Editor’s Pick: The Arts, Beats, And Eats Festival
Next Saturday, the Gateway Arts District will be abuzz with artists, chefs, and musicians participating in a new, free community event.
Saturday, May 14, will be a good time to explore the arts-rich stretch of Rhode Island Avenue just over the District line connecting the Maryland towns of Mt. Rainier, Brentwood, and Hyattsville.
Known as the Gateway Arts District, the strip will be abuzz on that day with dozens of artists, chefs, and musicians participating in a new, free community open-house event.
The inaugural Arts, Beats, and Eats Festival is largely concentrated around two buildings located one block apart in Brentwood: Studio 3807, housing the Portico Gallery and Studios as well as the miXt Food Hall, and Artisan 4100, home to Just Rock and the Art Annex Studios.
The Portico Gallery’s John Paradiso, an artist who is also a festival organizer, will display and discuss works from his Men Working, Soft Porn, and Paper Quilt/Collage series, and will be joined by fellow Portico denizens Mary Turpin, Jaleel Davis, Imani Russell, and Tom Hill, plus a handful of Portico guest artists.
Meanwhile, miXt merchants will offer special food and drink specials throughout the day, culminating in special happy hour prices from 5 to 8 p.m. as part of the festival’s official After Party.
The food hall will also host scheduled Culinary Arts Demonstrations, including a “Sharpen Your Knife Skills” session led by miXt Chef Sandy Patterson, “How to Make a Lobster Corn Dog” by HK Fishouse Chefs Kimberly Van Kline and Henry Dudley, “How to Make Bacon Cheddar Chive Scones” by miXt Brew Pastry Chef Susan Theis, and “How to Make Steak Burrito & Birria Taco” by La Michoacana Chef Ismael Montero.
Up at the Artisan 4100 building, you’ll find live musicians from Just Rock throughout the day plus artists featured in the building’s permanent collection as well as Art Annex occupants Kea Dupree Photography, Möbius Keramikk Clay Studio, painters Wayson R Jones and Alexander Golob, and several guest artists.
Other artists planning to be on hand outside of the festival’s Brentwood block nucleus include acclaimed African-American abstract artist/academic Alonzo Davis, fiber artist/costume designer Celestine Ranney-Howes (Arena Stage, Maryland Shakespeare Festival), and those represented by the Gateway Arts Center, Red Dirt Studio, Art Works Now, Otis Street Arts Project, Pyramid Atlantic Art Center, and Washington Glass School.
Saturday, May 14, from noon to 5 p.m., plus After Party from 5 to 8 p.m. 3807 and 4100 Rhode Island Ave. Visit www.artsbeatseatsdmv.com.
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