Activities to Fill Your MLK Holiday Weekend
It may feel like a rainy spring day on Friday, but the rest of the weekend will be wintery with temperatures back down into the mid- to low-30, although the rain will end. There are several activities honoring Martin Luther King Jr. on the anniversary of his birthday Monday and its fetish weekend in the DMV with Mid-Atlantic Leather in D.C. and the D.C. Tattoo Expo in Arlington. However you choose to spend the three-day holiday weekend, enjoy!
Work on Metro doesn’t take a holiday this weekend. On the Red Line, single-tracking continues between Friendship Heights and Grosvenor with trains running every 24 minutes between Shady Grove and Glenmont and every 12 minutes between Farragut North and Glenmont between 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Yellow Line trains will operate every 12-15 minutes between Huntington and Reagan National Airport ONLY due to the annual bridge inspection over the Potomac River. Green Line trains will single track between Fort Totten and Prince George’s Plaza on Saturday and Sunday with trains running every 15 minutes. Orange, Blue and Silver Line trains will be on regular weekend schedules. Metro will operate from 5 a.m.-11:30 p.m. on Monday with off-peak fares and free parking.
1968: Civil Rights at 50
As part of the Newseum’s Civil Rights at 50 series, 1968: Civil Rights at 50 examines the relationship between the First Amendment and civil rights during that pivotal year. Explore the essential and tragic events of the year through photography and interactive elements. You will learn more about the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., the Black Power movement and much more. Historic images and print news artifacts highlight the landmark events of the year, including the Orangeburg massacre, when three unarmed black teenagers were killed by police during protests at South Carolina State College; the sanitation workers strike in Memphis; and the Poor People’s Campaign in Washington, D.C., designed to draw attention to poverty and economic inequality. The exhibit also traces the dramatic social and political upheavals that formed the backdrop to these events, from anti–Vietnam War protests to the assassination of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and a defiant protest for human rights at the Mexico City Olympics.
Daily through Jan. 2, 2019 from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday at the Newseum, 555 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Admission is $21.21 for adults, $16.96 for seniors 65 and older, and $12.71 for children ages 7-18 in advance or $24.95, $19.95 and $14.95, respectively, at the door.
D.C. Tattoo Expo
More than 450 of the world’s best tattoo artists, including the stars of Spike Tv’s Ink Master, Tattoo Nightmares and Nightmare Rescues and the finest tattoo artists from the D.C. metro area, will be at the eighth annual D.C. Tattoo Expo this weekend. There will be live tattooing and body piercing. If it is the body art industry, it is here. A full list of the tattoo artists is http://www.dctattooexpo.com/artists.php here. There will be a tattoo contest at 9 p.m. nightly with categories such as sleeve, back piece, best tattoo of the day (must have been done from start to finish at the expo) and worst tattoo (winner gets a certificate for a cover up). Winners receive plaques. There will also be the Miss D.C. Pin-Up Contest at 7 p.m. Saturday with the winner taking home $500.
Jan. 12-14 from 1-11 p.m. Friday, noon-11 p.m. Saturday and noon-7 p.m. Sunday at the Crystal Gateway Marriott, 1700 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington. Tickets are $30 a day or $60 for all three days at the door. Children under 12 are free with paying adult and active military members receive a $10 discount on a three-day pass.
Mid-Atlantic Leather Weekend
Calling all 50 Shades of Grey fans. It is time for the 47th Mid Atlantic Leather Weekend, better known as MAL, sponsored by the Centaur Motorcycle Club. Thousands of leather lovers descend on the District for a long weekend of harnesses, chaps, whips and parties. You don’t really have to be into leather to attend. It is more than fine to go-and-look and dip your toe into the leather world. Events include a rubber social, demonstrations, leather cocktails, a gear show, a Mr. Mid-Atlantic Leather Contest and an exhibition hall with vendors selling leather and other goods. But be warned: this is not for kids. According to the website, the dress code in the hotel is “Nudity is not allowed in the public areas of the hotel. Men are able to walk around the hotel shirtless, in a jock or in chaps with a jock. Women are not permitted to be shirtless or have their nipples exposed. When dining, your buttock (sic) must be covered and at least have a vest on. When leaving the hotel, you must have at least a 1 inch strap covering your ass-crack.”
