Rainy Weekend on Tap for the DMV
The weather isn’t looking too good for outdoor activities with a 90 percent chance of heavy thunderstorms on Friday and a 50 percent chance of rain on Saturday. But Sunday is expected to be sunny and in the low 80s with no rain. But never fear. We have a lineup of both indoor and outdoor activities to fill your weekend.
On Metro, the Medical Center and Bethesda stations will be closed this weekend. Buses will replace Red Line trains between Grosvenor and Friendship Heights. Trains will operate on a regular schedule between Shady Grove and Grosvenor and between Friendship Heights and Glenmont. Silver and Blue Line trains will single track between Stadium Armory and Addison roads with trains running on normal schedules. Yellow Line trains will operate on a normal schedule between Huntington and National Airport ONLY Orange and Green Line trains will run on regular weekend schedules.
Capital Fringe Festival
During this final weekend of the edgy Capital Fringe Festival, you can catch 18 out-there performances from local creatives, including improv dramas, punk rock shows and colorful dance shows. Shows that got extended runs include Abortion Road Trip by Theatre Prometheus, Exit, Pursued by a Bear by Barabbas Theatre, JJ-Swizzle’s (and D-Man’s) Epic Awesome Swaggy Broventure for Sweet Rhymes from Dodgeball Theatre, Life: A Comic Opera in Three Short Acts from the Del Way Players, and The Laramie Project by the Wandering Theatre Co.
July 28-30 at various times at the Logan Fringe Arts Space, 1358 Florida Ave. NE, and the Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St. NE. Tickets are $17 each plus a one-time $7 Fringe button.
Asian American Literature Festival
Literature meets community in this inaugural Asian American Literature Festival of more than 50 prominent Asian American writers, literary scholars and artists sponsored by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center. Guests include National Book Award finalist Karen Tei Yamashita, poet Beau Sia and painter and book artist Tammy Nguyen. Participants are encouraged to interact with their favorite writers, sign up for writing workshops and mentoring, and take part in food and library pop-ups, book swaps, open-mic readings, karaoke, poetry slams and more. Check the schedule for details.
July 28 and 29 from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. at the Phillips Collection, 1600 21st St. NW, Dupont Undergrounds, 19 Dupont Circle NW, the Library of Congress Thomsa Jefferson Building, 101 Independence Ave. SE. Admission is FREE!
NOVA Con
The inaugural NOVA Con runs from Friday through Sunday at the Ritz-Carlton in Tyson’s Corner Galleria. The Con will feature guests such as Kelly Hu from Arrow, John Wesley Shipp from The Flash, William Katt from Greatest American Hero and three cast members from Stranger Things There will also be card, Pokémon, RPG and Dungeon & Dragons games, video gaming, a cosplay fashion contest with a $500 prize, a cosplay contest with a $600 prize for adults and $200 prize for kids, a cornhole contests, panels and workshops.
July 28 from 4-10 p.m., July 29 from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. and July 30 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. at the Ritz-Carlton Tysons Corner, 1700 Tysons Blvd., McLean. Tickets are $30 for Friday and Saturday and $25 for Sunday or $55 for a 3-day pass in advance. Tickets are an additional $5 at the door.
Found Footage Festival
For more than 25 years, comedians Joe Pickett and Nick Prueher have been collecting hilarious and weird “found videotapes”: forgotten infomercials, unseen public access TV shows, 1980s video dating clips, vintage office and school training videos and Jazzercise tapes donated to Goodwill. Then they package them up and show the results to audiences, complete with running commentary. The Found Footage Festival is on its way to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival next week, but not before Pickett and Prueher play their latest finds and all-time favorites for a crowd in Arlington. This year’s show includes an arts and crafts instructional video by a woman who is psychotically enthusiastic about sponge painting; a montage of exercise video weirdos including Angela Lansbury, Traci Lords and a Rastafarian rooster; and on-air mishaps from a local pet advice call-in show called Petpouri.
July 28 at 8 p.m. at Arlington Cinema and Drafthouse, 2903 Columbia Pike, Arlington. Tickets are $13.
Citi Open
Rock Creek Park Tennis Center plays host to the Citi Open, a D.C. summer sporting tradition now in its 48th year. International tennis stars will battle in front of thousands of fans during the week-long tournament. As always, the lineup features talent from all over the world, including Juan Martin del Potro, Gael Monfils and John Isner in the men’s field and Eugenie Bouchard and Monica Puig in the women’s field. Make sure to check the tournament’s website for event, ticket and lineup updates. You can also take advantage of ticket discounts for certain sessions.
July 29-Aug. 6 beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday and Sunday and 2 p.m. weekdays at the Rock Creek Park Tennis Center, 16th and Kennedy Streets NW. Tickets for individual sessions are $10-$80.
Dog Days of Summer Family Festival
In honor of Owney the Dog, the National Postal Museum is hosting a Dog Days of Summer Family Festival featuring hands-on activities that kids will love, including a scavenger hunt, paper puppet-making, a story corner and a mule mail challenge. There will also be an adoption fair filled with dogs (and some cats, too) and a K-9 demonstration with Amtrak police and free ice pops.
