It’s the weekend before the Fourth of July and that means the Smithsonian’s Folklife Festival returns to the National Mall. This year’s featured country is Peru. Alexandria’s Food & Wine Festival is on tap at a new waterfront location and the international World Police & Firefighter Games are in the DMV for the next few weeks. There’s plenty for everyone to do this weekend.

This weekend, Green Line trains will operate at regular weekend intervals. Red Line trains will operate every 15 minutes between Shady Grove and Glenmont with trains running every 7-8 minutes between Grosvenor and Silver Spring from 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Orange, Silver and Blue line trains will operate every 20 minutes throughout the weekend. On Saturday and Sunday, Silver Line trains will operate between Wiehle-Reston East and East Falls Church stations only. Customers traveling to Silver Line stations east of East Falls Church should connect to the Orange Line at East Falls Church for continuing travel. Buses will replace Yellow Line trains between Huntington and King Street/Old Town. Eisenhower Avenue and the Huntington stations will be closed. Yellow Line trains will operate regular weekend intervals between Franconia-Springfield and Mt. Vernon Square only.

If you need a break at the Folklife Festival, take a seat in a totora reed raft, used for fishing and surfing off the coast of Huanchaco. (Photo: Josh Weilepp/Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives)

Smithsonian Folklife Festival

This weekend kicks off the annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival, which will spotlight Peru. Enjoy music and dance performances, Peruvian cuisine, demonstrations and more.

June 24-28 and July 1-5 from 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m. with a nightly concert at 7 p.m. on The National Mall between Third and Fourth Streets NW. Admission is FREE!

Shop the best from local Goodwill stores all in one location this weekend. (Photo: Goodwill)

Goodwill Summer Trunk Show

If you’re looking for fashionable summer clothing but need to stick to a strict budget, head to this weekend’s Goodwill Summer Trunk Show, where an edited selection of the best outfits from local Goodwill stores will be on display and on sale. The space will also feature historical images commemorating Goodwill’s 80th anniversary in our nation’s capital.

June 26 from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. and June 27 from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. at Pepco Edison Place Gallery, 702 8th St. NW. Admission is FREE!

World Police & Fire Games

A team of firefighters competes in the 2013 World Police & Firefighter Games in Belfast. (Photo: World Poice & Fire Games)

Held biannually, the World Police & Fire Games offers police officers, firefighters, customs and corrections officers from around the world the opportunity to showcase their athletic experience in more than 65 sporting events. This year more than 12,000 public safety athletes from 70 countries will compete for more than 1,600 medals in events ranging from baseball, basketball, bowling, darts and a decathlon to morocross, swimming, billards, air rifle, rugby, soccer and swimming. A full schedule is available here.

June 26-July 5 at various times in Fairfax and other locations around the DMV. Admission is FREE! Free tickets are required for boxing and bodybuilding competitions due to venue capacity. Tickets for the opening ceremony June 26 at 6 p.m. at RFK Stadium are sold out.

D.C.’s Biggest Dance Party

Carnegie Library will host D.C.’s Biggest Dance Party Friday evening. (Photo: Historical Society of Washington, D.C)

While it can’t be promised that this event at Carnegie Library will break any records for size or capacity, D.C.’s Biggest Dance Party hosted by the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities, which will take place outdoors and feature a groovy mix of retro hits from the 70s, 80s and 90s, as well as current hits spun by DJ Quicksilva, DJ Rusty B and All Good Funk Alliance, should be a fun night out regardless.

June 26 from 7-11 p.m. at Carnegie Library, 801 K St. NW. Admission is FREE, but you must RSVP!

Summer Open Studios

The O Street Artist Studios will hold an open house this weekend. (Photo: O Street Artist Studios/Facebook)

Join the O Street Artist Studios for their Summer Open Studios Explore artists’ work spaces, meet the artist and art professionals with a range of backgrounds and disciplines, and see and purchase some of their most recent work fresh from the site of creation.

June 27 and 28 from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. at the O Street Artist Studio, 52 O St. NW. Admission is FREE!
 
 
 

Alexandria’s Food & Wine Festival

Visitors to last year’s Alexandria Food & Wine Festival sample Virginia Wines. (Photo; Alexandria’s Food & Wine Festival)

The fourth annual Alexandria’s Food & Wine Festival returns at a new waterfront location. It features tastes of local food and Virginia wines, as well as artisans, a children’s corner and live entertainment. Local restaurants will compete for best appetizer, best main course and best dessert. There will also be demos throughout the day.

