Halloween Events Creep into the DMV
Halloween may be two weeks away, but Halloween-themed events are already creeping onto our calendars. And it is the last weekend for the Maryland Renaissance Festival, so get your tickets online now if you don’t want to miss it. Temperatures will be fall-like with high in the mid-60s. Be sure to take along a jacket or sweater.
The Medical Center Metro station is closed this weekend, although trains will still travel through it. Free shuttle buses replace trains between Medical Center and Grosvenor. Also, Red Line trains will single track between Van Ness-UDC and Dupont Circle. Trains will run every 16 minutes between Shady Grove and Glenmont with additional trains every 8 minutes between Farragut North and Glenmont.
Blue Line trains will single track between Stadium-Armory and Addison Road. Trains will operate every 20 minutes. Orange, Silver, Green and Yellow Line trains operate on a regular weekend schedule, but Silver Line trains will run between Wiehle-Reston East and New Carrollton.
Maryland Renaissance Festival
The Maryland Renaissance Festival closes its 43rd season at Revel Grove this weekend. Travel back to 1532 as King Henry VIII visits the village with Lady Anne Boleyn as the awaits his divorce from Queen Kathrine of Aragon. The king and Anne are in a joyous mood, as they make their way to Dover, to then sail to Calais where France’s King Francis I will meet Anne and show support of the relationship. Take along the entire family and celebrate olde times with more than 140 Renaissance-themed artisans, dazzling performances, including dancers and musicians, and plenty of plate-filling food, like giant turkey legs. You can also dress up in your own costume, if ye so wish, or rent one there. Buy your tickets online or arrive early, since they have been selling out.
Oct. 19 and 20 from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. at 1821 Crownsville Road, Annapolis. Tickets are $27 for adults, $23 for seniors 62 and older and $12 for children ages 7-15. Children 6 and younger are FREE!
Lucid Motion
Artechouse’s newest exhibition is a journey into the marriage of technology and movement. Created by the Japanese artist collective Daito Manabe and Rhizomatiks Research, Lucid Motion consists of three installations that all utilize different technologies and methods of expression. You can experience dance performances centered around light, shade and motion as you take a voyage through multiple rooms.
Through Dec. 1 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily, 5 p.m.-10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 5:30 p.m.-11:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Artechouse, 1238 Maryland Ave. SW. Advance tickets are $16 for adults, $12 for students, seniors and military and $8 for children 2-14 and $20, $15 and $10, respectively, at the door.
Boo at the Zoo
The National Zoo’s annual family Boo at the Zoo is now a part of the holiday in D.C. Geared toward wholesome fun, the celebration features more than 40 treat stations, as well as after-hours access to many of the zoo’s animal houses and exhibits, except the giant panda exhibit. Halloween-themed trails will be fun for a stroll and live entertainment will also be featured, as well as a kids’ dance party and karaoke session. Make sure to go in costume! The event is suggested for kids between the ages of 4 and 12.
Oct. 18-20 from 5:30-8:30 p.m. at the National Zoo, 3001 Connecticut Ave. NW. Tickets are $30 for anyone older than 2. Saturday is sold out.
West by God
This is the final weekend to see West by God, a story about home. In a small town in the Appalachia region of West Virginia, two families grapple with issues of grief and love, memory and identity, and with the distance and time that both unite and divide generations. A new play by West Virginia native Brandon McCoy, it is a funny, heartwarming and gut-wrenchingly honest examination of the divide between urban and rural America, and the kinds of prejudice and intolerance too often left unchallenged in our society.
Oct. 18 and 19 at 8 p.m. and Oct. 29 at 3 p.m. at Keegan Theatre, 1742 Church St NW. Tickets are $51.
Everybody
Penned by Obie Award winner and MacArthur Genius Grant recipient Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Everybody is a fresh interpretation of the 15th-century play Everyman. The roles of a happy person, a free person and a person relentlessly positive about the future will be assigned by lottery from a small cast of actors live on stage each night. Into the fray comes Death, and Everybody is taken on a philosophical and psychological journey. Prepare to witness the medieval morality play flipped on its head.
