Tag Archives: Spring Fling

Record Veteran Participation Makes Fourth Annual Spring Fling Special

09 Monday May 2016

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fling8Rain made a brief appearance, but puffy clouds, some sunshine and loads of fun carried the day at the Friends of the Soldiers Home’s fourth annual Spring Fling on May 7. A record number of Armed Forces Retirement Home-Washington veterans participated in this year’s event, making it extra special. Lots of families and many children from the community joined in the fun. Cecily, Herb Spice and the Cinnamonstix and Balance, the George Washington University ballet group, all turned in great performances. Children enjoyed organized games, face painting and running free in the driving range, kicking balls. President Lincoln’s Cottage and Christian Family Montessori School also held fun activities for kids. Food vendors DC Slices, Galang Indonesian, Captain Cookie and RockSalt were top notch, and the nature walk with Philip Blair as always was a good time.

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None of this would have been possible without our sponsors — DCCX, Anheuser Busch, Annie’s Hardware and Crossfit Petworth. Thank you for your support for this wonderful event! We are also grateful to our great partners for this event — Nam Knights Capital Chapter, Points of Light, Travis Manion Foundation and Petworth News. Above all we are grateful to the residents and staff of the Armed Forces Retirement Home-Washington for welcoming all through their gate and giving such great support to the event. We will see you at the next festival — and it is just around the corner — July 4th!
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More photos after the jump Continue reading →

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Spring Fling Details Announced by Friends of the Soldiers Home

03 Tuesday May 2016

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Fling Flier 2016*** Updated May 4, 2016 ***

Rains will be ending in time for friends and neighbors to gather with distinguished veterans at the Armed Forces Retirement Home in Washington, D.C. this Saturday, May 7, from noon to 5pm. The forecast for Spring Fling is cloudy skies and 74-degree temperatures on the beautiful green expanse of the driving range, where we will gather on the Home’s beautiful 250-acre campus. (Enter Rock Creek Church Road and Randolph Streets.)

We are grateful to all of our sponsors for this year’s event — Anheuser-Busch, DCCX, Annie’s Hardware, Crossfit Petworth, AFRH, Nam Knights Capital Chapter, Points of Light, Travis Manion Foundation and Petworth News.

Friends of the Soldiers Home is proud to announce the final lineup for this year’s Fling, the fourth annual.

Leading off at 12:30 will be the superb jazz vocalist Cecily, back for her second Fling. She promises she will perform her new cover, “Been to the Moon,” which you can preview here: http://bit.ly/26OMiCm

Cecily Photo

At 1:30, geologist Philip Blair will lead a nature walk and point out fascinating features of the grounds that many people never realize are there. Phil’s walk-and-talk is always a popular feature of the Fling.

Herb Spice will pick up his saxophone at 1:30 and, along with the Cinnamonstix, fill the driving range with the sounds of smooth jazz. Please come on out on the dance floor under the big tent where Herb will play, and take a twirl!

Herb Spice

Late arrivers don’t panic — Cecily and Herb will perform additional sets at 2:15 and 3:30, respectively.

Meanwhile, FOSH has a special treat at 3pm. Balance: The GW Ballet Group, will make a first appearance at the Fling. These dancers from George Washington University are making a special trip to the Soldiers Home, and we couldn’t be more thrilled that they will be performing a 20-minute routine.

balance photo

Bring your appetites with you. Food offerings will have a little bit of everything, as Captain Cookie returns for his fourth consecutive Fling with his famous ice cream sandwiched between home-made cookies. Joining Captain Cookie will be main-course food trucks that include DC Slices, Nom Nom Gourmet and RockSalt. There will be a variety of beer choices, and Soldiers Home residents will operate a water stand.

Kids will have fun running on the vast open space of the driving range. But, there are organized activities as well, including kickball at 1pm, relay races at 2:15pm and capture the flag and soccer at 3:30pm.

We will have face painting throughout the event. President Lincoln’s Cottage (located on campus) will be on the driving range with a craft table for kids, and Christian Family Montessori School (located on the grounds of St. Paul’s Rock Creek Church Cemetery across the street from the Home) will be at the Fling to host a corn hole toss game.

Bring a lawn chair and a blanket and make yourselves comfortable. The festival is free if you walk or bicycle in. If you drive and park, there is a $10 donation for FOSH per carload. Leave your pets at home.

If you would like to spend 90 minutes of your day volunteering while you enjoy the Fling, you can sign up here: http://vols.pt/x8Q46B

We can’t wait to see you — come on out for Spring Fling 2016 and enjoy some time with neighbors, friends and distinguished Home residents who served their country so well. See you on Saturday!

