Have Fun with Mom This Weekend
It is Mother’s Day weekend, and what better way to show mom how much your lover here than by spending some quality time with her? There are several things on tap this weekend that she is sure to enjoy. Unfortunately, it looks like it is going to be a rainy weekend with temperatures only in the low 60s.
Red Line trains single track between Medical Center and Grosvenor with trains running every 18 minutes between Glenmont and Shady Grove and every 9 minutes between Silver Spring and Friendship Heights from 10 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Orange Line trains single track between Cheverly and New Carrollton with trains operating every 20 minutes. Blue and Yellow Line trains single track between Pentagon City and National Airport every 20 minutes. Yellow Line trains run between Huntington and Mount Vernon Square ONLY. Green and Silver Line trains operate on regular weekend schedules.
European Union Open House
Travel to Europe without leaving the District during the annual European Union Open House. All 28 European Union member states, including Great Britain, Italy, Spain, Ireland and many more participate in this citywide open house. Take advance of this chance to experience authentic culture, traditions, food, dance, film and art from a host of nations from the Old Continent without the jet lag. If you have ever attended before, you know the lines and waits are long, so you will only be able to visit five embassies at most. Download the brochure to plan your visits in advance and arrive early. Make sure to take a government-issued ID.
May 11 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at all 28 European Union member embassies in Dupont and Upper Northwest. Admission is FREE!
Rightfully Hers: American Women and the Vote
This 3,000-square-foot Rightfully Hers: American Women and the Vote exhibit at the National Archives uses more than 90 items, including records, artifacts and photographs, to tell the complex story of diverse suffragists in securing women’s voting rights. The exhibit, which opens Friday, will also go well beyond 1920 to show the relentless struggle that occurred throughout U.S. history to win voting rights for all women.
May 10 through Jan. 3, 2021 from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. at the National Archives, 701 Constitution Ave. NW. Admission is FREE!
Capital Harvest on the Plaza
Located on the Woodrow Wilson Plaza at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, Capital Harvest on the Plaza is open Fridays through November. During your visit, you will find plenty of farm-fresh deliciousness and artisanal foods, as well as recipes and tips for maintaining a healthy lifestyle. The 31 vendors offer everything from arepas to wood-fired pizzas, crabcakes to falafel and kombucha to limeade along with vegetables, nuts, honey, lavender and more.
Friday from May 10 through Nov. 22 from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Woodrow Wilson Plaza, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Admission is FREE!
JxJ
For the first time, the Washington Jewish Film Festival and the Washington Jewish Music Festival have been combined, along with original cutting ede hybrid arts programming creating the multidisciplinary arts project JxJ throughout the city that started Wednesday. The film festival, now 29 years old, offers a diverse lineup of international film premieres, panel discussions, Q&As and sneak previews shown at the AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring, Bethesda Row Cinema in Bethesda and E Street Cinema downtown D.C. The music festival celebrates its 20th year with international performances that will span classical, rock, jazz and much more at City Winery, the Montgomery College Cultural Arts Center, Pearl Street Warehouse and Union Stage.
May 8-26 at various times and locations in D.C. and Maryland. Tickets are $13.50-$30 in advance and $16-$36 at the door.
Regional Chinese Cooking Along the Transcontinental Railroad
In celebration of the 150th anniversary of the transcontinental railroad and the National Museum of American History’s American Enterprise exhibition, the museum’s free Cooking Up History series will turn its attention to the culinary influence of Chinese immigrants who lived and worked in the U.S. at the turn of the 20th century while building the railroad. During Regional Chinese Cooking Along the Transcontnental Railroad, Chef Martin Yan will prepare dishes that the workers consumed, including watercress soup, basic chicken broth, Chinese congee, moo goo gai pan, and claypot chicken and sausage rice, during his demonstration while also addressing regional food traditions from the Guangdong Province and how Cantonese food culture altered American dining.
May 10 at 1 p.m. in the National Museum of American History’s Wallace H. Coulter Performance Place, 1300 Constitution Ave. NW. Admission is FREE!
Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival
In honor of Mary Lou Williams, an influential pianist, educator, composer and humanitarian who collaborated with jazz greats like Duke Ellington and Miles Davis before passing away in 1981, the Kennedy Center hosts the Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival for the 24th year. Friday night features Feed the Fire, a soaring tribute to pianist and composer Geri Allen, while Saturday will offer the NEA Jazz Master Joanne Bracken Quartet and the Renee Rosnes Quartet.
May 10 and 11 at 7 p.m. at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, 2700 F St. NW. Tickets are $40-$45.
Fame: the Musical
The GALA Hispanic Theatre offers the U.S. premiere of this production directed and choreographed by Luis Salgado, winner of a 2018 Helen Hayes Award for the Spanish-language staging of In the Heights. Fame, the Musical, based on the book by Cuban author José Fernández, follows a diverse collection of ambitious and creative students at a prestigious high school for the performing arts. The students’ hopes, dreams and struggles drive the narrative, with stirring songs sprinkled throughout. This show is bilingual with both English and Spanish subtitles.
May 9 through June 9 at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the GALA Hispanic Theatre, 3333 14th St. NW. Tickets are $30-$80.
The Way of the Kami
According to the Japanese Kojiki (“Records of Ancient Matters”), the Japanese islands were created when gods reached down from the heavens and stirred the Earth with a jeweled spear. This text was written in 712 and laid the mythical foundation for the religious practice of Shinto, or “the Way of the Deities”. The Freer Gallery of Art’s new exhibit The Way of the Kami, which opens Saturday, focuses on the artistic culture of Shinto, which sees gods in the landscape, in natural phenomena, in dead ancestors. You will learn about this captivating belief system and see rare and amusing artifacts while doing so.
