Kite Festival, Easter Fill Busy DMV Weekend
With high temperatures in about 60 degrees and no chance of rain in the forecast, it will be a great weekend to get outside and check our the Renwick Gallery’s new Burning Man art exhibit at the museum and in the nearby neighborhood, fly a kite at the Blossom Kite Festival on Saturday or hunt for Easter eggs on Sunday. Of course, there are plenty of other things to do this weekend too.
It is Easter weekend and cherry blossom season, so work on Metro will be at a minimum. All lines will operate at regular weekend levels until 10 p.m. After 10 p.m., Red, Orange, Silver and Green lines will operate every 25 minutes with Red Line trains single tracking between Judiciary Square and Union Station; Orange Line trains single tracking Clarendon and Ballston; and Green Line trains single tracking between Southern Avenue and Naylor Road. Also after 10 p.m. both nights, Silver Line will run between Wiehle-Reston East and Ballston ONLY.
The Blossom Kite Festival is set for Saturday at the Washington Monument. (Photo: Smithsonian Institution)
Blossom Kite Festival
Head to the Washington Monument ground for the seventh annual Kite Blossom Festival, one of the most anticipated events of the National Cherry Blossom Festival. There will be several competitions and demonstrations throughout the day including the Hot Tricks Showdown from 1:30-2:30 p.m. in which expert kite fliers from all over the world participate in a stunt kite-flying event. There is also the Rokkaku Battle from 2:45-3:30 p.m. in which kites fight in air to be crowned champion. For amateurs, the Family Field will feature a youth kite makers competition from 11 a.m.-noon and a Blossom Build-off competition from 12:30-1:45 p.m. Make sure to take your camera and a kite of your own.
March 31 from 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. on the Washington Monument Grounds, 17th Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Admission is FREE!
No Spectators: The Art of Burning Man
Shrumen Lumen by FoldHaus Art Collective is one of the pieces that will be on display at the Renwick Gallery. (Photo: Rene Smith)
The Renwick Gallery hosts the first major national exhibit to focus on the large-scale participatory work from the annual gathering of bohemians who construct a city of 75,000 in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert for one week every year. During that time, enormous experimental art installations are erected and many are ritually burned to the ground. No Spectators: The Art of Burning Man will take over the entire building, even extending outdoors, with sculptures positioned throughout the surrounding neighborhood in parks and on streets in a collaboration between the museum and the Golden Triangle BID. Overall, this extensive exhibit will showcase room-sized installations, costumes, jewelry and more. Featured artists and collectives include David Best, Candy Chang, Marco Cochrane, Duane Flatmo, Michael Garlington and Natalia Berotti, Five Ton Crane Arts Collective, FoldHaus Art Collective and more. From noon-2 p.m. Friday, a number of the artists featured in the show will talk about their work and the ethos of Burning Man.
March 30-Jan. 21 from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily at the Renwick Gallery, Pennsylvania Avenue at 17th Street NW. Admission is FREE!
Awesome Con
Come to Awesome Con dressed as you favorite comic book or sci-fi character. (Photo: Awesome Con)
Stars of screens big and small, popular comic book creators and thousands upon thousands of their fans will descend on the Walter E. Washington Convention Center for Awesome Con, a weekend-long, comic book and sci-fi blowout of epic proportions. Prepare for an atmosphere that you won’t find anywhere else in the DMV this spring — think cosplay, or lots and lots of costume-clad fans. In addition to tons of exhibitors and artists, the comic-con features celebrity-filled panels and lectures. Special guests include John Boyega, Michael Dorn, Cress Williams, Charisma Carpenter, Ben Savage, Dave Bautista, Michael Rooker, Michael Rosenbaum, Stan Lee and many, many more.
March 30 from noon-8 p.m., March 31 from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. and Apr. 1 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, 801 Mount Vernon Place NW. Tickets are $40 for Friday and Sunday and $55 for Saturday for adults with a three-day pass priced at $80. A child’s weekend pass is $10. Autographs and photo ops are additional.
