THURSDAY, MARCH 28
BASEBALL The Washington Nationals’ season kicks off on Thursday at Nats Park, when the Nats will take on the New York Mets with starting pitcher Max Scherzer on the mound. The regular season schedule stretches on until late September, so you’ve got plenty of time to catch a game, whether you want to expand your bobblehead collection (this year’s tchotchkes include Juan Soto on 4/12, Anthony Rendon on 9/13, and Trea Turner on 5/15), check out a theme night (Marvel Super Hero Day on 5/25, Star Wars Day on 6/15, and Oktoberfest on 9/14), or just root against Bryce Harper (the first home games against the Phillies are 4/2 and 4/3). There are a few changes at Nats Park this season: all disposable foodservice ware are now certified compostable, so look for special bins throughout the park to dispose of your plates and cutlery. There’s also an expanded Red Carpet Rewards loyalty program, where fans can earn points by attending games, guessing the winner of the Presidents Race, or entering a code displayed on the scoreboard at the end of every game– and then redeem points for tickets to future games. And remember that the Nats have updated their bag policy for 2019, so leave your backpacks at home and make sure that any bag you bring is smaller than 16”x16”x8”. Be sure to check out our guides to the new food and drink options at the park and Opening Day food and drink specials nearby. $41-280, 1:05 PM.
BOOKS Former Trump campaign advisor George Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to making false statements about his interactions with Russia during Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. After a short stint in federal prison, he’s now out free on supervised release. Hear his side of the story in his new book, Deep State Target: How I Got Caught in the Crosshairs of the Plot to Bring Down President Trump, which he will discuss at Politics & Prose at the Wharf with Yahoo! News’s Michael Isikoff. Free, 7 PM.
FRIDAY, MARCH 29
EVENTS The Francophonie Cultural Festival closes out with La Grande Fête at La Maison Francaise at the Embassy of France, in conjunction with Smithsonian at 8. Sample food and drink from over 30 embassies, hear Guinean singer/songwriter Natu Camara, and check out tunes from around the world courtesy of Les the DJ. Note that all guests’ names must be provided at time of registration, for security purposes, and no tickets will be sold at the door. $40, 7 PM.
FILM The year 2019 popped up a few times in 1980s films, and AFI Silver Theatre is showing these throughout the next month in its “The Future is Now: 2019 on Screen” series. Watch the present day through a 1980s lens with Blade Runner, The Running Man, and Akira, and see how filmmakers of the past depicted modern-day artificial intelligence and culture. Through April 28. $13 per film.
SATURDAY, MARCH 30
MUSEUMS The Freer/Sackler Galleries will honor the Qing dynasty empresses with the in-depth exhibition “Empresses of China’s Forbidden City, 1644–1912.” This two and a half century history will feature royal portraits, symbols of imperial power, and jewelry and furniture used by these empresses in the Forbidden City. The exhibit will also show the active role these women had in shaping the arts and diplomacy of their eras. Many of the items on display have never been exhibited outside of China. Through June 23.
MUSIC The National Symphony Orchestra will premiere a symphonic work by Russian-American composer Lera Auerbach, commissioned in conjunction with the National Geographic Society. The piece, ARCTICA, which will be performed at the Kennedy Center’s Concert Hall, was inspired by the composer’s visit to Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago in the Barents Sea. $15-$89, 8 PM.
FILM The Smithsonian American Art Museum is closing out Women’s History Month with an all-day film festival celebrating women filmmakers. “The Women Directors Film Festival: Visionaries, Then and Now” will pay tribute to Alice Guy Blache, Lois Weber, Julie Dash, and more, with a series of film screenings and post-film discussions led by professors and film experts. Free, noon to 9 PM.
BEER Beer fans know to line up at Aslin’s Herndon location on Saturday mornings for their epic can and bottle releases. But the release is moving elsewhere this weekend for Aslin’s first mobile can sale, coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the Elder Scrolls video games. In collaboration with Bethesda Game Studios, Aslin has brewed three Elder Scrolls-themed beers, which will be on sale at Dominion Wine & Beer (Falls Church) and Downtown Crown Wine And Beer (Gaithersburg). One of these canned beers is a “Night Mother’s Blood” gose (brewed with raspberries and dragon fruit); in addition to the can sales, 20 Aslin beers will be on draft at each location. 10 AM (but the line will likely form before that).
SUNDAY, MARCH 31
MUSIC Robin Bell’s exhibit “Open” closes on Sunday at the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design at the George Washington University, and the closing evening includes a special performance by local guitar ensemble Boat Burning, whose leader Andras Fekete passed away in December. Free, 6 PM.
FILM The National Gallery of Art closes out its Poverty Row film series with 1948’s Hollow Triumph, a film noir that stars actors Paul Henreid and Joan Bennett. On the run from a casino mogul, a criminal assumes the life (and mistress!) of his doppleganger. Balancing this new life is more than he bargained for, especially when he learns that the psychologist whose life he’s assumed also had accrued a large gambling debt. Free, 4:30 PM.
