THURSDAY, MAY 24
MUSIC Brooklyn noise-rock/shoegaze band A Place to Bury Strangers released its fifth studio album, Pinned, this spring. Frontman Oliver Ackermann has local ties: he was instrumental in the Virginia band Skywave from 1995-2003. Since founding APTBS, he has also designed and manufactured guitar pedals so musicians can recreate his noisy sounds at home; some of his more famous clients include Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor and My Bloody Valentine’s Kevin Shields. The band will perform at DC9 (note: earplugs are recommended). $12-$14, 8 PM.
COMEDY “Speechless” is a comedy show in which presenters are given a deck of random slides—and a laser pointer—to give a presentation they’ve never seen before. Billed as “The Ultimate Improvisational Gauntlet,” this show is guaranteed to please those who work office jobs and have seen (or put together) one too many fancy PowerPoint decks. Check out these one-time presentations at Drafthouse Comedy. $5, 7:30 PM.
FRIDAY, MAY 25
MUSIC The National Gallery of Art’s Jazz in the Garden was supposed to kick off last Friday but was cancelled due to inclement weather. The weekly concert series is now scheduled to return this week and run throughout the summer in the Sculpture Garden. This year’s first concert features saxophonist Tony Craddock Jr. & Cold Front. Guests can bring their own picnics or purchase food and beverages from carts around the garden (though you can’t bring your own alcohol). Through August 24. Free, 5-8:30 PM.
DANCE The Washington Ballet presents a performance of Giselle at Wolf Trap’s Filene Center with the Wolf Trap Orchestra. In this romantic tale, a young peasant girl and a nobleman fall in love, but she dies of a broken heart when she learns that he’s betrothed to another. Beyond the grave, she finds forgiveness and saves him from vengeful spirits. $25-$75, 8 PM.
SATURDAY, MAY 26
MEMORIAL The Women In Military Service For America Memorial, located at the gateway to the Arlington National Cemetery, is the only national memorial honoring the nearly 3 million women who have defended America since the American Revolution. Throughout the weekend, the Women’s Memorial is hosting the “Fallen Warrior Ribbon Memorial,” coordinated with the nonprofit Mindful Memorial Day Foundation. This includes nearly 7,000 yellow ribbons to remember our fallen warriors, and visitors can take a ribbon in the hopes that every ribbon will be claimed and every fallen soldier will be remembered. At 1 PM daily, the Memorial will screen the film The Hello Girls, a documentary about the 223 women who served overseas during World War I as telephone operators and their long struggle to be recognized as veterans. Finally, on Monday, the Women’s Memorial will host its 21st Annual Memorial Day Program, which will include remarks from military women past and present and the scattering of rose petals to memorialize fallen soldiers. All events are free. Fallen Warrior Ribbon Memorial: May 26-28, 8 AM to 5 PM. The Hello Girls screenings: May 26-28, 1 PM. Memorial Day Program: May 28, 4 PM.
PODCAST On The Flop House podcast, three friends watch a bad movie and discuss it. In their live show at Sixth & I, the trio—including two Daily Show writers and a bartender—will discuss the 2017 film Geostorm, which received terrible reviews as aggregated by Metacritic. $25 in advance or $28 day-of, 8 PM.
SUNDAY, MAY 27
ROLLING THUNDER The annual Rolling Thunder Run takes place every year over Memorial Day weekend as motorcycle riders pay tribute to service members who were abandoned after the Vietnam War. Their First Amendment Demonstration Run on Sunday will start at the Pentagon parking lot at noon, ride through the National Mall, and end at West Potomac Park to pay respect to fallen soldiers. Humana, the corporate sponsor of Rolling Thunder, is kicking off a food drive during the weekend; the public is encouraged to drop off non-perishable food or financial donations at the Humana Tent at Thunder Alley all weekend (at the intersection of Constitution Avenue and 22nd Street). Free to ride or spectate.
FILM The National Gallery of Art is screening several films from the Zanzibar filmmaking collective in late 1960s Paris. Deux Fois, was Jackie Raynal‘s first film as a director and is often cited as a poster child of early feminist cinema. A later screening will show Vite, one of Zanzibar’s most expensive films which includes shots of the moon through a telescope, and The Revolution Is Only A Beginning: Let’s Continue, a short film that makes Zanzibar seem evocative of the Warhol Factory with its interpretation of art. Free. Deux Fois: 4 PM. Vite / The Revolution Is Only A Beginning: Let’s Continue: 5:30 PM.
MONDAY, MAY 28
PARADE The 2018 National Memorial Day Parade salutes American military from the American Revolution through Iraq and Afghanistan. The parade runs along Constitution Avenue and will feature music performances by Trace Adkins, Cassidy Daniels, and Jerrod Niemann. This year’s Grand Marshals include the Tuskegee Airmen, and actor Gary Sinise, and three heroes of the 15:17 to Paris. Free, 2 PM.
THEATRE Woolly Mammoth is closing its 38th season with the play Botticelli in the Fire, a look at the life of the creator of The Birth of Venus. The story follows Botticelli’s sexually adventurous ways, including his relationship with a young Leonardo Da Vinci. Through June 24. $41-$79; May 28-29 are Pay-What-You-Will.
SPORTS The Capitals are heading to the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1998 to face off against the Vegas Golden Knights. Game 1 is on Monday at 8 PM, held in Las Vegas. Go Caps!
