First Theme to focus on Orwell's 1984
(Washington, DC-The restaurants, clubs and theaters on H Street Northeast's popular new Atlas District have announced they will begin hosting a monthly First Thursdays series. The first Thursday of each month will be an opportunity for the various venues to host events around a certain theme. The initial First Thursday will touch on the theme of 1984 George Orwell's dystopian masterpiece about a menacing not-too-distant future.
The 1984 theme was picked to coincide with Catalyst Theater Company's production of the Orwell classic at the Atlas Performing Arts Center. Catalyst is the newest resident company of the Atlas and the production has been highly anticipated by area residents. "Catalyst is known for producing edgy, challenging work." said Atlas Executive Director Patrick Stewart. "I think H Street is a perfect fit for the company and we are thrilled to have them here." Catalyst is also known for its $10 ticket policy a radical move that got the company noticed by arts press around the city as well as around the country.
Catalyst Theater’s Artistic Director Scott Fortier said, “We hope we are going to find new Catalyst fans in the Atlas District. We are honored they have chosen our show as the theme."
The H Street establishments are playing fast and loose with the 1984 theme with the majority of the venues focusing more on the fun found in remembering the 1980s rather than Orwell's terrifying vision of the future featuring a tyrannical overlord watching society's every move.
"So we're stretching things a bit." said H Street's most visible entrepreneur Joe Englert. "We want people to come on out and have fun and enjoy what all the clubs and restaurants are offering."
Some of the First Thursday events will include:
* '80's Trivia Night at the Argonaut-the Argo's usual pub quiz will still be held on Wednesday, but they'll also be holding a special Thursday quiz that will focus on minutia from the era of big hair and jelly shoes. Brush up on your John Hughes' films!
* '80's Dance Party at the Rock and Roll Hotel. Because everyone loves to Safety dance
* '80's Karaoke at Sticky Rice. Madonna Wannabees can belt out the era's biggest hits.
* "I Love The 80's" at the H Street Martini Lounge. The Lounge will award prizes for the "Best Dressed" (think Miami Vice Suits and Michael Jackson's "Thriller" jackets to Flashdance, Legwarmers and Madonna's "Like A Virgin" outfits), and will conduct a "Fastest Rubik's Cube” contest.
* For one night only Doctor Granville Moore's will transform from a Belgian-themed gastropub into the fictional but beloved Cheers. The staff and some regulars will be dressed as characters from the "80s sitcom. In addition to the usual menu of Belgian beers, selections from Boston's Sam Adams Brewery will be available. Look for New England clam chowder and Boston Baked Beans on the list of specials. Patrons are encouraged to come dressed as their favorite sitcom character.
* SOVA espresso and Wine is hosting a Wine Tasting to benefit the H Street Community Market, a group working to establish a food coop in the H Street neighborhood. Plan on listening to ‘80's tunes while sampling a variety of wines. Local Wines and cheeses will be paired perfectly and introduced by Chuck Billand, Sommelier and owner of Patowmack Farm and Restaurant. More information and tickets can be found at www.hstcommunitymarket.org
The festivities will take place the evening of September 4th, 2008. The Atlas District plans on holding First Thursday events each month, always with a different theme such as Octoberfest.
Catalyst Theater's 1984 runs until October 5th. More information can be found at www.catalysttheater.org
For more information on First Thursdays contact:
Jen DeMayo.
jdemayo@atlasarts.org
202.399.7993 ext 125
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UPDATE
We have an event that got left out the first time around.
Pull out those sunglasses-tease the hair-and grab your leather ties -
Join U.B.U.'s resident DJ Mellie Mel as she spins the great 80's trax at the Red & Black. All on vinyl-how 80's is that? (U.B.U. is a monthly Alternative 80's Dance Party at the R&B www.myspace.com/ubu_dc) from 5:30-9:30. Children of the '80s and new converts, should come enjoy great drink specials, some of the most popular and iconic songs, and a celebration of 1980s pop culture scene. Play Galaga and win a price if you get the top score of the hour. Or come dressed up as a RECOGNIZABLE 80s character this Thursday and get your second drink on the house. Happy Hour runs from 5-8pm.