Jan. 12-14 from 3 p.m. Friday through 4 a.m. Monday at the Hyatt Regency, 400 New Jersey Ave. NW, except for the closing party which is at the 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW from 10 p.m. Sunday-4 a.m. Monday. The exhibitor hall (admission is $15 at the door on Friday and Sunday, $20 on Saturday or $30 for all three days) is open from 4-10 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday in case you want to get a jump on your Valentine’s Day shopping. See the full schedule here.
On Your Feet!
From their humble beginnings in Cuba, Emilio and Gloria Estefan came to America and broke through all barriers to become a crossover sensation at the top of the pop music world. But just when they thought they had it all, they almost lost everything. From international superstardom to life-threatening tragedy, On Your Feet!\
takes you behind the music and inside the real story of this record-making and groundbreaking couple who, in the face of adversity, found a way to end up on their feet. You will hear classic songs throughout the production, all woven into an inspiring tale of love, perseverance and irresistible grooves including Rhythm Is Gonna Get You, Conga, Get On Your Feet, Don’t Want to Lose You Now, 1-2-3 and Coming Out of the Dark.
Through Jan. 28 at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday and 1:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ Opera House, 2700 F St. NW. Tickets are $59-$149.
The Way of the World
Mae is a sweet-natured woman with just a little baggage — a $600 million inheritance. When her womanizing boyfriend Henry dallies with her protective aunt, the world seems too much for her. Both women become the object of ridicule and scandal — but Henry has a plan to win the heiress back. In the lush and opulent land of the Hampton’s one percent, where money and status determine everything, can love conquer all? Freely adapted from Congreve’s classic play, The Way of the World is a physical comedy illuminating the foibles of the upper-class. Featuring Tony Award nominee Kristine Nielsen. It is part of D.C.’s Women’s Voice Theater Festival highlighting new works by female artists.
Through Feb. 11 at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday (except. Jan. 13), 7 p.m. Sunday and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday at the Folger Theatre, 201 E. Capitol St. SE. Tickets are $35-$79.
Sovereignty
Part of the Women’s Voices Theater Festival, Mary Kathryn Nagle’s new work Sovereignty is about a young Cherokee lawyer who learns, while fighting for her nation’s independence, why some wounds never heal. During her battle, Sarah Ridge Polson must face the tragedies of the Cherokee Nation. With shadows stretching from 1830s Cherokee Nation (now Georgia) and Andrew Jackson’s White House to the Cherokee Nation in present-day Oklahoma, she must confront the ghosts of her grandfathers as the play asks how high the flames of anger can rise before they ultimately consume the truth. Gloria Steinman will participate in a post-show conversation after the Jan. 28 show at 7:30 p.m.
Through Feb. 18 at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday (except Jan. 13), and 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday with an occasional noon matinee on Wednesdays at Arena Stage’s Kreeger Theater, 1101 Sixth St. SW. Tickets are $41-$119.
The Humans
The 2016 Tony Award winner for Best Play, The Humans by Stephen Karam is an uproarious, hopeful and heartbreaking play that takes place over the course of a family dinner on Thanksgiving. Breaking with tradition, Erik Blake — The Waltons’s Richard Thomas — has brought his Pennsylvania family to celebrate and give thanks at his daughter’s apartment in Lower Manhattan. As darkness falls outside the ramshackle pre-war duplex and eerie things start to go bump in the night, the Blake clan’s deepest fears and greatest follies are laid bare. Also starring Parks and Recreation’s Pamela Reed and original Broadway cast member Lauren Klein.
Through Jan. 28 at 8 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ Eisenhower Theater, 2700 F St. NW. Tickets are $49-$139.
Reston MLK Jr. Birthday Weekend
The Reston Martin Luther King Jr. Birtyday Weekend includes community service projects at 9 a.m. Saturday at the Southgate Community Center and the Reston Community Orchestra’s annual tribute to MLK featuring students from Al Fatih Academy, the Men’s Chorus of Martin Luther King Jr. Christian Church and Beverly Cosham at 4 p.m. at Reston Community Center’s Hunters Woods. On Sunday, Voices of Inspiration is the 27th anniversary program at the Northern Virginia Hebrew Congregations at 4 p.m. And on Monday, civil rights Advocate Tamika D. Mallory, the co-chair of the 2017 Women’s March on Washington, will speak at noon at the community center followed by lunch. There will also be activities for children ages 6-12 from 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
Jan. 13-15 at various times and locations in Reston. All events are free except the talk and lunch on Monday, which cost $5 for Reston residents and $10 for non-residents. Tickets are available online or at the box office.