Oct. 15 through Nov. 17 at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday (except. Oct. 20), 7 p.m. Sunday and 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday (except Oct. 22) at the Shakespeare Theatre Co.’s Lansburgh Theatre, 450 Seventh St. NW. Tickets are $49-$112.
Fall Harvest Family Days
‘Tis the season at Mount Vernon, where fall truly shines across the estate’s beautiful grounds. Head to George Washington’s former abode for Fall Harvest Family Days on Saturday and Sunday. Among the activities: horse-drawn wagon rides, 18th-century dancing, fabric- and candle-making and corn husk doll demos, a straw bale maze and games on the bowling green, and music from early America. There will also be free sightseeing cruises on the Potomac River at 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. on a first come, first served basis.
Oct. 19 and 20 from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. at George Washington’s Mount Vernon, 3200 Mount Vernon Memorial Highway, Mount Vernon, Va. Tickets are $20 for adults, $12 for children 6-11 and children 5 and younger are FREE!
Kreeger Museum Open House
The Kreeger Museum is one of Washington’s hidden gems, a gorgeous modernist building by Philip Johnson that is filled with famous impressionists (Claude Monet, Edgar Degas) and works by famous Washington artists (Gene Davis, Sam Gilliam) and surrounded by more than five acres of sculpture gardens. The Kreeger drops its usual admission fees this weekend for its family-friendly open house, which includes hands-on art activities for children; jazz by the Shannon Gunn Quartet and a djembe drum circle. Food trucks will sell lunches on-site, and picnics in the sculpture garden are encouraged.
Oct. 19 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Kreeger Museum, 2401 Foxhall Road NW. Admission is FREE!
OAKtoberfest
The National Arboretum hosts OAKtoberfest, a special concert, to celebrate the fall season. The Shmoods, formerly known as the DMV Hip-Hop Orchestra, will perform. The collaborative project will feature originals and classic medleys. In addition, there will be food, drinks and dancing.
Oct. 20 from noon-2:30 p.m. at the National Arboretum, 3501 New York Ave. NE. Admission is FREE!
Kid Prince and Pablo
The Prince and the Pauper, Mark Twain’s classic tale, is transformed into a digital age, American hip-hop story in this new production of Kid Prince and Pablo at the Kennedy Center. The ruling class known as The Promised has banned dance and rap after progressives, known as New Wave, attempted a revolution. Set to rule is Royal Kid Prince, until he runs into Pablo, a New Wave drummer. The two switch identities and drama and hilarity ensue. By seeing the world through the other’s eyes, the Royal Kid Prince and Pablo could start a revolution of their own.
Weekends from Oct. 19 through Nov. 3 at 1:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and 7:30 p.m. Friday at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, 2700 F St. NW. Tickets are $20.
Lakota Music Project
Musicians from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra make beautiful music together as the Lakota Music Project, a collaboration that showcases native music, nonnative music and new commissions. In between two shows at Washington National Cathedral, the group will perform a free show on Saturday highlighting music inspired by the Native American experience.
Oct. 19 at 2 p.m. at the National Museum of the American Indian’s Rasmuson Theater, Fourth Street and Independence Avenue SW. Admission is FREE!
Brookland Exchange
The second annual Brookland Exchange at the Arts Walk in Brookland is your chance to score a homemade creation courtesy of 40 area artists and businesses. The pop-up makers market also features live entertainment all weekend. The festival will also showcase an art exhibit, Tiny Show! by Hen House DC, which shows 5-inch-by-5-inch works by women.
Oct. 21 from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. at the Arts Walk, 716 Monroe St. NE. Admission is FREE!
Ongoing events
All Work, No Pay from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. through February at the National Museum of American History, 1300 Constitution Ave. NW. Admission is FREE!
Alonso Berruguete: First Sculpture of Renaissance Spain from 10 a.m.-5 p.m Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday through Feb. 17 at the National Gallery of Art, Fourth Street and Constitution Avenue 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.
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!
By the Light of the Silvery Moon: A Century of Lunar Photographs from the 1850s to Apollo 11 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday through Jan. 5 at the National Gallery of Art, Fourth Street and Constitution Avenue NW. 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!
