It is time for the annual nerd prom – AKA White House Correspondents’ Dinner – on Saturday when various media companies bring in celebrities to attend the dinner at the Washington Hilton. This year’s host is Saturday Night Live’s Cecily Strong. Parties started Thursday and continue all weekend long so you might spot Kerry Washington, Tea Leoni, Jane Fonda, Donald Trump, Martha Stewart, Johnny Weir, Al Roker, Lester Holt, Tameron Hall, Russell Wilson, Ciara, Lucy Liu, Connie Britton, Julie Bowen, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Anthony Anderson, Jane Seymour, Alfre Woodard and more around town. For those of us not lucky enough to have gotten an invite, there are plenty of other things we are invited to.

This weekend, Silver, Blue and Yellow line trains will operate at regular intervals. Green Line trains will operate at regular weekend intervals between College Park and Branch Avenue stations; buses will replace trains at between College Park and Greenbelt. Red Line trains will operate every 20 minutes between Shady Grove and Glenmont, and every 10-12 minutes between Friendship Heights and NoMa-Gallaudet between 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Orange Line trains will operate every 18 minutes.

Georgetown’s Book Hill neighborhood will become a French market Friday and Saturday. (Photo: georgetownrowhouse.com)

Georgetown French Market

Georgetown’s Book Hill becomes an European open air market with sidewalk sales at more than 40 shops and cafes during the 12th annual Georgetown French Market. Book Hill merchants, restaurants, salons and galleries will display their wares in an open-air market, evoking the outdoor markets of Paris where guests wander between shops and galleries tempted by the aroma of fresh coffee and croissants while enjoying the sounds of strolling musicians. On Saturday from 11 a.m.-4 p.m., there will also be family-friendly entertainment, mimes, caricature artists, face painting and strolling musicians in the TD Bank parking lot, 1611 Wisconsin Ave. NW.

Apr. 24 and 25 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. along upper Wisconsin Avenue NW between P Street to Reservoir Road. Admission is FREE! Free parking is available at Hardy Middle school across from the Georgetown Safeway on Saturday and free Circulator rides will be available at 29th and K Streets, Wisconsin Avenue and K Street and at northbound Wisconsin Avenue and M Street stops.

FilmFest DC

A scene from I Can Quit Whenever I Want, the closing night movie at FilmFest DC. (Photo: Fandango)

Filmfest DC continues its 29th year with a smaller slate of movies and fewer bells and whistles. But that still leaves time for more than 70 films, including I Can Quit Whenever I Want, a criminal comedy that reimagines the Breaking Bad dynamic in the halls of Italian academia and nightclubs of Rome at 4 p.m. Sunday at the Lincoln Theatre. A talented, principled and cash-strapped molecular research scientist must lie about his income to his live-in girlfriend after he loses his job. He desperately pursues one of many students who owe him tutoring fees to a popular club and has an inadvertent substance-induced epiphany. An obscure Italian law allows new, and thus unclassifiable, drugs in the marketplace. All Pietro has to do is gather together a group of his eccentric, socially challenged and equally desperate brainiac colleagues, manufacture a synthetic Ecstasy variant, and peddle it in the most popular clubs under the noses of the established local drug lords. What could possibly go wrong?

Through Apr. 26 at various times at AMC Mazza Gallerie, 5300 Wisconsin Ave. NW; the Embassy of France, 4101 Reservoir Road NW; Geothe-Institut, 812 7th St. NW and E Street Cinema, 555 11th St. NW; and Lincoln Theater, 1215 U St. NW. Tickets are $13 except for the closing film, I Can Quit Whenever I want, which is $25. A package of 10 tickets is also available for $100. Online tickets are available until the day before the show then will be available at the box office starting 1 hour before the screening.

