It Is a Perfect Weekend to Get Out and Enjoy
It is going to be a partly cloudy weekend in the DMV with highs in the low- to mid-80s and no chance of rain in the forecast. It is looking like a good weekend to go out and have fun. Whether you want to attend the world’s largest crab feast, play video games or take in sports, there is something for everyone this weekend.
Beginning Saturday, Metro will close the Suitland and Branch Avenue stations on the Greenline for a major rebuilding project until Aug. 20. During that time, buses will replace trains between Naylor Road and Branch Avenue. Also, Greenline trains will single track between Georgia Avenue-Petworth and Fort Totten from 10 p.m.-closing all weekend. Trains will run on normal schedules on the open part of the line. On the Red Line, the Medical Center and Bethesda stations will be closed with shuttle buses replacing trains between Friendship Heights and Grosvenor. Trains will run on a regular schedule between Shady Grove and Grosvenor and Friendship Heights and Glenmont with extra trains between 9 a.m.-9 p.m. between Farragut North and Silver Spring. Blue and Silver Line trains single track between Stadium-Armory and Addison Road, but operate on normal weekend schedules. Yellow and Orange Line trains are also on regular weekend schedules.
The Citi Open quarterfinals, semifinals and finals are this weekend at the Rock Creek Park Tennis Center. (Photo: Citi Open/Twitter)
Citi Open
Rock Creek Park Tennis Center plays host to the Citi Open, a D.C. summer sporting tradition now in its 48th year. International tennis stars will battle in front of thousands of fans during the week-long tournament. This weekend features the quarterfinals on Friday, the semifinals on Saturday and the finals on Sunday. Make sure to check the tournament’s website for event, ticket and lineup updates. You can also take advantage of ticket discounts for certain sessions.
Aug. 4 beginning at 2 and 7 p.m., Aug. 5 at noon and 7 p.m. and Aug. 6 at 12:30 p.m. at the Rock Creek Park Tennis Center, 16th and Kennedy Streets NW. Tickets for individual sessions are $10-$80.
Truckeroo
Truckeroo brings almost two dozen food trucks to The Bullpen from 4-11 p.m. Friday. (Photo: Truckeroo/Facebook)
Truckeroo, the monthly food festival, brings local food trucks to The Bullpen in front of Nationals Park to dole out everything from cookies and milk to Vietnamese sandwiches. About two dozen wheeled food sellers show up, and there are picnic tables and shade to keep things cool. Among this month’s participants are Due South, Surfside, Neatmeat, Puddin’, Halal Grill, People’s Bao, Pittsburgh Rick’s, South Meets East and The Orange Cow. There will also be games, cold beverages and live music to create the full-on summer experience.
Aug. 4 from 4-11 p.m. at The Bullpen, 1299 Half St. SE. Admission is FREE!
Annapolis Rotary Club Crab Feast
The Annapolis Rotary Club again sponsors the world’s largest crab feast from 5-8 p.m. on Friday. (Photo: Don Roland)
The Annapolis Rotary Club Crab Feast is the largest crab feast in the state of Maryland. The all-you-can-eat crab feast requires 350 bushels of No. 1 male crabs, 3,400 ears of corn, 150 pounds of beef barbecue and 100 gallons of crab soup, to say nothing of the rivers of beer and soda. It’s so big that it requires the Naval Academy’s football stadium to hold all 2,500 attendees. All proceeds from the Annapolis Rotary Club’s 72nd annual all-you-can-eat-and-drink crab feast are donated to local charities.
Aug. 4 from 5-8 p.m. at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, 550 Taylor Ave., Annapolis. Tickets are $65 for adults ($75 at the gate) and $25 for children aged 3-12.
Smithsonian Sleepover
Kids and parents can sleepover at the Natural History Museum on Friday night. (Photo: Steve Hajjar/Smithsonian Associates)
The National Museum of Natural History hosts two Smithsonian Sleepovers this month on Aug. 4 and 18. These ever-popular events allow kids to spend a night immersed in adventure inside a Smithsonian museum. This go-round, kids can solve puzzles and play games involving the Natural History Museum’s exhibits, as well as participate in craft projects, watch an IMAX film and sleep beneath a 50-foot whale. Snacks and a light breakfast will also be served. Ages 8-12 are permitted, and there must be at least one adult present for every three children in any group that registers. No siblings younger than 8 are allowed, and no adults are allowed without children.
