Thursday, September 04, 2008

Cheap dates

18th-century craft fair and marketplace
Mount Vernon re-creates a lively, early-American marketplace with demonstrations, crafts and entertainment at its 18th-Century Craft Fair Sept. 13 and 14, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
American Heritage Chocolate demonstrates the 18th-century chocolate-making process using an authentic colonial recipe.
Fifty juried artisans from across the nation demonstrate their trades and sell their wares while two stages of family entertainment delight audiences with amusements.
Free Potomac River sightseeing cruises are available on a first-come, first-served basis. The event is included with regular admission: adults, $13; children, 6-11 $6; children 5 and under, free.

Children’s hospital, internship benefit
Asian American Success, Inc. hosts Touch of Miracles, a benefit event for National Children’s Medical Center in Washington, D.C. and the Asian American Success Internship Fund. The event is Saturday from 7 to 11 p.m., at Arlington Arts Center, 3550 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, 22201.
AASuccess, a non-profit organization, develops student leadership with projects such as blood tests at health fairs for low-income and uninsured patients; and public-speaking and resume-writing skill enhancement.
Information is available from aasuccess.org.

Military aviation centennial
Fort Myer hosts a Military Aviation Centennial celebration and open house Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
This event celebrates the Wright Brothers’ flight trials at Myer in September 1908, resulting in the sale of the wonderous “aeroplane” to the U.S. Army. William
Howard Taft; Theodore Roosevelt, Jr.; the then-secretary of the Navy attended the original event and Alexander Graham Bell shot the video.
The open house’s centerpiece is the world’s only flyable reproduction of the 1908 Wright Model A “Fort Myer Flyer,“ unveiled to the public for the first time on Summerall Field Saturday.
The National Air and Space Museum and College Park Aviation Museum will have exhibits. Opening ceremonies start at 10 a.m., and conclude with a flyover. The open house also has 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) Soldiers performing.
Historic re-enactors portray flight-trial personalities, including Orville Wright.
The event includes a paper airplane clinic, seven discovery stations, hands-on landing activity, 1909 airplane wing rib-building activity, educational exhibits and hands-on sessions.
Musical performances are in Brucker Hall. Visitors can participate in a Victorian brunch and tea at the Officers Club, tour The Old Guard Caisson Stables, their museum, see military displays and get their pictures made with cardboard Orville and Wilbur Wright.
There will be no parking at Fort Myer. Parking for the general public is at the Pentagon North Parking Lot (Boundary Channel Drive at Washington Boulevard) and at the Navy Annex (Columbia Pike and S. Joyce Street). Shuttle buses start at 8:15 a.m. and run all day. Walk-in traffic from Rosslyn can also take shuttles from Myer’s Wright Gate.
Coolers and weapons are prohibited. 
More information is available by calling 703-696-0584, 703-696-2976 or 703-696-3283 or from fmmc.army.mil.

Fort Ward Soldier-led walking tours
Learn about the history of Fort Ward on a Union Civil War Soldier-led tour Saturday at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Participants begin the tour inside the museum with a brief orientation of the Defenses of Washington. Their Soldier-guide draws from examples of objects in the exhibit cases to illustrate life at a Civil War military installation. To help explain, the Soldier will have an artillery haversack of reproduction tools used to fire a cannon.
Visitors can explore the Officers’ Hut, Ceremonial Gate and a restored Northwest Bastion during the hour-long tour.
Admission is free and reservations are not required.  Comfortable walking shoes and dressing for the weather are recommended. Free parking is available.
Fort Ward Museum and Historic Site is at 4301 West Braddock Road, Alexandria. It was built to protect the federal capital during the Civil War.
More information is available from the museum, 703-838-4848, fortward.org.

Civil War weapons demo
Volunteers in Civil War-period uniforms demonstrate and explain procedures used during the muzzle-loading era of American arms Sunday at Fort Washington Park, 13551 Fort Washington Road, Fort Washington, Md., 20744.
A musket demonstration is at noon, artillery demonstrations are at 1, 2 and 3 p.m.
Visitors will have the opportunity to participate in a non-firing artillery drill after each artillery demonstration. The event is appropriate for the whole family.
Park admission is $5 per vehicle.
More information is available by calling 301-763-4600