Happy Birthday, Library of Congress

The Library of Congress’ Thomas Jefferson Building. (Photo: Carol M. Highsmith)

On Friday, the Library of Congress turns 215. Founded in 1800, many think of the library as the place that has a copy of every book every published. Although not true, the library does have almost 24 million books, plus the world’s largest library, a comic book collection, map collection, video games, violins, globes and more. Anyone over 16 years old can get a Library of Congress card and use the reading room. The library also sponsors concerts and weekly story times for children. Among the notable items in its collection are a 1507 map by German cartographer Martin Waldseemuller, who was the first to full depict the Western Hemisphere; a collection of newspaper clippings and letters from President Lincoln’s 1858 political campaign; a digital record of every tweet since Twitter began in 2006; a Gutenberg Bible, published in 1455; The Whole Book of Psalms Faithfully Translated into English Meter, the first book ever printed in the U.S. in 1640; and a copy of Old King Cole, a book smaller than a grain of rice containing the children’s nursery rime. It can only be read with a microscope.

Monday through Saturday from 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s days at the Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First St. SE. Admission is FREE!

Artisans will sell their work at D.C. Truck this weekend at Sidney Harman Hall. (Photo: D.C. Trunk)

D.C. Trunk

D.C. Trunk is a handmade jewelry and clothing show and sale. This year’s artists include Chris Triola, Sandra Miller, Nancy Jemio, Selma Karaca, Mary Hughes and Carol Gray Bosca, Rebecca Myers, Donna D’Aquino, Debra Adelson, Sam Shaw, Tatiana Ramhmania, Pat Palson and Grace Ann Agostino.

Apr. 24 from 10 a.m.-8 p.m. and Apr. 25 from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. at the Shakespeare Theatre Co.’s Sidney Harman Hall, 610 F St. NW. Admission is FREE!

Smithsonian Craft Show

Polka dot dessert plates by Boyd Sugiki and Lisa Zerkowitz will be on sale at the Smithsonian Craft Show. (Photo: Boyd Sugiki and Lisa Zerkowitz)

The 33rd annual Smithsonian Craft Show is a juried show and sale of fine American sculptural object and design. This year, 121 artists, including 31 new artists, have their work on display and sale. Work is limited 12 different media: baskets, ceramics, decorative fiber, furniture, glass, jewelry, leather, metal, mixed media, paper, wearable art and wood. There are also lectures each day that are included with admission.

Apr. 24 from 10:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m., Apr. 25 from 10:30 a.m.-5 p.m. and Apr. 26 from 10:30 a.m.-5 p.m. p.m. at the National Building Museum, 401 F St. NW. Admission is $20 or $30 for a two-day pass at the door. Children 12 and younger are free.

Food truck will gather Friday at Truckeroo at the Bullpen by Nationals Park. Photo: Truckeroo)

Truckeroo

Truckeroo kicks off its summer season with more than two dozen food trucks. Truckeroo will be held monthly on May 15, June 12, July 10, Aug. 21 and Sept. 11. The list of food trucks changes monthly. There is live music all day and beer is available at the Bullpen bar. There are also games, such as cornhole.

Apr. 24 from 11 a.m.-11 p.m. at the Fairgrounds, Half and M Streets SE next to Nationals Stadium. Admission is FREE!

Bard in the Yards

Claire Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio star in Romeo + Juliet. (Photo: 20th Century Fox)

The Folger Theatre and the Capitol Riverfront BID celebrate Shakespeare’s 451st birthday with Bard in the Yards, three of Hollywood’s bet takes on his plays for a free weekend of outdoor films. Actors from the Folger Theatre’s production of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead will introduce the screenings. On Friday, Much Ado About Nothing will be shown, with Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet on Saturday and The Taming of the Shrew on Sunday.

Apr. 24-26 starting between 7:30-8 p.m. at The Yards Park, 355 Water St. SE. Admission is FREE!

