Don’t Leave Home Without Your Umbrella
It looks like a rainy weekend in the DMV, but there is plenty to do inside. Or, if you are headed to the first MerMagic Con in Manassas, you are probably looking forward to getting wet anyway. For the rest of you, don’t forget your umbrella, especially if you are headed to the Giant Panda House Warming at the National Zoo.
On Metro this weekend, Red Line trains single track between Van Ness-UDC and Dupont Circle. Trains will run every 8 minutes between Farragut North and Silver Spring from 10 a.m.-9:30 p.m. and every 16 minutes between Shady Grove and Glenmont. Orange Line trains single track between Stadium-Armory and Cheverly every 20 minutes. Yellow Line trains run every 20 minutes between Huntington and National Airport ONLY. Green Line trains single track between L’Enfant Plaza and Mount Vernon Square with trains running every 18 minutes. Blue and Silver Line trains operate or a regular weekend schedule.
MerMagic Con
MerMagic Con is a two-day festival that is bringing more than 200 merfolk to Manassas. Professional mermaids are traveling from as far away as Hawaii and Australia to attend the inaugural event, but the mer-curious are welcome too. If you want to try it out, you can rent a swimmable mermaid tail for $20. In the shallow lanes of the Freedom center’s Olympic-size pool, kids can participate in a mermaid meet-and-greet and a beginner mermaid swim class. Grown-up merfolk can just hang out, perfect their underwater tricks or slalom through an underwater obstacle course of weighted hula hoops as well as the “Merlympics,” where merfolk race to retrieve weights from the bottom of the pool, among other events. On the complex’s basketball court, vendors of mermaid accessories, tails and other products will be selling their wares. Workshops ranging from event production to silicone tail crafting, and appearances by mermaid celebrities will take place in the classrooms. On Saturday night, there will be a gala at the Wyndham Garden Manassas (additional $75 ticket required), where people will go out with their land-mermaid costumes.
Feb. 23 from 8 a.m.-8 p.m. and Feb. 24 from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. at Freedom Aquatic & Fitness Center, 9100 Freedom Center Blvd., Manassas. Tickets are $20-$75.
Between Worlds: The Art of Bill Traylor Symposium
The most beautiful and meaningful art can sometimes be overlooked because of its apparent simplicity. If you haven’t had a chance to view the stunning exhibition of self-taught artist Bill Traylor at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Friday’s your best bet to take it all in. Throughout the day during Between Worlds: the Art of bill Traylor Symposium, speakers, including academics and the exhibit’s curator, will discuss Traylor’s drawings and his unique perspective of African American life.
Feb. 22 from 12:30-6 p.m. in McEvoy Auditorium at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Eighth and G Streets W. Admission is FREE!.
Mother Tongue Film Festival
The Smithsonian’s Mother Tongue Film Festival celebrates works that use language to connect the past with today. With a wide-ranging slate of feature and short films from around the world, the free event kicked off on International Mother Language Day. This year’s notable film include Tongan documentary Letis in Waiting at 7 p.m. Friday at NYC Washington, D.C. about a vibrant and creative community of native transgender women who hold essential roles in Tongan society; and Mexican drama Tiempo de Lluvia (In Times of Rain) at 3 p.m. Saturday at the National Museum of the American Indian about a family caught between the rural and the urban as Adele migrates from her rural village to Mexico City to find work, leaving her infant son José with her mother, Soledad. After years apart, Soledad receives word that Adele is getting married and wants José to join her in the city. Soledad is fearful of José leaving his way of life. See the full schedule online.
Feb. 21 through 24 at various times at the Freer|Sacler Galleries, the National Museum of the American Indian, NYC Washington, D.C., the National Museum of American History, Eaton Workshop and the Kennedy Center. Admission is FREE!
Atlas Intersections Festival
The Atlas Performing Arts Center hosts the 10th annual Atlas Intersections Festival, combining theater, dance, poetry, music, film, writing, sculpture, photography and arts of all kinds into two weeks’ worth of excitement with more than 100 local artists. See the finest creativity that D.C. can offer at one of the city’s most prestigious venues located in one of its most vibrant neighborhoods. Highlights include family fun days from 9 a.m.-noon this Saturday and Mar. 2 and the Youth Summit on March 2. This weekend’s events include Adventures in Arden, an interactive puppet show based on Shakespeare’s As You Like It by Shakespeare for the Young on Saturday at 9:30 a.m.; Wake Up, Brother Bear by Imagination Stage with a brother and sister bear who take viewers through the seasons at 9:30 and 11 a.m. Saturday, and 10 and 11:30 a.m. Sunday; and Beyond by Deviated Theatre, an original dance opera in which Luna the Astronaut discovers that getting lost (on Mars) is part of getting found, at 8:30 p.m. Saturday. See the full schedule online.
