Who’s Ready for Some Football?
With freezing temperatures forecast for Saturday and a 40 percent chance of snow on Sunday, its a perfect weekend to stay inside. Fortunately, there are plenty of events including the Washington Auto Show and Alexandria Restaurant Week. And of course, the biggest sports event of the year, Super Bowl XLIX, takes place in sunny Arizona on Sunday. Even if you couldn’t afford tickets, sit in front of a big screen TV and pretend you did.
This weekend, Silver, Blue, Yellow and Green line trains will operate on a regular weekend schedule every 12 minutes. Red and Orange line trains will operate on a regular weekend schedule every 12 minutes on Sunday. On Saturday, Red and Orange line trains will run every 16 minutes. Red line trains will run every 10 minutes between Shady Grove and Silver Spring from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday.
Washington Auto Show
More than 700 new cars from more than 42 manufacturers are on display at the Washington Auto Show filling two floors at the convention center. You can test drive Mazdas, Toyotas, Kias, Scions and others; and be driven through an obstacle course at Camp Jeep during the show’s final weekend.
Through Feb. 1 from noon-10 p.m. on Friday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m. on Saturday and and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. on Sunday at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, 801 Mount Vernon Place NW. Admission is $12 for adults and $5 for children 6-12 online or at the door. Children 5 and under are free. Active and veteran military and seniors 65 and older receive $2 off weekends.
Alexandria Restaurant Week
Alexandria Restaurant Week is wrapping up at more than 60 participating restaurants. For $35 choose from a dinner for two or a three-course prix-fixe menu, depending upon each restaurant’s special offer. At a range of locales, from fine dining establishments to casual neighborhood favorites, guests savor the flavors of Alexandria’s distinctive collection of eateries. This year, a handful of restaurants are also offering lunch specials ranging from $10-$20.
Through Feb. 1 at more than 60 participating restaurants in Alexandria. Price: $35 for dinner for two or a three-course prix-fixe dinner. Click here to see specific restaurant’s offers and menus.
Sixth Annual Meat Week
For the sixth year, Washington barbecue lovers will gather to enjoy slow-smoked meats across the Washington region during Meat Week. Simply show up at the host venue and look for the Meat Week flags. Participants order and pay for their own food and drinks and then join in the festivities with other Meat Week attendees. Most host venues will be offering Meat Week specials. The food truck face-off has been dropped this year.
Through Feb. 1 as follows: Friday – Rocklands Barbeque & Grilling Co., 7 p.m.; Saturday – Acre 121 for lunch at noon and Denizens Brewing Co. for dinner; Sunday – Mr. P’s Ribs & Fish, noon.
Like Water Through Stone
In the remote Espinhaço Mountains of Minas Gerais, four young women approach the end of their sheltered and relatively calm adolescence. In Like Water Through Stone, filmmaker Marília Rocha sensitively recounts their coming-of-age, even as the outside world begins to intrude. These authentic, unsentimental women seem compatible with the raw beauty of their landscape.
Jan. 30 at 7 p.m. in the Malsi Doyle and Michael Foreman Theater, McKinley Builidng, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Admission is FREE! Parking is free on campus after 5 p.m. or ride the free shuttle from the Tenlytown Metro.
MacBeth
In this daring adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic MacBeth, an ensemble of four actors will transform The Clarice into the deadly corridors of Dunsinane Castle. In this production, directed by School of Theatre, Dance and Performance Studies artists Riley Bartlebaugh and Sean Patrick Forsythe, three witches plague Macbeth in his torturous afterlife and force him to revisit his egregious wrongs, which manifest through the traditional play format. Instead of watching scenery change from a seated position, the audience adopts a more exploratory role and travels from the battlefield to the halls of Scottish castles — or in this case, from the Cafritz Foundation Theater to the light lab — along with the cast. Hallways, stairwells and passages between rooms are fair game as well, for Macbeth, at least in this production, cannot be confined to a single space.
Jan. 30 at 7:30 p.m. and Jan. 31 at 3 and 7:30 p.m. at The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, University of Maryland, Admission is FREE. Tickets will be distributed 30 minutes before curtain time on a first-come basis.
Community Day
The first Sunday of every month is free Community Day at the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Be sure to check out NMWA’s special exhibition, Picturing Mary: Woman, Mother, Idea, which delves into the concept of womanhood represented by the Virgin Mary, as well as the social and sacred functions the image has served through time.
Feb. 1 from noon-5 p.m. at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, 1250 New York Ave. NW. Admission is FREE!
Super Bowl XLIX
The New England Patriots take on the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX. Many bars and restaurants are having Super Bowl viewing parties. Others will watch the game – or maybe just the commercials – in homes across the country. Katy Perry and Lenny Kravitz headline the halftime show with Idina Menzel singing the “Star Spangled Banner” before kickoff.
Feb. 1 with kickoff at 6:30 p.m. at the University of Phoenix stadium in Glendale, Ariz. The pregame show begins at 1 p.m. on NBC (locally WRC channel 4) with the game broadcast beginning at 6 p.m.
Sugar and Champagne
The annual Washington Humane Society dessert and champagne reception, Sugar and Champagne, returns. The event honors local animal crusaders while raising funds to help care for the homeless pet population in the nation’s capital. This celebration of all things sweet, showcases the D.C. area’s most talented pastry chefs. Enjoy delectable confections complemented by some of the world’s finest sparkling wines. The VIP Chefs’ Tasting Room presents an exclusive savory gathering prepared by the finest chefs of the national capital region. A new Exclusive Experience provides special guests with a unique opportunity to make their own desserts, learn to concoct magnificent drinks, view exceptional demonstrations and try items not offered to any other guests. Join host Chef Todd Gray at the Exclusive Experience as he delights guests with a liquid nitrogen “dip-n-dots” demonstration station. It also includes sugar pulling demonstrations by Co Co Sala, the opportunity to hand craft truffles with the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center’s pastry chef Shane Goettlicher and exclusive drinks from Cava Mezza’s Jason Gehring. Leashed dogs are welcome.
Feb. 4 from 7-9 p.m. at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Tickets are $90. VIP Chef’s Tasting Room Tickets are $150 and Exclusive Experience tickets are $250. Tickets are available here.
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.