New York City Ballet: Robbins Centennial Program
The New York City Ballet perfroms the Robbins Centennial Program at the Kennedy Center this weekend. (Photo: New York City Ballet)
The New York City Ballet makes its annual appearance at the Kennedy Center with a program packed with performances of classic compositions. The company is honoring the centennial of composer Leonard Bernstein and its former choreographer, Jerome Robbins. The Robbins Centennial Program includes compositions by Phillip Glass, Bernstein and Giuseppe Verdi.
March 30 at 7:30 p.m., March 31 at 1:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. and Apr. 1 at 1:30 p.m. at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, 2700 F St. NW. Tickets are $29-$99.
Two Trains Running
Arena Stage presents Two Trains Running through Apr. 29.
(Photo: Matt Watters)
August Wilson, one of the most essential and thought-provoking American playwrights, crafted this fascinating story of a city in transition. Set in Pittsburgh in 1969, Two Trains Running zooms in on Memphis Lee’s diner as it is set to be demolished as part of the city’s renovation project during the Civil Rights Movement. Memphis and his regular customers are forced to face a world changing all around them in this intense piece of historical fiction.
March 30 through Apr. 29 at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday (except March 31), and 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday at Arena Stage, 1101 Sixth St. SW. Tickets are $50-$111.
Family Afternoon: Growing Community
A family day at the National Building Museum on Saturday focuses on the built world and nature. (Photo: s-pakhrin/flickr)
The entire family can learn how buildings and green space can work together at Family Afternoon: Growing Community held in honor of the National Cherry Blossom Festival. Nature and its impact on the built world will be discussed, while kids can enjoy designing a parklet to add to the Great Hall and listen to a spring-inspired story.
March 3 form 11 a.m.-2 p.m. at the National Building Museum, 401 F St. NW. Admission is FREE!
Paints, Pigments, Brushes: All About Japanese Painting
The Sackler Gallery hosts a free workshop Saturday on Japanese Painting. (Photo: Sackler Gallery)
The Arthur M. Sackler Gallery hosts this free, drop-in workshop to celebrate the National Cherry Blossom Festival. You can discover traditional Japanese painting, known as nihonga, and check out a colorful display of pigments and brushes at Paints, Pigments, Brushes: All About Japanese Painting. You will also have a chance to try your hand at painting alongside Japanese artists Ideguchi Yuki and Iwaizumi Kei.
March 31 from noon-4 p.m. at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, 1050 Independence Ave. SW. Admission is FREE!
Sharing Images: Renaissance Prints Into Maiolica and Bronze
A plate with a reproduction of Rapehaels’ Plague of Phygia by an unknown artists. (Photo: National Gallery of Art)
In the new exhibit, Sharing Images: Renaissance Prints Into Maiolica and Bronze, nearly 100 objects highlight the technology of image replication and its cultural impacts. The exhibit tells the story of how printed images were transformed and translated onto ceramics and small bronze objects through designs by artists like Raphael, Michelangelo and Albrecht Dürer.
Apr. 1 through Aug. 5 from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday at the National Gallery of Art, Sixth Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Admission is FREE!
Community Day
After Easter dinner, head to the National Museum of Women in the Arts for its free community day and see Hung Liu’s Sisters. (Photo: National Museum of Women in the Arts)
If you haven’t seen “Woman House” or “Hung Liu in Print” at the National Museum of Women in the Arts yet, this Sunday is a great chance: It is the museum’s monthly Community Day, when the usual $10 admission for adults is waived.
Apr. 1 from noon-5 p.m. at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, 1250 New York Ave. NW. Admission is FREE!
Ongoing Events
1968: Civil Rights at 50 from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday through Jan. 2 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.
Alexander Hamilton’s American Revolution from 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and noon-4 p.m. Sunday through May 16 at Anderson House, 2119 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Admission is FREE!
Americans from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through 2022 at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, Fourth Street and Independence Avenue SW. Admission is FREE!
