Gastronomy and Wine

Let's head back to our beloved Rio Zêzere, departing from a meeting point just south of the Castelo do Bode dam. We will paddle 9 kms down the lush river landscapes and through a few “mini rapids” on our way to the river beach in Constância. Whether you're an experienced kayaker or a sporty beginner looking to try something new, this event is perfect for outdoor enthusiasts. **Duration**: approx. 4-5 hours in total * 2.5 hours on the water (incl. breaks) * 2 hours for a picnic lunch and swim at the river beach **Price**: €20 per person. This includes: * Kayak rental, including life jacket and paddle * Certified monitors to ensure the safety of all participants To reserve your spot and facilitate organization with the kayak company, please send your **payment** via Revolut (@maaadison) or MBWay (+491624520214) **by the end of the day Thursday, May 28th**. First come, first served! **What to bring:** * Swimsuit, neoprene, and/or clothes that can get wet * Shoes/sandals that can get wet * Sunscreen and hat * Change of clothes, second pair of shoes, and a towel * Waterproof case for your phone to take pictures along the way * Picnic lunch and blanket **Level:** Suitable for beginners and children (8+). Well-behaved dogs welcome. Basic instructions will be given by the guides before we begin. The kayak rental company covers personal accident and civil liability insurance at no extra cost. Safety is taken very seriously and there will be certified monitors guiding us along the descent. **How to get there**: 🚙 : Arrive by **09:30** by car(pool) to the **[drop-off point](google.com/maps/place/39%C2%B032'50.5%22N+8%C2%B020'48.1%22W/@39.5473611,-8.3466944,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m4!3m3!8m2!3d39.5473611!4d-8.3466944?entry=tts&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDUxMi4wIPu8ASoASAFQAw%3D%3D&skid=4b837780-0960-4c40-a9e4-08a1e9f19e21)** 🚂 : Arrive by **09:15** to the train station in **Entroncamento**. From there, the rental company will shuttle you to the starting point. There are several train options from e.g. Oriente at different price points - be aware that your Navegante pass is NOT valid on these trains. *\*\* Please inform me 24hrs in advance if you are planning to arrive by train* After you have pre-paid, you will be invited to the WhatsApp community to organize carpooling as well as share pictures and other event-related information. There is no public transport in the area, so make sure to join the group chat! **Important notes:** * This event will take place even with a chance of light rain - consider a rain jacket for your own comfort See you on the water! *Lisbon Kayak Crew is not liable for any damages or injuries incurred during this activity. Please evaluate your own health and physical state and participate at your own risk.*

Get ready for a sing-it-loud, feel-every-note summer night as Turnstiles brings the music of Billy Joel to life at Tarara. This is a hit-packed celebration of one of the greatest songbooks in rock history - and it's pure magic from the first note. From "Piano Man" and "Uptown Girl" to "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" and "We Didn't Start the Fire," Turnstiles delivers spot-on performances with passion, precision, and the unmistakable spirit of the Piano Man himself. Every song hits, every chorus soars, and every fan sings along. This isn't just a tribute - it's a high-energy, faithful concert experience that pulls you right into the heart of Billy Joel's legendary live shows. Whether you grew up with these songs or discovered them along the way, this is the kind of night that has the entire crowd dancing, swaying, and singing every word. [Get your tickets here!](https://www.eventbrite.com/e/turnstiles-the-ultimate-tribute-to-the-music-of-billy-joel-tickets-1982699966974)

**The Legwarmers** are returning to the Tarara Summer Concert Series on **Saturday, August 1, 2026**, and they’re bringing the **biggest, loudest, most outrageously fun ’80s party of the summer**. If you’ve seen them before, you already know. If you haven’t… prepare to lose your mind. [Get your tickets here!](https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-legwarmers-the-ultimate-80s-tribute-band-tickets-1982804062326) Break out the **neon**, tease that hair to the heavens, and lock in your tickets **NOW** — because this night sells out, every time. This isn’t just a tribute band. It’s a **full-blown time warp** to the decade of excess. The Legwarmers don’t just play ’80s hits — they **BECOME** them. From Simmons drum kits and skinny ties to checkered Vans and pure MTV-era chaos, this show turns mild-mannered adults into people who suddenly believe they can dance on the ceiling and ignore speed limits. 😆🚗💨 🔥 Nonstop anthems 🎤 Massive singalongs 💃 Relentless, high-voltage energy It’s **prom night in a John Hughes movie**, a very special episode of *Square Pegs*, and the **Monsters of Rock Tour** rolled into one completely unhinged night. 🎟️ **Tickets move FAST — waiting is not an option.** 📅 **Saturday, August 1, 2026** 📍 **Tarara, 13648 Tarara Lane, Leesburg, VA** 👾 **’80s attire STRONGLY encouraged** Miss this show and you’ll be hearing about it all summer. **The Legwarmers aren’t a cover band — they’re the REAL DEAL.** 💥

