<?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1" ?><rss version="2.0"><channel><title>washingtonpost.com - The Near Side</title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/travel/columns/nearlythere?nav=rss_travel/columns/nearlythere</link><description>The Near Side</description><language>en-us</language><ttl>15</ttl><image><title>washingtonpost.com</title><width>140</width><height>20</height><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com</link><url>http://media.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/hp/image/wp_web.gif</url></image><item><title><![CDATA[Regional events for now or later.]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A56440-2005Apr15.html?nav=rss_travel/columns/nearlythere</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A56440-2005Apr15.html?nav=rss_travel/columns/nearlythere</guid><pubDate>Fri, 15 Apr 2005 21:25:54 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[     GET YOUR ART ON.  Join the month-long celebration of music, dance, humor, theater and other artistic pursuits at the    Virginia Arts Festival  (   April 21-May 22 ). At numerous venues around Hamptons Roads, catch such performers as the Koresh Dance Co. (   May 18 and 20,   showing their jazz steps in Williamsburg) to the PANorama Caribbean Music Fest in Virginia Beach (   May 6-8 ). One of the signature events, the Virginia International Tattoo in Norfolk (   April 22-24 ), features marching bands, drill teams and gymnasts, paying tribute to World War II veterans.]]></description><author></author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Regional events for now or later.]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37381-2005Apr8.html?nav=rss_travel/columns/nearlythere</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37381-2005Apr8.html?nav=rss_travel/columns/nearlythere</guid><pubDate>Fri, 15 Apr 2005 21:25:54 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[     COOL HAND LUTE . . .  and other smooth instruments from the 18th century will have Annapolis reeling during the    Maryland Early Music Festival (April 14-17).  Among the performances scheduled: Scottish tunes by a fiddle and cello combo, Bach et al. performed on violin, oboe and harpsichord and the sounds of the Italian Renaissance sung by the youngsters of the St. Mary's College Choir. Other yesteryear events include lectures, a choreographed early-19th-century ball and, for those growing up in the age of text messaging, a how-to on the fading art of letter writing, complete with quill pen and sealing wax.]]></description><author></author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Regional events for now or later.]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A18942-2005Apr1.html?nav=rss_travel/columns/nearlythere</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A18942-2005Apr1.html?nav=rss_travel/columns/nearlythere</guid><pubDate>Fri, 15 Apr 2005 21:25:54 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[     SHOP 'N' SCREEN.  Forget spring cleaning: Come April, the City of Brotherly Love's all about spring buying, hosting the pedigreed    Philadelphia Antiques Show  (   April 9-12 ) and the more avant-garde    Philadelphia Furniture &#38; Furnishings Show (April 15-17).  Not a shopper? More than 60,000 movie lovers are expected for the 250-plus flicks at the    Philadelphia Film Festival  (   April 7-20 ). Join Steve Buscemi and plenty of unknowns for screenings, trivia and PhillyPitch, where 10 pre-selected screenwriters have their shot.]]></description><author></author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Regional events for now or later.]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A1010-2005Mar25.html?nav=rss_travel/columns/nearlythere</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A1010-2005Mar25.html?nav=rss_travel/columns/nearlythere</guid><pubDate>Fri, 15 Apr 2005 21:25:54 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[     A IS FOR APPOMATTOX.  Early birds can celebrate the    140th anniversary of General Robert E. Lee's     surrender  with an    April 2  pre-dawn lantern tour of the "Breakthrough Battlesite," beginning at 5:30 a.m. at Pamplin Historical Park, south of Richmond (free reservations are going fast). Those who like their sleep can still meet generals Lee and Ulysses S. Grant (or at least reenactors) and walk the battlefield. All of Virginia's in on the celebration: Downtown Suffolk hosts a Civil War Weekend (   April 9-10 ), while Historic Appomattox expects up to 5,000 reenactors at its commemoration    (    April 8-10). ]]></description><author></author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Regional events for now or later.]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A47375-2005Mar18.html?nav=rss_travel/columns/nearlythere</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A47375-2005Mar18.html?nav=rss_travel/columns/nearlythere</guid><pubDate>Fri, 15 Apr 2005 21:25:54 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[   WHERE THE BLUE POPPIES GROW. Marguerites, lilies and other blossoms create an    Easter Display  at    Longwood Gardens  in Kennett Square, Pa.,    through April     1 . In addition to wandering around 16 indoor gardens, visitors also can learn about suiseki, the Japanese art of stone viewing (   today ), walk outdoors among the magnolias and hyacinths, and catch a performance of music from the 8th century onward by England's Amici Singers (   March 27 ). Warning: Reservations go fast for the Easter Bunny breakfast (   March 26 ) and Easter buffet (   March 27 ).]]