12 Things to Do in the DMV This Weekend
There is plenty to do both indoors and out this weekend in the DMV.
SafeTrack Surge 15 continues with the New Carrollton, Landover, Cheverly, Deanwood and Minnesota Avenue stations on the Orange Line closed. Buses will replace trains between Stadium-Armory and New Carrollton with trains running every 16 minutes between Vienna and Largo Town Center. Silver Line trains will operate every 16 minutes between Wiehle-Reston East and Stadium-Armory ONLY. Blue Line trains will operate every 16 minutes Red Line trains will single track between Medical Center and Grosvenor with trains running every 18 minutes between Shady Grove and Glenmont with additional trains every 9 minutes between Farragut North and Silver Spring between 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Yellow Line trains will operate every 16 minutes between Huntington and Mount Vernon Square ONLY. Green Line trains will single track between Fort Totten and Georgia Avenue-Petworth with trains running every 16 minutes.
Astronomy Festival on the National Mall
Stargazers can get their fix in the most iconic of places as the National Mall moonlights as an observatory. At the eighth annual Astronomy Festival on the National Mall, nerd out with scientists, take home a cool poster and glimpse through the lens of 20 solar, optical and radio telescopes for incredible close-ups of moon craters, Saturn’s rings and the Gas Giant – that’s Jupiter — at the National Mall’s largest-ever astronomy event. There will be hands-on activities, demonstrations, hand-outs, posters, banners, videos, speakers and a planetarium show on a portable, inflatable dome. Organized by Hofstra University’s coordinator of astronomy outreach, Donald Lubowich, the celestial soirée makes for an out-of-this-world date night or family-friendly spectacle.
June 2 from 6-11 p.m. at 15th Street and Constitution Avenue NW, north of the Washington Monument The rain location is the School Without Walls High School, 2130 G St. NW. Admission is FREE!
Capital Harvest on the Plaza
Situated at Woodrow Wilson Plaza just outside the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, the Capital Harvest on the Plaza farmer’s market offers farm-fresh deliciousness, artisanal crafts and recipes and tips for maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Check out the vendors and start planning your haul.
Fridays through Nov. 10 from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. at Woodrow Wilson Plaza, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Admission is FREE!
XYZT: Abstract Landscapes
Experience the immersive XYZT: Abstract Landscapes installation by contemporary digital artists and multimedia choreographers Adrien M & Claire B at Artechouse, D.C.’s only digital art space situated in the Southwest Waterfront neighborhood. The hands-on interactive experience allows guests to walk on floors that react to footsteps, manipulate light particles within a giant digital cube or blow into glass boxes and watch virtual letters dance around.
Daily from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and 5:30-10 p.m. through Sept. 3 at Artechouse, 1238 Maryland Ave. SW. Daytime admission is $15 for adults and $10 for children, students and seniors and evening admission (21+) is $25.
Savor: An American Craft Beer & Food Experience
Lovers of brews won’t want to miss Savor, which features 86 small and independent craft breweries from all over the U.S. showing off two of their most acclaimed flavors poured by the owners and brewmasters. That adds up to 172 beers available for sampling and there will be plenty of tasty offerings that should pair up quite nicely. Local breweries include Adroit Theory Brewing, Atlas Brew Works, Bluejacket, D.C. Brau Brewing, Fair Winds Brewing Co., Flying Dog Brewery, Old Bust Head Brewing Co., Port City Brewing Co. and Right Proper Brewing Co.
June 2 and 3 from 7:30-11 p.m. at the National Building Museum, 401 F St. NW. Tickets are $135.
Imagination Bethesda
Imagination Bethesda is the street festival that focuses squarely on children and families. The event, now in its 23rd year, offers hands-on activities with dance and theater groups with opportunities for kids to paint, build, sew and learn. But there’s also entertainment on the main stage, starting with Mr. Knick Knack and closing with the Culkin School of Traditional Irish Dance and Rocknoceros. Food vendors will be in tents along Woodmont Avenue.
June 3 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at Woodmont Avenue and Elm Street, Bethesda. Admission is FREE!
Jazz ‘n Families Fun Days
Ahead of the official start of the D.C. Jazz Festival, the Phillips Collection hosts Jazz ‘n Families Fun Days. This family-oriented event will include performances from rising star ensembles throughout the museum, storytelling for kids, an instrument petting zoo, art workshops, a scavenger hunt through the galleries and chances to meet artists!
June 3 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and June 4 from noon-7 p.m. at The Phillips Collection, 1600 21st St. NW. Admission is FREE!
Dupont Kalorama Museum Walk Weekend
Take the first weekend in June to enjoy free admission at five awesome D.C. museums. The 34th annual Dupont Kalorama Museum Walk Weekend includes Anderson House, where visitors can make their own Revolutionary War tricorn hand and World War I overseas cap; Dumbarton House, which is celebrating is grand reopening and offering Sunday Serenity Yoga at 10 a.m. in the east park; the National Museum of American Jewish Military History (Sunday only), which will have an expert from the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Washington on hand to answer questions and Jewish war victims to discuss their experience in the military; The Phillips Collection, which is holding its annual Jazz ‘n Families Fun Days (see above); and the Woodrow Wilson House, where visitors can make their own Remembrance Poppy. You will have access to new exhibits, fascinating stories and live music at all the museums, an incredible free opportunity that comes only once a year.
