cover story

PASSPORT DC

By Gary Tischler

May 14th 2008

Photo: Vietnamese dancers crediting Asia Heritage Foundation

“When we first started looking at this as a project, we thought in terms of neighborhoods,” Linda Harper, the CEO of Cultural Tourism, DC said. “Culture and neighborhoods and accessing a whole new world.”

Harper was talking about the world of embassies in Washington DC, a kind of free-floating neighborhood, large, international in scope, that exists nowhere else in the United States.  Washington being a capitol city, it has embassies, lots of them, over 180, as well as  ambassador’s residences. What the presence of so many embassies and groups of peoples means in three words is: the whole world.

That’s what DC residents, visitors and professionals have access to. Trouble is, most people don’t know that this international neighborhood  exists in any cohesive way, and that it offers up all sorts of cultural opportunities.

That’s changing this very moment, with Washington in the midst of a city-wide Passport DC event highlighted by open houses, street festivals, concerts, film screenings, fashion shows, art exhibitions small and large, food tastings, and just plain old interactions between peoples from different worlds.

Passport DC, originated and coordinated by Cultural Tourism DC, in conjunction with the Delegation of the European Commission, runs through May 17 and is now in its second phase, the first being a European Union Open House in which all the European Union nation members opened their embassy doors to the general public, with special events, followed by Europe Week.

Passport DC is now in the second phase, a week-long series of event called World Week, which features embassies from around the world, from Asia to the Middle East to Latin America, Eastern Europe, and the Pacific. World Week will climax with a series of open houses May 17, and an Asian Festival sponsored by the Asian Heritage Foundation May 17.

The Austrian Embassy will be the venue for a musical grand finale to Passport DC with a presentation by the Embassy Series of a concert by the duo of violinist Dmitri Berlinsky and Pianist Elena Baksht for a classical music performance.

“The diplomatic community to us has always been seen as another Washington neighborhood,” Harper said. “It’s kind of a hidden neighborhood, a hidden asset. And yet, it’s such a presence in this city. And they provide so many opportunities for cultural exchange.”

In fact, many embassies in Washington, as well as cultural arms like the Goethe Institut, the IDB Cultural Center, the Mexican and Italian Cultural Institutes, and Meridian International House, routinely sponsor, produce and put on cultural events throughout the year. There are concerts, art exhibitions, films, festivals and lectures,  but they don’t constitute a coordinated effort or program.

“Many of the events are attended by people who are interested in a particular country, or are from that country or are a part of the local population with ties to that country,” Harper said. “Embassies don’t usually plan things together, so that the information isn’t passed on from audience to audience.” Still, it’s a rich cultural menu that already exists.

Some idea of how much interest exists in international community cultural offerings is provided by the Embassy Series, a yearly program of concerts using embassies and  residences as venues. The concerts feature opportunities to meet ambassadors or embassy officials, a reception often offering native cuisine in additional to world-class  musicians.

Another hint that there just might be a big demand was last year’s first-time ever European Union Open House, a one-day affair which gave visitors an opportunity to visit EU member embassies and which proved to be a big success, with visitors numbered at around anywhere from 30,000 to 50,000 people.

“We had been thinking about doing a major event, coordinated with our own members, cultural institutions around the city, and embassies for some time,” Harper said. “The EU Open House certainly showed the way and at that point we went ahead full speed.”

All of the European Union members participated in Passport DC, which is a joint effort by Cultural Tourism and the European Union Commission.

“I think expanding this to two weeks and including Asian, Middle Eastern, Latin American, African and Eastern European countries opens up the whole world to visitors,” Harper said. “And one of the things we hope will come out of this is the idea that embassies will now share information, create partnerships, join together in promotions. The possibilities are certainly open-ended.”

Harper said Passport DC is intended to be an annual event.

While Cultural Tourism has always accented DC neighborhoods with its promotion and creation of Neighborhood Heritage Trails (Adams Morgan, Mount Pleasant, and Shaw, as well as an elaborate African American Heritage Trail among them), tackling the district’s diplomatic community in terms of a neighborhood was a much larger enterprise.

“We received tremendous cooperation from many, many groups, and there was widespread enthusiasm in the international community,” Harper said. “On the European Union Open House Day, and for many events, there were lines.

There’s a real energy among all the participants, a recognition for cultural opportunities and cultural exchange, a way to truly be a part of the community as a whole. At last count, some 57 embassies, as well as 18 cultural centers were slated to participate in the event.

