Vroom. Vroom. It’s Time for the Auto Show
With temperatures in the mid-50s this weekend, it is the perfect weather to get out and enjoy the DMV. Although Sunday has an 80 percent chance of rain, so maybe save the indoor activities for then. The Washington Auto Show returns starting Friday at the Washington Convention Center and continues daily through next weekend with more than 600 vehicles on display over three floors. It is one of the top five auto shows in the country. The Women’s Voices Theater Festival also continues this weekend with many of the plays featured below. The festival includes 24 theaters around the DMV presenting new plays penned by women playwrights and women-led collectives.
Metro’s Red Line continues to single track between Friendship Heights and Grosvenor with trains running every 24 minutes between Shady Grove and Glenmont and every 12 minutes between Farragut North and Glenmont between 9 a.m.-9 p.m. The Orange Line will single track between Foggy Bottom and Clarendon with trains operating every 24 minutes. Blue Line trains will single track between Foggy Bottom and Arlington Cemetery every 24 minutes. Silver Line trains will run every 24 minutes between Wiehle-Reston East and Ballston ONLY. Green Line trains will single track between Fort Totten and Prince George’s Plaza with trains running every 15 minutes. Yellow Line trains will operate every 15 minutes between Huntington and Mount Vernon Square ONLY.
Washington Auto Show
The Washington Auto Show, one of the nation’s largest auto shows, rolls back into town and the 2018 edition will be quite the spectacle. Car lovers will be dazzled by over 600 makes and models from more than 35 manufacturers. Local sports stars and mascots will be on hand weeknights from 6-8 p.m. including the Washington Capitals and player Tom Wilson on Monday, the Redskins and player Josh Norman on Tuesday, the Wizards and player Otto Porter on Wednesday, the Nationals and manager Dave Martinez on Thursday and D.C. United on Friday. Visit the Art-of-Motion exhibit where artists will be painting murals on vehicles or take a VIP tour led by leading automotive writers. You can also Ride ‘N Drive vehicles at the show. Licensed drivers shouldn’t miss the Land Rover test drive experience where you can drive a Land Rover through an off-road obstacle course along with an experience off-road instructor. Then head over to Jaguar and ride in a new E-Pace with a company driver.
Jan. 26-Feb. 4 from noon-10 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday and noon-9 p.m. Monday through Thursday at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, 801 Mount Vernon Square NW. Tickets are $12 for adults, $5 for children 6-12 and children 5 and younger are FREE! Students get $7 off on Jan. 26 and $4 off other weekdays with ID, active and veteran military get in FREE on Jan. 30 with $4 off weekend and $2 off weekend; $2 off weekdays with a Metro SmartTrip card; and seniors get $4 off weekdays and $2 off weekends.
The Marines and Tet
The infamous Tet Offensive is given in-depth treatment in The Marines and Tet: The Battle That Changed the Vietnam War. The unexpected strike from the North Vietnamese forces on the Tet holiday altered the course of the Vietnam War. One of the more than 100 cities and villages struck was Huê, where Stars and Stripes photographer John Olson of captured the violence and its aftermath. The exhibit features 20 large-format photographs of his, 10 of which are displayed in tactile form with touch-activated sensors that provide audio interviews so that blind and low-vision visitors can still engage with the photos, marking the first major tactile exhibit in the U.S. designed to include blind and low-vision visitors. The photos were featured in Life magazine.
Through July 8 from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday through Jan. 2, 2019 at the Newseum, 555 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Admission is $21.21 for adults, $16.96 for seniors 65 and older, and $12.71 for children ages 7-18 in advance or $24.95, $19.95 and $14.95, respectively, at the door.
Murder at Midnight
The Renwick Gallery’s Murder Is Her Hobby and The Final Stop exhibitions close Sunday. If you haven’t seen them yet or need to see Frances Glessner Lee’s Nutshell Studies one more time, the museum is staying open until midnight for Murder at Midnight, a viewing party with scavenger hunts, craft stations and a DJ in the Grand Salon. Food and cocktails will be available for purchase.
Jan. 26 from 5:30 p.m.-midnight at the Renwick Gallery, 1661 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Admission is FREE!
