 reopening, the Pike District continues to support local restaurants and food vendors whose seating capacity has been limited by local regulations. Through the help of the Montgomery County Parks and Recreation, WMATA, and the North Bethesda Marriott and Conference Center, the Pike District is now offering four temporary picnic parks in the area. The four park locations are Market Street Park, at the corner of Market Street and Executive Boulevard, The Hill, at the corner of Rockville Pike and Old Georgetown Road, Wall Park, at the corner of Executive Boulevard and Nicholson Lane, and The Patio, at the corner of Rockville Pike and Marinelli Road. The parks offer picnic tables and additional marked seating areas for a bring-your-own seated picnic. Areas are all positioned to be eight feet in diameter and six feet apart. A hand sanitizing station and cleaning supplies are available on site to provide additional safety measures. These pop-up picnic areas are expected to remain available through the fall. The number of persons in any one group may not exceed the Montgomery County COVID-19 regulations. Picnickers are encouraged to order at local Pike District restaurants and bring their meals to the pop-up park to enjoy. For more information, visit PikeDistrict.org

Potomac Paddle Club
There is only one passenger pedal boat that cruises the Potomac from the Georgetown waterfront, Potomac Paddle Club. Adhering to CDC’s COVID-19 guidelines the boat, which typically holds 16 passengers, will be booked for private groups, known as “Paddle Pods” of no more than 8 guests. There will be no individual tickets available. The boat is  propelled by a 6-foot paddle wheel powered by passengers pedaling in tandem. It also has a motor, a  captain and a deckhand. Passengers may bring their own coolers with beer, wine or soft drinks (no hard alcohol)  andsnacks. The 90-minute cruise departs from the Georgetown Waterfront and travels to Columbia Island Marina for a rest stop before continuing down the Potomac in front of monuments and landmarks. Passengers sit on bike seats that encircle a mahogany bar as they pedal at their own pace while enjoying monumental views of the city. The tours, available to be booked by reservations only. instagram.com/paddleclub_dc

Royal’s Streatery
Royal in DC’s LeDroit Park neighborhood has opened a 28-seat streetside patio alongside its restaurant. The new open-air streatery joins Royal’s 4-seat front patio to offer a total of 32 outdoor dining seats, outfitted with fresh greenery, breezy outdoor fans, and large umbrellas with built-in USB charging ports. Also new this summer is a variety of menu additions from Chef Cable Smith, including a morning house chorizo & fried egg-stuffed arepa, ají amarillo mussels with pickled sweet peppers, and a grilled skirt steak with orange chile salsa, purple potatoes, grilled broccoli, grilled peanuts and lime crema. Bar director Alonzo Freeman has also introduced six cocktails for the season, including the frozen mezcal The One With The Chiles, bourbon-based Need More Derby, the rummy New Normal Punch, two boozy summer sodas, and more. Royal is also open for limited indoor dining, offering reduced seating for 22, with its large accordion storefront doors always open. In addition to safely-distanced tables, mask policies, and stringent cleaning procedures, Royal offers contactless online ordering via GoTab and complimentary sanitizing stations throughout the patios and indoor spaces. Royal has begun offering reservations for the very first time in its five years in operation, available via Resy, but also takes walk-ins if space is available. Tables are available for 1-6 guests per party, with 1.5-hour time limits per reservation. For more information, please visit theroyaldc.com.

Sunset Cinema at The Wharf
The Wharf has teamed up with Cantina Bambina to offer a weekly outdoor movie screening under the stars, available every Thursday until September 24th. Make a reservation through Cantina Bambina for a cabana (max of 6 people per cabana) with seatings at 7:30 p.m. and movie start times at 8:00 p.m. It is $10 to reserve a spot with a serving of popcorn and a Pacifico beer for each attendee, which counts toward the minimum spend of $20 per person. Menu items include sandwiches from Grazie Grazie, pizza from Union Pie, and bites from Lupo Marino. Screenings are 21 and over only. Make your reservation through Resy.com.

Tiny Chefs Virtual Classes
Children can “travel” around the world with Tiny Chefs’ virtual kitchen, and learn how to make ten delicious recipes in this online cooking class. Recipes such as basic crepes with honey sea salt whipped cream & bananas from France, chicken gyros with cucumber salad & tzatziki from Greece, and tortilla fruit cups from Mexico are just a few of the creations that will be made. Your child will be able to follow along with a video instruction of each recipe or print the recipe and shopping list to make at a later date. Students will learn a variety of cooking techniques and terminology, and their knowledge will be tested with a short quiz and fun activities after each video. For $10 off, use discount code Dawsons10 at checkout. For more information, visit tinychefs.com. 
 
Victura Park 
Victura Park is a family-friendly outdoor oasis located outside the River Pavilion at the REACH named after John F. Kennedy’s iconic wooden sailboat, The Victura. A collaboration between the culinary creative team of The Hilton Brothers and Chef Erik Bruner-Yang, Victura Park is a winery-inspired landscape. Dotted with picnic and café tables and shade umbrellas, there’s plenty of space to enjoy a snack overlooking the Potomac or spread out a blanket on the grass with a glass of wine. Beer, wine, ciders, and seltzers as well as non-alcoholic beverages will be available. A weekly updated food menu of savory snacks (charcuterie boards, cheese plates, salads) will be available as well. For more information, visit victuraparkdc.com.