></description><author></author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Regional events for now or later.]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A7501-2005Mar4.html?nav=rss_travel/columns/nearlythere</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A7501-2005Mar4.html?nav=rss_travel/columns/nearlythere</guid><pubDate>Fri, 15 Apr 2005 21:25:54 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[      DOWN MEMORABILIA LANE.   Antiquing goes high tech at    Atlantique City Spring Festival (March 18-20),  billed as the world's largest indoor antiques show. Navigate the 10 1/2 acres with a printout from the Computographic Locator System and go straight to the booth offering the Betty Boop tchotchkes, samurai swords, "tobaccoiana" or your favorite space sucker. Experts like Ray Mansfield of NBC's "Let's Talk Antiques" offer appraisals gratis, and there's free furniture delivery within 200 miles if you can't fit that gotta-have-it armoire in the back seat.]]></description><author></author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Regional events for now or later.]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A53366-2005Feb25.html?nav=rss_travel/columns/nearlythere</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A53366-2005Feb25.html?nav=rss_travel/columns/nearlythere</guid><pubDate>Fri, 15 Apr 2005 21:25:54 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[      STORYTIME, WRIT LARGE.  Charlottesville will be lousy with literary types for the huge annual    Virginia Festival of the Book  (   Mar. 16-20 ), from the folks who brought you Botswana detective stories (Alexander McCall Smith) and sex crime thrillers (Linda Fairstein) to children's authors and illustrators. Workshops for young writers, literary agent roundtables and appearances by Baltimore's Laura Lippman and the New Yorker's Malcolm Gladwell are slated for the event.]]></description><author></author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Regional events for now or later.]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A35250-2005Feb18.html?nav=rss_travel/columns/nearlythere</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A35250-2005Feb18.html?nav=rss_travel/columns/nearlythere</guid><pubDate>Fri, 15 Apr 2005 21:25:54 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[     READ 'EM AND EAT . Chefs, cookbook authors and food lovers converge in Philly for    The Book and the Cook (March 11-20    )  with more than 60 restaurant-based events, food tours of Chinatown and the Italian Market, and the gadgets-galore Culinary Market &#38; Kitchen Showcase (   March 18-20 ). Ming Tsai of  Blue Ginger restaurant, D.C.'s own Robert Kinkead, the Food Network's "Best Of" hosts plus dozens of other helpful-in-the-kitchen types share their expertise with the common folk in this annual city-wide event.]]></description><author></author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Regional events for now or later.]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A17213-2005Feb11.html?nav=rss_travel/columns/nearlythere</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A17213-2005Feb11.html?nav=rss_travel/columns/nearlythere</guid><pubDate>Fri, 15 Apr 2005 21:25:54 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[      UNDER THE TUSCAN SUNLAMP.  A movie theme is to be expected when Oscar night occurs during this year's    Maymont Flower and Garden Show  in Richmond    (Feb. 24-27) . "CineMagic" will feature a Morrocan "Casablanca" garden, a nod to "The Butterfly Effect" and other Hollywood-inspired horticulture. Learn tricks of the trade from the "Queen of Deadheading" and other lecturers, peruse the newest gardening props and see the supporting cast of exhibits like HATiculture (plant-covered head gear). Maymont's historical interpreters also host a Victorian fashion show for gardeners who lunch.]]></description><author></author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Regional events for now or later.]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A63767-2005Feb4.html?nav=rss_travel/columns/nearlythere</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A63767-2005Feb4.html?nav=rss_travel/columns/nearlythere</guid><pubDate>Fri, 15 Apr 2005 21:25:54 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[      CLAY NATION.  Six weeks, 170 exhibits and at least 878 artists:    Tour de Clay , billed as the nation's largest visual arts event, hits the greater Baltimore area    Feb. 19-April 3.  Your own hands can get into the mix with workshops on Maryland's official Clay Day (   March 4 ). Highlights include gallery talks, exhibitions and the    April 3  "Bike Tour de Clay Challenge" between several venues. For wearable fashion and other media crafts, head to Charm City's    American Craft Council Show     (Feb. 25-27    ) . Let the designer-created "room vignettes" inspire you.]]