--------------------------------
UPDATE
We have an event that got left out the first time around.
Pull out those sunglasses-tease the hair-and grab your leather ties -
Join U.B.U.'s resident DJ Mellie Mel as she spins the great 80's trax at the Red & Black. All on vinyl-how 80's is that? (U.B.U. is a monthly Alternative 80's Dance Party at the R&B www.myspace.com/ubu_dc) from 5:30-9:30. Children of the '80s and new converts, should come enjoy great drink specials, some of the most popular and iconic songs, and a celebration of 1980s pop culture scene. Play Galaga and win a price if you get the top score of the hour. Or come dressed up as a RECOGNIZABLE 80s character this Thursday and get your second drink on the house. Happy Hour runs from 5-8pm.
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8 comments:
On Friday the verdict will be "He loved H Street."
I'm thrilled that this is happening, but I'm really disappointed in the lack of promotion.
Has this been advertised anywhere? The largely defunct Atlas District website doesn't have anything on it (why would it, when they don't even list Granville Moore's and Sticky Rice yet?). The Atlas PAC website makes no mention of it. Neither do the sites of:
Argonaut
Sova
Rock N' Roll Hotel
Granville Moore's
Sticky Rice
Red & the Black
Palace of Wonders
The only participating venues that even mention their events for the evening are Sova (whose event seems a bit disconnected from the rest, though certainly welcome) and the H Street Martini Lounge (though they make no mention of a larger 'First Thursday' experience throughout the neighborhood).
I hope that this event is well attended, but I fear that poor publicity will mean that the crowds who come out to the various venues are the same folks you can expect to see on the Second, Third and Fourth Thursdays.
I'll definitely do my part to talk it up, and if Jen or anyone else who is involved with First Thursday is interested in some help I would be happy to get involved with plans for next month's First Thursday. This is a GREAT idea, but it needs more publicity to succeed.
Actually it's a pretty stale lame idea.
What a shock - an anonymous comment that does nothing but tear down without even a hint of constructive criticism.
The idea of a monthly event that unifies a neighborhood's retail establishments might be stale - it may even be a bit lame - but it's still a great way to encourage people who haven't previously visited the neighborhood to come check it out. Assuming an event like this is well organized and unified in its presentation, it is a definite incentive to visit.
But it needs more structure and better marketing. Set specific hours. Consider some sort of unified signage. Encourage participating establishments to advertise as part of the whole, instead of simply talking up their own event as somethign isolated. Maybe even consider providing a special transportation option for the evening as a further incentive to come.
Some of these ideas cost money, yes, but some of them are also cost-free ways to enhance this effort.
As I said previously - I'm happy to volunteer to help plan and execute next month's event. I figure that's a bit more helpful than anonymously pointing out how stale and lame the idea is and then disappearing back into the shadows.
The Argo will still be holding its normal wednesday trivia. We will be doing a remember the 80's trivia night on thursday night upstairs.
I think first thursdays are a great idea for a monthly streetwide event. This first "first" thursday hasn't got quite the planning and organization that it deserves, but we are working hard to build this so that october's will be more advertised and unified. From what I understand, next month's theme is octoberfest, so look for some good beers. The Red and the Black has already started serving Harpoon Brewery's Octoberfest beer.
Well this is a marketing gimmick- even a 5% increase in attendance on these nights is a success. Spending thousands of bucks on posters, though, kinda defeats any potential increased profits.
I'm not sure if events like this will increase peoples' H Street spending, but it can't hurt!
Personally, I'm old enough to remember the 80's and don't want to relive them! :-)
I hear you, Tom - but there are definitely ways to market something like this that don't cost thousands of dollars.
And although I agree that even a small bump in traffic is positive, a 'marketing gimmick' with the scope of a neighborhood night out comes with a bunch of time and effort that are hard to sustain without visible results.
For a comparison, I would offer Del Ray's First Thursday that also took place last night. They limit their FT events to the summer months, and they put some good effort into promoting the entire season through local papers, blogs, etc. as well as the Del Ray Business Association's own website.
They've been doing this for three or four years now, so they've definitely worked out the kinks that a new event like this is bound to have.
In any event, I just want to see efforts like this succeed to encourage more such events.
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