June 27 from noon-6 p.m. at Oronoco Bay Park, Oronoco Street and Union Street in Old Town Alexandria. Admission is FREE, but admission to the wine garden is $20 and includes a wine glass, bottle of water and unlimited tasting. Food samples are $20 for eight tickets. Most samples require two or three tickets. Tickets are available on site.

America Now! Innovation in Art

Rendering of Starry Heavens in American Art’s Kogod Courtyard. (Rendering: Air Design Studio)

At America Now! Innovation in Art visitors explore how artists are using technology to propel their work. Play the interactive game Starry Heavens, created by Italian architect Nathalie Pozzi and video game designer Eric Zimmerman, under a floating, ribbon-like installation designed for the American Art Museum’s Kogod Courtyard. Try Oculus Rift, a virtual reality headset for 3D gaming, to explore the game by designer Greg Aring combining oculus and Kinect technology, and immerse themeselves in the independent virtual reality games Flutter Bomb and Dispersion by Earthborn Interactive. Digital paint pioneer Jeremy Sutton will paint to the beats of Seattle based electro-swing band Good Co. and international DJ Eliazar, who fuse jazz and swing to create their own eclectic sound. A special Starry Heavens-inspired cocktail, beverages and snacks are available for purchase in the Courtyard Café.

June 27 from 4-7 p.m. at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, 800 O St. NW. Admission is FREE!

Pops for Pets

Pops for Pets is a concert for pets and their owners. (Graphic: Animal Welfare League of Arlington)

If you’re looking for a classy, laid-back evening of outdoor live music, head to the Lubbock Run Amphitheater to see the Arlington Philharmonic on Sunday. This particular free show, dubbed Pops for Pets to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Animal Welfare League of Arlington. The oncert is animal-friendly, so bring your dog with you. The program will include patriotic, classical and animal-related pieces

June 28 at 6 p.m. (rain date is July 1 at 6 p.m.) at Lubber Run Amphitheater, N. Columbus Street and Second St., Arlington. Admission is FREE! Donations will be accepted for the Animal Welfare League of Arlington.

The heatwave should begin breaking today and the weekend temperatures are expected to be about 77 degrees on Saturday and 83 degrees on Sunday, great weather to get out and enjoy the many outdoor events in the DMV. But even if the 40 percent chance of rain materializes on Saturday, there are indoor events to keep you occupied.

On Metro, Green line trains will operate at regular weekend intervals. Red Line trains will run every 20 minutes between Shady Grove and Glenmont, with additional trains between Grosvenor and NoMa-Gallaudet during daytime hours. Orange, Blue and Yellow line trains will operate every 20 minutes. The Yellow line will only run to the Mount Vernon Square-Convention Center station and not to Fort Totten.

Attendees at the opening night film for AFI Docs. (Photo: AFI Docs)

AFI Docs documentary film festival

AFI Docs, formerly known as Silverdocs, is the American Film Institute’s annual five-day international documentary film festival. Celebrating its 12th year, films are shown in landmark venues in the DMV including the AFI Silver Theatre. Of the almost 2,000 documentaries submitted, 50 feature films and about 30 short are being screened. Some “catalyst” screenings, including ones on homeless youth, the Internet and skyrocketing college tuition, will include detailed panel discussions with filmmakers and experts afterwards. If you missed the opening screening of Holbrook/Twain: An American Odyssey, Holbrook’s award-winning one-man show Mark Twain Tonight!,you can catch it on Sunday at 4:15 p.m. at the Silver Theatre. The closing feature is Life Itself based on film critic Roger Ebert’s 2011 memoir of the same name, which will be screened at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the National Portrait Gallery.

Through June 22 at various locations including the AFI Silver Theatre, 8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring, the Newseum, the Naval Heritage Center, the National Portrait Gallery, the National Archives and the Goethe Instiut, all in Penn Quarter. Tickets range from $11-$14.

Chris Kattan will perform a standup comedy routine at Arlington Cinema & Drafthouse. (Photo: NNDB)

Chris Kattan

Former Saturday Night Live cast member Chris Kattan — seen most recently on The Middle — hits the standup comedy circuit with four shows in Arlington. He appeared on SNL from 1995-2003 with recurring characters including Mr. Peepers, Mango, Azrael Abyss, Kyle DeMarco, Gay Hitler, Suel Forrester and, most notably, one half of the Butabi Brothers with fellow cast member Will Ferrell.

June 20 and 21 at 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. at Arlington Cinema & Drafthouse, 2903 Columbia Pike, Arlington. Tickets cost $25 online or at the door.

Elikeh

Elikeh will perform at Topicalia. (Photo: John Shore)

The D.C.based http://elikeh.net/ Elikeh is performing at Tropicalia tonight. Elikeh is an Afropop band that specializes in the catchy melodies and infectious rhythms of West African popular music. The band uses elements of Togolese rhythms as a foundation for exploration into American-influenced blues, funk and rock.

