THURSDAY, JANUARY 11
DANCE Flamenco has Spanish roots but originated in India. The nonprofit Vicente Ferrer Foundation USA (VFF USA) is hosting a flamenco dance class and happy hour to help promote the work it does to empower rural India. Learn the history of flamenco and try a few moves at VFF USA’s Connecticut Ave NW Headquarters. Free, 5:30 PM.
BEER California brewery Firestone Walker celebrated its 21st birthday this year with the release of its its Anniversary XXI, a blend of five different barrel-aged beers. Sample XXI at ChurchKey’s Firestone Walker event, which will feature 15 different beers from the brewery, including vintage bottles from 2012, 2013, and 2014. Free to attend (beer prices vary), 4 PM.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 12
THEATRE The Women’s Voices Theater Festival officially launches on Monday, highlighting over two dozen plays written by women. As part of the festival, Mary Kathryn Nagle’s Sovereignty opens at Arena Stage on Friday and follows the journey of a young Cherokee lawyer fighting to restore her Nation’s jurisdiction, with looks back at the struggles from the 1830s up to the present day. Through February 18. $41-$91.
SPORTS/MUSIC The Washington Wizards’ Friday Night Concert Series continues this week at Capital One Arena. After the Wizards play the Orlando Magic, the arena will present Hip-Hop Night with Doug E. Fresh, Slick Rick, Big Daddy Kane, Kool Moe Dee, and DJ Quick Silva. The concert will take place on the main court and is free with the purchase of a game ticket. Game: $18-$215, 7 PM.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 13
ICE Leesburg, Virginia, is hosting its 5th annual Winter Ice Fest and Mega Block Ice Carving Competition, where eight world-class ice carvers will sculpt throughout the day. Watch the artists work, enjoy the iceless skating rink, and hang out with the Caps Red Rockers and Slapshot. The festival will take place at the Village at Leesburg. Free to attend, 9 AM to 5 PM.
FILM The National Gallery of Art’s Affinities, or the Weight of Cinema film series shows groups of films arranged along thematic lines. Saturday’s screenings focus on color (2 PM) and minimalism (4 PM); featuring short films from the 1930s up to 2017. Filmmakers Christopher Harris and Kevin Jerome Everson will be in attendance at the screenings. The films continue on Sunday with a focus on the readymade (4 PM) and collage (5:30 PM). Free.
SUNDAY, JANUARY 14
FILM The film Breath is Iran’s official 2018 Oscar entry about a book-loving girl who grows up during the Iranian Revolution and Iran-Iraq War, spinning the stories of her working-class family into the folktales that she loves. The film’s animated vignettes evoke traditional Persian art and calligraphy. Breath will screen at the Freer Gallery’s Meyer Auditorium. Free, 2 PM.
WEDDINGS For those planning a trip down the aisle, the Wedding Experience is a one-stop event to network with wedding vendors, including caterers, florists, photographers, and wedding planners. The show runs this Sunday at the Washington Convention Center and next Sunday at the EagleBank Arena (former Patriot Center). $15, 11 AM to 5 PM.
MONDAY, JANUARY 15
PARADE In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr., the 12th annual MLK Peace Walk and Parade will start at Anacostia Park (Good Hope Road and MLK Jr. Ave., SE Entrance) and proceed to the Barry Farm Recreation and Aquatic Center. Anyone is welcome to march or just to observe. Free, 11 AM.
DISCUSSION Author and Washington Bureau chief for American Urban Radio Networks April Ryan is hosting the fifth in an ongoing series of discussions focusing on race in America at Politics & Prose. Panelists will include Mary Frances Berry (professor at the University of Pennsylvania and the former chairwoman of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights), Bishop T. D. Jakes (senior pastor of The Potter’s House), Wesley Lowery (Pulitzer Prize-winning national correspondent at the Washington Post and author of They Can’t Kill Us All: Ferguson, Baltimore, and a New Era in America’s Racial Justice Movement), and Jason Riley (journalist and senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute). Free, 7 PM.
