Activities to Fill Your Long MLK Weekend
It is the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday weekend and the weather isn’t going to cooperate. Snow showers along with sleet, rain and freezing rain are in the forecast for Saturday until about 4 p.m. with high temperatures only about 39. Sunday and Monday will be drier with temperatures still in the mid-30s to low-40s. If you are going out to The Wharf’s Fire & Ice Festival or the MLK Jr. Parade, make sure you bundle up. Otherwise, there are many indoor activities to fill your long weekend including several new plays and museum exhibits.
Silver Spring, Forest Glen, Wheaton and Glenmont Metro stations are closed this weekend due to work on the MTA Purple Line. Shuttle buses replace trains between Takoma and Glenmont. Red Line trains will also single track between Medical Center and Grosvenor-Strathmore with trains operating every 18 minutes. On Monday, additional trains will run every 9 minutes between Medical Center and Takoma until 8 p.m. Blue, Orange, Silver, Yellow and Green lines will operate on normal weekend schedules. On Monday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Metro will operate on a Saturday schedule from 5 a.m.-11:30 p.m. with off-peak fares and free parking.
Take a free ranger-guided tour of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on Monday. (Photo: Mark Heckathorn/DC on Heels)
Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Tour
If you are looking to spend a day off on the Mall, the National Park Service hosts two 30-minute-long park ranger-led Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Tours. Learn about Dr. King’s history and the symbols inside the memorial.
Jan. 20 at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, 1850 West Basin Drive SW. Admission is FREE!
Delita Martin: Calling Down the Spirits
Delita Martin: Calling Down the Spirits opens at the National Museum of Women in the Arts this weekend. (Photo: Joahua Asante)
There are multiple layers to the striking, large-scale prints from Texas-born artist Delita Martin, whose traveling show Calling Down the Spirits features seven works that aim to capture the spirit and essence of her subjects, often black women. Martin takes an unorthodox approach to portraiture — combining drawing, painting and sewing techniques in the same piece — and doesn’t aim for photorealism. West African masks, circles and the color blue — which represents spirituality and the ethereal, a major theme of the exhibit — recur in many of her works.
Jan. 17 through Apr. 19 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, 1250 New York Ave. NW. Admission is $10 for adults and $8 for seniors and students older than 18. Children 18 and younger are FREE!
Future Sketches
Future Sketches, the first solo exhibition of Zach Lieberman’s work, opens this weekend at Artechouse. (Photo: Artechouse)
Marking the first solo exhibition of Zach Lieberman’s work, Future Sketches will take you to the vanguard of modern computer design. This exhibit will stretch your imagination, showcasing interaction between humans and computers through jaw-dropping media art. The exhibit, which opens Friday, consists of more than a decade of Lieberman’s art, illuminating how body, voice and gesture can be displayed visually.
Jan. 17 through Mar. 1 from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. daily and 6 p.m.-10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 6 p.m.-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Artechouse, 1238 Maryland Ave. SW. Tickets are $16 for adults, $13 for students, seniors and military and $8 for children ages 2-14 online and $20 for adults, $15 for students, senior and military and $10 for children at the door.
Mid-Atlantic Leather Weekend
Mid-Atlantic Leather Weekend is at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill through Monday morning. (Photo: Metro Weekly)
Calling all 50 Shades of Grey fans. It is time for the 49th Mid-Atlantic Leather Weekend, better known as MAL, sponsored by the Centaur Motorcycle Club. Thousands of leather lovers descend on the District for a long weekend of harnesses, chaps, whips and parties. You don’t really have to be into leather to attend. It is more than fine to go-and-look and dip your toe into the leather world. Events include a rubber social, demonstrations, leather cocktails, a gear show, a Mr. Mid-Atlantic Leather 2020 contest and an exhibition hall with vendors selling leather and other goods. But be warned: this is not for kids. According to the website, the dress code in the hotel is “Nudity is not allowed in the public areas of the hotel. Men are able to walk around the hotel shirtless, in a jock or in chaps with a jock. Women are not permitted to be shirtless or have their nipples exposed. When dining, your buttock (sic) must be covered and at least have a vest on. When leaving the hotel, you must have at least a 1 inch strap covering your ass-crack.”
Jan. 17-19 from 3 p.m. Friday through 2 a.m. Monday at the Hyatt Regency, 400 New Jersey Ave. NW, except for the closing party which is at the 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW from 8 p.m. Sunday-2 a.m. Monday. The exhibitor hall (admission is $15 at the door on Friday and Sunday, $20 on Saturday or $30 for all three days) is open from 4-10 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday in case you want to get a jump on your Valentine’s Day shopping. See the full schedule here.
Pipeline
Pipeline opens at Studio Theatre this weekend.