></description><author></author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Regional events for now or later.]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A44809-2005Jan28.html?nav=rss_travel/columns/nearlythere</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A44809-2005Jan28.html?nav=rss_travel/columns/nearlythere</guid><pubDate>Fri, 15 Apr 2005 21:25:54 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[     THE QUILTER PICKER UPPPER.  Have Great-Great-Aunt Edna's handiwork appraised (for a fee) at the    Mid-Atlantic Quilt Fest  in Hampton, Va. (   Feb. 24-27).  There's a Best in Show competition, master workshops like "Nostalgic Penny Style Rugs" with Mary Stori, cloth dolls, textile art and  -- you can't make these things up -- "Cup of the Month: Art Bras," a collection of crazy-quilted and pieced unmentionables. The same crew puts on the    Mid-Atlantic Scrapbook &#38; Memories Showcase  (Williamsburg,    Feb. 25-26 ) and the    Quilt Fest of New Jersey  (Somerset, N.J.,    Mar. 3-6 ).]]></description><author></author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Regional events for now or later.]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A26694-2005Jan21.html?nav=rss_travel/columns/nearlythere</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A26694-2005Jan21.html?nav=rss_travel/columns/nearlythere</guid><pubDate>Fri, 15 Apr 2005 21:25:54 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[     FOLLOW THAT ROOSTER.  Celebrate the    Lunar New Year  with a lion dance and lantern-making at Philly's Independence Seaport Museum    (Feb. 5),  then check out the Asian art in the Chinese Rotunda at the University of Pennsylvania's Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. The Year of the Rooster continues in New York with a New Year flower market (   Feb. 5-6 ), fireworks (   Feb. 9 , the official Lunar New Year) and tours with the Museum of the Chinese in the Americas showing the city preparing for the    Chinatown Lunar New Year Parade (Feb. 13    ).  ]]></description><author></author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Regional events for now or later.]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A9670-2005Jan14.html?nav=rss_travel/columns/nearlythere</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A9670-2005Jan14.html?nav=rss_travel/columns/nearlythere</guid><pubDate>Fri, 15 Apr 2005 21:25:54 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[      THE CHAIN GANG.  It's hog heaven, and other makes too, at the    BikeXpo Allentown  (Pa.),    Jan. 22-23 . Custom-made bikes vie for "Best Chrome," "Best Engine," and other titles, while R.B. Gunn plays rhythm and blues and the (no joke) Texas Bikini Team struts the stage. Meet Motorcycle Hall of Fame "super builders" Dave Perewitz and Donnie Smith, pick up new gear, make a wish list at the dealer showcase and make sure to check out the pihce de risistance: "Spirit of Liberty," a bike entirely covered in copper from Lady Liberty.]]></description><author></author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Regional events for now or later.]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A56538-2005Jan7.html?nav=rss_travel/columns/nearlythere</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A56538-2005Jan7.html?nav=rss_travel/columns/nearlythere</guid><pubDate>Fri, 15 Apr 2005 21:25:54 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[      AMERICANA THE BEAUTIFUL.  N.Y's nuts for antiques during    Americana Week . Not quite a week and not solely American (Asian and European goods show up too), but domestic wares abound at the    Win    ter Antiques Show  (   Jan. 21-30 ),    Antiques at the Armory  (   Jan. 21-23 ),    Antiques@the Piers  (   Jan. 22-23 ) and the    American Antiques Show  (   Jan. 20-23 ).    Christie's  (   Jan. 20-21 ) and    Sotheby's  (   Jan. 20-23 ) also join in, and the    N.Y. Ceramics     Fair  (   Jan. 19-24 ) offers lectures.]]></description><author></author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Regional events for now or later.]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A39987-2004Dec31.html?nav=rss_travel/columns/nearlythere</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A39987-2004Dec31.html?nav=rss_travel/columns/nearlythere</guid><pubDate>Fri, 15 Apr 2005 21:25:54 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[     KICKS ON THE STICKS.  Be careful who you bump into on the Atlantic City boardwalk    Jan. 14-16 : Ultimate Fighting Championship winner Frank Shamrock, "Italian Bad Boy" Chuck Zito and actor Joe Piscopo will be in town for    Mega Martial Arts Weekend,  billed as the world's largest event of its kind. Watch masters in action and take seminars on stances and techniques led by Bill "Superfoot" Wallace (he of the 60-mph kick) and others at the Friday and Saturday expo. On Sunday, it's stick fighting, point sparring and other forms at the "War at the Shore," the national team trials tournament held by the World Association of Kickboxing Organizations.]]