Kudos to The Parks Main Street (TPMS) Executive Director Edwin Washington, The Parks Main Street board of directors, participating businesses, artists, sponsors, and District of Columbia government agencies for executing a very enjoyable Art All Night experience in Riggs Park on September 24, 2021. Check out video from The Parks Main Street here.

Mr. Washington, in particular, did a phenomenal job organizing this neighborhood’s inaugural participation in this annual event, a feat made all the more impressive by the fact that he had to organize the participation of two different neighborhoods–Riggs Park and Manor Park–which together make up The Parks Main Street. The weather was great, and it was quite wonderful to see so many neighbors come out to support this event.

In Riggs Park, the evening featured performing arts, visual arts, beverage tastings, and more over the course of four hours at four principal locations: Troka Insurance, Hellbender Brewery, Culture Coffee Too, and Riggs Wine & Liquor. I managed to make it to every venue location in Riggs Park except Hellbender’s open mic. I was quite impressed by the lineup of the artists who performed.

There were Latin-American artists at Troka Insurance

Culture Coffee Too featured jazz and spoken word.

Asian-American artists performed at Riggs Wine & Liquor.

The tasting stations at Riggs Wine & Liquor were quite popular.

There were also a few vendors, live painting, and visual artists at each location, including Melissa Crawford (aka MC), the wife of The Parks Main Street board vice chair Ray Crawford. The things you learn about neighbors!

“More of this, please” was a familiar refrain I heard throughout the night. I agree. The Parks Main Street is led by a part-time executive director and an all-volunteer board. To support more good things happening in the neighborhood, consider giving a donation to The Parks Main Street at https://theparksmainstreet.org/support/donate. And let The Parks Main Street know how you can volunteer your time and support in the future at https://theparksmainstreet.org/support/volunteer. Follow The Parks Main Street on twitter, facebook, and instagram.

Come on out tonight to enjoy activities around the neighborhood for Art All Night at The Parks Main Street. The weather will be great. See the updated schedule below.

https://theparksmainstreet.org/events/art-all-night2021

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Updated Schedule

2021 Programming

Troka Insurance (Latin American) – 210/212 Riggs Road NE (Riggs Park)
Sponsored by Washington Digital Media

• 7:00pm:  DJ Arturito
• 8:00pm:  Jordan Seitz – Aerial Artist
• 8:30pm:  DJ Arturito
• 9:00pm:  Jonathan Acosta – Singer & Guitarist
• 9:45pm:  DJ Arturito
• Special Appearance by Jordan Seitz – Aerial Artist 

Culture Coffee Too — 300 Riggs Road NE (Riggs Park)
Sponsored by Riggs Park Place and EYA Neighborhoods

• 7:00pm – 11:00pm: DJ Tim
• 7:00pm: David Shirley – Mandolin Playing & Singing
• 7:45pm: Christopher Prince Jazz Singer & Band
• 8:45pm: Whiskey Girl – Spoken Word
• 9:30pm: Christopher Prince Jazz Singer & Band

Hellbender Brewery – 5788 2nd Street NE (Riggs Park)
Sponsored by Hellbender Brewery

• 7:00pm – 9:00pm: Open Mic with Cash Prize

Riggs Wine & Liquor (Asian American) – 5581 South Dakota Ave NE (Riggs Park)
Sponsored by Riggs Wine & Liquor

• 7:00pm Alice Gu-Zheng Ensemble – Chinese Zither
• 8:00pm Laura Zaire -Belly Dancer
• 8:30pm Lizze Blue – Lo-Fi Keyboardist
• 9:00pm Leif – Vocalist
• 9:30pm CNote – Violinist
• 10:00pm SNRG – Hip Hop Artists

The V.I.P. Room – 3rd & Rittenhouse NW (Manor Park)
Sponsored by The V.I.P. Room

• 7:00pm: DJ Superstar J.R.
• 8:00pm: Sharon Thomas – Saxophonist
• 8:30pm DJ Superstar J.R.
• 9:30pm Sharon Thomas – Saxophonist
• 10:00pm DJ Superstar JR

The Learning Curve – TLC – 3rd & Sheridan NW (Manor Park)
Sponsored by Peaches Kitchen & Senbeb Cafe

• 7:00pm: The Davis Center Dancers
• 7:30pm: Sarah-mari Ramson – Harp / Flute / Tenor Steel Pan
• 8:30pm: Rain Young – Art Demonstration
• 9:30pm: Tangent Band – R& B / Jazz / Soul
• Special appearance by Jordan Seitz – Fire Dancer

Venue performances subject to change

All public health guidance and safety measures to ensure the wellbeing of artists, performers, attendees, patrons, and business owners will be followed.