Georgetown house will be open to the public on Saturday. (Photo: Georgetown House Tour)

Georgetown House Tour

Each year the Georgetown House Tour features a number of Georgetown’s most beautiful homes and their impressive gardens. Houses are arranged for easy walking at your own pace taken in the order you prefer. Admission includes a House Tour Magazine full of useful information including a map of the houses, which makes it possible to set your own route. On the tour this year is a not-to-be-missed Parish Tea in Blake Hall at historic St. John’s Church, 3240 O St. NW. Following an 84-year tradition, this tea features homemade tea sandwiches and sweets. You may walk in at any time between 2-5 p.m.

Apr. 25 from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. at various houses along Wisconsin Avenue NW between Reservoir Road and P Street. Tickets are $55 at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 3240 O St. NW.
 
 

Sant Jordi Festival of Books and Roses

Visitors browse books at last year’s festival.
(Photo: World Book Day Washington)

Celebrate Diada de Sant Jordi (Saint George Day) that will transform the Dupont Circle neighborhood into a festival of books and roses. Sant Jordi’s celebration is inspired by the legend of St. George, who slayed a dragon to save a princess and then plucked a red rose for the princess from a rose bush, which had sprouted on the exact spot, where the dragon’s red blood had spilled.It was declared world book day by UNESCO in 1995. The festival includes a street book fair at Dupont Circle with a number of area bookstore taking part. There will also be a book drive with donors receiving a Sant Jordi rose in exchange for books. Storytelling, a book exchange, arts and crafts, and food vendors will also commemorate a more than 100-year-old Catalan tradition.

Apr. 24 from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. in Dupont Circle. Admission is FREE!

Taste of Three Cities

Visitors in Baltimore sample food truck fare. (Photo: Karen Jackson/Baltimore Sun)

Taste of Three Cities began in 2012 as a D.C. vs. Baltimore food truck show in Charm City. Last year, Philadelphia joined the competition. This year, 60 food trucks will visit in all three cities with $20,000 in cash and prices on the line. Nine food truck will face off in D.C. Among the local food trucks are D.C. Slices, Red Hook Lobster Pound, Captain Cookie and D.C. Taco Truck. The competition will stop in Philadelphia on May 9 and Baltimore on June 6. A champion will be crowned in each city based on input from a panel of judges and the crowd. The truck with the most points at the end of the circuit will receive a bonus. Entertainment include music by Elikah, Fractal Cat, Greasy Hands and Yellow Dubmarine. Proceeds benefit D.C. Central Kitchen.

Apr. 25 from noon-9 p.m. at Storey Park, 1005 First St. NE. Admission is $15 for adults, $5 for children, $35 for a family of two adults and two children, $65 for VIP admission with an all you care to drink and one hour early admission online. Individual tickets are $20, children are $8, family packs are $45 and VIPs are $75 at the door.

Broccoli City Festival

Jaden and Willow Smith will perform at the Broccoli City Festival. (Photo: Nathaniel Wood)

This year, the Broccoli City Festival, the annual Earth Day celebration, features sets from Erykah Badu as DJ Lo Down Loretta Brown, rapper Joey Bada$$ and Will Smith’s rapping children Willow and Jaden. There will also be plenty of food options, craft vendors and art installations. There will also be free fitness and yoga classes.

Apr. 25 from noon-9 p.m. at St. Elizabeth East Gateway Pavilion, 1100 Alabama Ave. SE. Tickets are $45 online or at the gate. Must be 16 or older.
 
 
 

Mid-Atlantic Spring Beer Festival

The streets of Shirlington Village will become a beer festival on Saturday. (Photo: Brightest Young Things)

More than 35 breweries including Forge Brew Works, Old Ox, Adroit Theory and Oliver Brewing will be sampling their brews at the second annual Mid-Atlantic Spring Beer Festival. Several Shirlington Village restaurants includng Busboys & Poets, Café Pizzaiolo, Luna and Blue Sea will have booths selling food. Music will be provided by DJ Julius Talvik.

Apr. 25 from noon-7 p.m. at The Village of Shirlington, outside Capitol City Brewing Co., 4001 Campbell Ave., Arlington. Tickets are $30 at the door and includes 10 four-ounce samples and a tasting glass. Additional tastes are $1 with a five ticket minimum. Non-drinkers are free.