Calling All Volunteers for Spring Fling

28 Thursday Apr 2016

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The forecast for Spring Fling is out and it is a good one — 79 degrees and sunny! Many of you have asked how you can volunteer to help with this wonderful event on Saturday, May 7. Here is your chance! Use this link http://vols.pt/x8Q46B and you will see opportunities to sign up for set up, takedown, games and other activities. Hurry, sign up today, before your favorite jobs are taken!

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Spring Fling Energizes Home Campus as 700 Enjoy the Fun

04 Monday May 2015

Posted by in Community Events, Sports & Recreation

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More than 700 people came to the Armed Forces Retirement Home-DC campus on a glorious afternoon May 2 for the third annual Spring Fling. Community visitors, and the highest number of Home residents who have attended the event yet, enjoyed live jazz, cold beer, delectable food trucks and near-perfect temperatures in the 70s. Loads of children who came enjoyed fun activities such as climbing on a fire truck, flying kites, playing putt-putt golf, kicking balls or simply running on the vast driving range open to their whims. Some “characters” from the Kirov Academy of Ballet also provided fun for kids. The nature walk remained a popular attraction for the event, as roughly 100 people roamed near the ponds to hear naturalists describe the significance of the site. We would like to thank everyone who came out for the day, and we thank the residents and staff of the Home for being so supportive of this event. We also thank the many Friends of the Soldiers Home volunteers who came out to make this event such a success!

Enjoy the following photos of the event.

Photos and text by John Hughes except top photo, courtesy of Drew Schneider at facebook.com/petworthnews

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Spring Fling Attendance Tops 800 as Soldiers Home Opens Beautiful Campus

07 Wednesday May 2014

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More than 800 people came to Spring Fling on Saturday, May 3, a 60% increase in attendance from last year. Adults sampled excellent food and drink and listened to great jazz from Herb Spice and the Cinnamonstix and the vocalist Cecily. Children ran around in the open space and played lawn games, board games or invent-their-own games. We would like to thank the Armed Forces Retirement Home for opening the beautiful campus to the community. We would also like to thank the Home’s residents for sponsoring this event, along with GreenLine Real Estate, Annie’s Hardware and the DCMTB bike-racing team. We want to thank organizations including DC Heights Yoga, the Kirov ballet school, Lincoln’s Cottage and the Washington Public Library for participating. We thank Mary Pat Rowan and Philip Blair for the excellent nature walk. Above all, we thank so many people from the community for participating in this wonderful event on a beautiful day!

Photos by Linda Lawson:

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Spring Fling Details Announced!

30 Wednesday Apr 2014

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FlingFlierThis Saturday, May 3, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., on the lower grounds of the Armed Forces Retirement Home, Rock Creek Church Rd & Randolph St., NW, Washington, D.C.

Featuring:

  • The cool jazz sounds of Herb Spice & The Cinnamonstix and The Nicole Saphos Group Cecily.
  • A large outdoor checkerboard and lawn bowling! Courtesy of President Lincoln’s Cottage, kids will get a chance to participate in two of Lincoln’s favorite games on the same campus he called home for a quarter of his presidency.
  • Back by popular demand! A 60-minute nature walk of the Home’s lower grounds at 2 p.m. with Mary Pat Rowan, a landscape architect who will talk about native plants, and Philip Blair, a geology expert who will talk about the site’s fascinating underground.
  • Children will be able to design their own crown and take a picture with Sleeping Beauty’s Princess Aurora and the Prince! Kirov Academy of Ballet of Washington, located just outside the Soldiers Home campus, will host this special exhibit.
  • Free yoga beginners class on the lawn at 3 p.m., courtesy of Yoga Heights on Georgia Avenue in D.C.! Bring your mat or a beach towel or sit right down on the lawn.
  • Carnival Games: Corn hole toss, lawn darts, putting mats, lawn dice, volleyball, horse shoes, bucket toss, ring toss, bocce, knock the pyramid.
  • Local food vendors — Captain Cookie and the Milk Man, Crusty Dog DC and Pollo Loco.
  • Local craft beer from DC Brau.
  • Hiking, biking, picknicking and fun.

This is a FREE event, with a $5 donation per car for those who drive in.

D.C.'s own pop-soul singer Cecily! She'll sing to the cool jazz grooves of Herb Spice & The Cinnamonstix!

D.C.’s own pop-soul singer Cecily! She’ll sing to the cool jazz grooves of Herb Spice & The Cinnamonstix!

Friends of the Soldiers Home is grateful to our sponsors for this event: Armed Forces Retirement Home Resident Fund Advisory Board, GreenLine Real Estate, Annie’s Hardware and DCMTB, D.C.’s only mountain bike racing team.