Spy Fest: A Kidspy Family Festival
Could you be a spy? Do you have the savvy to beat a lie-detector? The smarts to break top secret coded messages? The moves of a Ninja? Bring the whole family and test your skills at Spy Fest: A Kidspy Family Festival. Mini-missions, tradecraft demonstrations by experts and the chance to try spy skill challenges will give KidSpy agents and their handlers an insider’s peek into the shadow world of spying. The festival includes learning to analyze handwriting and signatures with FBI forensic scientists, speaking in code with an FBI cryptanalyst, ninjutsu demonstrations and lockpicking sessions. Admission includes spy snacks, a scavenger hunt, prize competitions, free frozen custard from Shake Shack and more. Who knows, there just may be a spy or two in your midst…
Jan. 26 from 6-9 p.m. at the International Spy Museum, 800 F St. NW. Tickets are $14 per person.
Monster Jam
Monster Jam comes to the DMV this weekend. The racing and freestyle competition will feature monster trucks like Blue Thunder, Grave Digger, Megalodon and Wonder Woman. Part of Monster Jam’s Triple Threat series, the show includes special vehicles like ATVs and Speedsters. Both matinee shows feature a Pit Party at 10:30 a.m. for autographs and other activities.
Jan. 27 at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. and Jan. 28 at 1 p.m. at Capital One Arena (formerly the Verizon Center, 601 F St. NW. Tickets are $15-$45.
D.C. Music Download Sixth Anniversary Showcase
For the past six years, online magazine D.C. Music Download has been showcasing the homegrown bands and musicians that local music fans need to know. Now it is time to celebrate with a big concert and cake for all. The D.c. Music Download Sixth Anniversary Showcase includes electro-pop group Shaed, futuristic funk band Nag Champa Art ensemble, avant-garde pop group Fielder and electro-soul violinist OG Lullabies.
Jan. 27 at 9 p.m. at Union Stage at The Wharf, 740 Water St. SW. General admission standing tickets are $16.
Michel Sittow: Estonian Painter at the Courts of Renaissance Europe
In honor of the centennial of the Estonian Republic, the Art Museum of Estonia and the National Gallery of Art have collaborated on Michel Sittow: Estonian Painter at the Courts of Renaissance Europe, an exhibit dedicated to Estonia’s greatest Renaissance artist, Michel Sittow. Roughly 20 of Sittow’s works will be on display with an examination of his art in a broader context, including his relationship to his Netherlandish contemporaries, part of this fascinating exhibit.
Jan. 28-May 13 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sundays at the National Gallery of Art, Sixth and Constitution Avenue NW. Admission is FREE!
Outliers and American Vanguard Art
Challenging popular assumptions about creativity and artistic process, Outliers and American Vanguard Art comprises 300 works by self-taught American artists such as Horace Pippen and Janet Sobel. Observing three separate time periods when popular and underground art merged, the exhibit also examines recently made, radical work that has shifted the concept of mainstream art altogether.
Jan. 28-May 13 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sundays at the National Gallery of Art, Sixthm and Constitution Avenue NW. Admission is FREE!
Ongoing Events
1968: Civil Rights at 50 from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday through Jan. 2, 2019 at the Newseum, 555 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Admission is $21.21 for adults, $16.96 for seniors 65 and older, and $12.71 for children ages 7-18 in advance or $24.95, $19.95 and $14.95, respectively, at the door.
4,380 Nights at 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, 7 p.m. Sundays and 7:30 p.m. select Tuesdays and Wednesdays through Feb. 18 at Signature Theatre, 4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington. Tickets are $40-$103.
Beautiful Blooms: Flowering Plants on Stamps from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through July 14 at the National Postal Museum, 2 Massachusetts Ave. NE. 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!
Drawn to Purpose: American Women Illustrators and Cartoonists from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. daily through Oct. 20 at the Library of Congress, Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First St. SE. 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!
The First Lady of Song: Ella Fitzgerald at 100 from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through Apr. 2 at the National Museum of American History, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Admission is FREE!
FINAL WEEKEND! The Faces of Battle: Americans at War, 9/11 to Now from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. daily through Jan. 28 at the National Portrait Gallery, Eighth and F Streets NW. Admission is FREE!