**Stifler’s Mom** is taking over Tarara on **FRIDAY, July 3, 2026**, and this is not just a concert… it’s a **holiday weekend kickoff celebration**. Break out the **JNCO jeans**, frost those tips, and charge up the Discman. This **11-piece powerhouse** is a full-throttle nostalgia machine, mashing up Rock, Hip-Hop, Pop, and R&B like your favorite mix CD on overdrive. From **Seattle grunge** to **TV theme song bangers**, from **East Coast to West Coast hip-hop**, this show delivers nonstop surprises. 🔥 Wild mashups 🎤 Massive singalongs 🎉 Trivia, contests & pure crowd chaos Expect **relentless energy**, deep-cut throwbacks, and every ‘90s anthem you forgot you loved — all wrapped into a **can’t-miss Friday night party** to launch the holiday weekend. 🎟️ **Tickets are moving FAST — don’t wait.** [Get your tickets here!](https://www.eventbrite.com/e/stiflers-mom-the-ultimate-90s-experience-tickets-1982696658077) 📅 **FRIDAY, July 3, 2026** 📍 Tarara, 13648 Tarara Lane, Leesburg, VA 👕 **‘90s attire STRONGLY encouraged** Celebrate freedom, summer, and nostalgia — **kick off Independence Day weekend with your Tarara family** and party like it’s 1999. 🚀🔥

You can bring your own food for a picnic or get it at one of their food trucks or inside. Well-behaved dogs on a lease are allowed outside only. No children as it's adults only 21+. Windridge Vineyards is a family-owned farm winery dedicated to producing premium estate grown wines. Situated in Darnestown, Maryland on the Piedmont plateau, their three vineyard sites have been carefully chosen for their unique geology and microclimates. Over 50 years of family farming has guided these selections and underpins their commitment to craft exceptional and distinctive wines. Come relax on their expansive lawn, in their solar pavilion, or in their new tasting room surrounded by the vines. With a backdrop that includes the 6,300 acre Seneca Creek State Park, the 93,000 acre Agricultural Reserve, and views of the Blue Ridge and Sugarloaf Mountains, Windridge Vineyards is surrounded by breathtaking views and natural beauty. Please pay $5 via Venmo to @DIANNEE-GODAR or I will have to remove you from the guest list. Sorry Or, you can get unlimited status for $10 until year's end. All aboard mates!

Our inaugural event was small but successful, so we'll be doing it again--this time with more notice. Once again, the event will be held in my apartment building, The Edmund, which is located directly above the Wegmans in Reston. Wegmans offers free parking, so park there and walk around the building to the lobby of the apartment complex, where I'll greet everyone and bring us all up to the fourth floor. (The elevator is access controlled, so we'll go up together.) Just bring a bottle of wine and however many cups you want to use to sample everyone else's wines. (There's a sink to wash out the cups.) Also, Meetup charges organizers (meaning me) $180 every six months, so please bring $1 to help defray this cost. Hope this massive sum doesn't break the bank. :-) Depending on the weather and what everyone is in favor of, we'll either meet in a big room or in a courtyard. (They're both on the same floor.) We'll decide once we're upstairs. Can't wait to meet you all!

