Greenbelt 75th Anniversary Group Photo Show

December 2

The Greenbelt 75th Anniversary Group Photo Show is on display at the New Deal Café until January 7, 2013. The show is produced by the New Deal Café and sponsored by the Greenbelt 75th Anniversary Committee and Friends of the New Deal Café Arts (FONDCA). The exhibit features 28 photographs from 12 photographers, and on Sunday, December 2, a reception was held at the café.

Poster for the group photo show inside the New Deal Café

New Deal Café Annual Meeting

May 20

The New Deal Café is Greenbelt’s community living room. It opened its doors in 1995 as a part-time café in the Community Center and moved to Roosevelt Center in 2000. The café is one of Greenbelt’s seven active cooperatives and is run by a Board of Directors and a general manager. The cooperative’s 2012 annual membership meeting was held in the café on May 20.

This display in the hallway shows many special events held at the New Deal Café this past year including Greenbelt’s first artists studio tour; a book signing by John Guernsey, weekend pianist for the café; an author talk, book signing and wine-tasting party for Todd Kliman, columnist for the Washingtonian magazine; Greenbelt Blues Festival; a sing-along to celebrate the city’s 75th anniversary; a performance by Buck Hill, Greenbelt’s own jazz legend; and New Year’s Eve celebration.

Greenbelt Voices

June 24

Greenbelt Voices is Greenbelt-based Transitions Theater’s first production. It comprises of more than 20 dramatic monologues telling the stories of Greenbelt residents. The show debuted at the Greenbelt Arts Center in July 2010, and this year, to celebrate Greenbelt’s 75th anniversary, the director of the show Misha R’kingsley selected nine monologues and they were performed at the New Deal Café on Sunday June 24.

Director Misha R’kingsley introduces Greenbelt Voices. She says that the show premiered in July 2010 and before that she spent a year interviewing people and collecting stories. She says that she moved to Greenbelt in 2002 and wanted to know “what made this town tick.” “I wanted to hear everything, the good, the bad, the ugly, the beautiful, and everything in between.” She interviewed more than 20 people and some also sent her stories by email. The monologues are performed by a group of actors including a few original storytellers.

Poetry Night Open Mic at New Deal Café

March 20

Poetry Night Open Mic is held at the New Deal Café once a month on the third Tuesday. It was started in 2011 and on March 20, it celebrated its one-year anniversary: “Poetry Night Open Mic!!! – in celebration of Poetry Night’s 1-year anniversary, we will be having a retrospective of your favorite poems that you’ve read at the cafe over the course of the last year!! Sign up starts at 6:30pm. Please limit your set to 5 minutes or three poems, whichever is shorter.”

Amethyst Dwyer is the founder of Poetry Night Open Mic and the emcee this evening.

Greenbelt Artists Studio Tour

April 15

Greenbelt’s first artists studio tour took place on Sunday. It was produced by the New Deal Café and sponsored by the city’s 75th Anniversary Committee and Friends of New Deal Café Arts (FONDCA). Thirteen artists opened their studios to visitors.

Julia Wade, art coordinator for the New Deal Café, works at the welcome table in the café. She hands out maps for the studio tour and answers questions.

New Deal Café Kids Open Mic

March 18

The New Deal Café’s Kids’ Open Mic takes place on the third Sunday afternoon of the month. Children age 17 and under are encouraged to perform. These photos are from March 18.

Bag Fee Discussion at New Deal Cafe

March 19

March’s Reel and Meal program at the New Deal Café featured the film “Bag It” which is about the impact of disposable plastic bags and other plastic products in our lives. Two Prince George’s County Councilwomen, Ingrid Turner and Mary Lehman, attended the showing and discussed with the audience a pending legislation in the Maryland General Assembly in Annapolis which will enable the county to enact a five-cent bag fee.

The city’s Public Works Department has set up a display by the café entrance. Those on the green tablecloth can be recycled with the city, and those on the red tablecloth cannot.