June 20 at 8 p.m. at Tropicalia, 2001 14th St. NW. Tickets are $12 in advance online or $15 at the door.

Pixar in Concert

Clips from the movies will be shown as the National Symphony Orchestra plays music from Pixar movies. (Photo: San Francisco Synmpony)

The National Symphony Orchestra gets animated when it performs Pixar in Concert, the music from Pixar’s greatest films – Ratatouille, A Bug’s Life, Finding Nemo, WALL-E, Up, The Incredibles, Brave, Monsters, Inc., Monsters University, Cars and Toy Story and more – while scenes from the movies are projected onto screens outside and inside Wolf Trap.

June 20 at 8:30 p.m. at Wolf Trap’s Filene Center, 1551 Trap Road, Vienna. Tickets cost $30-$58 online or at the gate.

Safeway Barbecue Battle

Pennsylvania Avenue will become a barbecue battle this weekend. (Photo: Safeway Barbecue Battle)

The 22nd annual Safeway Barbecue Battle kicks off Saturday with an intensely heated and smoky competition among 41 of the nation’s best pitmasters vying for a $40,000 grand prize. Samples, beer and cooking demos will be plentiful and 30 bands will provide entertainment.

June 21 from 11 a.m.-9 p.m. and June 22 from 11 a.m.-7:30 p.m. on Pennsylvania Avenue NW between 9th and 14th Streets. Admission is $12 in advance and $14 at the gate.

Alexandria’s Food & Wine Festival

Taste food from local restaurants and sample wines from Virginia wineries at Alexandria’s Food & Wine Festival. (Photo: Alexandria’s Food & Wine Festival)

Alexandria’s Food & Wine Festival features tastes of local foods and wine, as well as artisans, a children’s corner and live entertainment. The event transforms John Carlyle Square into a lively festival venue. Sample food from local restaurants including Walker’s Grille, Alexandria Cupcake, Las Tasca, Hilton Old Town, Rita’s Ice, Trademark, Whole Foods, Delia’s and Rice & Spice and wines from Virginia wineries including Democracy Vineyard, Lake Anna Winery, Mattaponi Winery, Horton Winery and Unicorn Winery.

June 21 from noon-5 p.m. at John Carlyle Square, 300 John Carlyle St., Alexandria. Admission is free, but eight food tickets cost $20 (samples require a various number of tickets) and admission to the wine tasting test is an additional $20. Tickets are available on-site.

Mid Summer Wine Fest

Sample Maryland wines at the Mid Summer Wine Fest in Silver Spring. (Photo: Milk Lady Events)

At the fourth annual Mid Summer Wine Fest expect free wine samples from Maryland vineyards, live honkytonk, salsa dancing and snacks from local performers. There will also be a strong showing from local farmers as well as a Ukrainian virility dance performance.

June 21 from 2-7 p.m. at the B&O Station, 8100 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring. Admission is $31 in advance until 9 p.m. on June 20 and $39 after.
 
 

Geek Chic Fashion Show

Cosplay fashions will be features at the Geek Chic Fashion Show. (Photo: Shutterstock)

Fantom Comics and PollySue’s Vintage Shop team up to co-host the Geek Chic Fashion Show, a fashion show for geeks. Instead of high-fashion designers, models will be dressed in nerdy street styles, casual cosplay, steampunk couture, high-fashion superheros, tiny princess supervillains and more. Proceeds benefit Con or Bust, a non-profit that sends fans of color to science-fiction and fantasy conventions.

June 21 at 7 p.m. at St. Stephen and the Incarnation Episcopal Church, 1525 Newton St. NW. Admission is $5 at the door.

Bedroom Business

At Bedroom Business, professionals will give advice to improve your love life. (Photo: Twoology)

When’s the last time you had a bad bedroom experience? Why was it so bad? Was it you or your partner? Do you secretly struggle with how to improve your bedroom skills? Is there something you wish you knew how to do? Do you have a bedroom partner with a particular issue? Want to figure out how to talk to them about improving? At Bedroom Business: A Conversation for Men and Women, professionals will offer advice, products and workshops. There will also be a panel discussion about communication in the bedroom. Panelists include Dr. Richard Griffith, a licensed psychologist, Tunde Akinyeke, a blogger, Dr. Natasha St. Amand, a licensed professional therapist, and Lauren Williams, owner of The Bobby Pen blog.

June 22 from 3-6:30 p.m. at The Loft at 600 F, 600 F St. NW. Admission is $15 here.