This Friday, September 24, 7:00 pm to 11:00 pm, enjoy art and entertainment around Riggs Park and Manor Park with Art All Night. This is the first time these neighborhoods are participating in Art All Night, and there will be a little something for everyone. Details below and at https://theparksmainstreet.org/events/art-all-night2021.

From The Parks Main Street

Art All Night celebrates the visual and performing arts, showcasing the diverse talents of our city’s creative community.

Public and private spaces throughout our business district transform into pop-up galleries and performance stages for an evening of art in all its forms. Art All Night is the perfect stimulant for art, community, and commerce!

The Parks Main Street (TPMS) offers Art All Night LIVE for the first time this year. TPMS participated during the 2020 Art All Night Virtual Edition. We are excited to bring the communities of Riggs Park and Manor Park a live, in-person celebration in 2021.

All public health guidance and safety measures to ensure the well-being of artists, performers, attendees, patrons, and business owners will be followed.

Get Your Free Ticket

2021 Programming

* Troka Insurance (Latin-American theme) – 210/212 Riggs Road NE (Riggs Park)

Sponsored by Washington Digital Media.

• 7:00 pm-11:00 pm Latin American performances
• Special appearance by Jordan Seitz – Aerial Artist

* Culture Coffee Too – 300 Riggs Road NE (Riggs Park)

Sponsored by Riggs Park Place, an EYA Neighborhood.

• 7:00 pm-11:00 pm DJ Tim
• 7:00 pm David Shirley – Mandolin Playing & Singing
• 7:45 pm Christopher Prince Jazz Singer & Band
• 8:45 pm Whiskey Girl – Spoken Word
• 9:30 pm Christopher Prince Jazz Singer & Band

* Hellbender Brewery – 5788 2nd Street NE (Riggs Park)

Sponsored by Hellbender Brewery.

• 7:00 pm-9:00 pm Open Mic with Cash Prize

* Riggs Wine Liquor (Asian-American theme) – 5581 South Dakota Ave NE (Riggs Park)

Sponsored by Riggs Wine Liquor.

• 7:00-11:00 pm Asian American performances

* The V.I.P. Room – 3rd Street & Rittenhouse Street NW (Manor Park)

Sponsored by The V.I.P. Room.

• 7:00 pm DJ Superstar J.R.
• 8:00 pm Sharon Thomas – Saxophonist
• 8:30 pm DJ Superstar J.R.
• 9:30 pm Sharon Thomas – Saxophonist
• 10:00 pm DJ Superstar JR

* The Learning Curve – TLC (Youth theme) – 3rd Street & Sheridan Street NW (Manor Park)

Sponsored by Peaches Kitchen and Senbeb Cafe.

• 7:00 pm The Davis Center Dancers
• 7:30 pm Sarah-mari Ramson – Harp / Flute / Tenor Steel Pan
• 8:30 pm Rain Young – Art Demonstration
• 9:30 pm Tangent Band – R& B / Jazz / Soul
• Special appearance by Jordan Seitz – Fire Dancer

Learn more about the artists at https://theparksmainstreet.org/events/art-all-night2021.

Venue performances subject to change

All public health guidance and safety measures to ensure the well-being of artists, performers, attendees, patrons, and business owners will be followed.

From The Parks Main Street

Thank you to everyone who took time to nominate businesses in The Parks Main Street (TPMS) corridor for Washington City Paper’s Best of DC 2021. Now it’s time to vote!

Please take a minute to vote for the following businesses in The Parks Main Street that are finalists for Best of DC 2021.