LAST CHANCE! Doubt: A Parable at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and 7 p.m. Sunday through Oct. 20 at Studio Theatre, 1501 14th St. NW. Tickets are $20-$104.
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 End: A Mediation on Death and Extinction from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday through Jan. 20 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 FREE for children 18 and younger.
The Eye of the Sun: Nineteenth-Century Photographs from the National Gallery of Art from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday through Dec. 1 at the National Gallery of Art, Fourth Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Admission is FREE!
Feel the Sun in Your Mouth: Recent Acquisitions from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through February at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Independence Avenue and Seventh Street NW. Admission is 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!
Ginny Ruffner: Reforestation of the Imagination from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through Jan. 5 at the Renwick Gallery, Pennsylvania Avenue at 17th Street NW. 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.
I Am . . . Contemporary Women Artists of Africa from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through July 5 at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art, 950 Independence Ave. SW. Admission is FREE!
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!
Intersections: Los Carpinteros from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and noon-6:30 p.m. Sunday through Jan. 12 at the Phillips Collection, 1600 21st St. NW. Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for students and seniors 62 and older. Children 18 and younger are 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!
Jitney at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday through Oct. 27 at Arena Stage, 1101 Sixth St. SW. ickets are $56-$115.
Live Dangerously from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday through Jan. 20 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 FREE for children 18 and younger.
Manifesto: Art x Agency from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. through Jan. 5 at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Independence Avenue and Seventh Street SW. Admission is FREE!
Michael Sherrill Retrospective from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through Jan. 5 at the Renwick Gallery, Pennsylvania Avenue at 17th Street NW. Admission is FREE!
Mid-Century Master: The Photography of Alfred Eisentaedt from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday through Jan. 12 at Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens, 4155 Linnean Ave. NW. Tickets are $18 for adults, $15 for senior citizens, $10 for college students, $5 for children ages 6-18 and children younger than 6 are FREE!
One Life: Marian Anderson from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. through May 17 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!
Picture Books of the Past: Reading an Old Master Painting from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily through Sept. 30 at the Museum of the Bible, 400 Fourth St. SW. Advance tickets are $19.99 for adults, $9.99 for children 7-17 and children and younger are FREE. Tickets at the door at $24.99 for adults, $19.99 for seniors, military, first responders and students, $14.99 for children 7-17 and children 6 and younger are FREE!
Picturing the American Buffalo: George Catlin and Modern Native American Artists from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. daily through Apr. 12 at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Eighth and F Streets NW. 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!
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!
The Right to Be Forgotten through Nov. 10 at Arena Stage, 1101 Sixth St. SW. Tickets are $72-$115.
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!
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.
Sacred Dedication: A Korean Buddhist Masterpiece from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through Mar. 22 at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, 1050 Independence Ave. SW. Admission is FREE!
Sculpture Down to Scale: Models for Public Art at Federal Buildings, 1974-1985 from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. through June 6 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 Ave. SW. Admission is FREE!
Seriously Funny: From the Desk of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday through Dec. 31 at the Newseum, 555 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Admission is $12.71-$21.21 in online or $14.95-$24.95 at the door.
Shall Not Be Denied: Women Fight for the Vote from 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday through September at the Library of Congress’ Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First St. SE. 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 Touch of Color: Pastels at the National Gallery of Art from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday through Jan. 26 at the National Gallery of Art, Fourth Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Admission is FREE!
Verrocchio: Sculptor and Painter of Renaissance Florence from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday through Jan. 12 at the National Gallery of Art, Fourth Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Admission is FREE!
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!
What Absence Is Made Of from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through March at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Seventh Street and Independence Avenue SW. Admission is FREE!
Women Artists of the Dutch Golden Age from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday through Jan. 5 at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, 1250 New York Ave. NW. https://secure3.convio.net/nmwa/site/Ticketing?view=Tickets&id=101821 Tickets are $10 for adults, and $8 for seniors 65 and older and students. Children 18 and younger are FREE!
Women of Progress: Early Camera Portraits from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. daily through May 31 at the National Portrait Gallery, Eighth and F Streets NW. 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.