Lord of the Rings Movie Festival

Sean Astin (left) and Elijah Wood in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. (Photo: New Line Productions)

Have you ever tried watching all three Lord of the Rings movies in one day? You can on Sunday at the Arlington Cinema & Drafthouse, which is hosting a festival for the beloved trilogy with Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring at noon, Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers at 3:15 p.m. and Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King at 7 p.m. There will be a trival contest with prices at 6:15 p.m., a Gollum impersonation contest at 6:30 p.m. and best costume awards at 6:45 p.m.

Apr. 26 starting at noon at Arlington Cinema & Drafthouse, 2903 Columbia Pike, Arlington. Tickets are $10 online or at the box office.

John Form has found the perfect gift for his expectant wife, Mia — a beautiful, rare vintage doll in a pure white wedding dress. But Mia’s delight with Annabelle doesn’t last long. On one horrific night, their home is invaded by members of a satanic cult, who violently attack the couple. Spilled blood and terror are not all they leave behind. The cultists have conjured an entity so malevolent that nothing they did will compare to the sinister conduit to the damned that is now … Annabelle.

Mia (Annabelle Wallis) finds the Annabelle doll in her missing daughter’s crib. (Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures)

Annabelle is a prequel to director James Wan’s (he’s a producer on this one) 2013 hit The Conjuring and the possessed porcelain doll in both movies.

This time, the movie tells the story of Annabelle, and how the creepy doll came to be possessed. The film starts with the nurses, whose apartment the doll was terrorizing in The Conjuring, telling their story presumably to paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, but Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, who played the Warrens in the first film, don’t return for this one.

Director John R. Leonetti takes us back to the early 1960s, where we meet medical-school student John Form (Ward Horton) and his wife Mia (Annabelle Wallis), a young couple expecting a baby. John surprises Mia with the doll she’s been looking for to complete her collection and it’s Annabelle.

The doll is just as horrible looking before it gets all beat up. Why anyone would want Annabelle or any of the creepy dolls in their home is anyone’s guess, but Mia is delighted.

Earlier, while watching the news, Mia sees a report of the Manson family murders. That night, the next door neighbors’ estranged daughter who has run off to join a cut, breaks into her parents’ house with her boyfriend and kills her parents. While John attends to the neighbors, the daughter and her boyfriend somehow get in the expecting couple’s house. While the boyfriend attacks Mia, the woman enters the nursery and pics up Annabelle. The male attacker is killed by police, and the woman slits her own throat while holding the doll, spilling her blood on it.

Soon weird and dangerous things start happening – the sewing machine starts running in the middle of the night, the stereo comes on, the stove turns on and a pan of Jiffy Pop popcorn explodes, starting a fire. Mia gives birth to a daughter and eventually the couple moves into an apartment to flee the strange happenings in the house, even though John put Annabelle out with the trash.

While unpacking, Mia finds Annabelle in a box and puts her back on the baby’s shelf. Whatever evil was plaguing them in their old house only gets worse and John suggests going to their priest (Tony Amendola) for help; Mia confides in Evelyn (Alfre Woodard), who owns a bookstore down the street with a large occult section.

How many heels does it get?

While the doll helped frame The Conjuring, it plays a major role in Annabelle. But while the original was based on the true-life story of paranormal researchers Ed and Lorraine Warren, this one is pure fiction from screenwriter Gary Dauberman who throws in a demon. Annabelle is a real doll — although a large Raggedy Ann in real life — that is locked up in an occult museum in Connecticut owned by the Warrens and visited only by a priest who blesses her twice a month. But where The Conjuring took classic horror conventions and made them fresh and exciting, Annabelle is a predictable collage of frights that are less about atmosphere and don’t evolve organically from the story. Rated R. Opens Oct. 3, 2014.

My rating: 3 out of 5 Heels