Enjoy Time Outside Before Cold Swoops In
Long-range weather forecasts are calling for a polar vortex to hit the north-central part of the U.S. and then expand southward and eastward. Not only will it be brutally cold, the weather may linger well past the middle of the month. But this weekend, the temperatures are expected to be in the mid- to upper-50s. Great weather to get out and take advantage of these weekend happenings and the Tuesday Veterans Day holiday and concert on the mall.
This weekend, Orange, Silver, Blue and Yellow line trains will operate on a regular weekend schedule, with the Yellow Line running only to and from Mount Vernon Square instead of Fort Totten. Red Line trains will run every 16 minutes, and Green Line trains will run every 20 minutes. On Tuesday for Veterans Day, there will not be any construction, but the Smithsonian Station will be closed for The Concert for Valor and Yellow Line trains will replace the blue line. Free shuttle busses will connect Rosslyn, Pentagon and Arlington Cemetery every 12 minutes, and special trains will run between Arlington Cemetery and Reagan National airport from 5 a.m.-7 p.m. The subway will open at 5 a.m. Tuesday and non-rush hour fares will be in effect all day.
FotoWeekDC
Now in its seventh year, FotoWeekDC is bigger than ever working with more than 50 partners to present dozens of exhibitions, lectures, contests and workshops. For a full schedule of events, click here.
Through Nov. 16 at various venues around the city. FotoWeek Central is the former Spanish ambassador’s residence at 2801 16th St. NW. Hours are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. weekend and noon-8 p.m. weeknights. Donation is $5.
Alexandria Film Festival
More than 60 features and shorts from around the world including Argentina, Australia, France, Germany, India, Kosovo, Luxembourg, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Uruguay and the U.K. will screen at the annual Alexandria Film Festival. More than 30 of the filmmakers will be on hand to take questions from the audience. The full schedule can be viewed here.
Through Nov. 9 at AMC Hoffman Center 22, 206 Swamp Fox Road, and Beatley Central Library, 5005 Duke St., Alexandria. Screenings at Hoffman are $12 online or $15 at the box office, and all-festival passes are $40 online and $45 at the box office. Screening at the library are FREE!
Fall of the Berlin Wall
Sunday marks the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, which reunited East and West Germany and helped end the end of the Cold War. There are a few events marking the occasion in the DMV.
You can visit the Newseum any day and see pieces of the Berlin Wall – the biggest display of unaltered segments outside Germany, but on Saturday you’ll find a full slate of events. In addition to in-depth tours of the Berlin Wall Gallery, there’s a 10:30 a.m. screening of the documentary The Wall: A World Divided, which chronicles the wall’s history; at 1:30 p.m., there’s another film, Writing on the wall: Remembering the Berlin Wall, which focuses on the division of East and West Germany; and at 3 p.m. former ABC News reporter Barrie Dunsmore will recount his experience covering the fall live from Berlin.
Nov. 8 from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. at the Newseum, 555 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Admission is $13.95-$22.95
The Before and After the Wall Symposium: Music & Art in East & West Germany symposium looks at German artists on both sides of the Berlin Wall, and how the division shaped their work. Of particular note is a conversation between Leonard Schmieding, curator of the Goethe-Institut exhibit: The Early Days: Hip Hop Culter in the German Democratic Republic,” and Here We Come filmmaker Nico Raschick, who will discuss the differences between hip-hop artists in the two Germanies – and how teenagers on both sides came to appropriate American breakdancing, graffiti and rap.
Nov. 8 from 2-5 p.m. at Goethe-Institut, 812 Seventh St. NW. Admission is FREE!
Trash to Treasure craft fair
Go green with your holiday shopping this year at the 6th annual Trash to Treasure Green Craft Fair. Explore local crafters and artists who create treasures made from at least 50 percent recycled, organic, fair trade or sustainably harvested materials. Items include jewelry, candles, recycled wood carvings, knitwear, bags, paintings and more.
Nov. 8 from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. at Watkins Nature Center, 301 Watkins Park Drive, Upper Marlboro. Admission is FREE!
D.C. Beer Festival
D.C. Beer Festival, a craft brewery festival, brings seasonal beers to the field of Nats Park, which definitely beats a plastic cup in the nosebleed section during a game. Catch live music, snack on food truck fare and sample more than 75 kinds of beer..
Oct. 8 from noon-4 p.m. at National Park, 1500 S. Capitol St. SE. Admission is $40 for general admission or $60 for VIP admission with an extra hour and specialty beers online. No general admission tickets will be sold at the gate.