(Photo: C. Stanley Photography)
Pipeline takes an intense look at America’s education system and the power of a parent’s love. Nya teaches at an impoverished city school. She is also the single mother of Omari, whom she wishes to provide with every opportunity. Nya believed that she had saved him from the school-to-prison pipeline when she and her ex-husband Xavier sent Omari to a majority white boarding school upstate. However, when she gets a call from the school informing her that Omari got into a fight with his English teacher during class, she is forced to fight against a broken system that is stacked against Omari at every turn.
Jan. 15 through Feb. 16 at 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday (except Jan. 18), and 7 p.m. Sunday (except Jan. 19) at Studio Theatre, 1501 14th St. NW. Tickets are $60-$111.
The Merry Wives of Windsor
The Merry Wives of Winsor, Folger Theatre’s final play this season, opens this weekend. (Photo: Cameron Whitman Photography)
The pursuit of money is bound to backfire when the targets are smarter than their gold-digging schemer. Set in the early-1970s, The Merry Wives of Windsor tells the tale of schemer Falstaff and the resistance he meets in the form of two wealthy housewives. The duo provides comedic comeuppance to the gold-digger, flipping flimsy gender stereotypes on their head in Shakespeare’s delightful comedy on love, money, deception, and the power of women.
Jan. 14 through Mar. 1 at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday (except Jan. 18), 7 p.m. Sunday and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday at Folger Theatre, 201 East Capitol St. SE. Tickets are $25-$95.
Pilgrims Musa and Sheri in the New World
Mosaic Theater Company’s Pilgrims Musa and Sheri in the New World opens this weekend at the Atlas Performing Arts Center. (Photo: Mosaic Theater Company)
Yussef El Guindi, winner of the Steinberg New American Play Award, wrote Pilgrims Musa and Sheri in the New World, a romantic comedy that addresses cultural boundaries from Mosaic Theater Company. Musa, a new Egyptian immigrant, picks up a quirky American waitress named Sheri after her shift. After a night together, the two proceed to enter a complex relationship that sees assumptions dashed left and right.
Jan. 16 through Feb. 16 at 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday (except Jan. 22), 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday (except Jan. 18), 7:30 p.m. Sunday and 11 a.m. Jan. 23 and Feb. 13 at Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St. NE. Tickets are $20-$65.
A Thousand Splendid Suns
A Thousand Splendid Suns opens this weekend at Arena Stage. (Graphic: Arena Stage)
Based on a book by Khaled Hosseini, the writer of the bestselling Kite Runner, A Thousand Splendid Suns takes the audience to war-torn Kabul in 1992, where Miriam and Laila become united in facing brutality and oppression in their daily lives. The two then make a life-altering decision that is both unselfish and daring.
Jan. 17 through Mar. 1 at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday (except Jan. 18), 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday and noon on Jan. 29, Feb. 4 and Feb. 12 at Arena Stage, 1101 Sixth St. SW. Tickets are $41-$115.
Health & Fitness Expo
The NBC 4 Health & Fitness Expo returns to the convention center on Friday and Saturday. (Photo: NBC 4)
Interested in leading a healthy 2020? Then NBC 4’s annual Health & Fitness Expo is a must-attend. Join some of the station’s most notable personalities, as well as leading fitness and health experts, this Saturday and Sunday. Prepare for entertaining, exercise-related fun and education, including health tests and screenings, presentations, healthy cooking demos, rock climbing, Zumba, yoga and dance classes and much more. This year will feature an increased focus on environmental sustainability.
Jan. 18 from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and Jan. 19 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, 801 Mount Vernon Place. Admission is FREE!
Fire & Ice Festival
The Waff Ice House at The Wharf is made of 88 blocks of ice.
(Photo: The Wharf)
Some like it hot, some like it cold. Join The Wharf for the third annual Fire & Ice Festival and help raise money to support the Washington Area Fuel Fund, which provides heating fuel to our neighbors in need. Visit the WAFF Ice House made from 88 blocks of ice from noon-5 p.m. There will be a photo booth, face painting, and more. Sample whiskeys (1 for $5 or 5 for $15) or grab a hot toddy. Play ice shuffleboard or ice corn hole, sit in the official Capitals ice throne and don’t miss the fire dancers and a DJ on the main stage. The Capitals game will be shown on the jumbotron and you can roast s’mores over a roaring fire.
Jan. 18 from 1-4 p.m. at The Wharf, 760 Maine Ave. SW. Admission is FREE.
Let Freedom Sing
The Howard Universtiy Gospel Choir performs its annual Martin Luther King Jr. concert Saturday at THEARC.
