Entertainment and Sports Arena: August 2022 Newsletter
Summer Movie Series Returns
Events DC’s Summer Movie Series is an annual outdoor screening of blockbuster hits hosted at the Gateway Pavilion. This event is a family favorite each summer as it’s free and open to the community!
Join us at 6:00 PM at Gateway Pavilion Lawn (2700 Martin Luther King Ave SE) on Tuesday, August 9, for interactive games and activities, and complimentary refreshments (while they last). At dusk, we will feature "Space Jam: A New Legacy!" It is encouraged to bring your own blankets and lawn chairs.
Parking at Gateway is in the Green Lot. *The rain date will be on Thursday, August 11, for the Gateway Pavilion.
UB40 Comes to the Entertainment & Sports Arena
Legendary reggae-pop band and four-time Grammy nominees, UB40, returns to the stage in the Bigga Bagga Riddem Tour, stopping at the Entertainment & Sports Arena in Washington, DC! The tour will feature The Original Wailers featuring Al Anderson, and special guests, Maxi Priest and Big Mountain. UB40 is known mostly for their worldwide hits “Red Red Wine”, “Food for Thought”, “(I Can’t Help) Falling in Love with You” and many more. Tickets are available now!
WHAT: UB40, Bigga Bagga Riddem Tour
WHEN: August 27, 2022 | 6:30 pm – 11:00 pm
WHERE: Entertainment & Sports Arena, Washington, DC (1100 Oak Dr SE, Washington, DC 20032)
St. Elizabeths Redevelopment Update
On Monday, July 11, Mayor Muriel Bowser broke ground on Sycamore & Oak, a new community-led temporary development on St. Elizabeths East Campus. This space will incubate retail and food concepts that began in the community and provide job opportunities to Ward 8 residents. Additionally, the site plans to create new gateways for artists, lifestyle retailers, restauranteurs and entrepreneurs in Congress Heights. Guided by the community’s desire to see local and diverse retail options, the following businesses – all owned by residents of Wards 7 and 8 – are the first to have been offered spaces:
- Black Bella
- Congress Heights Arts and Cultural Center
- Chris Pyrate & Friends
- LoveMore Brand
- Our Armoire
- Paradyce Clothing Company, Inc.
- Salon On The Ave
- The Museum
Anacostia Bid Wins $4 Million to Support Arts and Culture District
The Anacostia Bid has been awarded a nearly $4 million grant to develop an Arts & Culture District that positions Ward 8 as a premier destination for the celebration and elevation of the arts in Washington, DC. This grant was awarded by Mayor Muriel Bowser and the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development with the help of community leaders, businesses and residents of Ward 8.
The Arts & Culture District will expand and promote DC’s vibrant and booming creative scene, while also providing new programming that connects the neighborhood and visitors to the arts and community. This funding is an investment in the recovery and growth of the economy in Ward 8 and will also support improved access to the neighborhood through a neighborhood shuttle to serve residents and visitors.
Deputy Mayor John Falcicchio noted, “This grant will not only support local artists and enliven the neighborhood for its residents, but it will also bring more patrons to restaurants and retail stores and create jobs for Washingtonians.”
Community Grant Spotlight: Hung Tao Choy Mei Leadership Institute
Hung Tao Choy Mei Leadership Institute has been teaching youth and adults how to be fit, strong and to defend themselves through Kung Fu and Tai Chi. Additionally, their curriculum offers strength-training, stretching, meditation, forms, self-defense technique, sparring, testing and cultural history for adults as well as Chinese Lion Dance, Chinese Thunder Drumming, African Djembe Drumming and STEM activities to DC school children for free. Since 1995, Hung Tao Choy Mei Leadership Institute has delivered martial arts to the community.
Hung Tao Choy Mei Leadership Institute was an Events DC Community Grant awardee in fiscal 2022, Cycle 1 for the DC Dragonz program. DC Dragonz is a 25-week Saturday program for youth 7 – 18 years old who are interested in King Fu, Dragon Dance, Chinese synchronized drumming or African drumming. The flagship studio is nestled in the U Street Corridor in Ward 1, and they partnered with the Anacostia Children of Mine Youth Center to provide programming to East of The River youth.