MONDAY, FEBRUARY 22
TOUR: George Washington would have turned 248 today. To celebrate, admission is free all day at Washington’s Mount Vernon estate. Along with touring the 21-room mansion and the Museum and Education Center, visitors can participate in a wreath laying ceremony, listen to book discussions with Washington historians, and watch newly naturalized Americans take their oath of citizenship–something our Founding Father would be proud of. Free, 9 PM.
FILM: Plot your next vacation with the 3D IMAX film National Parks Adventure at the Museum of Natural History. Narrated by Robert Redford and timed with the 100th anniversary of the National Parks Service this year, the documentary gives viewers a tour of some of the most awe-inspiring views our national parks have to offer. $9, various times.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23
FILM: Fans of both kung fu films and DJ sets should head over to Songbyrd Music House for the venue’s monthly installment of “Can I Kick It?,” which pairs a screening of an old school martial arts flick with a soundtrack of “hip-hop, funk, soul and cinema soundbites” spun by DJ 2-Tone Jones. Tonight’s pick, known to many from the Wu Tang Clan song of the same name, is The Mystery of Chessboxing. Free, 6 PM.
READING: The Folger Shakespeare Library’s PEN/Faulkner Reading Series, which is centered around “curating exciting literary conversations and bringing together local readers with authors from all over the country and the world,” continues tonight with novelists Celeste Ng and DC-resident John Wray. $15, 7:30 PM.
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 24
MUSIC: If you attend folky singer/songwriter Josh Ritter’s second night at the 9:30 Club, you’ll get a free digital copy of his latest album Sermon on the Rocks and the chance to hear a true storyteller perform (he’s ranked one of the best living songwriters by Paste Magazine). Expect quirky tracks about mummies falling in love with archeologists and a couple who connects in a bomb shelter during the Cold War. $40, 7 PM.
BALLET: Wednesday is opening night for The Washington Ballet’s production of Director’s Cut, which runs until February 28 at the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater. The three-work performance includes William Forsythe’s daring, celebrated In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated, as well as Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s PRISM and Septime Webre’s State of Wonder. $36.00-$110.00, 7:30 PM.
