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International Embassy and Cultural Events in Washington D.C. (March 13th - March 19th)

Embassy Life in DC Newsletter #4

March 13, 2023

↞ Rewinding the Week (March 6th - March 12th) ↞

Another week, another series of international embassy and cultural events to enjoy! The irony being that I personally did not go to any of the embassy events this week since they were sold out or I had other plans. However, I believe you all will find the following event highlights pretty interesting!

Did I mention that we are on Instagram?

Yes, we are now also on Instagram as well! After so many people were asking me about the website link for the newsletter, an Instagram account (@embassylifeindc) was born! This allows us to share a bunch of video clips in the form of reels and whatnaught. Give us a follow and check out our content above!

Event Highlights: The Secret Cacao Workshop (March 9th)

This event was the first of a monthly workshop at the Eaton House hosted by our friends over at the Secret Cacao Garden. The amazing Christina Youngi Kim is an expert in the art of making cacao bites along with other applications of the artisanal craft. However, she takes it to the next level combining a loving and interactive method of involving her workshop attendees from the beginning stages of peeling off the husks of the cacao seeds to blending it into a fine paste. Finally, after the whole process was complete, Christina placed our creations into a fridge to solidify the paste into edible mini-bites which were absolutely delicious!

This workshop was highly educational as it was not all about merely the consumeristic aspect of eating cacao. It is interesting to note that large companies such as Nestlé and Hershey remove some of the metaphysical aspects of the entire process of making cacao products due to their emphasis on corporate profits above all else. As an example, every bit of cacao from the husk itself to the fat that comprises part of the seed is utilized and sold in some corporatized way. The fat is sold to beauty products while the husks are thrown away more often than not.

Christina educated both myself and another attendee Johanna on the spiritual aspects of cacao that stemmed all the way back to the Mayan civilization. The cacao was revered by the Mayans as an actual deity in addition to the sun as it would give them health benefits once ingested. In addition, it allowed their citizens to toil away in the fields for long hours at a time due to the energy boost it would give them as well. There was a plethora of information that I gleamed from the workshop and I was seriously impressed by the entrepreneurship spirit from both Christina and Johanna. Thank to you both for making it such an awesome event!

You can find both Christina and Johanna at the following links for everything cacao and even yoga related:

Photo 1: The forged cacao bites after a long workshop of learning!

Photo 2: The cacao bites packed into a cute, little box complete with Christina’s stickers.

Event Highlights: The Taste of Iceland Festival, Reykjavik Presents: Iceland Airwaves Off Venue (March 12th)

This was the final closing event of the Taste of Iceland Festival in Washington D.C. before they move on to other cities in the United States. I believe the next city they are going to is New York with some of the featured artists going to Austin, Texas as well. The fact that this closing event was held at the Songbyrd Music House near Union Market and was free was incredible! It was my first time visiting the Songbyrd Music House venue and it was a blast seeing the décor, stage with various instruments, and interior lighting. I went to the place early just to make sure that I was one of the first people in line despite the weather being abysmally cold.

I must confess that I had never heard of these Icelandic artists before coming to the event, however, I will be following them all on their respective social media channels from now on. It started out with the talented Arny Margret doing a solo series of performances with her guitar. Her songs combined with her impressive and adaptive vocal tones evocated a longing sense of melancholy that she communicated through her singing. It was a powerful series of songs that made me reflect on a lot of sentimental emotions at the same time.

Next up, we had the accomplished pianist Eydís Evensen who performed on stage. These classical pieces were dramatic with Eydís remaining deep in concentration playing chords with an unbridled ferocity. One of her songs was about "channeling your darkness to find the light at the end of the tunnel” which was a message to all of us that even during the hardest of times, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel.

The final act was the brilliant trio of performers known as Lón comprising of “three long-time friends and collaborators coming together to make music”. Ásgeir Aðalsteinsson, Ómar Guðjónsson, and Valdimar Guðmundsson combined their respective talents in singing and guitar strumming to make a dynamic collection of performances that moved the crowd. They performed one of their songs from their debut single, My Father, which describes a journey in the form of a second adolescence that happens when an individual enters their middle age stage of life.

