Adams Morgan Day Festival: 'A Global Community of Diverse Cultures.'

WASHINGTON, -- Adams Morgan Main Street hosts the 31st annual Adams Morgan Day Festival on Sunday, Sept 13, 2009. The Festival site is 18th Street N.W. between Columbia Rd and Florida Ave.; "Arts on Belmont" opens at 10am and adjacent venues are Marie Reed School and Kalorama and Unity Parks. The Adams Morgan Main Street Group builds on its innovations of the last 5 years and successful traditions of decades in presenting this eagerly awaited event from 12 PM to 7 PM.

The DC area's most talked about multi-cultural festival boasts old traditions and new additions. The Adams Morgan Day Festival is known for its live music, cultural, and dance performances, Kid's area, and popular "Arts on Belmont." Varied international foods abound not only from vendors, but from the sidewalk cafes and restaurants of Adams Morgan. Visitors stroll with vendors on one side and the indie businesses and shopping of Adams Morgan on the other. The Adams Morgan Day Festival, first held in 1978, is about celebrating all cultures together.

The two main stages, Florida and Columbia, bookend 18th Street with their popular live music with the Florida stage offering international music such as Latin and Caribbean from reggae to salsa. The Columbia Stage features American roots, from soul to alternative to rock. Featured acts for 2009 include southern blues from Old Man Brown, Evan Bliss and the Welchers' indie rock, and Chopteeth's dynamic funk, Afrobeat & rock.

New in 2009 in the Green Pavilion, sponsored by Washington Gas. Devoted to vendors committed to creating a positive "ecological footprint", visitors will find under one large tent products, samples, services covering everything from personal care to office & home products, from solar panels to eco-friendly clothing, and all things in between. Also new is a DJ Pavilion which will feature some noted DJs spinning short sets throughout the day on the mezzanine level of the Marie Reed School.

Arts on Belmont sponsored by Harris Teeter opens early at 10am on Belmont Rd between Columbia Rd and 18th St NW. Visitors may browse through works in variety of media: oil, watercolor, metal, textiles, clay, and wood, and meet artists representing diverse traditions and styles. Jazz in the Park offers quality jazz in a quieter residential, family atmosphere.

Vendor booths center up 18th Street, offering international crafts, jewelry, clothes, unique gifts and services. A Cultural Plaza hosts smaller scale diverse international music, drummers, and actors. The interactive Dance Plaza, features an exciting lineup, such as the Malcolm X Drummers and folkloric & Latin troupes that perform and encourage audience participation.

Adams Morgan Main Street Group, an umbrella nonprofit, organizes the Festival and strives to maintain Adams Morgan's eclectic, vibrant multicultural character and strengthen and promote its small businesses via year-round activities to improve facades, appearance, accessibility, and promotion. For information, call 202-232-1960, orwww.AdamsMorganDayFestival.com