></description><author></author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Regional events for now or later.]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A7798-2004Dec17.html?nav=rss_travel/columns/nearlythere</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A7798-2004Dec17.html?nav=rss_travel/columns/nearlythere</guid><pubDate>Fri, 15 Apr 2005 21:25:54 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[CITY OF MUMMERLY LOVE.  Start the new year Philly-style at the    Mummers Parade , held each    Jan. 1  since 1901 (this year's rain date is Jan. 8). About 20,000 elaborately costumed revelers parade along Broad Street in three divisions and vie for cash prizes while being judged on theme, subject and performance. The comics tickle funny bones with pratfalls and ruffled parasols, the fancies prance in dramatic attire and the string bands rouse the crowd with music and precision drills. A fourth group, the Fancy Brigade, performs at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.]]></description><author></author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Regional events for now or later.]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A55399-2004Dec10.html?nav=rss_travel/columns/nearlythere</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A55399-2004Dec10.html?nav=rss_travel/columns/nearlythere</guid><pubDate>Fri, 15 Apr 2005 21:25:54 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[     MINGLING MENSCHES.  It's touted as the country's largest Jewish singles event of the year -- more than 3,500 dressed-to-impress 21- to 39-year-olds who aren't otherwise engaged on the night of    Dec. 24 . New York will be the site of    The Ball,  which has attracted revellers near and far for the past 10 years. Venue-hop in style between Avalon -- formerly the Limelight, and a church -- and the Park via limo service to get the most of the six DJs (including one in Avalon's bathroom), four dance floors and entrance to Avalon's inner sanctum -- the exclusive Spider Club.]]></description><author></author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Regional events for now or later.]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32036-2004Dec3.html?nav=rss_travel/columns/nearlythere</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32036-2004Dec3.html?nav=rss_travel/columns/nearlythere</guid><pubDate>Fri, 15 Apr 2005 21:25:54 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[      AND THE STRUDEL WAS HUNG BY THE CHIMNEY WITH CARE    .  Prepare for the holidays, Teutonic style, at    Christkindlmarkt  in Historic Bethlehem, Pa. May all your bratwurst cravings, perfect-wreath requirements and Scherenschnitte needs (that would be ornamental paper cuttings) be satisfied    t    oday  (and    Dec. 8-12  and    15-19 ) to the sound of brass bands and the Bethlehem Carolers. The town also plays up its yuletide ties with candlelit tours.]]></description><author></author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Regional events for now or later.]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A14861-2004Nov26.html?nav=rss_travel/columns/nearlythere</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A14861-2004Nov26.html?nav=rss_travel/columns/nearlythere</guid><pubDate>Fri, 15 Apr 2005 21:25:54 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[      LET THERE BE ONE HECK OF AN ELECTRIC BILL    .  Through    Jan. 1 , you can follow an incandescent glow from Virginia's capital to its coast. Seven towns celebrate the holidays with    100 Miles of Lights : 500,000 individual bulbs illuminate Richmond's Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden; Williamsburg has a Grand Illumination; there's a lighted boat parade in Hampton; and 250 drive-through light displays run along the boardwalk in Virginia Beach. Newport News, Portsmouth and Norfolk also join in, with candlelit tours of historic neighborhoods and progressive dinners. Check the Web site below for special light-show packages.]]></description><author></author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Regional events for now or later.]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A62692-2004Nov19.html?nav=rss_travel/columns/nearlythere</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A62692-2004Nov19.html?nav=rss_travel/columns/nearlythere</guid><pubDate>Fri, 15 Apr 2005 21:25:54 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[      NO SUB ZEROS HERE.  After Thursday's tryptophan haze, waddle to Historic St. Mary's City to see what someone else's home looked like for the holidays (and perhaps pick up a new appreciation for Aunt Edna's cooking).     Hearth and Home in Early Maryland  (   Nov. 26    -27 ), an interactive event at the living history museum, transports visitors to the 17th century to see how folks at the Woodland Indian Hamlet and Godiah Spray Tobacco Plantation prepared for the onset of winter way before refrigeration and supermarkets. After this weekend's butter churning, corn grinding and cooking-over-flames demos, exhibits close until mid-March.]]></description><author></author></item></channel></rss>