With that, a final shout out to the legendary DJ Hermigervill who was manning the electronic soundboard playing Icelandic tunes in the middle between sets. In addition, he served as an amazing hype man for the fantastic Taste of Iceland Wheel of Fortune. Shame that I did not win the prize involving a trip for two people via Icelandic Air to Reykjavik and staying near the Blue Lagoon!

You can find all of the info on the artists socials and/or websites below:

  1. Arny Margret (Website / Instagram)

  2. Eydis Evensen (Website / Instagram)

  3. Lón (Website / Instagram)

  4. DJ Hermigervill (Instagram)

Photo 3: Arny Margret performing with her guitar on stage.

Photo 4: Eydís Evensen performing on stage with a piano.

Photo 5: The trio band Lón performing and captivating the crowd.

International Events (March 13th - March 19th)

Check out the following international embassy and cultural events happening from March 13th - March 19th below!

Monday, March 13th, 2023

Tuesday, March 14th, 2023

  1. Embassy Press Attaché Mixer (FREE!)

  2. Italian Design Day - Technology and Tradition for Sustainable Architecture (FREE!)

  3. Cold War 2.0: The Case of Latin America (FREE!) 

  4. Evening at the Embassy of Indonesia ($79)

  5. Projections de Films: Mario Delatour @ Francophonie 2023 (FREE!)

Wednesday, March 15th, 2023

  1. Japan-India Relations: Vital to the Indo-Pacific (FREE!)

  2. In-Person Event: A Screening of "ITHAKA" (FREE!)

  3. Projections de Films: Mario Delatour @ Francophonie 2023 (FREE!)

Thursday, March 16th, 2023

  1. Venezuela in the World: A SAIS Student's Perspective from Exile (FREE!)

  2. Tango Classes at the Embassy of Uruguay ($75)

  3. 2023 Pink Tie Party (Cherry Blossom Festival) ($225)

  4. Machik x Eaton House Tibetan Film Series: Summer Pasture (FREE!)

  5. Projections de Films: Mario Delatour @ Francophonie 2023 (FREE!)

  6. Pre Ramadan Evening at the Embassy of Saudi Arabia ($64)

  7. This Ukrainian American Life Concert ($28.52)

  1. LGT Young Soloists (Embassy of Austria) (FREE!)

Friday, March 17th, 2023

  1. Nuclear Security: Our View from Vienna with Ambassador Laura Holgate (FREE!)

  2. Projections de Films: Mario Delatour @ Francophonie 2023 (FREE!)

  3. Kalevala Celebration at the Embassy of Finland (SOLD OUT!) (WAITLIST)

  4. Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains (FREE!)

Saturday, March 18th, 2023

  1. New Year, New Iran! (DC) نوروز ، نو ایران (FREE!)

  2. Tours in French at the National Museum of African Art (FREE!)

  3. St. Patrick’s Irish Walking Tour of DC ($20)

  4. Bámbula: The Legacy of Tata Cepeda (FREE!)

  5. Projections de Films: Mario Delatour @ Francophonie 2023 (FREE!)

  6. Rumi Night: A Journey of Sufi Music and Rumi Poetry (FREE!)

  7. Mapping Black Europe: Monuments, Markers, Memories Book Discussion (FREE!)

Sunday, March 19th, 2023

  1. Spy Tour of Georgetown ($35)

  2. Spy Tour of Embassy Row ($35)

  3. Projections de Films: Mario Delatour @ Francophonie 2023 (FREE!)

  4. Mexico in a Bottle: Almamezcalera x Amparo ($95)

Final Note: Instagram!

As you can see, it is going to be a very busy week for some of you! Just as a final note, we are on Instagram (@embassylifeindc). Give us a follow to see some of the video content that we record at some of these events!

As always, have a great time! Here is the link to the Google Calendar (https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/0?cid=ZW1iYXNzeWxpZmVpbmRjQGdtYWlsLmNvbQ)

Sincerely,

Embassy Life in DC Team

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