Vote Now through September 19 until 11:59 pm using the link below!

VOTE for TPMS Businesses/Nonprofit

Best Architecture Firm – AMAR Group LLC (Manor Park)

Best Dance Company – The Davis Center (Manor Park)

Best Dry Cleaners – Riggs Dry Cleaners (Riggs Park)

Best Food Nonprofit – Food & Friends (Riggs Park)

Best Place to Volunteer – Food & Friends

Best COVID Support Services – Food & Friends

Best Neighborhood Festival We Missed Most – Art All Night

From The Parks Main Street

The Parks Main Street (TPMS) is asking residents to take a few minutes to nominate the following TPMS neighborhood businesses for the Washington City Paper Best of DC 2021. Nominations take about 10-15 minutes to make.

https://washingtoncitypaper.com/best-of-dc-2021/

Nominations close August 1 at 11:59 pm Eastern time

Voting starts August 19 at 12:01 am Eastern time

• Category: Food

• Category: Drink

• Category: Arts & Entertainment

• Category: Health & Beauty

• Category: Goods

Category: Services

• Category: People & Places

• Category: Pandemic Superstars

From The Parks Main Street

Attention artists and makers – We invite you to perform, show & sell your work during The Parks Main Street Art All Night event on Friday, September 24, 2021. For more information, email artallnight@theparksmainstreet.org.

Apply by August 6, 2021.

Artists in Riggs Park, Manor Park, Lamond, North Michigan Park, Michigan Park, and Fort Totten are especially encouraged to apply! All artists are welcome.

Enter the Riggs Park Art Crawl – Selfie/Photo Contest for a chance to win The Parks Main Street Small Business Gift Cards

10 Gift Cards available!

How to enter:

Take the following 6 photos

Take a selfie/photo with you or your family in front of Culture Coffee Too, Art Crawl Headquarters – 300 Riggs Road NE, WDC 20011

Take a selfie/photo with you or your family in front of “We Are Riggs Park” Mural on right side of the Riggs Wine & Liquor building – 5581 South Dakota Avenue, NE WDC 20011 (across from Walmart)

Take selfie/photo with you or your family in front of Mural of Bottles on left side of the Riggs Wine & Liquor building

Take selfie/photo of you or your family in front of Hellbender Mural on right side of Hellbender Brewery building – 5788 2nd Street, NE WDC 20011

Take a selfie/photo with you or your family in front of Silver Howling Wolf at the Modern at Art Place – Corner of South Dakota Avenue & Ingraham Street, NE WDC 20011

Take selfie/photo with you or your family in front of Red Rooster/Chicken at the Modern at Art Place – Corner of South Dakota Avenue & Galloway Street, NE WDC 20011 (across from UDC)

Send all six photos to info@theparksmainstreet.org with Name(s) of who is in photo, who took photo, and email address.

Send photos in by 10:00 pm, Saturday July 10, 2021.

Winners will be announced in TPMS July/August Newsletter. Photos will be shared via TPMS social media channels

The Riggs Park Art Crawl, presented by Culture Coffee Too and The Parks Main Street (TPMS) 

Sponsored by Department of Small and Local Business Development, Center for Nonprofit Advancement and Riggs Park Place an EYA Neighborhood

Updated Times

Friday July 9, 2021 (weather permitting)

• 6:00 pm-8:00 pm

Sip N’ Paint with Rebecca Crouch

Culture Coffee Too

(300 Riggs Road NW WDC  20011)

$55 single $100 couple

Tickets Eventbrite.com

• 8:00 pm-8:30 pm

Kids Light Show

All Children welcome to participate!

Saturday July 10, 2021 (weather permitting)

• 10:00 am-2:00 pm

Live Painting

Confirmed Locations

Culture Coffee Too

(300 Riggs Road NE WDC  20011)

Riggs Wine & Liquor

(5581 South Dakota Ave, NE WDC 20011 – Across from Walmart)

• 10:00 am-4:00 pm

Various Activities

Selfie/Photo Entry to win TPMS Small Business Gift Cards

(Instructions and Locations to follow; follow The Parks Main Street on twitter and instagram for up-to-date information)

Music

Dance by The Davis Center Dancers

Lemonade Stand

Crafts

Double Dutch Performers

You can Double Dutch Too!