Weekend Morning Movies
Looking for something to do with the kids on weekend mornings to beat the winter blahs? Weekend Morning Movies at the AMC Loews Uptown fill the historic Cleveland Park movie house, such as this weekend’s screening ot the Tom Hanks classic Big. You don’t have to have kids in town to appreciate the chance to see Back to the Future Jan. 20-21, The Wizard of Oz Jan. 27-28, Despicable Me Feb. 3-4 or The Princess Bride Feb. 10 -11 on the Uptown’s huge screen.
Weekends through Feb. 11 at 10 a.m. at the AMC Loews Uptown theater, 3426 Connecticut Ave. NW. Tickets are $5.59.
Riverfront Resolutions
Your New Year’s resolutions beckon. Get your fitness regime in line during Riverfront Resolutions — postponed from last weekend due to the cold — at Canal Park with a free VIDA fitness class with instructor Matt Coleman at 11 a.m. and free ice skating lessons (rink admission and skate rental still apply) until 1 p.m.
Jan. 13 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at Canal Park, 200 M St. SE. The class and lessons are free, but rink admission and skate rental still apply.
4th Annual MLK Birthday Celebration
Three of D.C.’s legendary go-go bands will honor Martin Luther King Jr. with a special MLK Birthday Celebration performance. Rare Essence, founded by the Godfather of Go-Go, Chuck Brown, have been making feet move throughout the District since the mid-1970s. Trouble Funk has been around almost as long and have a host of go-go classics to the name. Sugar Bear & EU have been a regional sensation since the 1980s. Experience all three on one stage to celebrate the birthday of American’s Civil Rights leader.
Jan. 14 at 10 p.m. (doors open at 8 p.m.) at the Howard Theatre, 620 T St. NW. Tickets are $35 in advance and $45 the day of the show.
Martin Luther King Jr. Parade
The 37th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Parade steps off at noon at Martin Luther King Avenue and Good Hope Road SE near the Anacostia Park entrance and proceed to the Barry Farm Recreation & Aquatics Center, 1230 Sumner Road SE. The parade will be preceded by a Peace Walk at 11 a.m. starting at 2500 Martin Luther King Ave. SE and ending at the starting point of the parade. Donnie Simpson, Dick Gregory and Nick Cannon have previously participated in the Peace March. There will also be a health and community fair with community groups, health care providers and government agencies from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Barry Farm rec center.
Jan. 15 from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. along Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue in Anacostia. All events are FREE!
Women’s Voices Theater Festival
From Jan. 15-Feb. 15, 24 theaters around the DMV will present new plays penned by women playwrights and women-led collectives during the Women’s Voices Theater Festival. The festival includes 13 world premieres, as well as 11 American or regional premieres, with the playwright participating in the rehearsal and production process. Productions range from the imaginative to resonant commentary on topical issues. Shows include a broad offering, such as Sarah DeLappe’s The Wolves at Studio Theatre, which chronicles the drama of a season of girls’ winter indoor soccer; Timberlake Wertenbaker’s American Revolution-themed Jefferson Garden at Ford’s Theatre; and Annalisa Dias’ 4,380 Nights at Signature Theatre, about a prisoner languishing in Guantanamo Bay. From the first festival in 2015, 13 productions by 17 playwrights went on to be produced in other theaters. The festival’s originating theaters — Arena Stage, Ford’s Theatre, Round House Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Signature Theatre, Studio Theatre and Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company — will once again collaborate with regional presenters to highlight the scope of new plays written by women and the range of professional theater being produced in and around the nation’s capital. Some of the plays, which begin this weekend, are listed above.
Jan. 11-Mar. 4 at various times and date at 24 theaters in the DMV. For the complete list of plays, theaters, dates and times, or to purchase tickets, click here. A festival pass is available for $15 that entitles the bearer to 25 percent off the price of tickets purchased through the festival website.
Let Freedom Ring
The annual Let Freedom Ring concert honoring Martin Luther King Jr. returns with the Let Freedom Ring Choir, made up primarily of Georgetown Univeristy students with member of the Metropolitan Music Ministry of the Metropolitan Baptist Church and the Capitol Hill Seventh-Day Adventist Church, and Grammy and Tony-nominated singer Vanesa Williams.
