15 Things to Do This Weekend in the DMV
Summer is unofficially here and there is plenty to do outside this weekend. And the weather on Friday and Saturday looks good, but there is a 50 percent chance of scattered thunderstorms on Sunday. Temperatures are expected to be in the low- to mid-80s.
Major Metro disruptions continue this weekend with all six Blue and Yellow Line stations south of Reagan National Airport including Braddock Road, King Street, Van Dorn Street, Franconia-Springfield, Eisenhower Avenue and Huntington closed through Sept. 8. On the Blue Line, shuttle buses will operate between Franconia-Springfield, Van Dorn Street, King Street and National Airport, but not Braddock Road. There will be also be an express shuttle between Franconia-Springfield and the Pentagon Station. On the Yellow Line, buses will operate between Huntington, Eisenhower Avenue, King Street, Braddock Road and Crystal City, but not National Airport. There will also be an express bus between Huntington and Pentagon. Blue and Yellow Line trains on the remainder of the route will run on regular weekend schedules, with Yellow Line trains now running to and from Greenbelt. Red Line trains will run every 12-15 minutes between Shady Grove and Glenmont with additional trains between Shady Grove and Silver Spring between 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Orange, Silver and Green Line trains operate on a regular weekend schedule.
Dupont-Kalorama Museum Walk
Take Saturday and Sunday to enjoy free admission to five diverse D.C. museums. The 36th annual Dupont-Kalorama Museum Walk weekend includes Anderson House, Dumbarton House, the National Museum of American Jewish Military History (Sunday only), The Phillips Collection (10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, noon-6:30 p.m. Sunday) and the Woodrow Wilson House. You will have access to new exhibits, fascinating stories and live music. Learn about the French experience in the War for Independence at Anderson House and meet U.S. military veterans from different conflicts around the world at the National Museum of American Jewish Military History. Participate in D.C. Jazzfest at The Phillips Collection, explore STEM in the Dumbarton House and decorate a magnet, and paint your own ceramic tile at Wilson House.
June 1 and 2 from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. at five DuPont Circle-area museums. Admission is FREE!
Farragut Fridays
The Golden Triangle BID turns scenic Farragut Square into a work/play station every Friday in the summer. Farragut Fridays feature an outdoor office space that is perfect for collaboration, including free Wi-Fi, charging stations, tables, chairs and lawn games such as giant Jenga, cornhole and table tennis. A picnic in the park with lawn games and table tennis runs from 12-2 p.m. This week will include music by Teddy Chipouras, the opportunity to create fun designs using alcohol inks and yupo paper and learning more about Library on the Go-Go and signing up for D.C. Public Library cards.
May 31 through Sept. 20 from 9 a.m.-5p.m. at Farragut Square, 17th and K Streets NW. Admission is FREE!
Gardens Across America
Appreciate the variety and aesthetic brilliance of 20 different gardens all over the U.S. through this new exhibit at the U.S. Botanic Garden. Featuring vignettes from gardens across the country, Gardens Across America showcases rare and endangered plants, historic estates and modern oases in 20 different gardens around the grounds. The displays include signature plants and visual elements to provide visitors with an understanding of the gardens’ plants, regional characteristics, styles, origins and missions. Included in the displays are the U.S. Nataional Arboretum and the Smithsonian Gardens, both in D.C.
Through Oct. 1 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily at the U.S. Botanic Garden, 100 Maryland Ave. SW. Admission is FREE!
Sculpture Down to Scale: Models for Public Art at Federal Buildings
As can be seen in D.C., monuments and public sculptures are essential to the American landscape, serving as public expressions of identity, morality and pride. Sculpture Down to Scale: Models for Public Art at Federal Buildings, 1974-1985, which opens Friday, features nine models (or “maquettes”) of incredible works that were meant to be public art. Public art’s role as a primarily commemorative medium began to expand in the late twentieth century, when the U.S. government looked to promote American art as a symbol of freedom and creativity during the Cold War. Building on the arts patronage established during President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal in the 1930s, the Kennedy administration inaugurated the Fine Arts Program of the General Services Administration in 1962 to commission work by living artists for federal buildings. In 1972, the program began to operate in cooperation with the National Endowment for the Arts, and in 1977 it became the Art in Architecture Program that exists today. The GSA projects reflect contemporary artists’ interests in issues including perception, social space, the natural environment, and cultural identity. The models offered a concrete vision of the artists’ ideas and served as a way to share them with selection committees, patrons and communities. You will see the true and original vision of each artist in these models, which are works of art in their own right.
May 31 through June 6, 2020 from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Eighth and F Streets NW. Admission is FREE!