July 29 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at the National Postal Museum, 2 Massachusetts Avenue NE. Admission is FREE!
National Dance Day
National Dance Day at the Kennedy Center features a full slate of performers indoors and out, including the Howard University Step Team, hip-hop dance crews and a Bhangra ensemble. But the celebration’s real goal is to get the audience moving: Take a Bob Fosse-inspired jazz class, learn traditional Chinese dance or try the National Dance Day routine with Tony Bellissimo, a veteran of So You Think You Can Dance. The night ends with a beginners swing dance lesson and outdoor dancing to the big band hits of Count Basie and Duke Ellington with the Tom Cunningham Orchestra.
July 29 from 2-10:30 p.m. at the Kennedy Center, 2700 F St. NW. Admission is FREE!
Smithsonian Sleepover
The National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center hosts a Smithsonian Sleepover, the ever-popular event that allows kids to spend a night immersed in adventure inside a Smithsonian museum. Kids will be able to explore the full history of flight through thousands of aviation artifacts, from the Wright Brothers to today’s space programs. Ages 8-12 are permitted, and there must be at least one adult present for every three children in any group that registers. No siblings younger than 8 are allowed, and no adults are allowed without children. The program includes Saturday night snacks and Sunday breakfast. Participants must supply their own sleeping bag, pillow, toothbrush and toothpaste, washcloth and small towel.
July 29 from 7 p.m.-8:45 a.m. at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, 14390 Air and Space Museum Parkway, Chantilly. Registration is $135 by calling 202-633-3030 or at the ticket winow in the Ripley Center, 1100 Jefferson Dr. SW from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday.
Aretha Franklin
The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, achieved legendary status long ago. Her songs have helped form the fabric of R&B and pop music in America today, including favorites like Respect, Chain of Fools and Think, which still inspire butts to get out of seats and dance. Aretha will take her incredible voice and classic lineup of songs to the beautiful Wolf Trap, one of the best places to see a show in the area.
July 29 at 8 p.m. at Wolf Trap’s Filene Center, 1551 Trap Road, Vienna. Tickets are $40-$135.
Silver Spring Record Fair
Denizens Brewing Co. is a destination for craft beer. This weekend, it is also the place to go to pick up new vinyl at the Silver Spring Record Fair. More than 20 vendors from across the region set up shop at the Silver Spring tap room, and seven DJs provide the soundtrack for crate digging. Just don’t spill your peach Berliner Weisse on that blue vinyl copy of Radiohead’s Ok Computer.
July 30 from 1-6 p.m. at Denizens Brewing Co., 1115 East-West Highway, Silver Spring. Admission is FREE!
On-Going Events
Ai Weiwei: Trace from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. through Jan. 1, 2018, at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Seventh Street and Independence Avenue SW. Admission is FREE!
Architecture of an Asylum: St. Elizabeths 1852-2017 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday through Jan. 15, 2018 at the National Building Museum, 401 F St. NW. Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for seniors, students and children.
Down These Mean Streets: Community and Place in Urban Photography from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. through Aug. 6 at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Eighth and F Streets NW. Admission is FREE!
Fancy Animal Carnival daily through Oct. 15 at CityCenterDC, 825 10th St. NW; Chinatown Park, Sixth Street and Massachusetts Avenue NW; and Herald Square, 13th Street and New York Avenue NW. Admission is FREE!
The First Lady of Song: Ella Fitzgerald at 100 from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through April 2, 2018, at the National Museum of American History, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Admission is FREE!
The Faces of Battle: Americans at War, 9/11 to Now from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. daily through Jan. 28, 2018, at the National Portrait Gallery, Eighth and F Streets NW. Admission is FREE!
Jazz in the Garden from 5-8:30 p.m. on Fridays through Aug. 25 at the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden, Sixth Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Admission is FREE!
Marlene Dietrich: Dressed for the Image from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. daily through Apr. 15, 2018, at the National Portrait Gallery, Eighth and F Streets NW. Admission is FREE!
Nicholas Party: Sunrise, Sunset from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through Oct. 1 at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Seventh Street and Independence Avenue SW. Admission is FREE!
Parallax Gap from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. daily through Feb. 11, 2018, at the Renwick Gallery, Pennsylvania Avenue at 17th Street NW. Admission is FREE!
Sharks from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. daily through Oct. 15 at the National Geographic Museum, 1145 17th St. NW. Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and military and $10 for children ages 5-12.
Summer of Yoko Ono from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through Sept. 17 at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Seventh Street and Independence Avenue SW. Admission is FREE!
Trolley Car Mail from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily through Sept. 10 at the National Postal Museum, 2 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Admission is FREE!
Wright on the Walls from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday through Sept. 4 at the National Building Museum, 401 F St. NW. Admission is $10 for adults and $7 for seniors, students with ID and youth ages 3-17.
XYZT: Abstract Landscapes hands-on interactive experience from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and 5:30-10 p.m. daily through Sept. 3 at Artechouse, 1238 Maryland Ave. SW. Daytime admission is $15 for adults and $10 for children, students and seniors and evening admission (21+) is $25.
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.