Aug. 4 from 7 p.m.-9 a.m. at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, 10th Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Tickets are $135 and must be purchased by phone at 202-633-3030 or at the ticket window in the Ripley Center, 1100 Jefferson Dr. SW between 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tickets must be purchased by 2 p.m. on the Friday of both events.
Friendship Firehouse Festival
Visit the historic Friendship Firehouse for its annual festival on Saturday. (Photo: City of Alexandria)
Heed the siren call of the annual Friendship Firehouse Festival. You can visit the historic station built in 1855 and check out firefighting activities, cool vehicles and some olden-days equipment that will make you want very, very grateful you live in the modern age of firefighting. For example, ther’s the suction pumper fire engine, which was pulled by hand. You also get a free fire hat!
Aug. 5 from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Friendship Firehouse, 107 S. Alfred St. Alexandria. Admission is FREE!
BrickFair
A 25-foot model of the USS Missouri made from Legos will be on display at BrickFest. (Photo: BrickFest)
From movies to architectural models, Lego is bigger than ever. The company’s popularity is on display at BrickFair, which fills 130,000 square feet with everything Lego: a 25-foot-long model of the battleship USS Missouri; the giant Rube Goldberg-esque Great Ball Contraption; even a Lego mini-golf course. And yes, there are plenty of vendors selling rare and original sets, figurines and accessories for Lego fans of all ages.
Aug. 5 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Aug. 6 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Dulles Expo Center, 4320 Chantilly Shopping Center, Chantilly. Tickets are $17 in advance (includes expedited entrance and special Lego tile) or $15 at the door. Children aged 3 and younger free.
SAAM Arcade
The Smithsonian American Art Museum becomes a free video arcade this weekend. (Photo: Bruce Guthrie)
Play video games. Inside of a state-of-the-art museum. For free. Sounds awesome to us! SAAM Arcade will feature roughly 150 titles from developers, letting you and yours sample the coolest new games. You can also play classic arcade games like Asteroids, Pac-Man, Tron, Arkanoid Donkey Kong and more, as well as show of your pinball skills. There will also be game building workshops and a Boys and Girls Club Youth eSports League Championship on the museum’s third floor for those who love competition. You can also expect live music performances by Triforce Quartet and Bit Brigade both days.
Aug. 5 and 6 from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, F and Eighth Streets NW. Admission is FREE!
MidCity Dog Days
Shop midcity merchants for discounts and more this weekend during dog days. (Image: Midcity Dog Days)
Over 18 years, the MidCity Dog Days sidewalk festival has expanded from a sidewalk sale along a few compact blocks of 14th Street NW to something much larger: Participants now stretch along 14th Street from N Street to Florida Avenue, and along U Street from Seventh to 17th streets. Retail is still the heart of the day: Browse for discounts at dozens of stores including Miss Pixie’s Furnishings & Whatnot, Lettie Gooch, Flowers on 14th, Som Records and Salt and Sundry and stop for refreshments at Bar Pilar, Glen’s Garden Market or Nellie’s, which is extending happy hour all day.
Aug. 5 and 6 during operating hours at businesses along 14th and U Streets NW. Admission is FREE! See the website for a map and list of participating businesses.
Taste of Studio
Explore Stuido Theatre, sample area restaurnts and see a preview of Wig Out! at Saturday’s Taste of Studio. (Photo: Igor Dmitry)
Taste of Studio is Studio Theatre’s annual open house and offers much for theater lovers — previews of the current production Wig Out!, a symposium with playwright and director Aaron Posner, acting conservatory workshops for amateurs, even a flea market of former Studio props and costumes. But it is also a community arts festival, with art installations, performances by local choruses and gospel groups, and a beer garden and mini-food festival with samples from more than 30 local restaurants Bub & Pop’s, Declaration, Haikan, Birch and Barley and more.
Aug. 5 from noon-8 p.m. at Studio Theatre, Admission is FREE! Food and drink tickets are 10 for $25, 20 for $40 or unlimited for $100 in advance or $3 per ticket at the event.
George Lopez
George Lopez comes to the Kennedy Center for two shows on Saturday night that will be taped for an upcoming HBO special. (Photo: Kennedy Center)
One of the great stand-up comedy success stories, George Lopez has achieved notoriety in television (both in primetime and late-night), film and through acclaimed specials. In fact, you can experience Lopez’s hilarious new routine as he films it for a new HBO special. Lopez’s tales from his Mexican-American background and litany of show biz stories are sure to leave you laughing. Note: Cellphones, smart watches, cameras and recording devices will not be permitted inside the auditorium.
