RFK Campus: April 2021 Newsletter

Skyland Town Center Development Brings New Restaurants & More East of the River

Late last month, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced that five new restaurants are confirmed for the Skyland Town Center development east of the Anacostia River. Roaming Rooster, a Black-owned fried chicken sandwich business, is slated to open in Skyland this fall. &pizza, Tropical Smoothie Café, South American street food eatery Maizal, and Mezeh, a Mediterranean restaurant are expected to open in spring or summer 2022.

Skyland is expected to be complete by 2022, hosting 450 homes as well as full-service restaurants and other amenities. Skyland hosts a CVS Pharmacy, Like That Barbershop, and Skyland Nails and Spa. A Chase Bank and a Starbucks will open in 2022. German grocery chain, Lidl, will also open in 2022, and will be the first full-service supermarket to come to Southeast since 2007. Currently, Wards 7 and 8 only have three grocery stores to serve the 160,000 residents.

Music in the Air at The Fields at RFK Campus

Late last month, a small group of students in the DC Youth Orchestra Program gathered for their first face-to-face rehearsal since March 2020. The highly anticipated outdoor, physically distanced rehearsal took place under The Fields at RFK Campus’ Celebration Pavilion. The event was outside and capped at 30 people and all participants wore masks.
 
All organized activities at The Fields require a permit. Contact CRYSP for information on permitting and allowable activities.

RFK Campus Updates

Events DC is committed to patron, staff, and community safety. The operations of The Fields at RFK Campus are aligned with the latest information from the Executive Office of the Mayor and designed with safety as our top priority.

Spring hours and updates

It’s now Spring season at The Fields and with it come some adjustments to hours and staffing.

The Fields are open Monday to Friday, 8 AM – 11 PM, and Saturday and Sunday, 8 AM – 8 PM.

CRYSP staff will be onsite to assist patrons’ weekdays, 3 PM – 9 PM and weekend days, 10 AM – 8 PM. Security personnel will continue to monitor the site 24/7. Monitored Community Open Play will be offered on one field, when available, as listed on the online reservation calendar.

For low-risk sports, non-contact practices and games are allowed. For medium- and higher-risk sports, only non-contact practices are allowed. These apply to permitted and community use activities. Groups are limited to 50 people, effective March 22, 2021.

We are also accepting reservations for use of the Celebration Pavilion for limited fitness classes and events.

What else?

Next month, you can apply for a Summer permit on a first-come-first-served basis. The permit window for Summer is scheduled for April 1, 2021 – April 10, 2021. The Summer permit season will run from June 20, 2021 – September 4, 2021. Remember to Play it Safe! Please follow social distancing and other health and safety guidelines. Please review the guidelines before arriving at The Fields.

Spring Has Sprung All Over the District

Recently, the Pennsylvania Avenue East Main Street announced it had received the Risaikuru sculpture, created by Jon Gann as part of the 2021 National Cherry Blossom Festival’s Art in Bloom project. Presented by Amazon, Art in Bloom is a community-wide public art exhibition showcasing the visual arts and revealing the creative and whimsical sides of the Festival and the nation’s capital. Twenty-six Art in Bloom sculptures that feature unique designs painted by local artists were installed by March 20, the 2021 Festival’s opening day, in all eight wards of Washington, D.C., plus Maryland’s National Harbor and the Aurora Hills and National Landing neighborhoods in Northern Virginia.

Risaikuru (Recycle) will remain at Ward 7’s Shops at Penn Branch (3200 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE) until May 31, 2021!!! Also, don’t miss Ward 8’s Full Circle Blossom installed at 2100 Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue, SE. Go visit and share your journey with @CherryBlossFest and tag #ArtinBloom for a chance to be randomly selected to win a $25 (or a $500!) Amazon gift card!

Follow the Pennsylvania Avenue East Main Street @PAEMSDC on all social media platforms to hear about upcoming events in celebration of the Art in Bloom project!  

Events DC Community Grant Awardee Spotlight: Open Goal Project

Events DC Fiscal Year 2021 Community Grant awardee, Open Goal Project (OGP) is eliminating soccer opportunity barriers that have affected lower income, and underserviced populations from receiving the greater game growth, and coaching opportunities available to others.  OGP offers free programs within walking distance to public transportation, bilingual instructors, and camps/clinics hosted by professional coaches and mentors.

Throughout the COVID-19 global health pandemic, the Open Goal Project has continued to create innovative, safe, in-person programs that ensure their athletes stay physically and mentally fit.  In 2020, OGP successfully hosted a summer cohort for high school and college bound students, the District of Columbia Football Club (DCFC) for the younger ages, workshops on mental health, academic tutoring, and other off-the-field resources.  The 6-week socially distanced in-person summer program not only offered professional soccer training, but also provided breakfast, lunch, and dinner each day, along with a built-in self-discovery program. The DCFC return to play cohort placed the younger athletes into small groups of 10 or less and practiced 3-times a week.

OGP is already ramping up with the DCFC Academy as it recently held tryouts, and hosted over 100 young male and female soccer players. To enroll an athlete in any of the OPG programs, visit their website here.