The Artistic Table from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday through June 10 at Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens, 4155 Linnean Ave. NW. Tickets are $18 for adults, $15 for seniors, $10 for college students, $5 for children 6-18 and free for children younger than 6. Adults and seniors get $3 off weekdays and $1 on weekend if purchased online.
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!
Brand New: Art and Commodity in the 1980s from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through May 13 at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Independence Avenue and Seventh Street SW. Admission is FREE!
Cézanne Portraits from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday through July 1 at the National Gallery of Art, Sixth and Constitution Avenue NW. Admission is FREE!
Day to Night: In the Field with Stephen Wilkes from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. through Apr. 22 at the National Geographic Museum, 1145 17th St. NW. Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for students, seniors 62 or older and military, $10 for children ages 5-12 and FREE for kids younger than 5.
Do Ho Suh: Almost Home from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. through Aug 5 at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Eighth and F Streets NW. 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. 29 at the National Museum of American History, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Admission is FREE!
Heavenly Earth: Images of Saint Francis at La Verna from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. daily through July 8 at the National Gallery of Art, Sixth Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Admission is FREE!
Hold These Truths at 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sunday and 7:30 p.m. Sundays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays through Apr. 8 at Arena Stage, 1101 Sixth St. SW. Tickets are $91-$111.
Hung Liu in Print from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday through July 8 at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, 1250 New York Ave. NW. Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors 65 and older or students and free for children 18 and younger.
In Her Words: Women’s Duty and Service in World War I from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. through May 8 at the National Postal Museum, 2 Massachusetts Ave. NE. Admission is FREE!
LAST CHANCE! 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.
The Marines and Tet: The Battle That Changed the Vietnam War from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday through July 8 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.
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!
Michel Sittow: Estonian Painter at the Courts of Renaissance Europe from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sundays through May 13 at the National Gallery of Art, Sixth Street and Constitution Avenue 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!
Outliers and American Vanguard Art from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sundays through May 13 at the National Gallery of Art, Sixth Street and Constitution Avenue 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!
The Prince and the Shah: Royal Portraits from Qajar Iran from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through Aug. 5 at the Freer|Sackler Galleries, 1050 Independence Ave. SW. 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, at the National Archives, 700 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Admission is FREE!
Sakura Yume/Cherry Blossom Dream from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.-11:30 p.m. (21+) through May 6 at Artechouse, 1238 Maryland Ave. SW. Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors 65 and older or military, and $8 for children 8 and younger.
Sally Mann: A Thousand Crossings from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday through May 28 at the National Gallery of Art, Sixth Street and Constitution Avenue 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!
Ten Americans: After Paul Klee from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and noon-6:30 p.m. Sundays through May 6 at The Phillips Collection, 1600 21st St. NW. Tickets are $12 for adults, $10 for students and visitors 62 and older and children 18 and younger are 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.
To Dye For: Ikats from Central Asia from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through July 29 at the Freer|Sackler Galleries, 1050 Independence Ave. SW. Admission is FREE!
Translations at 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and 7 p.m. Sunday through Apr. 22 at Studio Theatre, 1501 14th St. NW. Tickets are $20-$106.
UnSeen: Our Past in a New Light, Ken Gonzales-Day and Titus Kaphar from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. daily through Jan. 6 at the National Portrait Gallery, Eighth and F Streets NW. Admission is FREE!
LAST CHANCE! Waves, all that Glows Sees at 10:30 a.m. and 12:25 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. Saturday, 1:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. Sunday at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, 2700 F St. NW. Tickets are $15.
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, Seventh Street and Independence Avenue Sw. Admission is FREE!
The Winter’s Tale at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 7 p.m. Sunday and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday through Apr. 22 at Folger Theatre, 201 East Capitol St. SE. Tickets are $35-$79.
The Wiz at 7:30 p.m. most nights with noon matinees on Friday and 2 p.m. matinees on Saturday through May 12 at Ford’s Theatre, 511 10th St. NW. Tickets are $27-$71.
Women House from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday through May 28 at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, 1250 New York Ave. NW. Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for seniors 65 and older and students and free for children 18 and younger.
