THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23
MUSEUMS The Yayoi Kusama retrospective “Infinity Mirrors” opens at the Hirshhorn on Thursday and runs through May 14. It’s a celebration of the Japanese artist’s 65-year career, featuring her stunning Infinity Mirror Rooms as well as paintings never before been shown in the US. This is not an exhibit that you can just wander into, though: free timed passes are offered on Mondays at noon (set your alarm—the first two batches have been snapped up within minutes), and the museum will offer a limited number of same-day walk-up timed passes every day starting at 9:30 AM. Free, 10 AM.
THEATER The Select (The Sun Also Rises), a stage adaptation of the Ernest Hemingway novel, runs at the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Lansburgh Theatre until April 2. The adaptation, developed by New York theatre ensemble Elevator Repair Service, incorporates dance and other unexpected artistic fusion into Hemingway’s tale of drinking and bullfighting. $44 to $102, 8 PM.
COMEDY British comedian and ventriloquist Paul Zerdin, winner of the 10th season of America’s Got Talent, performs at the Arlington Cinema & Drafthouse on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. Zerdin’s comic timing and character development of his crew of puppets are what make his brand of comedy so compelling. $30, 7:45 PM
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24
MUSIC New Orleans R&B and jazz singer Ledisi joins the NSO Pops on Friday and Saturday nights at the Kennedy Center. The nine-time Grammy nominee has had multiple songs chart on Billboard’s R&B charts; during the first half of the program, the NSO will be joined by the Mellow Tones, an ensemble from the Duke Ellington School of the Arts. $29 to $99, 8 PM.
BEER The Bier Baron is tapping three different varieties of DC Brau’s imperial IPA On the Wings of Armageddon: a Smith Bowman barrel-aged version, a casked version with blood oranges and citra hops, and the classic OTWOA on draft. Afterwards, stick around for a comedy show featuring eight different local comics and hosted by Anthony Oakes. DC Brau event: Free, 5 PM. Comedy: $10, 8 PM.
MUSIC The ALB: Rock the Stacks project is a benefit for the DC Public Library Foundation and features a number of DC bands to support programs and services at the DC Public Library’s 26 locations. The Friday night benefit concert at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library includes performances by Fort Knox Five, Benjy Ferree, Furniteur, Sitali + Juju, Super Silver Haze, Warm Sun, Boat Burning, Elmapi, and Small Doses, as well as an art installation by DC-based sculptor Leigh-Ann Friedel. $75, 7 PM.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25
ROLLER DERBY The DC Rollergirls are kicking off the league’s 2017 season at the DC Armory, when one of DCRG’s three travel teams, the National Maulers, takes the track against Free State Roller Derby’s Black-Eyed Suzies from Maryland. Halftime entertainment will be provided by all-women percussion group Batalá Washington. For those looking to get even more involved or just improve their skating skills, DCRG also hosts Sunday morning bootcamps. $15, 3 PM.
BEER Mad Fox Brewing is hosting its seventh annual Barleywine Festival at its Falls Church taproom on Saturday and Sunday. The event will feature over 30 different barleywines from around the region and across the country. Free to attend (registration recommended), 11 AM.
SPIRITS The DC Distillers Festival features over 60 different spirits from 20 craft distillers. The festival will turn the Long View Gallery into a speakeasy, with live jazz and burlesque performances adding to the ambiance. $85 to $95, 1 PM-10PM (tickets are timed).
OPERA The Washington National Opera presents Dead Man Walking in six performances between Saturday and March 11 at the Kennedy Center. The opera, written by composer Jake Heggie, tells the story of a death row inmate and a nun who takes on his final appeal. The story was also the subject of a 1995 film by the same name starring Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn. $35 to $300, 7 PM.
MUSIC The Harmony Sweepstakes is an annual national vocal harmony competition that features groups at eight different regional showcases. The Mid-Atlantic regional competition, held at the Birchmere, is hosted by last year’s regional winners, jazz quintet West Side 5. Competitors include the female barbershop group Bella Nova, R&B group Feedback, barbershop quartet Lustre, Christian sextet Mutual Agreement, and all-male quartet Vocality. $29.50, 7:30 PM.
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 26
DISCUSSION The National Gallery of Art is hosting two lectures on Sunday afternoon. First, artist Theaster Gates will speak with guest curator Sarah Newman about his exhibition “Theaster Gates: The Minor Arts,” which incorporates discarded and ordinary objects such as the floor of a school gymnasium and archived magazines. Second, Alexander Calder’s grandson Alexander S.C. Rower will discuss the Calder Tower gallery with Harry Cooper, curator and head of the department of modern art. Free, noon (Gates) and 2 PM (Rower).
MUSIC The Washington Chorus presents “New Music for a New Age” at the National Presbyterian Church on Sunday afternoon. The program presents the works of composer Julian Wachner, who’s also the music director of the Washington Chorus. $25 to $35, 5 PM.
FESTIVAL Ice Yards is a winter wonderland event at Yards Park. In its third year, Ice Yards features icy cocktails, live music (White Ford Bronco, Jeff From Accounting, and DJ Jerome Baker), neighborhood food vendors, and ice games. $10, 12 PM.
