Speakers Table
Help Georgetown's Wingo's
July 10, 2018On Tuesday, June 26th the ever popular carryout Wingo's in Georgetown had an accidental fire that started in the kitchen and spread throughout the two-story restaurant rendering the space gutted and unusable. The fire also damaged English Rose Garden florist next door.
While insurance will cover damages to the building and subsequent repairs, it does not cover the wages of the 24 Wingo's employees.
The goal here to raise funds for rent, groceries, childcare, and other basic needs for the Wingo's staff. This does not go towards the building, repairs, or the owner, but to the cooks, cashiers, and delivery drivers who make Wingo's the special hole-in-the-wall restaurant that DC knows and loves.
Any donation helps. Wingo's will be opening a new location soon and will be providing work for everyone at the Georgetown location. Between now and then, a contribution will make a world of difference for the staff.
To donate, visit GoFundMe.
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Trailblazing Ambassador Sparkles at Global Gender Event
June 26, 2018By Kelly Sherretts
Ambassador Vlora Çitaku of the Republic of Kosovo made a special appearance at the recent Gender360 Summit in Washington, DC., to express her concerns on violence against girls and women. A former refugee and Georgetown resident, Ambassador Çitaku has broken through many glass ceilings as one of the first women ambassadors ever to represent her region in the United States. A former member of Parliment and Minister of European Intergration in Kosovo, Çitaku said: "There are still too many challenges; women are still considered exotic creatures in government."
(Photo by: Beth Solomon)
Ambassador Çitaku with CARE's Besnik Leka
A friend of Ambassador Çitaku and panel member, CARE project coordinator Besnik Leka discussed CARE's Young Men Initiative in Kosovo. He asked the 120+ audience members to guess which emotion boys were most comfortable expressing, according to scientific research. They guessed it fairly quickly: "anger." The conference goers had more trouble guessing which emotions boys have the least comfort with. The answer, Leka told the audience, is "fear."
"All males can benefit from sharing emotions," Leka said.
Other panel speakers agreed with Leka including Preston Mitchum, from Advocates for Youth. "We really wanted to look at creating a world were all young people are included, all the sexual orientations, gender identities, and diversitites can really center the full range of rights."
(Photo by: Kelly Sherretts )
The panel: "Transforming Harmful Social Norms: Advancing Positive Masculinity"
Melanie Yahner, a panel speak from Save the Children, emphasized the importance of getting a head start on transforming social norms. "We know that these gender norms start to form at birth."
The Gender360 Summit, where the panel discussion took place, was hosted by FHI 360, a nonprofit organization emphasizing a holistic approach to human development challenges.
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'Wonder Woman 1984' in Georgetown
June 14, 2018Written by Cathy Kerkam
(Photo by: Cathy Kerkam)
Extras in costume
It's 7:00am on a gorgeous June morning - lovely, still and quiet which is the best time in Georgetown. I'm out on a dog walk, heading to Constance Chatfield-Taylor’s house to grab her for coffee. As I get to her house, I realized there were no SUVs in sight ... as far as the eye could see, only vintage cars from the 80's lined P Street and there at the end, was iconic punk boutique Commander Salamander.
Ah, the Wonder Woman sequel. I had forgotten about the filming. Flashback to middle/high school and long trips in the old Plymouth station wagon with lots of noxious fumes ... then a memory of feeling so cool shopping at iconic punk boutique Commander Salamander for pins for my jean jacket when it was oh, so hip to wear them. I remember when the shop closed. Like other Georgetown stalwarts, it was hard to see it go.
What a treat this morning was!
(Photo by: Cathy Kerkam)
The men in the photos live in NY and their profession? They source vintage cars, provide them and drive them on movie sets. How cool. No desk job for these guys. They love it, although they said it sometimes feels like paint drying. Each car along P Street had a driver - some in period outfits - lurking about somewhere with a radio, just waiting to get the call to jump into action. A few cars were idling, filling the street with fumes. They had no idea how long they would wait. I asked if Wonder Woman would be driving one of these beauties, but no, sadly not.
One last thought - I LOVE the old DC license plates!
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