Vendors

In front of Culture Coffee Too

Including Onelife Fitness

• 6:00 pm-9:00 pm

Party for Ms. V’s 70^th Birthday!

Wear YELLOW

Music

DJ Sid

DJ Tim Grant

DJ Jamal from One Love Radio

Complimentary Food (while it lasts)

Cash Bar

Special Surprise! (about 9:00 pm)

Riggs Park Art Crawl
July 9 & 10, 2021
10:00 am-10:00 pm
Culture Coffee Too
300 Riggs Road NE

Giving Tuesday is tomorrow December 1. There are many organizations that can use support this year. I encourage readers to support The Parks Main Street, a 501(c)(3) organization that supports small and local businesses in Riggs Park and Manor Park. Donations may be made at https://theparksmainstreet.org/support/donate.

The Parks Main Street is also inviting residents to attend a community meeting tomorrow December 1 at 7:00 pm for review of fiscal year 2020 activities, plans for fiscal year 2021, and an opportunity to support small businesses. To register to see what the Main Street has been up to, click Giving Tuesday Meeting Registration. 

From The Parks Main Street

Experience the Riggs Park and Manor Park’s Dazzle

Whether you’re a local resident or just visiting for a few days—stop by The Parks Main Street Holiday Lights to explore, shop, and dine this holiday season.

The businesses of The Parks Main Street will be decked out with holiday lights from December 1 to December 31. Wander the corridor with neighbors and visitors to enjoy amazing holiday events, activities, and promotions throughout the month. Don’t forget to VOTE for your favorite light displays between December 1st and 14th. 

The Parks Main Street Holiday Lights is part of a broader, citywide DC Holiday Lights effort encouraging residents and visitors to shop small and explore the District this holiday season. Starting December 1st, you can participate in our citywide Holiday Lights Scavenger Hunt for a chance to win great prizes from local DC businesses! Check back for more details. 

Interested in volunteering to help businesses hang their lights? Email info@TheParksMainStreet.org. 

By David Kosub (Contributor)

Congratulations goes out to Ms. V and Culture Coffee Too! Our local Riggs Park coffee shop located at 300 Riggs Road NE received a grant from the Mayor’s Office of Nightlife and Culture to winterize their outdoor dining setup. As reported on DCist yesterday, “each restaurant could get up to $6,000 for tents, heaters, propane, lighting, furniture and advertising” through the District’s Streatery Winter Ready Grant program.

Culture Coffee Too will use their funds to purchase a tent and heaters. Ms. V wanted me to share the following with the community, “Y’all come down and enjoy the tent when it goes up…around November 20.” I personally cannot wait to have one of their black bean burgers with a peanut butter and banana smoothie under that tent! But, don’t wait until the 20th, go in as soon as you can to share the good vibes. Tomorrow, November 7, beginning at 11:00 am, there will be live painting and music outdoors for a modified Riggs Park art crawl.  

Support your local small businesses! The winter will be a difficult time and they will need our help. A complete list of the District’s restaurants receiving a grant can be found here.

A neighbor passed along a photo of the Walmart on Riggs Road NE with barriers in front the building and boarded up windows. The store remains open. Some businesses have started boarding up in anticipation of potential protests leading up to and following Election Day. I happened to drive downtown yesterday to pick up some items from my office and noticed businesses downtown boarding up. The Parks Main Street communicated that District officials are not presently recommending that businesses board up but are recommending that businesses make sure their insurance is up-to-date and that employees know what to do in case of emergencies.

In addition, there have been two straight nights of protests a couple of miles from the neighborhood on Kennedy Street NW and near DC police Fourth District headquarters on Georgia Avenue NW following the death of 20-year-old Karon Hylton. The police department’s initial statement of Mr. Hylton’s death stated Fourth District officers attempted to initiate a traffic stop of the young man on Friday, October 23, after observing him riding a moped on the sidewalk in the 500 block of Kennedy Street NW without a helmet. The statement went on to say he fled on the moped, drove through an alley, and collided with a passenger vehicle upon exiting the alley. Witnesses dispute this police account, contending that police pursued Mr. Hylton in contravention of a no-pursuit policy for traffic infractions. Camera footage of the interaction could possibly be released today.

