It was a rough year for government support of the arts in 2011. Federal and local governments scaled back their funding, in some cases forcing cultural institutions to make significant programming cuts. more ›

Representatives from the Lincoln Theatre's board of directors made their case in front of the historic theater this afternoon: without a $500,000 boost in operational funds from the city at the beginning of the 2012 fiscal year, they would likely be forced to close at the end of the year. more ›

UPDATE: It appears there will be an emergency board meeting at the Lincoln tonight at 6 p.m. Graham adds that the situation "looks bleak," though he now tells Tom Sherwood that he didn't specify when the theater would close due to its financial difficulties. more ›

By now, the Dakshina/Daniel Phoenix Singh Dance Company is a familiar presence in the local arts scene, having won numerous awards, including Best Emerging Group and Best Costume design from Dance Metro DC in 2008. In addition to its dance performances, the organization has branched out to present live concerts, film screenings, and other endeavors designed to expose traditional and contemporary South Asian arts to a wider audience. But the highlight of Dakshina's calendar is its Fall Festival of Indian Arts, the annual dance production whose sixth iteration will take place this weekend at the historic Lincoln Theatre. more ›

The Ali family is holding a memorial service today for Ben's Chili Bowl co-founder Ben Ali, who died last week at 82. The memorial service actually began a short while ago, at noon, at the Lincoln Theater on U Street. While the service is open to the public, the short notice implies mostly family, friends and colleagues are in attendance today. In a message on the Ben's web site, the family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Ben's Chili Bowl Family Foundation, a non-profit organization, at 1213 U Street NW, Washington, DC, 20009. more ›

Every year the Dakshina/Daniel Phoenix Singh Dance Company mounts its Fall Festival of Indian Arts, a month long multi-disciplinary event which combines the ancient and contemporary by presenting traditional Indian art forms in a modern context. The highlight of the event is a weekend of dance held at the venerable Lincoln Theatre. This year, the performances will take place this coming Saturday and Sunday. more ›

>> The keepers of traditional New Orleans jazz, The Preservation Hall Jazz Band (pictured), whose members range in age from 31 to 88, visit The Lincoln Theater tonight. Tickets to the 7:30 p.m. show are $30. >> For those who prefer to look to the future instead of the past, fusion violinist Jean-Luc Ponty comes to The Birchmere to perform his unique blend of jazz, rock, and world music. The show begins at 7:30 p.m.... more ›

>> Celebrate Jazz Appreciation Month with the Omar Sosa Quartet, who will play tonight at the Lincoln Theater in an evening of Afro-Cuban jazz cosponsored by the Smithsonian. Tickets will be distributed on a first-come first-serve basis, starting one hour before the concert. [1215 U St., NW, Free, 8 p.m] more ›

Most Washingtonians are accustomed to participating in guided tours only when entertaining out of town guests. We all know we'll have to trek out to the monuments with family and friends at least a few times a year, so being a tourist in our own city voluntarily at other times might not sound terribly appealing. But try not to think of the tours being offered in this coming weekend's WalkingTown DC, a series of 60... more ›

>> The White House could soon feel more like elementary school for reporters. It seems there are concerns that media personnel are roaming the halls unsupervised under the guise of going to the bathroom. Now White House officials are threatening to force journalists to be escorted to and from the john. Will this also stop the bad girls from smoking in the bathroom? [FishbowlDC] more ›

Saxes and synthesizers, wolves and wax workshops, love stories and lotus flowers. The festivals this weekend have 'em all. Some celebrate our local history, a few require you to pack a lunch and leave your beloved D.C. neighborhood for the day, but we all need some time outside the concrete jungle, right? >>We would be seriously remiss if we didn't highlight the Duke Ellington Jazz Festival, starting today. Over 50 performances will take place all... more ›

As the Hot Ticket turns into the pleasantly, autumnally cool ticket, there are certain hot items that will go without saying from now on, so don't ask why we haven't mentioned them. These are: 1) You should all be ashamed for not going to Nats games while there are a few left in this inaugural season, but we're not going to mention this anymore. 2) There is, apparently, a professional football team in the area,... more ›

Judging by the titanic commenting slugfests that our previous posts on the reincarnation of the D.C. smoking ban have provoked, Councilmember Jim Graham may have quite a meeting on his hands tomorrow. That's because he's hosting a town hall meeting at the Lincoln Theater tomorrow at 7 p.m. Although his website doesn't contain much information about what attendees can expect at the event, we do love how they painstakingly link to the websites of all... more ›

Today will be partly cloudy with highs in the mid 50s. Hunger Strike at Georgetown: A hunger strike by group of 22 students at Georgetown has entered its sixth day. The students are members of the Georgetown Living Wage Campaign, which has been pressuring the university to increase the wages of its lowest paid employees for a year. David Swanson has posted a column and photos about the strike on his website and Indymedia, and... more ›

If we weren't all going to die from this apparently massive, apocalyptic snowstorm that is going to eat our pets and start the second Ice Age, these are the shows we'd be going to see. Where are your musical destinations this week? more ›

>> Flip Orley, self-proclaimed world's funniest comic hypnotist, brings his show to DC Improv tonight. He'll be here through Nov. 14. 8:30 p.m. more ›

We have to admit it: we're a sucker for the Sox. And we'll be staying in tonight with a bottle or four of beer to watch the game. But if baseball's not your bag, there are plenty of events to keep you occupied this rainy fall evening: It's the sixth anniversary of Mothertonuge, a spoken poetry event, and they're having a happy birthday at the Black Cat. 8:30 p.m., $7. The first of the monthly... more ›

Film enthusiasts depressed over the end of the APA film festival last week can take heart, as one busy week remains in another festival. Washington D.C.'s Fourteenth International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival Reel Affirmations 14 ends this Saturday, and dozens of of screenings of GLBT films are scheduled this week at the Jewish Community Center Theater and the Lincoln Theater. DCist thinks Brother to Brother, a film scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday sounds particularly... more ›