(Photo: Howard University Gospel Choir)
Many of the Rev. Martin Luther King. Jr.’s famous speeches were preceded by gospel music, sung by Mahalia Jackson and other great voices. It makes sense, then, that as King’s legacy is celebrated this weekend, the Howard Gospel Choir should be one of the highlights. Let Freedom Sing mixes anthems of the Civil Rights movement with modern gospel sounds in a family-friendly program.
Jan. 18 at 7 p.m. at THEARC, 1901 Mississippi Ave. SE. Tickets are $15 for students and seniors and $30 for adults.
D.C. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Parade & Peace Walk
D.C.’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Parade & Peace Walk begins at 11 a.m. Monday. (Photo: MLK Holiday DC)
D.C. honors the late Martin Luther King, Jr. with the 39th annual D.C. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Parade & Peace Walk that brings the entire community together on the holiday that celebrates the Civil Rights leader. Community activists, performers and civic leaders will all be on-hand for this event that aims to prolong Dr. King’s legacy and everlasting message of peace. The parade concludes with a health and community fair at the Gateway Pavilion until 3 p.m.
Jan. 20 beginning at 11 a.m. at Anacostia Park, Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE and Good Hope Road SE, and ending at St. Elizabeth’s East, 2700 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE. Admission is FREE!
Let Freedom Ring
Chaka Khan joins the Let Freedom Ring Choir for the Kennedy Center’s annual free Let Freedom Ring concert on Monday.
(Photo: Georgetown University)
The Kennedy Center’s annual Let Freedom Ring concert is headlined by the acclaimed singer Chaka Khan and the Let Freedom Ring Choir made up predominately Georgetown University students with member of the Metropolitan Music Ministry of Metropolitan Baptist Church and the Capitol Hill Seventh-Day Adventist Church. Georgetown University will present the 18th annual John Thompson Jr. Legacy of a Dream Award to Sandra Jackson, executive director of House of Ruth, which for more than 40 years has provided safe and stable housing to women, children and families in the D.C. area who have experienced homelessness and abuse.
Jan. 20 at 6 p.m. at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, 2700 F St. NW. Tickets are FREE and will be given out in the Hall of Nations at 4:30 p.m., with a limit of two tickets per person.
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!
CLOSED UNTIL MARCH! 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!
American’s First Veterans from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and noon-4 p.m. Sunday through Apr. 5 at Anderson House, 2118 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Admission is FREE!
Becoming Jane from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. daily through summer 2020 at the National Geographic Museum, 1145 17th St. NW. Tickets are $10-$15.
Bonnard to Vuillard: The Intimate Poetry of Everyday Life from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and noon-6:30 p.m. Sunday through Jan. 26 at The Phillips Collection, 1600 21st St. NW. Tickets are $12 for adults, $10 for students and seniors 62+, and children 18 and younger are FREE!
Elephants and Us: Considering Extinction from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through Sept. 13 at the National Museum of American History, 1300 Constitution 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 at the Freer|Sackler Galleries, 1050 Independence Ave. SW. Admission is FREE!
LAST CHANCE! 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.
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!
Heroes: Principles of African Greatness, from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through Dec. 31 at the National Museum of African Art, 950 Independence Ave. SW. Admission is FREE!
Hokusai: Mad About Paintting from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through Nov. 8 at the Freer Gallery, 1050 Independence Ave. SW. Admission is FREE!
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!
LAST CHANCE! 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.
Marcel Duchamp: The Barbara and Aaron Levine Collection from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. through Oct. 12 at the Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden, Seventh Street and Independence Avenue SW. Admission is FREE!
LAST CHANCE! My Fair Lady at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, and 1:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday through Jan. 19 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, 2700 F St. NW. Tickets are $39-$159.
Now Showing: Posters from African American Movies from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through Nov. 20 at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, 1400 Constitution Ave. NW. Admission is FREE, but timed entry passes are required on Saturdays and Sundays.
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!
The Outwin 2019: American Portraiture Today from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. daily through Aug. 30 at the National Portrait Gallery, Eighth and F Streets NW. Admission is FREE!
Pat Steir: Color Wheel from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through Sept. 7 at the Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden, Seventh Street and Independence Avenue SW. 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!
Recent Acquisitions from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. daily through Aug. 30 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!
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 Feb. 17 at the National Museum of the American Indian, Fourth Street and Independence Ave. SW. Admission is FREE!
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!
Sheltered through Feb. 2 at 8 p.m. Thursdays, Saturdays and Jan. 24, 2 p.m. Sundays, Jan. 18 and Feb. 1, 7:30 p.m. Sundays and Wednesdays, and noon Jan 22 and 29 at the Edlavitch DCJCC, 1529 16th St. NW. Tickets are $29-$69.
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!
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 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.