June 3 and 4 from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. at five Dupont/Kalorama area museums. Admission is FREE!
Washington Folk Festival
The 37th annual Washington Folk Festival showcases the diversity of traditional music in the DMV. All 450 musicians, storytellers, dancers and craftspeople are from the greater Washington metropolitan area. See and hear music, dancing and crafts from around the world and country including flamenco, blues, Bulgarian, Cajun, Celtic and more during this two-day event. See the full lineup online.
June 3 and 4 from noon-7 p.m. at Glen Echo Park, 7300 MacArthur Blvd., Glen Echo. Admission is FREE! Free parking and shuttle buses are available from 11 a.m.-8 p.m. at the Geico campus in Friendship Heights.
And the Tony Goes to…
The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington is set to take you on a musical history of gay Broadway in And the Tony Goes to… Journey from Applause and A Chorus Line to Kinky Boots and Hedwig and the Angry Inch and everything in between with vocal acrobatics and dance choreography lighting the way. There are only two performances, so act quickly and get your tickets to one of local theater’s biggest spectacles of the summer.
June 3 at 8 p.m. and June 4 at 3 p.m. at the Lincoln Theatre, 1215 U St. NW. https://gmcw.org/season-shows/and-the-tony-goes-to/ Tickets are $25-$65.
Independence Eve
Arlington’s contemporary chamber opera company, Urban Arias, takes on race relations in the U.S. in Independence Eve, the compelling new opera. Three black males (baritone) and three white males (tenor) struggle with identity across three unrelated scenes that all take place on July 3 on a single park bench in three different unspecified American cities spanning 100 years. The complexities and differences of black and white America come into focus, showing how racism has remained throughout the country’s history.
June 3 at 8 p.m. and June 4 at 2 p.m. at Signature Theatre, 4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington. Tickets are $37.
Taste of Wheaton
The Taste of Wheaton features 14 area restaurants including Methi, Moby Dick Sushi, Saigonese, Hung Phat, Ruan Thai, Los Cobanos, Yummy in My Tummy, Lumpia Pansit ATBP and more serving samples ranging from $1-$5 per taste. There will also be a beer and wine garden, live music and dance performances, kids’ rides, face painting, balloon sculptures and caricature drawings.
June 4 from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. in the Wheaton Triangle, Grandview Avenue and Reedie Drive, Wheaton. Admission is FREE!
Feria de Seville
Experience Spain’s music, dance, art and food at Feria de Seville. The Centro Español de Washington, D.C. sponsors this free flamenco festival. Listen to live flamenco beats, watch the intricate foot and arm work of passionate flamenco dancers and taste a variety of Spanish tapas. There will be performers on stage throughout the day and a variety of food tents.
June 4 from noon-6 p.m. at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda. Admission is FREE!
On-Going Events
Architecture of an Asylum: St. Elizabeths 1852-2017 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday through Jan. 15, 2018 at the National Building Museum, 401 F St. NW. Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for seniors, students and children.
Down These Mean Streets: Community and Place in Urban Photography from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. through Aug. 6 at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Eighth and F Streets NW. Admission is FREE!
Fancy Animal Carnival daily through Oct. 15 at CityCenterDC, 825 10th St. NW; Chinatown Park, Sixth Street and Massachusetts Avenue NW; and Herald Square, 13th Street and New York Avenue NW. Admission is FREE!
The First Lady of Song: Ella Fitzgerald at 100 from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through April 2, 2018 at the National Museum of American History, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Admission is FREE!
The Faces of Battle: Americans at War, 9/11 to Now from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. daily through Jan. 28, 2018 at the National Portrait Gallery, Eighth and F Streets NW. Admission is FREE!
Frédéric Bazille and the Birth of Impressionism from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. daily through July 19 at the National Gallery of Art, Sixth and Constitution Avenue NW. Admission is FREE!
HIR at 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, 3 p.m. on Saturday, and 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday through June 18 at Woolly Mammoth Theatre, 641 D St. NW. Tickets are $20-$74.
Jazz in the Garden from 5-8:30 p.m. on Fridays through Aug. 25 at the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden, Sixth Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Admission is FREE!
Jesus Christ Superstar at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 7 p.m. Sunday, and 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday through July 2 at Signature Theatre, 4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington. Tickets are $40-$89.
Sharks daily from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. through Oct. 15 at the National Geographic Museum, 1145 17th St. NW. Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and military and $10 for children ages 5-12.
Trolley Car Mail from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. through Sept. 10 at the National Postal Museum, 2 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Admission is FREE!
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.