Through unique partnerships with hotels, restaurants, museums and cultural innovative arts programming, Washington, DC shows off the depths of its arts and culinary scene. From hot newcomers to venerable favorites, some of the most sought-after restaurants in the city reach out to gallery goers and opera aficionados alike by drawing parallels between fine cuisine and the fine arts. This summer, a new public art display brings a touch of fun for outdoor diners to the caf�-lined streets of the city�s neighborhoods. Coming this fall, a whimsical exhibition at one of the District�s most revered art museums inspires an appealing hotel package and an inventive restaurant menu.

Some of the most talked about restaurants in the District blend the artistry of cuisine with actual arts on display. Newly opened at The Madison hotel, sleek and stylish Palette plays on the homophony of its name by serving highly original cuisine from chef Charlie Hasnji amid a rotating art gallery. Another popular draw, David Greggory Restau Lounge puts on a show with its inventive modern American menu and its eye-catching display of works by local artists.

Partnerships between arts organizations and restaurants have also added a new dimension to the traditional pre-theatre dinner. The elegant Willard Room at the Willard InterContinental Washington offers prix fixe pre-opera dinners for two during the Washington Opera�s season, including valet parking and round-trip transportation to the opera�s home at the Kennedy Center. The special menus are designed by Chef de Cuisne Denis Soriano to reflect the opera�s setting, story lines and characters. Overnight guests can take advantage of the Willard�s Opera Weekend Night packages, including valet parking, round-trip transportation to the Kennedy Center and breakfast for two, starting at $345.

Overnight arts packages are also available for theatre lovers. During the first week of May, cultural visitors to Washington, DC will have the opportunity to see three productions by The Shakespeare Theatre. From May 5 through May 9, the Theatre will have concurrent productions of Five By Tenn (an evening of five one-act plays by Tennessee Williams), Henry IV, Part 1 and Henry IV, Part 2. The combination of these three plays in one week allows visitors to fully experience the profound and vibrant work of the most celebrated arts institutions in the country. Visitors can take advantage of special hotel packages at the Willard InterContinental Washington, The Bull Moose Bed and Breakfast on Capitol Hill, The Henley Park Hotel, the Morrison-Clark Inn, the Courtyard Washington Convention Center and the Hotel George.

More creative programming is also under development on the visual arts scene. Gallery hoppers on the go and outdoor caf� patrons will have new reasons to explore the neighborhoods of Washington, DC this summer, as dozens of colorful 5-foot panda sculptures will take to the city�s sidewalks and storefronts. The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities� latest public art program, �Pandamania� follows in the footsteps of 2002�s wildly popular �Party Animals� program and features the creative panda designs of local and national artists.

This fall, The Phillips Collection, America�s first museum of modern art, has teamed up with two of its Dupont Circle neighbors, the Hotel Madera and its adjacent restaurant, Firefly, to link the artistry of food with a groundbreaking exhibition. The Phillips Collection will explore the visual dialogue between two of the most colorful personalities and great artistic inventors of the twentieth century, Alexander Calder and Joan Mir�. On view from October 9, 2004 to January 23, 2005, Calder Mir�: A New Space for the Imagination will present major works by the artists, some of which have never before been exhibited together. The exhibition will offer visitors the unprecedented opportunity to witness the give and take between Calder�s mobile sculptures and Mir��s poetic paintings, as influenced by the artists� remarkable friendship. Calder Mir� is co-organized by The Phillips Collection and the Fondation Beyeler in Basel, Switzerland. The Phillips will be the show�s only U.S. venue.

To complement the exhibition, Chef John Wabeck of Firefly will create a special menu inspired by the dialogue between the artists, designing courses around the works on display. Renowned for his wine palate, Wabeck will also pair each dish with a distinctive wine that reflects the background of the artists and accents the flavors of his creations.

Adjacent to Firefly and a short walk from The Phillips Collection, the Hotel Madera will offer a special package that runs for the duration of the exhibit and features a discounted room rate and other amenities that complement the exhibition. The Hotel Madera is a deluxe boutique hotel with an urban art gallery style that reflects the artistic flavor of its Dupont Circle location. The Hotel Madera and Firefly launched their partnership with The Phillips Collection in October 2003, as the hotel and restaurant celebrated their first anniversaries and the museum hosted Surrealism and Modernism from the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art.

For more information on food finds and artistic developments in Washington, DC, log on to www.washington.org.

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Victoria Isley
VP-Marketing & Communications
(202) 789-7046
vicki@washington.org