Yesterday, Christina, provided a tour for kids in the Million Mats DC, Show Up, Stand Out summer program. At the end, the kids drew photos of what they remembered from the experience. All photos/videos courtesy of: Million Mats DC.

😅 Celebrating despite the weather ⛈
The forecast leading into our 10 Year Celebration last Saturday did not indicate a downburst of rain and gusts of up to 80 miles per hour would be happening. We anticipated that it was going to be hot, so we set up a unicorn sprinkler, had the splash version of Twister ready, and knew that we could rely on the big oak trees for shade in the early evening. Nonetheless, Mother Nature does what she needs when she wants, and attendees witnessed how quickly blue skies and white clouds can change. Shout-out to all the people who joined us under the pavilion during the deluge and kept each other company. As friend-a-teer, Christy, summarized: “It was a blast … we were ONE! Laughs, singing, food, chalk art, bubbles, high winds, heavy rains, and everyone wet while eating 😂😂 A UNICORN all alone stood her ground 😂” 

The rain last Thursday and Friday that preceded the downburst on Saturday was also unsuspected, which damaged some of the portraits of farmhands that were wheatpasted to the sidewalk as part of an Inside Out Project. You can view what the installation looked like Friday afternoon here. Thank you to everyone, photographed or not, that has contributed to the garden being what it is today! We literally would not exist if it weren’t for you! 

Let’s try this again: save the date — Saturday, October 7th the JoGo Project will be back to perform (time still to be determined)
– The JoGo Project is worth rescheduling, so we’re planning on having them perform on Saturday, October 7th in Lansburgh Park. Trust me, you won’t want to miss this!This time, we’ll be asking folks to bring their own snacks and drinks (we’ll have water available). More information will be shared as it becomes available.
– We’ll have another reason to celebrate: thanks to a grant for over $3,000 from Friends of Southwest, we’ll be able to order 12 cedar timbers to replace some of the garden beds! Hopefully, by the concert, all the cedar timbers will be installed. We’ll need help with this, so if you’re interested, stay tuned for an opportunity to sign up and help out.