For Immediate Release:
January 2011
Contacts:

GO GLOBAL: EXPERIENCING INTERNATIONAL DC
Travelers looking for an international experience without painful exchange rates and pricey airline tickets should look no further than DC.  A crossroads of international culture, DC delights travelers with diverse people, global cuisine and an engaging diplomatic scene. It’s the headquarters for the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Red Cross, World Wildlife Fund, and countless other world-wide organizations. 
The District is also home to more than 150 embassies, chanceries and international cultural centers, some of which are open regularly to the public.  The Mexican Cultural Institute regularly holds events such as concerts, gallery exhibitions, lectures and performances.  The House of Sweden frequently presents various programming on Swedish culture, science, enterprise, art and music.  The Alliance Française offers a wide variety of French courses, social activities and cultural events, including lectures, concerts, films, exhibits, guided visits to museums, "wine and cheese" parties and discussion groups.  Other organizations such as the Goethe Institute, Meridian International Center and Casa Italiana regularly present films, art exhibitions, food tastings, and lectures. 
And, if you’re curious to take a peek inside one of the embassies, make sure to participate in Passport DC. In this month-long event, taking place each May, many embassies participate in open-house style weekend events, where visitors are greeted with authentic music, dance, cuisine, exhibits and more from the diplomatic community, plus a series of cultural events, concerts and more. Highlights of the 2011 celebration include the Shortcut to Europe European Embassies open houses on May 7 and the Around the World Embassy Tour featuring more than 30 embassies on May 14. Other activities and events scheduled for the Meridian International Children’s Festival and the Asian Heritage Festival on May 21.
African cultures have also thrived in DC, particularly in Little Ethiopia, located on U Street between 7th and 11th Streets. Ethiopian restaurants are clustered in the strips of colorful row houses, serving savory entrees like doro wat, a spiced chicken stew, and tibi, a blend of beef tartar and house-made cottage cheese. (Tip: get a tutorial on Ethiopian culture and cuisine on a DC Metro Food Tours walking tour of Little Ethiopia). What DC’s Chinatown neighborhood lacks in size, it makes up for in character. The colorful friendship arch spanning H Street at its intersection with 7th Street marks the gateway to this thriving neighborhood. Chinese businesses share the street with new retail and residential development, but you can still shop for teas and herbs at grocery stores and watch noodles being tossed by hand in the window at Chinatown Express.
Another international experience awaits visitors to Little Rome, a corner of Northeast DC that’s home to more Catholic sites than any place outside of the Vatican. It’s here that you’ll find the Catholic University of America, the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the Pope John Paul II Intercultural Center, the Franciscan Monastery and the headquarters of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.  Even Catholics visiting from other countries can experience Mass in their native tongues.  Holy Rosary Church in Downtown holds Mass in Italian at its 10:30 am Sunday service, St. Matthew’s holds Sunday services in Latin at 10:00 am and in Spanish at 1:00 pm and Chinatown’s St. Mary’s has Tridentine Latin services at 9:00 am on Sundays and in Cantonese at 11:30 am.
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About Destination DC: Destination DC, the lead destination marketing organization for the nation’s capital, is a private, non-profit membership organization of more than 800 businesses committed to marketing the area as a premier global convention, tourism and special events destination with a special emphasis on the arts, cultural and historic communities. www.destinationdc.com.