Continue Your Holiday Celebration
With Independence Day in the middle of the week, you get two weekends to celebrate the holiday. This is your last weekend to visit the Smithsonian Folklife Festival on the National Mall until next summer, and both Laurel and Alexandria host their Independence Day celebrations on Saturday with fun, games, music, food and fireworks. Also, the National Building Museum’s annual summer exhibit opened this week. It looks like a great weekend to get out and enjoy fireworks or other activities in the DMV as this weekend is forecast to be sunny with high in the low- to mid-80s and no chance of rain.
Red Line stations at Union Station and NoMa-Gallaudet are closed this weekend. Buses will replace trains Judiciary Square and Rhode Island Avenue with trains operating every 10 minutes between Shady Grove and Judiciary Square from 9 a.m.-9 p.m. and every 15 minutes other times, while trains between Rhode Island Avenue and Glenmont run every 15 minutes throughout the weekend. Orange and Blue Line trains will single track between Foggy Bottom and Smithsonian every 26 minutes, while the Silver Line will run every 26 minutes between Wiehle-Reston East and Ballston ONLY. Yellow Line trains will operate every 15 minutes between Huntington and Mount Vernon Squre ONLY. Green Line trains will single track between Fort Totten and Prince George’s Plaza every 15 minutes.
Alexandria’s Birthday Celebration
Alexandria’s Birthday Celebration combines America’s 242nd birthday and Alexandria’s 269th birthday on the same day. Take lawn chairs, blankets and a picnic and enjoy live music by the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra and the U.S. Navy Band Commodores. There will be food vendors, a patriotic birthday cake at 8 p.m. and fireworks over the waterfront at 9:30 p.m.
July 7 from 6-10 p.m. along the Potomac Riverfront at Oronoco Bay Park, 100 Madison St. Admission is FREE!
Playball: Navy and the National Pastime
With MLB All-Star Week happening from July 13-17, dive even deeper into the national pastime with this exhibit at the National Museum of the U.S. Navy, located at the Navy Yard, a short walk from Nationals Park. Playball and the National Pastime features a thorough exploration of baseball’s relation to the U.S. Navy and how it became a game that united the contingent. You will see baseball trophies, uniforms and equipment, as well as items from Major League players who served in the Navy.
From 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday through Apr. 30, 2019 at the National Museum of the U.S. Navy, Building 76, 736 Sicard St. SE. Admission is FREE!
Water, Wind and Waves
The Dutch had a close relationship with the water during the Golden Age, using the sea to generate their riches, to travel and, when frozen over or in the summer months, for recreation. Therefore, it is no surprise that some of the era’s greatest artists focused on water in their work. In Water, Wind and Waves: Marine Painting from the Dutch Golden Age, you will see nearly 50 paintings, prints, drawings, ship models and books that reflect this fascination with the marine environment from artists such as Jan van Goyen, Hendrick Avercamp and Willem van de Velde the Elder.
From 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday through Nov. 25 at the National Gallery of Art, Sixth Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Admission is FREE!
Fun House
Each summer, the National Building Museum opens a new installation as part of its Summer Block Party series inside its historic Great Hall. This year, design firm Snarkitecture displays its first comprehensive exhibit at the museum. Fun House celebrates the 10th anniversary of Snarkitecture, the New York design studio that created “The Beach,” the popular pool filled with almost a million plastic balls during the summer of 2015. This year’s installation features a full-sized house with interactive rooms and a “backyard” pool filled with hundreds of thousands of balls.
From 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday through Labor Day at the National Building Museum, 401 F St. NW. Tickets are $16 for adults, $13 for youth 3-17, students with ID and seniors, and $10 for Blue Star military families.
Smithsonian Folklife Festival
The Smithsonian Folklife Festival — the annual celebration of folk arts, crafts, music and cultures — wraps up this weekend with more than 850 participants and more than 750,000 visitors expected. Over the years, the festival has celebrated the cultures of countries around the world. This year is no different. Curators have focused their attention on Armenia, a small country at the crossroads of Asia and Europe, and Catalonia, a society in northeastern Spain with craft exhibits, live music, cooking demos and more. The other focus is On the Move, a program about migration and immigrations. A marketplace will sell pottery, jewelry, embroidery work, woven baskets, gifts, T-shirts and more from Armenia and Catalonia, as well as textiles by artists from Ghana, Niger and the African Dispora along with folk art from artists from 15 countries. On July 8, the festival will celebrate women artists at an evening concert tribute to the Sisterfire festivals that Roadwork produced in D.C. from 1982-1989. Daytime presentations will include poetry, spoken word and reflection on the 40th anniversary of Roadwork. The festival will host evening concerts most nights at 6:30 p.m. The full schedule is online.
Through July 8 from 11:30 a.m.-6 p.m. with concerts most nights at 6:30 p.m. on the National Mall between 12th and 14th Streets between the National Museum of American History and the Smithsonian Castle. Admission is FREE!
