Barracks Row Fall Festival
Closed to vehicular traffic the bustling historic corridor is transformed into what first appears to be a quaint small town fair . . . until fair goers catch on to the many urban curiosities in their midst!
There are continuous performances of Trapeze School New York – Washington DC as aerialists fly in the treetops above historic brownstones. The Georgetown Chimes, the well-known a capella group will make a stage appearances then stroll the midway. This year, the DC Area Drone User Group will showcase do-it-yourself and consumer drone technology while, nearby, the Potomac Fiber Arts Guild demonstrate their skills at looms of all sizes in a triple tent on the midway.
All day long a black box cook off is held right out on 8th Street as chefs from our Armed Forces – including the White House – compete in front of the crowd (beginning at 7:30 a.m.) for the trophy of Top Chef in the U.S. military. The mind reading-escape artist phenom, Max Major, Mentalist & Illusionist, will perform on stage at 1 p.m. And the Washington Nationals NatMobile will be ready to greet fans with video baseball games, live ball toss and Nat’s swag!
A group of Barracks Row restaurants including Belga and Matchbox will be hosting a “Beer-B-Cue” in the parking lot across the street from Matchbox while an accordion player and magicians perform at the many sidewalk cafes along the row. At 2 p.m., Batala, the all-female Afro-Brazilian band will rock the intersection of 8th and G streets SE. At 3 p.m., all is quiet as the Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon performs before a hushed crowd. Then everyone breaks into cheers as the last synchronized sequence is flawlessly completed.
Fashion trucks join food trucks, artists, craftsmen, restaurants, schools, and local Capitol Hill organizations to create the midway. Eight river-oriented organizations will be grouped together under the banner, “We Love the Anacostia River.” Meanwhile, at the corner of 8th and E streets, piglets, llamas, and lambs are waiting for you at the petting zoo, at the ready all day long to meet city kids and their parents.
The Kennedy Center and the Washington Nationals come together in one person: Glenn Donnellen. The Kennedy Center violinist has put strings on his favorite baseball bat transforming it into a violin. His interactive performance (yes, you, too can play the bat) begins at 3:30 p.m., just in time for fairgoers with Nationals tickets to make the ten minute walk west on M Street SE to the second-to-last home game of the season.
Finally at 4:30 p.m., the judges of the Military Chef’s Cook Off take the stage to announce the Top Military Chef of 2015.
An updated schedule of acts and festival events, including the times for trainer-led walks of Chesty, the Marine Corps bulldog mascot, will be posted on the Barracks Row website.
Adopted from a Barracks Row Main Street news release.