Monument Quilt
FORCE: Upsetting Rape Culture brings the Monument Quilt to the National Mall this weekend. This is the only time the quilt, made up of more than 3,000 stories by survivors of sexual and intimate partner violence and their allies, written, painted or stitched onto red fabric. It is hoped that the quilt is a platform for survivors to not only tell their stories, but change how Americans respond to rape. The opening night event from 7-9 p.m. will feature presentations and collective readings led by members of the LGBTQIA+ community, the culmination of five years of organizing. There will be interactive activities in tents around the quilt and speakers on the main stage all weekend. All main stage activities will have ASL and Spanish translation.
May 31 from 4 p.m.-9 p.m., June1 from 9 a.m.-9 p.m. and June 2 from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. on the National Mall between 12th and 14th Streets NW. Admission is FREE!
The Night Is Short, Walk On Girl
By now you probably know that the Japan Information & Culture Center is the place to go for screenings of the best anime films in D.C. That continues on Friday with The Night Is Short, Walk On Girl, which tells the tale of one girl’s night on the town that turns into a surreal journey through Kyoto. As a group of teens go out for a night on the town, a sophomore known only as “The Girl with Black Hair” experiences a series of surreal encounters with the local nightlife… all the while unaware of the romantic longings of Senpai, a fellow student who has been creating increasingly fantastic and contrived reasons to run into her, in an effort to win her heart. The film is directed by Masaaki Yuasa, best known for his cult 2004 hit, Mind Game. In Japanese with English subtitles.
May 31 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Japan Information & Culture Center, 1150 18th St. NW. Early registration tickets have sold out, but first-come, first-served tickets will be available from 4-6 p.m. Admission is FREE!
Community Concert at the Basilica of the National Shrine
The National Symphony Orchestra has increasingly performed outside the hallowed halls of the Kennedy Center in recent years, resulting in programs such as the popular NSO in Your Neighborhood series. For the first time in almost two decades, the NSO performs a Community Concert at the Basilica of the National Shrine’s Great Upper Church, as conductor and music director Gianandrea Noseda leads the orchestra through a program that includes Wagner and Debussy.
May 31 at 7 p.m. at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, 400 Michigan Ave. NE. Admission is FREE!
Describe the Night
Penned by Pulitzer Prize-finalist Rajiv Joseph, Describe the Night begins in 1920 as Russian Jewish writer Isaac Babel begins a diary while traversing the countryside with the Red Cavalry. The story then flashes forward 90 years to the crash of an aircraft carrying the Polish president, which leads to the discovery of the diary in the wreckage. What’s inside Babel’s diary, and its importance to a KGB agent who may or may not be Vladimir Putin, drives the fascinating plot forward.
May 27 through June 23 at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 3 p.m. Saturday (except June 1), 2 p.m. (except June 2) and 7 p.m. Sunday and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, 641 D St. NW. Tickets are $20-$89.
DinoRoars
The National Zoo is hosting a Dino Summer of prehistoric proportions. The DinoRoars installation, which opens Saturday, features six animatronic dinosaurs positioned throughout the zoo, from a baby stegosaurus to a fully grown tyrannosaurus rex. Take your own safari to see these creatures move and roar.
June 1 through Aug. 31 from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. daily at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, 3001 Connecticut Ave. NW. Admission is FREE!
Wiedmann Bible Unfolding
When completely extended, the Wiedmann Bible is nearly a mile long. The Museum of the Bible is looking for 1,000 volunteers to join in unfolding the Wiedmann Bible for the first time in the U.S., eventually displaying it around the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Each volunteer will hold a section of the Wiedmann Bible and move forward until the entire Bible is displayed around the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. This process will then be reversed to carefully return the Bible to its container. Every volunteer will receive a voucher for one day’s free admission to the museum, where they can check out the in-depth exhibit on the Wiedmann Bible, and an event t-shirt.
June 1 from 8 a.m.-noon at the Reflecting Pool, 2 Lincoln Memorial Circle NW. Participants should meet on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Participation is free, but registration is requested.
Erth’s Dinosar Zoo Live Show
As part of its Dino Summer, the National Zoo is hosting the live, ticketed Erth’s Dinosar Zoo Live Show beginning Saturday. Kids and adults alike will be dazzled by the larger-than-life dinosaur puppets on stage. The 30-minute show will journey all the way back to prehistoric Australia, educating and entertaining the audience along the way. Some select members may even get the chance to interact with the dinos.
June 1 through Aug. 31 at 10:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday (closed Monday) in the Smithsonian’s National Zoo Visitor Center’s National Zoo Theater, 3001 Connecticut Ave. NW. Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for children ages 2-12 and children younger than 2 are FREE!
Beer in the Burbs
Beer in the Burbs, the first craft beer festival in Fairfax City, features 14 breweries from around the Old Dominion, including Chaos Mountain, Brothers and Old Ox, as well as Fairfax’s own Ornery and Chubby Squirrel. The event celebrates the 50th anniversary of Woodstock, bringing classic rock bands to the family-friendly party in Old Town Square. There will also be food trucks and live entertainment including East of Hollywood from noon-2 p.m. and 70’s Flashback from 3-5 p.m.