Cellist Maya Beiser
Israeli-born cellist Maya Beiser returns to the DMV for a concert from her newest production, All Vows. The New Yorker magazine has called Beiser “the cello goddess.” She is equal parts glamour, passion and musical artistry of the highest level, and brings it all to everything she does. In All Vows, Beiser explores the dichotomy between the physical, external world we inhabit and the inner landscape of our secret selves.
Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. at the Sixth & I Historic Synagogue, 600 I St. NW. Tickets are $30 online or at the box office. Doors open at 7 p.m.
Yoga with Nya
Union Market kicks off a month-long, free Yoga series, Yoga With Nya this weekend. Classes will take place every Sunday at noon at Dock 5. Instructor Nya Alemayhu from Buddha B Yoga, Georgetown Yoga and The Studio DC will lead sessions, suitable to all levels featuring Vinyasa yoga, an energetic practice that encourages breath with movement. Students should arrive 15 minutes prior to class and bring their own mats and blocks. Preferred entrance to Dock 5 is through the stairway on the far right side of the market.
Every Sunday in November starting Nov. 9 at noon at Dock 5 at Union Market, 1309 Fifth St. NE. Admission is FREE. A $5 donation is suggested.
Alton Brown
Food Network fixture Alton Brown will hit the stage twice on Sunday for his “Edible Inevitable Tour,” a mixed plate of comedy, food science, multimedia and – in a first for Brown – live music (he promises to sing a song called TV Cookin Ain’t Like No Other Cookin’). You also might also get to join Brown onstage. At each show, he’ll bring up assistants from the audience who will don lab coats for one of Brown’s messy experiments. Speaking of messes, those in the front rows will be provided with ponchos to protect them from any flying food.
Nov. 9 at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. at Warner Theatre, 513 13th St. NW. Tickets are $33-$53.
Folk singer Suzanne Vega
Celebrated as one of the most brilliant songwriters of her generation, Suzanne Vega emerged as a leading figure of the folk music revival of the early 1980s. With a distinctive, clear vibrato-less voice that has been described as “a cool, dry sandpaper, brushed near-whisper” and as “plaintive but disarmingly powerful,” Vega has made such songs as Luka and Tom’s Diner hits among generations of fans. In this performance, Vega mixes classic and new work, reflecting her ongoing creative explorations.
Nov. 9 at 8 p.m. at Sixth & I Historic Synagogue, 600 I St. NW. Tickets are $35 online or at the box office.
The Concert for Valor
On Veterans Day, The Concert for Valor will be held on the National Mall that could draw up to 800,000 attendees — larger than July 4 and many Presidential Inaugurations. Sponsored by HBO, Starbucks and Chase, performers include Bruce Springsteen, Carrie Underwood, Jessie J, Dave Groh, Jennifer Hudson, Eminem, Metallica, Rihanna and the Zac Brown Band with appearances by Jamie Foxx, Meryl Street, Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks. The concert will be broadcast live on HBO and iHeartRadio and streamed live online at theconcertforvalor.com and twitter.com/hbo. Prohibited items include alcohol, ammunition, animals other than service animals, balloons, bicycles, hard shell coolers, explosives/fireworks, glass containers, laser pointers, mace/pepper spray, structures such as folding tables, chair and tents, weapons and smoking.
Nov. 11 starting at 7 p.m. on the National Mall. Admission is FREE on a first come, first served basis. Gates open at 10 a.m.
Marcus Samuelson talk and book signing
Chef Marcus Samuelson is best known as a judge on the Food Network show Chopped. He is also the owner of Red Rooster in Harlem and cookbook author. Samuelson, who recently published Marcus Off Duty: The Recipes I Cook at Home, will be in town promoting the book. Born in Ethiopia, raised in Sweden and trained in European kitchens, Samuelson is a five-time James Beard Award recipient and was selected as chef for the Obama administration’s first state dinner. He will have a conversation with Washington Post food and travel editor Joe Yonan with a book signing after.
Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. at Sixth & I Historic Synagogue, 600 I Street NW. Admission is $35 for one ticket and one book or $45 for two tickets and one book. Tickets are available online.
To have your event listed in our Weekend Guide, submit the details at least one week prior to the event. Send your events to dcoheditor@gmail.com
Editor-in-Chief Mark Heckathorn is a journalist, movie buff and foodie. He oversees DC on Heels editorial operations as well as strategic planning and staff development. Reach him with story ideas or suggestions at dcoheditor (at) gmail (dot) com.