WAMU 88.5FM American University Radio

Strings Crossing Continents

Although events will continue throughout the weekend on the mall, the final evening concert of this year's Smithsonian Folklife Festival will be held on Friday, July 3rd. The concert will bring together musicians from the Las Americas 'Music in Latino Culture' program... with a musician from the Wales program. It's called 'Strings Crossing Continents' - featuring Grupo Cimarron from Colombia and Catrin Finch, a harpist from Wales. We're joined by Daniel Sheehy, Acting Director of the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage... and by harpist, Carlos Rojas, leader of Grupo Cimarron.

The 'Other' Parades

The National Independence Day Parade gets underway just before lunch on the 4th - officially at 11:45 am. But we WON'T be talking about that big parade on Constitution Ave. Instead, we highlight some of the best 'small town America' parades happening around the region. We're joined by Tracy Grant, the Weekend and KidsPost Editor at the Washington Post.

Food, Inc.

For many of us the 4th of the July means fireworks, parades and barbeques. We're here to ruin those barbeques for you now.

A film documentary in theaters this season looks at the underbelly of the food industry. We've all heard about food recalls because of E-coli and salmonella contamination. There was peanut butter, hamburger, spinach - the list goes on. The movie, 'Food, Inc.', looks at why food gets contaminated and reveals a lot more about our industrial approach to producing food. Lester Graham reports

Our piece was produced by the Environment Report.

Fred Fiske: Summer Gas Prices

According to some analysts, summer gas prices have peaked. That's welcome news to Senior Commentator Fred Fiske. But, he says, saving a few pennies at the pump is not exactly a reason for celebration.

Summer Gardening Tips - Part 4

For the past month we've been bringing you summer gardening tips and planting ideas. We wrap up the series with a fitting summer topic - aquatic gardens; how to start your own and where to see some amazing examples. We're joined once again by Kathy Jentz, editor and publisher of Washington Gardener Magazine.

Wines for the 4th

To help celebrate the 4th of July in style, we're joined by Dick Rosano. He writes about wine for Food and Wine News and is the author of 'Wine Heritage - the story of Italian American Vintners.' He joins us this time to talk about red white AND blue wines. (OK, hopefully not blue.)

Dick's Wine Picks:

MD - Elk Run Chardonnay

VA - Barbersville Chardonnay OR Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve

Pennsylvania - Chaddsford Pinot Grigio

Oregon - Willamette Valley Pinot Noir

Oregon - Ponzi Pinot Noir

California - Seghesio, Chianti Station

California - Foppiano, Petite Syrah

California - Preston Vineyards, all varieties

Meg Roggensack: Summer on a Spoon

July seems like the perfect time to amble up to your favorite ice cream shop and order a double. Not so fast says writer Meg Roggensack. Nothing beats the homemade version.

Meg Roggensack is a writer who divides her time between the District and the Eastern Shore.

Homemade Ice Cream Recipe - Margaret's Best:

4 eggs - beat slightly 2 cups sugar 1 Tablespoon vanilla 1 quart cream 1 cup whole milk

Beat eggs, then add sugar and rest of ingredients, and continue beating until sugar is incorporated, about 1 minute. Pour into ice cream maker and follow directions (typically takes 20 minutes to turn thick). Chill in freezer for at least 4 hours.