Jan. 15 at 6 p.m. at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ Concert Hall, 2700 F St. NW. Admission is FREE, but tickets will be distributed beginning at 4:30 p.m. in the Hall of Nations at the glass doors leading to the Grand Foyer.
Ongoing Events
FINAL WEEKEND! Architecture of an Asylum: St. Elizabeths 1852-2017 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Jan. 12, 13 and 15 and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Jan. 14 at the National Building Museum, 401 F St. NW. Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for seniors, students and children.
Beautiful Blooms: Flowering Plants on Stamps from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through July 14 at the National Postal Museum, 2 Massachusetts Ave. NE. Admission is FREE!
FINAL WEEKEND! Crazy for You at 8 p.m. Jan. 12 and 13 and 2 and 7 p.m. Jan. 14 at Signature Theatre, 4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington. Tickets are $40-$89.
FINAL WEEKEND! Divine Felines: Cats of Ancient Egypt from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through Jan. 15 at the Freer|Sackler Galleries, 1050 Independence Ave. SW. Admission is FREE!
Drawn to Purpose: American Women Illustrators and Cartoonists from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. daily through Oct. 20 at the Library of Congress, Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First St. SE. Admission is FREE!
Encountering the Buddha: Art and Practice across Asia from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through Nov. 29, 2020 at the Freer|Sackler Galleries, 1050 Independence Ave. SW. Admission is FREE!
The First Lady of Song: Ella Fitzgerald at 100 from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through Apr. 2 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 at the National Portrait Gallery, Eighth and F Streets NW. Admission is FREE!
Ilya and Emilia Kabakov: The Utopian Projects from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through Mar. 4 at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Seventh Street and Independence Ave. SW. Admission is FREE!
In the Tower: Anne Truitt from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday through Apr. 1 at the National Gallery of Art East Building, Fourth Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Admission is FREE!
Making Room: Housing for a Changing American from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday through Sept. 16 at the National Building Museum, 401 F St. NW. Admission is $10 for adults and $7 for seniors 60 or older, students, and children ages 3-17.
Mark Bradford: Pickett’s Charge from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through Nov. 12 at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Seventh Street and Independence Avenue SW. Admission is FREE!
Marlene Dietrich: Dressed for the Image from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. daily through Apr. 15 at the National Portrait Gallery, Eighth and F Streets NW. Admission is FREE!
Mural from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and 11 a.m-6 p.m. Sunday through Oct. 28 at the National Gallery of Art East Building, Fourth Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Admission is FREE!
Murder Is Her Hobby: Frances Glessner Lee and the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily through Jan. 28 at the Renwick Gallery, 1700 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Admission is FREE!
Painting Shakespeare from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday through Feb. 11 at the Folger Shakespeare Library, 201 East Capitol St. SE. Admission is FREE!
Parallax Gap from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. daily through Feb. 11 at the Renwick Gallery, Pennsylvania Avenue at 17th Street NW. Admission is FREE!
Portraits of the World: Switzerland from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. daily through Nov. 12 at the National Portrait Gallery, Eighth and F Streets NW. Admission is FREE!
Recent Acquisitions from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. daily through Nov. 4 at the National Portrait Gallery, Eighth and F Streets NW. Admission is FREE!
Remembering Vietnam from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through Jan. 6, 2019, at the National Archives, 700 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Admission is FREE!
Rick Araluce: The Final Stop from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through Jan. 28 at the Renwick Gallery, 1700 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Admission is FREE!
Secrets of the Lacquer Buddha from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. through June 10 at the Freer|Sackler Galleries, 1050 Independence Ave. SW. Admission is FREE!
Subodh Gupta: Terminal from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through 2020 at the Freer|Sackler Galleries, 1050 Independence Ave. SW. Admission is FREE!
The Sweat of Their Face: Portraying American Workers from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. daily through Sept. 3 at the National Portrait Gallery, Eighth and F Streets NW. Admission is FREE!
Tamayo: The New York Years from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. daily through Mar. 18 at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Eighth and F Streets NW. Admission is FREE!
Tomb of Christ from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. daily through Aug. 15 at the National Geographic Museum, 1145 17th St. NW. Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors/students/military and $10 for children 5-12.
Vermeer and the Masters of Genre Painting: Inspiration and Rivalry from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday through Jan. 21 at the National Gallery of Art, Sixth Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Admission is FREE!
What Absence Is Made Of from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through the summer of 2019 at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, 7th Street and Independence Avenue Sw. 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.