Feb. 21-24 and Feb. 27-Mar. 3 at various times at the Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St. NE. Tickets range from free-$35 with most priced at $12.
She a Gem
In She a Gem, an original work from playwright Josh Wilder, a trio of African American girls form a Double Dutch team in inner city Philadelphia. The three hope to win their neighborhood block party competition, which would allow them to hear their futures told by the local psychic. Will they becomes a famous singer? A hair dresser? Or maybe a “gem,” a special leader who care for the neighborhood? However, the girls meet a pregnant teen from North Philly who jumps Double Dutch almost better than any of them. Soon, they will learn more from her past than they ever could from a psychic.
Feb. 22-24 at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and 1:30 p.m. Sunday at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, 2700 F St. NW. Tickets are $20.
Tap Dogs
Marvel at otherworldly tap dancing in Tap Dogs, a hybrid show that mashes up the drama of theater and the intensity of a rock concert. The internationally acclaimed show features music performed by the cast in addition to live musicians. The dancers get immersed in water, hang upside down and jump through scaffolding, meaning you will get a healthy dose of acrobatic wonder to go with the thudding rhythm of the music and dancing.
Feb. 22 at 8 p.m., Feb. 23 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Feb. 24 at 2 p.m. at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, 2700 F St. NW. Tickets are $49-$99.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Return to a galaxy far, far away and join Han Solo and Princess Leia, plus newcomers Finn and Rey as the NSO Pops series presents a screening of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The National Symphony Orchestra performs John Williams’ iconic Oscar-nominated score live along with the full feature film.
Feb 22 at 8 p.m. and Feb. 23 at 2 p.m. at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, 2700 F St. NW. Tickets are $34-$149.
D-Nice Dance Party
While the Kennedy Center’s reputation as an esteemed performance venue remains, its focus in recent years on attracting a younger crowd has led to some of the most interesting bookings on its calendar. There’s a reason its semiregular hip-hop karaoke nights always draw a big crowd, but Friday night’s D-Nice Dance Party in the atrium lets someone else handle the tunes onstage for the night — oh, and it happens to be renowned DJ D-Nice. The Bronx-born selector has collaborated with the likes of his New York compatriot KRS-One and Too Short, and his spinning skills have earned him bookings at premiere parties, including a 2013 inaugural ball.
Feb. 22 from 9 p.m.-midninght at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, 2700 F St. NW. Admission is FREE!
Giant Panda Housewarming Celebration
The National Zoo unveils the Giant Panda Habitat’s new interactive exhibit, which will teach visitors about the ecology, history, reproduction and care of giant pandas, during the Giant Panda Housewarming Celebration. The public is invited to attend. Visitors can chat with panda keepers and scientists, sample dumplings until 11 a.m., sip free hot chocolate until 2 p.m. and watch as giant pandas and red pandas receive frozen treats throughout the day. Also, each family can take home a limited-edition print of a “painting” created by Tian Tian, Mei Xiang and Bei Bei. Kids will love the coloring station.
Feb. 23 from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, 3001 Connecticut Ave. NW. Admission is FREE!
Meet Dr. King
Bright Star Theatre uses plays as educational tools, helping young audiences to better understand history and the world around them. The National Theatre will host Bright Star for two performances of Meet Dr. King during its Saturday Morning at The National program, making for a perfect family activity during Black History Month. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life and his incredible work done during the Civil Rights movement will be detailed in the dramatic show, which takes viewers from Dr. King’s life as a young boy experiencing racism for the first time, to meeting his wife, Coretta, to becoming a pastor and finally a national inspiration.
Feb. 23 at 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. at the National Theatre, 1321 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Admission is FREE.
Play in a Day
Can six plays be written, rehearsed, directed and performed in 24 hours? Six area theater companies take on the challenge at Play in a Day. The festival, produced by the Bethesda Urban Partnership and Bethesda Arts and Entertainment District now in its 15th year, features six professional theater companies that have to do in 24 hours what might ordinarily take months. On Friday night, the playwrights representing all of the participating companies will receive a line of dialogue, a theme and a prop that they must use. Then it is a sprint to write, rehearse and mount a 10-minutes play in front of a panel of judges and a paying audience just 24 hours later. The winners get cash.