May 11 through Nov. 1 from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. at the Freer Gallery of Art, 1050 Independence Ave. SW. Admission is FREE!
Funk Parade
In honor of U Street’s diverse cultural history, people from all over the District come together to celebrate the spirit of funk at the sixth annual Funk Parade, a one-of-a-kind parade, street fair and music festival. Watch the street (and side streets) come to life with live musical performances and entertainment from a variety of dancers, marching bands and visual artists. Get an education on go-go music, made famous by D.C.’s own Chuck Brown, at the Funk Parade conference from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. and then groove to Latin hip-hop, funk brass and frenetic DJ sets, among many activations during the street festival. The parade also has a new wristband system this year, so make sure to purchase one in order to attend the evening music festival, the featured showcase at 8 p.m. and receive special discounts throughout the day.
May 11 with the street fair from 1-7 p.m., the parade from the Howard Theatre to the Lincoln Theatre from 5-6 p.m. and the evening music festival from 7 a.m.-midnight along the U Street corridor. Admission to the conference, street festival and parade are FREE! Wristbands are required for the evening music festival ($10) and the featured showcase ($28).
Tosca
The Washington National Opera brings Puccini’s love triangle set in 18th century Rome, to life in the Opera House at the Kennedy Center. Featuring elegant sets, political intrigue and unforgettable music, Tosca tells the tale of a passionate love affair disrupted by an escaped prisoner and the corrupt chief of police chasing him.
May 11, 20 and 25 at 7 p.m., May 12 and 19 at 2 p.m., May 14, 17 and 20 at 7 p.m. at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, 2700 F St. NW. Tickets are $35-$300.
International Spy Museum Grand Opening
The first visitors through the doors of the International Spy Museum’s shiny new building at L’Enfant Plaza will be partygoers at a glitzy, “top-secret affair” on Saturday night (tickets for the adults-only party cost $299 per person), but on Sunday everyone is invited into the grand opening of the museum’s new space, with fun activities also happening outside the building, such as a performance from the National Symphony Orchestra Youth Fellowship Program, sleight of hand from magician Peter Wood and makeup artists who will demonstrate the art of disguise.
May 12 from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. at the International Spy Museum, 700 L’Enfant Plaza SW. Tickets are $14.95-$24.95 with children younger than 7 free. Because it is Mother’s Day, moms are FREE today, but tickets are only available at the door!
Ongoing events
All Work, No Pay from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. through February 2020 at the National Museum of American History, 1300 Constitution Ave. NW. Admission is FREE!
Animals, Collected from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m.6 p.m. Sunday through Spring 2020 at the National Building Museum, 401 F St. NW. Tickets are $7-$10.
Annie Jump & the Library of Heaven at 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday through May 19 and 3 p.m. Sunday at Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St. NW. Tickets are $29.99 for adults and 19.99 for children and seniors.
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!
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!
Artists Respond: American Art and the Vietnam War, 1965-1975 from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. daily through Aug. 18 at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Eighth and F Streets NW. Admission is FREE!
Baseball Americana from 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday through July 27 at the Library of Congress, Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First St. SE. 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!
The Children at 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, 2 p.m. and Sunday and 7 p.m. Sunday through June 2 at Studio Theatre, 1501 14th St. NW. Tickets are $20-$97.
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!
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!
Enrico David: Gradations of Slow Release from 10 a.m.–5:30 p.m. daily through Sept. 2 at the Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden, Independence Avenue SW and Seventh Street 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!
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!
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, 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!
God of Carnage at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday through May 23 at Keegan Theatre, 1742 Church St. NW. Tickets are $20-$50.
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!
Hoops from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday through Jan. 5 at the National Building Museum, 401 F St. NW. Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for youth ages 3-17, students with ID and seniors ages 60 and older.
In Mid-Sentence from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. daily through Mar. 8 at the National Portrait Gallery, Eighth and F Streets NW. Admission is FREE!
In the Library: Frederick Douglass Family Materials from the Walter O. Evans Collection from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday (closed Sunday) through June 14 at the National Gallery of Art, Fourth Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Admission is FREE!
Into the Woods at 7:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday, noon on Friday and 2 p.m. on Saturday through May 22 at Ford’s Theatre, 511 10th St. NW. Tickets are $27-$81.
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!
Love’s Labor’s Lost 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 June 9 at the Folger Theatre, 201 East Capitol St. SE. Tickets are $42-$85.
More is More: Multiples from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday through Sept. 22 at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, 1250 New York Ave. NW. Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for people 65 and older and students, and children 18 and younger are FREE!
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!
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!
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!
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!
Queens of Egypt from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. daily through Sept. 2 at the National Geographic Museum, 1145 17th St. NW. Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors, students and military, $10 for children 5-12 and children younger than 5 are 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!
Rise Up: Stonewall and the LGBTQ Rights Movement from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday through Dec. 31 at the Newseum, 555 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Tickets are $12.71-$21.21 online or $14.95-$24.95 at the door.
Striking Iron: The Art of African Blacksmiths from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through Oct. 20 at the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, 950 Independence Ave. SW. Admission is FREE!
Tiffany Chung: Vietnam, Past Is Prologue from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. daily through Sept. 2 at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Eighth and F Streets NW. Admission is FREE!
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!
Section 14: The Other Palm Springs, California from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through January at the National Museum of the American Indian, Fourth Street and Independence Avenue SW. Admission is 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!
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!
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.