Smithsonian Sleepover
The National Museum of Natural History will provide kids with an unforgettable adventure this Friday night as they host a Smithsonian Sleepover. Spots will be in high demand, as kids can have an interactive adventure inside the fascinating museum that hosts the famous Henry the Elephant. Like in Night at the Museum, explore the wonders of the museum’s halls, go on an interactive exploration and participate n hands-on crafts projects and games. 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.
July 6 from 7 p.m.-8:45 a.m. at the National Museum of Natural History, 10th Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Tickets are $135 and available until 2 p.m. Friday at 202-633-3030.
Forklift First Friday
On the first Friday of each month from May through September, the non-profit home-improvement-supply warehouse Community Forklift opens is lot to host Forklift First Fridays live music, this month featuring Bellwether Bayou and Slim Rosa, and a market for odds and ends. The event also includes such family-friendly happenings as face painting, bubble painting, chalk drawing in the courtyard, the Urban Bumpkin BBQ food truck and pop-up bar for adults. This month also features a pop-up fabric show with designer fabric leftovers including a selection of hand-blocked silks, embroidered linens, velvets and more.
July 6 from 6-8 p.m. at Community Forklift, 4671 Tanglewood Dr., Edmonstron, Md.. Admission is FREE!
Capital Fringe Festival
During the edgy Capital Fringe Festival, which runs from this Saturday through July 29, you can catch about 80 out-there performances from local creatives, including plays, improv dramas, punk rock shows and colorful dance shows all within a few minutes walk of the Waterfront Metro. New this year are five plays either created or produced by the Fringe organization itself. They include O Monsters, created by Philadelphia’s New Paradise Laboratories; Barococo by D.C.’s Happenstance Theater Co.; and Andromeda Breaks, a police procedural starring the Classical Greek damsel in distress.
July 7-23 from 11 a.m.-midnight Saturday, 11 a.m.-10:30 p.m. Sunday and 5-10:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 5 p.m.-midnight Friday at Arena Stage, 1101 Sixth St. SW; Blind Whino, 700 Delaware Ave. SW; Christ United Methodist Church, 900 Fourth St. SW; St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church, 555 Water St. SW; Westminister Presbyterian Church, 400 I St. SW; and others. Tickets are $17 per show plus a one-time $7 Fringe button.
Laurel Independence Celebration
The city of Laurel celebrates its 40th annual Independence Celebration on Saturday. The day features a parade at 11 a.m. starting at Fourth and Montgomery Streets, a car show from noon-3 p.m. in Granville Gude Park at Laurel Lakes, field events from 3-5 p.m. at the park including a giant rainbow parachute, corn hole, bubbles, Minute-to-Win-It style games, a hot dog eating contest at 4 p.m. and music by Oracle at 5:15 and 7 p.m. The fireworks display begins at 9:15 p.m. from a barge in the lake. Food and craft vendors will be at the park from 11 a.m. until the end of the fireworks.
July 7 from 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m. at Granville Gude Park in Laurel Lakes, 8300 Mullberry St., Laurel. Admission is FREE!
Why is Eartha Kitt Trying to Kill Me?: A Love Story
The new one-act opera, Why is Eartha Kitt Trying to Kill Me?: A Love Story combines a love story with a murder mystery about a mysterious – and unlikely – suspect. A man shares his bizarre confession concerning the fate of a hot, young, art world starlet. A score that uses both jazz and contemporary sounds moves the story towards its epic conclusion. The production is from UrbanArias.
July 7, 13 and 14 at 8 p.m. and July 8 at 2 p.m. at Signature Theatre, 4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington. Tickets are $47.
Sunday Serenity Yoga
Georgetown’s Dumbarton House museum hosts Sunday Serenity Yoga, its fourth annual summer series of yoga on its grounds. Yogis of all experience levels are welcomed in an hour long vinyasa flow class — bring your own mat — in the summer sun.
Sundays through Aug. 26 from 10-11 a.m. at Dumbarton House, 2715 Q St. NW. Admission is FREE, but a $5 donation to the instructor is suggested.
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.
Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations at 8 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday through July 22 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, 2700 F St. NW. Tickets are $59-$175.
Alexander Hamilton: Soldier, Secretary, Icon from 10a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through March 3 at the National Postal Museum, 2 Massachusetts Ave. NE. Admission is FREE!
The American Revolution: A World War from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through July 9, 2019 at the National Museum of American History, 1300 Constitution 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!
Baseball Americana from 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday through June 2019 at the Library of Congress, Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First St. SE. Admission is FREE!
Baselitz: Six Decades from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through Sept. 16 at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Independence Avenue and Seventh Street SW. Admission is FREE!
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!
