Au Pair Chatter

Come to the 11th Annual National Book Festival, organized and sponsored by the Library of Congress, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama are honorary chairs for the event. The festival is free and open to the public.

Saturday, Sept. 24: 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 25: 1 to 5:30 p.m.

Visit the website for more information: http://www.loc.gov/bookfest/.

Getting there: Take Metro Orange or Blue Line to Smithsonian station.

On Saturday,  September 17 we had an au pair soccer match on the National Mall in DC.  Our team represented Maryland and we played against a team of au pairs from Virginia.  We cheered for our team and they played hard.  I think we represented Maryland au pairs very well, even though we did not win.  Lots of people stopped, watched and took pictures.  After the soccer match, we toured the U.S. Capitol.

Click on the images to view them larger.  Click here to see even more pictures from this event in our Cluster Photobucket Album.

In addition to the big July 4th celebrations on the National Mall in DC, there are many other local fireworks displays in the area. Please note that a few are offering events and fireworks on days other than July 4. So, you may be able to make it to more than one fireworks display.

Annapolis, Annapolis City Dock, Annapolis, Maryland. (410) 263-1183. Parade and fireworks: Parade starts at 6:30 p.m. Fireworks at 9:15 p.m. Parade Route: West Street, around Church Circle, down Main Street to the City Dock. Naval Academy’s Concert Band will perform at the end of City Dock just prior to the fireworks.

Bowie Allen Pond Park, Bowie, Maryland. (301) 809-3078. Entertainment, food and fireworks from 3-10:30 pm.

College Park University of Maryland, College Park. Parking Lot 1, off Campus Drive near the University Boulevard/Adelphi Road entrance. (301) 864-8877. Food and music start at 7 p.m., with fireworks around 9 p.m.

Greenbelt Buddy Attick Park, 555 Crescent Rd., Greenbelt, Maryland. (301) 397-2200. Entertainment begins at 4 p.m. Fireworks at dusk.

Laurel July 2, 2011. Granville Gude Park, Laurel Lake, Laurel, Maryland. (301) 725-5300 ext. 44. Parade at 11 a.m. Car show following and Fireworks at dusk.

National Harbor – Gaylord National Resort. Fireworks and Summer Festival, July 3, 2011, beginning at 6:30 p.m., tickets are required.

Six Flags America, Mitchellville, Maryland. (301) 249-1500. The amusement park sponsors a spectacular fireworks display on July 3rd and 4th. Enjoy a full day of family entertainment.

Takoma Park Takoma Park Middle School, 7611 Piney Branch Road, Takoma Park, Maryland. (301) 270-6876. Parade at 10 a.m. at the intersection of Carroll and Ethan Allen Avenues. Fireworks at 9:30 p.m.

Information from http://dc.about.com

Washington DC is a spectacular place to celebrate July 4th! The National Mall is the center of all of the Independence Day Celebrations in DC. There are events all day, beginning with a parade along Constitution Avenue and ending with a fireworks display over the Washington Monument.

Washington, DC’s Independence Day Parade
Parade Start Time: 11:45 a.m.
Parade Route: Constitution Avenue and 7th to 17th Sts.
See a map of the parade route

Washington, DC’s 4th of July Parade features marching bands, military and specialty units, floats, and VIP’s. The parade draws a large crowd, so plan to arrive early to stake out a good viewing spot. Read more about the National Independence Day Parade

4th of July Fireworks on the National Mall
Fireworks Time: At dark, usually around 9:15 p.m. Rain Date: July 5th
Launch Location: The fireworks are launched from the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and light up the sky over the Washington Monument.

Getting to the National Mall
The best way to get to the National Mall is to take the Metro. Stations nearby include Metro Center, Gallery Place-Chinatown, Judiciary Square, Federal Triangle and L’Enfant Plaza.The Smithsonian Metro station will be closed for most of the day for security reasons. The station will reopen for entry-only shortly after the fireworks show has concluded to help get people home. It typically takes 1 ½ to 2 hours to clear the Mall after the fireworks.