The city’s embassies and residences are relatively centrally located, but can be found throughout the city. Kalorama Road, Massachusetts Avenue (a section often called Embassy Row), Dupont Circle, and the International Court Area near UDC off Connecticut Avenue probably have the heaviest concentration of embassy sites.

What does Passport DC mean to people in Washington DC? For one thing, it’s an opportunity to travel, without ever leaving the city, to take in cultural offerings from participating embassies from around the world. During the European Union Open House, for instance, visitors sampled Austrian wines, coffee and pastries, watched a film and tasted Belgian food, got a tour of the United Kingdom at the British Embassy, visited the embassies of Cyprus and Bulgaria, listened  to a bagpipe band at the Embassy of the Czech Republic, sampled French pastries at the Embassy of France.  A variety of cultural, culinary, educational and meet-and-greet activities were on tap at the Royal Danish Embassy, the Embassy of Finland, Greece, Hungary, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Malta, Latvia, Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden.

What’s left? Plenty. This is World Week for Passport DC. And on Saturday, there’s the big Around the World Open House featuring authentic music, dance, film, cuisine, and exhibitions from African, Asian, Middle Eastern, Latin American and non-European Union embassies.

Here are some remaining highlights:

The Russian Cultural Centre will present an exhibition of Russian figurines by Yaroslavl Natalia Pavolava through Friday, May 16.

On Friday, the Embassy of Kazakhstan will open its doors and feature an exhibition of ancient Kazakh gold displayed for the first time in the United States. An authentic folk group will perform music of the Steppes. Free books, CD’s and DVD’s on Kazakhstan will be available. And Kazakhistan diplomats will be on hand, including Ambassador  Erlan Idrissov.

The National Asian Heritage Festival is sponsoring the 3rd annual Fiesta Asia street fair as part of Passport DC. The Fiesta will be held at Pennsylvania Avenue between 3rd and 6th Streets. It will provide the heady and hot flavors of Asian food from India, to China to, hello again, Kazakhstan, to Indonesia. There will also be performers from Central Asia, including a lion dance competition, a cultural parade, an Asian snack tent, a Middle Eastern stage and  home cooking demonstrations, as well as martial arts demonstrations .  (Gary Tischler)

(For complete information on schedules, times, and events, please go to the website at www.PassportDC.org or call 202-661-7581 for information.)

Photo: Dancers Feet crediting Daniel Singh Dance Company

AROUND THE WORLD OPEN HOUSE

Here’s the list of the 24 participants in the Around the World Open House Day May 17.

The Embassy of the Republic of Angola--Art works depicting Angolan daily life.

The Embassy of the Argentine Republic--A day dedicated to Tango, including films, dancing lessons, the Bruno Cavallaro Quartet and Claudio Gargiulo and Tango Red performances.

The Embassy of Australia--Indigenous Australian music, exhibitions.

Embassy of the Republic of Bangladesh--Dance, film, music and cuisine.

Embassy of Canada--Award winning animated short films, tours, and other activities.

Embassy of Columbia--Tour, exhibitions, photographs by Ana Mercedes Hoyos.

Embassy of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia--Tour.

Embassy of Ghana--Outdoor festival showcasing handcraft, artwork and music.

Embassy of India--Street festival, music and dance.

Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia--Guided tour, cultural artifacts and movie.

Embassy of the Republic of Iraq--Dance, film, and music, cuisine.

Embassy of Japan--Tour the tea house, gardens. Reservations please.

KORUS House Embassy of the Republic of Korea--Master Han J. Do and 20 traditional Korean martial arts performers.

Embassy of the Republic of Madagascar--Film, music, song and dance and exhibitions.

The Mexican Cultural Institute--Mexican Fiesta in DC.

Embassy of the Federated States of Micronesia--Photographs.

Embassy of Mongolia--Snapshots of Mongolia.

Embassy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria-- Art exhibition, cuisine, fashion show, opera singer Abiodun Koya.

Embassy of Pakistan--A traditional Pakistan marketplace created in the embassy courtyard. Film festival.

Embassy of Paraguay--Photographic exhibition.

Embassy of Peru--Peruvian artisan marketplace, a Taste of Peru, Macchu Pisco Tasting.

Embassy of the Republic of Serbia--Calypso music.

Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela--Art collection, tour.

(For complete information on schedules, times, and events, please go to the website at www.PassportDC.org or call 202-661-7581 for information.)

Photo: Bali Lion crediting Asia Heritage Foundation