Barbecue caterer Smokemade Meats & Eats will be popping up at Hellbender this Sunday, September 6 from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm. You can also place pre-orders at https://smokemademeats.wixsite.com/laborday/online-ordering. Hellbender is located at 5788 2nd Street NE.

Hellbender has emerged as a nice avenue to getting different food options in the neighborhood. In a typical week, one can order local oysters from Sapidus Farms for pickup from Hellbender on Thursdays (order by Tuesday night). Timber Pizza usually makes an appearance one or two days during the weekend as it will do this Friday and Saturday. And usually Dolci Gelato pops up one or two days during the weekend as well. Occasionally, different food trucks will add a little variety to the usual weekly offerings.

If you are looking for something new to try for the Labor Day weekend, check out the offerings at Hellbender, and be sure to follow them on facebook to see food and beverage options each week.

As part of its “Still at Workers” series, DCist has a great profile of Ramdass Pharmacy, our local neighborhood pharmacy. Owner Anthony Ramdass discusses what it is like serving the community and patients as well as the challenges facing the pharmacy as we deal with the COVID-19 crisis. Located in the Modern at Art Place on Ingraham Street NE, the pharmacy fills an important role during this public health delivery, offering delivery of prescriptions. Residents can also stop in to pick up prescriptions as well. Check it out.

The Parks Main Street (TPMS) was formed to help support businesses in Riggs Park and Manor Park. It took a lot of time and effort to get the Main Street up and running last year. It is now run by enthusiastic executive director Edwin Washington with the help of an all-volunteer board. Please consider supporting The Parks Main Street for Giving Tuesday to make sure the organization can continue to support and attract thriving local businesses to our neighborhood. You can easily do so online at https://theparksmainstreet.org/support/donate. See message from TPMS below.

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A neighborhood is the people who live, work, learn and play there. It is cultural institutions; And small and large businesses serving neighborhood people through good and bad times.

The COVID-19 pandemic is as bad as it gets.

Help preserve small businesses in The Parks Main Street (TPMS) business districts in Riggs Park and Manor Park by keeping them operating today, so they can be there for us tomorrow.

Our goal is to raise $15,000 to supplement the funding TPMS receives from the Department of Small and Local Business Development (DSLBD) to help struggling businesses with rent and payroll shortages, marketing outreach and employee and customer safety practices during COVID-19.

Can you donate $5? $10? $20? Any amount will help sustain these small businesses Now. Shop Small and Support Small with a donation on #GivingTuesdayNow. Your tax-deductible support will make a big difference!

https://theparksmainstreet.org/support/donate

Who are The Parks Main Street legacy businesses?

They are small, mostly women and family owned entrepreneurs who have served customers in the DC area for up to 50- years. They are owners of diverse ages, multicultural ethnic groups and professional backgrounds such as military service, higher education, health care, national retail and food service, and home design and improvement, to name a few industries.

In Manor Park maybe you’ve held a birthday or anniversary party at The VIP Room. Got your child’s first haircut at Manor Park Barber Shop. Purchased a hat at Bene Millinery & Bridal Shop still run by its 100-year old founder, Vanilla Beane, or eaten at Peaches’ Kitchen or Senbeb Café & Natural Foods.

In Riggs Park you may have experienced a wine tasting at Riggs Liquors. Or a free art exhibition and workshop at Culture Coffee Too. Or had the pharmacist-owner of Ramdass Pharmacy come to your home to administer vaccinations to a senior loved one during the COVID-19 pandemic.

These are the business legacies The Parks Main Street is working to preserve. Please help us by frequenting these businesses as often as you can and giving what you can. And ask your friends, family members, co-workers, and those in your professional and social circles to Shop Small and Support Small with a donation on #GivingTuesdayNow. Your tax-deductible support will make a big difference!

https://theparksmainstreet.org/support/donate