Hamlet 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays (except. Jan. 21) and 7:30 p.m. Sundays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays through Mar. 4 at Sidney Harman Hall, 610 F St. NW. Tickets are $44-$118.
FINAL WEEKEND! The Humans at 8 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday through Jan. 28 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ Eisenhower Theater, 2700 F St. NW. Tickets are $49-$139.
Hung Liu in Print from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday through July 8 at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, 1250 New York Ave. NW. Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors 65 and older or students and free for children 18 and younger.
Ilya and Emilia Kabakov: The Utopian Projects from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through Mar. 4 at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Seventh Street and Independence Ave. SW. Admission is FREE!
In the Tower: Anne Truitt from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday through Apr. 1 at the National Gallery of Art East Building, Fourth Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Admission is FREE!
Jefferson’s Garden at 7:30 p.m. most Tuesdays through Sundays and 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through Feb. 8 at Ford’s Theatre, 511 10th St. NW. Tickets are $20-$62.
Making Room: Housing for a Changing American from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday through Sept. 16 at the National Building Museum, 401 F St. NW. Admission is $10 for adults and $7 for seniors 60 or older, students, and children ages 3-17.
Mark Bradford: Pickett’s Charge from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through Nov. 12 at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Seventh Street and Independence Avenue SW. Admission is FREE!
Marlene Dietrich: Dressed for the Image from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. daily through Apr. 15 at the National Portrait Gallery, Eighth and F Streets NW. Admission is FREE!
Mural from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and 11 a.m-6 p.m. Sunday through Oct. 28 at the National Gallery of Art East Building, Fourth Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Admission is FREE!
FINAL WEEKEND! Murder Is Her Hobby: Frances Glessner Lee and the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily through Jan. 28 at the Renwick Gallery, 1700 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Admission is FREE!
FINAL WEEKEND! On Your Feet! at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday and 1:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday through Jan. 28 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ Opera House, 2700 F St. NW. Tickets are $59-$149.
Painting Shakespeare from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday through Feb. 11 at the Folger Shakespeare Library, 201 East Capitol St. SE. Admission is FREE!
Parallax Gap from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. daily through Feb. 11 at the Renwick Gallery, Pennsylvania Avenue at 17th Street NW. Admission is FREE!
Portraits of the World: Switzerland from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. daily through Nov. 12 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. 4 at the National Portrait Gallery, Eighth and F Streets NW. Admission is FREE!
Sovereignty at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday with an occasional noon matinee on Wednesdays through Feb. 18 at Arena Stage’s Kreeger Theater, 1101 Sixth St. SW. Tickets are $41-$119.
Remembering Vietnam from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through Jan. 6, 2019, at the National Archives, 700 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Admission is FREE!
FINAL WEEKEND! Rick Araluce: The Final Stop from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through Jan. 28 at the Renwick Gallery, 1700 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Admission is FREE!
Secrets of the Lacquer Buddha from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. through June 10 at the Freer|Sackler Galleries, 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!
The Sweat of Their Face: Portraying American Workers from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. daily through Sept. 3 at the National Portrait Gallery, Eighth and F Streets NW. Admission is FREE!
Tamayo: The New York Years from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. daily through Mar. 18 at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Eighth and F Streets NW. Admission is FREE!
Tomb of Christ from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. daily through Aug. 15 at the National Geographic Museum, 1145 17th St. NW. Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors/students/military and $10 for children 5-12.
Unnecessary Farce at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday through Feb. 10 with a special performance at 8 p.m. on Jan. 29 at Keegan Theatre, 1742 Church St. NW. Tickets are $45 for adults, $40 for seniors and $35 for people 25 and younger.
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!
The Way of the World 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 Feb. 11 at the Folger Theatre, 201 E. Capitol St. SE. Tickets are $35-$79.
Weekend Morning Movies featuring The Wizard of Oz Jan. 27-28, Despicable Me Feb. 3-4 and The Princess Bride Feb. 10 -11 at 10 a.m. at the AMC Loews Uptown theater, 3426 Connecticut Ave. NW. Tickets are $5.59.
The Wolves at 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and 7 p.m. Sundays through Mar. 18 at Studio Theatre, 1501 14th St. NW. https://www.studiotheatre.org/plays/play-detail/2017-2018-the-wolves Tickets are $20-$106.
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.