Feb. 23 at 8 p.m. at Imagination State, 4908 Auburn Ave., Bethesda. Tickets are $15.
Ramen World 5
You will get to eat as much ramen as your heart desires (or your stomach can take) on Sunday at Ramen World 5. Eleven food vendors – including local favorites Bad Saint, Daikaya and Himitsu – will serve unlimited samples during the popular festival. While most of the participating restaurants will focus on ramen, some will also offer dumplings, Japanese desserts and more small bites to nosh on. As you snack and slurp your way through the afternoon, DJ Smudge will spin an eclectic mix of J-pop tunes.
Feb. 24 at noon and 3 p.m. at Mess Hall, 703 Edgewood St. NW. Tickets are $90-$120.
Let’s Go to the Moon!
As the 50th anniversary of the moon landing draws near, join the NSO for Let’s Go to the Moon!, a fun-filled concert of interstellar proportions. Tap into your imagination and be transported from the Concert Hall to outer space with music from Star Trek and a new NSO commission from Oscar-winning composer Michael Giacchino (Star Trek trilogy, Star Wars: Rogue One and numerous Pixar films), Also sprach Zarathustra (the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey), and more. The concert will feature projections of photos and video, ranging from the International Space Station to the Hubble Space Telescope, examining our planet and beyond.
Feb. 24 at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, 2700 F St. NW. Tickets are $12-$18.
And the Winner is…Oscar Night Party
Is there a more appropriate place to watch the Academy Awards than a movie theater? The D.C. Film Society’s 27th annual And the Winner Is…Oscar Night Party brings a crowd of movie buffs to the Arlington Cinema and Drafthouse, where the ceremony will be shown on a very large screen. Film critics offer commentary on the winners and losers while audience members try to win prizes by predicting results, or pick up movie swag in the silent auction and raffles.
Feb. 24 from 6:30-11 p.m. at Arlington cinema and Drafthouse, 2903 Columbia Pike, Arlington. Tickets are $15-$20 (a $1 fee is added to online sales).
Ongoing events
Admissions at 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and 7 p.m. Sunday through Mar. 10 at Studio Theatre, 1501 14th St. NW. Tickets are $20-$111.
Ain’t Misbehavin’ at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 7 p.m. Sunday and 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday through Mar. 10 at Signature Theatre, 4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington. Tickets are $40-$114.
Alexander Hamilton: Soldier, Secretary, Icon from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through Mar. 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 at the National Museum of American History, 1300 Constitution Ave. NW. Admission is FREE!
Ambreen Butt — Mark My Words from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday through Apr. 14 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 older than 18, and youth 18 and younger are 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 at the Library of Congress, Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First St. SE. Admission is FREE!
Between Worlds: The Art of Bill Traylor from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. daily through Mar. 17 at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Eighth and F Streets NW. Admission is FREE!
Big Apple Circus at 7 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Saturday, noon and 4 p.m. Sunday through Mar. 24 at National Harbor, 165 Waterfront St., Oxen Hill. Tickets are $20-$95.
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!
Celebrating New American Gardens from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily through Oct. 15 at the U.S. Botanic Garden, 100 Maryland Ave. SW. Admission is 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!
Dawoud Bey: The Birmingham Project from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday through Mar. 17 at the National Gallery of Art, Fourth Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Admission is FREE!
Disrupting Craft from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through May 5 at the Renwick Gallery, 1661 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. 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!
Everything in Existence from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday through Monday and 5 p.m.-10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 5:30 p.m.-11:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday (over 21 after 5 p.m.) through Mar. 10 at Artechouse, 1238 Maryland Ave. SW. Tickets are $8-$15 online or $10-$20 at the door.
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!
Eye to I: Self-Portraits from 1900 to Today from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. daily through Aug. 18 at the National Portrait Gallery, Eighth and F Streets NW. Admission is FREE!
First Chefs: Fame and Foodways from Britain to the Americas from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday through Mar. 31 at the Folger Shakespeare Library, 201 East Capitol St. SE. Admission is FREE!
Flickering Treasures from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday through Oct. 14 at the National Building Museum, 401 F St. NW. Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for seniors ages 60 and older, youth ages 3-17 and students. Children 2 and younger are FREE!