Aug. 5 at 7 and 9:30 p.m. John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ concert hall, 2700 F St. NW. Tickets are $59.50-$79.50.
Jurassic Park in Concert
Jurassic Park in Concert comes to Wolf Trap on Saturday accompanied by the National Symphony Orchestra.
(Photo: London Evening Standard)
One of cinema’s all-time thrill rides, Jurassic Park, can be experienced like never before at Wolf Trap this weekend. Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi classic concerns a wildlife park with cloned dinosaurs that goes horribly awry, with star turns from Sam Neil, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum. The unforgettable score composed by John Williams will be performed live by the National Symphony Orchestra as the film plays, led by conductor Emil de Cou. There will be a free pre-performance discussion with the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History’s dinosaur curator at 7:30 p.m. on the Old Farmhouse Lawn with hands-on fossil activities.
Aug. 5 at 8:30 p.m. at the Filene Center at Wolf Trap, 1645 Trap Road, Vienna. Tickets are $35-$58.
Signature Theatre Open House
Signature Theatre in Shirlington holds its annual open house on Sunday. (Photo: Signature Theatre)
Signature Theatre is kicking of its 2017-18 season with a day reserved for 8 1/2 hours of pure pandemonium in a good way. Activities include free performances – singalongs, dueling guitars, choruses and the like – every 15 minutes, all sorts of dance classes and a huge outdoor party with free popcorn, snowcones and water, a cornhole tournament, basketball, temporary tattoos, skee ball and balloon twister. All that in addition to special discounts on tickets for Signatures upcoming productions.
Aug. 6 from noon-8:30 p.m. at Signature Theatre, 4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington. Admission is FREE! Tickets for free performances will be distributed one hour prior to showtimes.
Reggae Jamfest
Reggae Jamfest celebrates 55 years of Jamaica’s independence on Sunday. (Image: Reggae Jamfest)
Jamaican-born reggae singer Monsoon and the S.T.O.R.M. headline the Reggae Jamfest, a tribute to 55 years of Jamaica’s independence, along with Ras Slick and Dutty Bus Crew. The party at the Seafarers Yacht Club along the Anacostia — one of America’s oldest black yacht clubs — also features DJs Super Slice and Ablaze, and food and drinks catered by Baltimore’s Island Quizine.
Aug. 6 from 3-9 p.m. at the Seafarers Yacht Club, 1950 M St. SE. Admission is $25.
Made in Hong Kong Film Festival
Beast Cops will play as part of the Made in Hong Kong Film Festival on Sunday at the National Museum of American History.
(Photo: Smithsonian)
The final weekend of the Freer/Sackler Gallery’s Made in Hong Kong Film Festival looks at movies made after the island was transferred from Great Britain to China in 1997, and includes two certified classics: Beast Cops, with Anthony Wong playing a corrupt cop fighting gang violence from 1-3 p.m., and Made in Hong Kong, about alienated teenagers mixed up with gangsters from 3:30-5:30 p.m.
Aug. 6 from 1-5:30 p.m. at the Warner Bros. Theatre in the National Museum of American History, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue. Admission is FREE!
On-Going Events
Ai Weiwei: Trace from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. through Jan. 1, 2018, at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Seventh Street and Independence Avenue SW. Admission is FREE!
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!
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!
Marlene Dietrich: Dressed for the Image from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. daily through Apr. 15, 2018, at the National Portrait Gallery, Eighth and F Streets NW. Admission is FREE!
Nicholas Party: Sunrise, Sunset from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through Oct. 1 at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Seventh Street and Independence Avenue SW. Admission is FREE!
Parallax Gap from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. daily through Feb. 11, 2018, at the Renwick Gallery, Pennsylvania Avenue at 17th Street NW. Admission is FREE!
Sharks from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. daily 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.
Summer of Yoko Ono from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through Sept. 17 at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Seventh Street and Independence Avenue SW. Admission is FREE!
Trolley Car Mail from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily through Sept. 10 at the National Postal Museum, 2 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Admission is FREE!
Wright on the Walls from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday through Sept. 4 at the National Building Museum, 401 F St. NW. Admission is $10 for adults and $7 for seniors, students with ID and youth ages 3-17.
XYZT: Abstract Landscapes hands-on interactive experience from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and 5:30-10 p.m. daily 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.
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.