Public access to the National Mall begins at 10:00 a.m., with all visitors required to enter via a security checkpoint.

Information above is from About.com. Visit their website HERE for much more information about the DC July 4th celebrations, including the best places to view the fireworks.

The Folklife Festival will take place June 30-July 4 and July 7-11.

The Annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival is an international exhibition of living cultural heritage.  Attracting more than one million visitors yearly, the two-week long celebration is the largest annual cultural event in the United States.

This year’s festival will celebrate Rhythm & Blues Music in the U.S., the 50th Anniversary of the Peace Corps and the traditions of Colombia.

The Festival is held outdoors on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., between the Smithsonian museums. There is no admission charge. Visitors should dress for hot and humid weather. Parking around the Mall is extremely limited, so visitors are advised to use Metrorail. The Smithsonian station (Mall exit) is at the Festival site. Federal Triangle and National Archives stations are close by. For general Smithsonian visitor information, call 202.633.1000.

Festival hours are 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., with special events taking place most evenings.

I highly recommend that you visit their website to plan your visit http://www.festival.si.edu/

From the Newseum website:

July 1 through Sept. 5, 2011, youth visitors 18 and under get free admission to the Newseum with one paid adult admission. Offer is limited to up to 10 kids. This promotion is not valid in combination with other discounts. Summer Fun Deal tickets, like all Newseum tickets, are valid for two consecutive days.

Ranked by TripAdvisor as the No. 1 attraction in the nation’s capital, the Newseum has something for everyone.

The Newseum offers a wonderful experience for everyone in the family. From the Pulitzer Prize Photographs gallery, Elvis, the 4-D theater to the Newseum’s interactive exhibits. There is a lot to explore and a lot to learn at every age level.

One of our au pairs (Ingrid from Germany) was lucky enough to go to the White House Easter Egg Roll with her host family.  I asked her to share some photos and her impressions about the experience.

Here is what Ingrid had to say about it:

First of all, I was so glad that my host mom took me!!! We had tickets for the first group on that day and had to be there at 7:30a.m. Consequently, Monday morning we had to wake up at 4:30 a.m. to wake the kids, and to get ready. Everybody was really excited to go in the garden of the White House. After almost two hours, we finally arrived in the garden.

There they had a lot of different activities for children like Easter egg hunt, egg roll, story time stage, face painting and other pretty cool stuff. So, first Sophie, my host child, went to the egg roll; she did a really good job.

While we were there we saw funny characters from TV shows, and I was surprised how Sophie reacted, when she saw them. She gave almost every character a huge hug and I took a lot of pictures of it.  We saw Elmo from the Sesame Street, and danced to his song. That was really funny and I had Sophie on my shoulders, so she could see. After a while we went closer to the White House, hoping see the President Barack Obama. But he wasn’t there, which was really disappointing.  However, when we left the garden we got a special wood Easter egg with the signature of Barack and Michelle Obama.

Caught a glimpse of the Obama Family dog, Bo.

The Au Pair in America 25th Anniversary Cultural Fair was held at the Spanish Ballroom at Glen Echo Park on April 9, 2011. At the cultural fair, I recorded clips of au pairs sharing greetings in their native languages. Here is that video.

My apologies to the ladies from Colombia, whom somehow I missed recording. Colombia was there and represented very well by Carolina & Alexandra from our cluster as well as several other au pairs.

Twenty four au pairs from our cluster participated in the DC Metro Area Au Pair in America 25th Anniversary Cultural Fair. I am in the process of gathering photos and videos that  were taken at the fair and I will post them soon.

Here is a nice photo of Mayela and her friends from Costa Rica

We went to the Ringling Brother’s Barnum & Bailey Circus at the Verizon Center on Sunday. I got a few pictures, unfortunately I didn’t get pictures of everyone who was there. If you have any nice ones to share, please send them to me.