Game Change: Elephants from Prey to Preservation from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through Feb. 1, 2020, at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, 10th Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Admission is FREE!
A Glimpse of Ancient Yemen from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through Aug. 18 at the Sackler Gallery, 1050 Independence Ave. SW. Admission is FREE!
Good as Gold: Fashioning Senegalese Women from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through Sept. 29 at the National Museum of African Art, 950 Independence Ave. SW. Admission is FREE!
The Heiress at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday through Mar. 10, and noon on Feb. 20, 26 and Mar. 6 at Arena Stage, 1101 Sixth St. SW. Tickets are $40-$95.
Huckleberry Finn’s Big River at 7 p.m. Friday; 11 a.m., 2 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Saturday; 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Sunday; and 10:30 a.m. Wednesday and Thursday through Mar. 10 at Adventure Theatre, 7300 MacArthur Blvd., Glen Echo in Glen Echo Park. Tickets are $20.
It’s Hip to Be Square: The Mint Family from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily through Nov. 31 at the U.S. Botanic Garden, 100 Maryland Ave. SW. Admission is FREE!
LAST CHANCE! Kleptocracy at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and 7:30 p.m. Sunday through Feb. 24 at Arena Stage, 1101 Sixth St. SW. Tickets are $56-$115.
Nature’s Best Photography from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through September at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, 10th Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Admission is FREE!
Nell Gwynn at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Tuesday through Thursday through Mar. 10 at the Folger Theatre, 201 East Capitol St. SE. Tickets are $42-$79.
Once at 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and 2 p.m. Feb. 27 through Mar. 10 at Olney Theatre Center, 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney. Tickets are $54-$89.
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!
Orchids: Amazing Adaptations from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. daily through Apr. 29 at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery’s Kogod Courtyard, Eighth and F Streets NW. Admission is FREE!
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!
Perfume & Seduction from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday through June 9 at Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens, 4155 Linnean Ave. NW. Admission is $18 for adults, $15 for senior citizens, $10 for college students, $5 for children 6-18 and children younger than 6 are FREE!
Playball and the National Pastime from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday through Apr. 30 at the National Museum of the U.S. Navy, Building 76, 736 Sicard St. SE. Admission is FREE!
Portraits of the World: Korea from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. daily through Nov. 17 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!
Rafael Lozano-Hemmer: Pulse from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through Apr. 28 at the Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden, Seventh Street & Independence Avenue SW. Admission is FREE!
Recent Acquisitions from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. daily through Nov. 3 at the National Portrait Gallery, Eighth and F Streets NW. Admission is FREE!
Represent: Hip-Hop Photography from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through May 5 at the National Museum of African American History & Culture, 1400 Constitution Ave. NW. Admission is FREE. Timed tickets are required on weekends and for groups of 10 or more.
A Revolution in Arms: Weapons in the War for Independence from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and noon-4 p.m. on Sunday through Mar. 24 at Anderson House, 2118 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Admission is FREE!
Richard the Third at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 7 p.m. Sunday and 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday through Mar. 10 at The Shakespeare Theatre Co.’s Sidney Harman Hall, 610 F St. NW. Tickets are $44-$118.
Sea Monsters Unearthed, Life in Angola’s Ancient Seas from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily through 2020 at the National Museum of Natural History, 10th Street and Constitution Avenue 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!
Shaping Clay in Ancient Iran from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through September at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, 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!
Superheroes from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. through Sept. 2 at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, 1300 Constitution Ave. NW. Admission is FREE!
LAST CHANCE! Washington Dollar Days from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and noon-4 p.m. Sunday through Feb. 28 at Tudor Place, 1644 31st St. NW. Admission is $1.
Watching Oprah: The Oprah Winfrey Show and American Culture from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through June at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, 1400 Constitution Ave. NW. Admission is FREE, but timed passes are required.
Welcome to the New World from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday through Spring 2019 at the Newseum, 555 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Tickets are $24.95 for adults, $19.95 for seniors 65 years and older, $14.95 for youth from 7-18 at the door with a 15 percent discount when purchased online. Children 6 and younger are 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, Seventh Street and Independence Avenue SW. Admission is FREE!
Zilia Sánchez: Soy Isla (I Am an Island) from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 10:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Thursday and noon-6:30 p.m. Sunday through May 9 at the Phillips Collection, 1600 21st St. NW. Admission is $12 for adults, $10 for students and senior citizens 62 and older, and children 18 and younger are 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.