Black Out: Silhouettes Then and Now from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. through Mar. 10 at the National Portrait Gallery, Eighth and F Streets NW. Admission is FREE!
Botanical Art Worldwide: America’s Flora from 10 a.m-5 p.m. daily through Oct. 15 at the U.S. Botanic Garden, 100 Maryland Ave. SW. Admission is FREE!
Community Policing in the Nation’s Capital from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday through Jan. 15 at the National Building Museum, 401 F St. NW. Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for seniors 60 and older, students with valid ID and youth ages 3-17 Children are FREE!
Daguerreotypes: Five Decades of Collecting from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. daily through June 2 at the National Portrait Gallery, Eighth and F Streets NW. Admission is FREE!
Diane Arbus: A Box of Ten Photographs from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. daily through Jan. 21 at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Eighth and F Streets NW. Admission is FREE!
Does the Body Rule the Mind, or Does the Mind Rule the Body? from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through Aug. 12 at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Independence Avenue and Seventh Street SW. Admission is FREE!
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!
Evicted from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday through May 19 at the National Building Museum, 401 F St. NW. Admission is FREE!
Fabergé Rediscovered from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday through Jan. 13 at Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens, 4155 Linnean Ave. NW. Tickets are $18 for adults, $15 for seniors, $10 for college student, $5 for children 6-18 and FREE for children younger than 6. Adults and seniors get $3 off weekdays and $1 off on weekends when purchased online.
Friday Night Concert Series from 7-9 p.m. Fridays through Aug. 24 at Yards Park, 355 Water St. SE. Admission is FREE!
Fridays at the Fountain from 5-9 p.m. Fridays through Oct. 19 at the Crystal City Water Park, 1601 Crystal Drive, Arlington. Admission is FREE!
Generation Gap at 8 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Saturday and 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Sundays through Aug. 12 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, 2700 F St. NW. Tickets are $49-$59.
Hamilton at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday and 1:30 p.m.. Saturday and Sunday through Sept. 16 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, 2700 F St. NW. Tickets are $99-$625. There is a limit of four tickets per household.
LAST CHANCE! 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!
Heavy Metal – Women to Watch 2018 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday through Sept.16 at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, 1250 New York Ave. NW. Admission is $10 for adults and $8 for seniors 65+ and students older than 18. Youth 18 and younger are FREE!
LAST CHANCE! 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 the Library: The Richer Archive at 75 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and closed weekends through Aug. 24 at the National Gallery of Art, Sixth and Constitution Ave. NW. Admission is FREE!
Jazz in the Garden from 5-8:30 p.m. Fridays through Aug. 24 at the National Gallery of Art’s Sculpture Garden, Sixth 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.
LAST CHANCE! 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!
Marking the Infinite from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Sturday, 10 a.m. -8:30 p.m. Thursday and noon-6:30 p.m. on Sunday through Sept. 9 at The Phillips Collection, 1600 21st St. NW. Admission is $12 for adults, $10 for students and seniors 62 and older, and FREE for visitors 18 and younger.
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!
No Spectators: The Art of Burning Man from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through Jan. 21 at the Renwick Gallery, Pennsylvania Avenue at 17th Street NW. Admission is FREE!
One Year: 1968, An America Odyssey from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. through May 19 at the National Portrait Gallery, Eighth and F Streets NW. Admission is FREE!
LAST CHANCE! Other Life Forms at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday through July 7 at Keegan Theatre, 1742 Church St. NW. Tickets are $35-$45.
Outbreak from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through 2021 at the National Museum of Natural History, 10th Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Admission is FREE!
Pictures of the Year: 75 Years of the World’s Best Photography from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday through Jan. 20 at the Newseum, 555 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Tickets are $24.95 for adults, $19.95 for seniors 65 and older, $14.95 for your 7-18 and free for children 6 and younger.
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!
Postmen of the Skies: Celebrating 100 Years of Airmail Service from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through May 27 at the National Postal Museum, 2 Massachusetts Ave. NE. 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!
Secret Cities from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday through Mar. 3 at the National Building Museum, 401 F St. NW. Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for seniors 60 or older, students with ID and children 3-17. Children younger than 3 are FREE!
Sharing Images: Renaissance Prints Into Maiolica and Bronze from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday through Aug. 5 at the National Gallery of Art, Sixth Street and Constitution Avenue NW. 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!
Summer Concert Series from 6:30-8 p.m. Fridays through July 27 on the outdoor plaza at Tysons Corner Center, 1961 Chain Bridge Road, McLean. 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!
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!
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.
Trevor Paglen: Sites Unseen from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. daily through Jan. 6 at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Eighth and F Streets NW. Admission is FREE!
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!
Watching Oprah: The Oprah Winfrey Show and American Culture from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through June 2019 at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, 1400 Constitution Ave. NW. Admission is FREE, but timed passes are required. Timed passes will not be required weekdays in September.
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!
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.