We invite you to an engaging evening of wine, cheese and lively conversation around NYT Editor's Choice ***All The Worst Humans: How I Made News for Dictators, Tycoons, and Politicians,*** a bridge-burning, riotous memoir by Phil Elwood, a top PR operative in Washington who exposes the secrets of the $129-billion industry that controls so much of what we see and hear in the media—from a man who used to pull the strings, and who is now pulling back the curtain. **From Goodreads:** After nearly two decades in the Washington PR business, Elwood wants to come clean, by exposing the dark underbelly of the very industry that’s made him so successful. The first step is revealing exactly what he’s been up to for the past twenty years—and it isn’t pretty. Elwood has worked for a murderer’s row of questionable clients, including Gaddafi, Assad, and the government of Qatar. In *All the Worst Humans*, Elwood unveils how the PR business works, and how the truth gets made, spun, and sold to the public—not shying away from the gritty details of his unlikely career. This is a piercing look into the corridors of money, power, politics, and control, all told in Elwood’s disarmingly funny and entertaining voice. He recounts a four-day Las Vegas bacchanal with a dictator’s son, plotting communications strategies against a terrorist organization in Western Africa, and helping to land a Middle Eastern dictator’s wife a glowing profile in Vogue on the same time the Arab Spring broke out. And he reveals all his slippery tricks for seducing journalists in order to create chaos and ultimately cover for politicians, dictators, and spies—the industry-secret tactics that led to his rise as a political PR pro. Along the way, Phil walks the halls of the Capitol, rides in armored cars through Abuja, and watches his client lose his annual income at the roulette table. But as he moved up the ranks, he felt worse and worse about the sleaziness of it all—until Elwood receives a shocking wake-up call from the FBI. This risky game nearly cost Elwood his life and his freedom. Seeing the light, Elwood decides to change his ways, and his clients, and to tell the full truth about who is the worst human. As always, please feel free to join even if you have not finished the book - no stress :-) All attendees are asked to please bring one of the following: 1. A bottle of wine 2. Cheese and Crackers 3. An alternate beverage or nosh of your choice Host will provide glasses, wine opener, plates & napkins. To enhance the opportunity for great conversation, we would like to keep the group small. Please feel free to sign-up to meet us along with up to 2 friends. 📚 Exciting Updates for 2026 Book Club! 📚 Starting in January 2026, we’ll be implementing a new system for book recommendations that will make our reading selections even more collaborative and engaging! **Book Recommendations:** From January through October, members can submit book recommendations at each meeting, via email, text or Meetup DM. All suggestions will be added to a shared Google Sheet, which will include links to Goodreads and other pertinent information for each book. [LINK to 2027 BOOK LIST](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/18AC_FH9bGGxyH6v7Rw36EvPtKtVl5e_N/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=102804280893316002961&rtpof=true&sd=true) **Voting for 2027 Reads:** Our voting for next year’s book selections will take place during the November 2026 meeting. Members in attendance will have the opportunity to cast 12 votes for their favorite picks. If you’re unable to attend the November meeting, you can still participate! Simply submit 6 votes via email, text, or DM through Meetup before the start of the November meeting. **Announcement of Selections:** The chosen books for 2027 will be revealed at the end of the November meeting. We’re excited about this new process and can’t wait to see the amazing book recommendations you all have! 📖✨ PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU ARE COMMITTED TO ATTEND WHEN YOU RSVP FOR THIS EVENT. We ask that ALL folks honor their RSVP. If you are unable to attend after sending in a YES, please update your status so that others may join us. In the event you do not communicate and are a no-show, your ability to RSVP for future events will be restricted. Thank you in advance for your understanding. If you are unable to join us in June, we hope you'll remain interested and join us for an evening in the future. Looking forward to wine & cheese with you soon - happy reading!

Let's try this again! Friends, it's time to head back to Sunset Hills to enjoy an afternoon sipping wine and enjoying this lovely winery. We will be sitting at a table under the pavilion, where there is also live music. "Once a working Amish farm, Sunset Hills Vineyard offers old-world charm with spectacular sunsets and mountain views, ample lawn areas to spread out and enjoy, and a stunning restored Amish barn surrounded by beautiful vineyards." [WEBSITE](https://www.sunsethillsvineyard.com/Your-Visit) [FOOD MENU](https://www.sunsethillsvineyard.com/Menus/Food-Menu) As an FYI - their warm ciabatta bread is especially yummy! Outside food is allowed under the pavilion if you'd prefer. If bring sharables, please leave a message as to what you are bringing so we don't have duplicates. As an FYI - their warm ciabatta bread is especially yummy! I will need to limit this to 8 ppl. to avoid paying for a reservation. So please keep your RSVP's updated so that others can enjoy your spot if unable to attend.