By Bob Tagert Well….we made it through a topsy-turvey weather month in May. From the 90’s and breaking out the shorts to the 60’s and finding the fleece. Those two days in the 90’s were a taste of what is to come. It is a good time to head to the cool mountains, and that is just what we did for our road trip this month. Memories of going to camp as a kid came crashing back as we attended the first “Camp Runaway” for adults. We ventured to Camp Tall Timbers in High View, WV along with 25 other adults. Just as much fun as kid camp only with cocktails, cigars and we could swear! Check it out in Road Trip. Douglas Coleman takes us back to 1861 in Civil Discourse when the Union Forces occupied Alexandria and constructed Fort Ellsworth for defense against the Confederates. Old Town has gained a new celebrity chef when Myron Mixon opened his Pitmaster Barbeque restaurant at 220 North Lee Street. Read about it in Dining Out. I interviewed Jamey Turner for the second time in our almost 30 years in business for Personality Profile. Many of you know him as the “King of the Glass Harp” who entertains all who walk through the corridor at the Torpedo Factory. Hard to believe he has been around longer than we have! Check out the piece on the North Beach American Film Festival in the From the Bay section…it is sure to be interesting and entertaining. If you are thinking about a winery to visit, check out our friends in Northern Fauquier County and especially the new brewpub at Barrel Oak Winery – I’m sticking around to try a brew when I do distribution in that neck of the woods. Don’t forget to celebrate dad…
By B & L Myron Mixon’s Pitmaster BBQ Four months ago Pitmaster Barbeque opened in Old Town Alexandria. The restaurant is a collaboration of Myron Mixon and local restaurateurs Joe Coury and Bill McFadden. Coury is a well-known Alexandria restaurateur with his anchor restaurant, Faccia Luna, in the 800 block of South Washington Street here in Old Town. Mixon came to the mix by route as an American celebrity chef and competitor on the barbeque circuit. He is a four-time barbeque World Champion and appears as a judge on Destination America reality television show BBQ Pitmasters. Due to the number of accolades he has achieved during his BBQ career, he has the nickname of “the winningest man in barbeque.” Myron started in competitive barbeque in 1996 at a competition in Atlanta Georgia. He won his first place in whole hog and third place in the pork shoulder competition. He originally only took up competitive BBQ in order to promote his family’s BBQ sauce, which his parents Gaye and Jack, had created. His father taught him how to barbeque, and Myron named his BBQ Company after him, calling it Jack’s Old South. Coury’s expertise is not only in restaurant management but he has been a judge on the competitive barbeque circuit for years. Upon entering the restaurant the first thing that you will notice is that delicious sweet smell of smoking meats. The aroma is not over powering, but just enough to get saliva flowing in your mouth…it is time for barbeque! The front room of booths and some two and four tops appears rather small but a short divider hides the other half of this room as well as the bar. Two other adjoining rooms help provide space for over 190 seats in the restaurant. The bar is comfortable with…
RiverView Ballroom Unveiled By Rachel Dinbokowitz The Capital Region’s First Infinity Ballroom Debuts in National Harbor Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center’s highly anticipated waterfront venue, RiverView Ballroom, was unveiled in mid-May during an intimate opening ceremony in National Harbor. The 16,000 square foot ballroom is set to be the Capital Region’s premiere event venue for weddings, galas, corporate and social functions. RiverView Ballroom is being dubbed the Washington, D.C. area’s first infinity ballroom, as guests will feel as if they are floating on top of the Potomac River. The venue also provides column-free, unobstructed panoramic views from its 270-degree floor-to-ceiling windows. The contemporary waterfront ballroom in National Harbor is designed to provide event-goers their own private venue outside of Gaylord National’s main meeting hub. The ballroom comes well equipped with cutting-edge technology, impeccable service, custom menu experiences and the best views, bar none, in the Capital Region. On top of its 16,000 square feet of meeting space, the ballroom also provides two outdoor terraces equaling more than 10,000 square feet of space. These terraces offer even more versatility for guests interested in both indoor and outdoor functions with an equally stunning backdrop. When it comes to food, planners can choose from new, interactive menu experiences designed around fresh, local fare with a focus on sustainability. Gaylord National’s executive chef curated themed menus that include Penang and Malaysian, Cuban, Southern Barbeque, and Chesapeake Bay flavors – all of which offer expert culinarians and mixologists to assist attendees in making their own dining creations for a more experiential event. With the addition of RiverView Ballroom, Gaylord National now offers five ballrooms and more than 600,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor flexible meeting space – keeping the hotel as the largest non-gaming resort and convention center on the…
National Harbor Calendar 6-17 The Plaza is a Busy Place! FREE FITNESS CLASSES On the Plaza Through October Participate in a free fitness classes on the Plaza brought to you by No Excuse Workout. All classes run from 7-8 pm except Saturday morning yoga that runs from 10-11 am. Mondays – CardioHIT Tuesdays – Kickboxing Wednesdays – Zumba Saturdays – Yoga (Please refer to National Harbor’s Facebook page for any weather related cancellations.) MOVIES ON THE POTOMAC Through September Nothing says summer like an evening under the stars—and there’s no better way to enjoy the season than a date night at National Harbor. Join us on the Plaza every Thursday night – Date Night Style – and Sundays – Family Night Style! Please note that movies will begin at 6 pm on Sundays and 7 pm on Thursdays and will be shown once, so end times may vary with each movie. Double Features start at 4 pm. A schedule of movies to be shown can be viewed below. Date Night Screenings: 1st– Dream Girls 8th – The Legend of Tarzan (2016) 15th – Sully 22nd – Passengers 29th – Hitch Family Night Screenings: 4th – Moana 11th – The Princess & the Frog 18th – Jungle 2 Jungle 25th – DOUBLE FEATURE: Babe & Sing* SUMMER FRIDAYS ARE BACK! Through September 29th 4 pm- 8 pm Start your weekend right with Summer Fridays at National Harbor! Play Corn hole, Connect Four, Giant Jenga, hula hoop, hopscotch, and more with family and friends. Enjoy performances by Bobby McKey’s, giveaways, and listen to the DJ spin your favorite summer jams. And of course, joining us means you get front row seats to the best sunset view in the DMV. Get…
Camp Runaway: Return to Days Gone By Do you remember those days long ago when your mom and dad would drop you off for summer camp? I do, whether it was boy scout camp or safety patrol school camp. It was always a wonderful adventure. Always came home with cuts and bruises and memories. I thought that those days were gone, until our friend Shannon Koprivich told us about a camp for adults that she and a friend were organizing…Camp Runaway…how appropriate. Shannon and her business partner and friend Cristin Moor were campers at Tall Timbers Campground in West Virginia when they were in the 5th grade. The two of them and other campers have remained in contact to this day. Current owner, Glenn Smith, was the camp director back in those days as well. His father had established the camp in 1970. Last month these organizers brought to fruition the first Camp Runaway at Camp Tall Timbers in High View, West Virginia. At 70 years old I thought that I might be biting off more than I could chew and may not be up to those physically challenging days of yesteryear. I was right. Although the desire was there, immobility is not a strength in dodge ball. The average age of the 25 campers was probably in the mid to late 30’s and all in good shape. As I mention earlier, some were former kid campers who came back from as far as California, Colorado and Florida. Old friendships were rekindled and new ones made. After registering on Friday we all just kind of hung out, introduced ourselves and had a few adult beverages – this is a huge benefit of “adult” camp – until someone brought up the idea of dodge ball in the Pavilion. The weather didn’t…