June 1 from noon-5 p.m. at Old Town Square, 10415 North St., Fairfax. Admission is FREE! Sample pours are $3, while full pints are $8.
Takoma Trukgarten
Explore Maryland’s brewing scene one tasting ticket at a time at Takoma Trukgarten. This annual event brings together local breweries and restaurants for the afternoon. Astro Lab, Denizens and Silver Branch — from downtown Silver Spring — will be there, along with breweries from farther out like Ellicott City’s Manor Hill. Restaurants including Republic, Takoma Bev Co., Cielo Rojo, Just AJ’s, The Pretzel Baker and Hardy’s BBQ. Nonstop live music from Moose Jaw Bluegrass, Dan Wolff, Park Snakes, Miss Moon Rising and Anthony “Swamp Dog” Clark makes this a party, one that also caters to nondrinkers and families (anyone younger than 21 gets in free, and dogs are welcome, too).
June 1 from noon-5 p.m. in the parking lot next to TSS Co-op, 201 Ethan Allen Ave., Takoma Park. Tickets are $10-$45 at the door.
The Life of Animals in Japanese Art
The National Zoo won’t be the only must-see D.C. destination for animal lovers this summer: Find snakes, deer, sparrows, foxes, frogs and more creatures – real and imaginary, religious and secular — depicted at in The Life of Animals in Japanese Art at the National Gallery of Art’s East Building. The art on display will span 17 centuries from the fifth century to today, and many of the approximately 300 works coming from Japan rarely leave that country. The pieces, which include everything from ceramic plates to kimonos, will be divided into such thematic sections as “The Japanese Zodiac” or “The World of the Samurai.”
June 2 through Aug. 19 from 11 a.m.6 p.m Sunday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday at the National Gallery of Art, Fourth Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Admission is FREE!
Brunch on the Baselines
Hang out along the baselines at Nationals Park, take a photo in the Nationals’ dugout and enjoy a delicious brunch and tasty beverages at Brunch on the Baselines, all while you watch the Nats take on the Cincinnati Reds on the big scoreboard. Drinks include Bloody Mary’s, mimosas, wine, beer, soft drinks and water (must be over 21 to consume alcohol) and the food spread offers scrambled eggs, bacon, fruit salad, fried chicken, Old Bay potato wedges and ice cream. You will also get limited edition sunglasses with your ticket purchase.
June 2 from noon-4 p.m. at Nationals Park, 1500 South Capitol St. SE. Tickets are $75 for adults, $35 for people 7-20 years old and $20 for children six and younger.
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.
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!
Capital Harvest on the Plaza from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Fridays through Nov. 22 at the Woodrow Wilson Plaza, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. 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!
The Children at 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, 2 p.m. and Sunday and 7 p.m. Sunday through June 9 at Studio Theatre, 1501 14th St. NW. Tickets are $20-$97.
LAST CHANCE! 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!
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!
Fame, the Musical at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday through June 9 at the GALA Hispanic Theatre, 3333 14th St. NW. Tickets are $30-$80.
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!
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!
Helen Zubhaib: Migrations from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and noon-4 p.m. Tuesday and Sunday through July 28 at the Woodrow Wilson House, 2340 S St. NW. Tickets are $5-$10 at the door. Children younger than 12 are 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!
LAST CHANCE! In Peak Bloom from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.-11:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m.-7 p.m. and 7-10 p.m. Sunday at Artechouse, 1238 Maryland Ave. SW. Tickets are $8-$16 online and $10-$20 at the door.
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!
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!
Jazz in the Garden from 5-8:30 p.m. through Aug. 23 at the National Gallery of Art’s Sculpture Garden, Sixth and Constitution Avenue NW. 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 16 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!
National Geographic Photo Camp beginning at 10 a.m. daily through June 20 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, 2700 F St. NW. Admission is 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!
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!
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!
Rightfully Hers: American Women and the Vote from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. through Jan. 3, 2021, at the National Archives, 701 Constitution Ave. NW. Admission is FREE!
Rirkrit Tiravanija: Who’s Afraid of Red, Yellow, and Green, from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. through June 24 at the Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden, Independence Avenue and 7th Street SW. 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.
Sooner/Later at 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday through June 16 plus 11 a.m. June 5 at the Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St. NE. Tickets are $20-$50.
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!
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 Avnue 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!
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!
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.
The Way of the Kami from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. through Nov. 1 at the Freer Gallery of Art, 1050 Independence Ave. SW. Admission is FREE!
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!
Whistler in Watercolor from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. through Oct. 6 at Freer Gallery of Art, 1050 Independence Ave. 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.