Happy April!
Hello Neighbor,
There’s a lot of great stuff this week! Stay dry and have fun!
So, What Should You Do April 4-10?
For your convenience, this newsletter includes emojis to help you during these unprecedented times:
- The 🛋 indicates an event is happening in-person inside.
- The 🌲 indicates an event is happening in-person outside.
- The 💻 indicates an event is happening virtually.
- The 💉 indicates an event requires proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test.
- And lastly, the 🆓 indicates an event is free.
Top 6 Picks of the Week
- White House. 💐 The White House will open its doors to the public for Spring Garden Tours. Tickets are required, and will be distributed first-come, first-serve (Sat-Sun, free, 🌲, White House).
- Play ball. ⚾️ Let’s go Nationals! It’s Opening Day this Thursday. We’re playing the Mets (Thurs, $, 🌲, Navy Yard).
- Easter Bunny. 🐰 Old Town’s Annual Bunny Hop (Sat, 🛋, free, Alexandria) includes a scavenger hunt across various shops, Ukrainian egg painting, and visiting the Easter Bunny.
- Breathtaking view and film. 🧗♀️ Returning in person at the National Geographic Museum, the Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival highlights some of the best storytelling about adventure and the outdoors (Mon-Sat, $35, 🛋, Dupont Circle).
- Largest one-day celebration of Japanese culture. 🇯🇵 Indulge in one of the 20 Japanese food vendors, participate in sake tasting, wander a ginza marketplace, and take part in a cosplay contest–all of this is possible at 60th anniversary of the Sakura Matsuri -Japanese Street Festival (Sat-Sun, $15 both day early bird, 🌲, Downtown). Families may want to stop at the Library of Congress nearby for a Japanese Culture Day (Sat, free, 🛋, National Mall) filled with family-friendly activities such as craft-making, origami, and karate demonstrations.
- Team federal employee or lobbyist? 🏒 Cheer on your team of choice at the the Congressional Hockey Challenge (Thurs, $10, 🛋, Arlington).
Everything Else This Week
- Beautiful installations. 📸🌸 Besides the Hirshhorn, you can stop by the atrium in the Conrad Washington to view the Yayoi Kusama x La Grande Dame by Veuve Clicquot piece “My Heart That Blooms in the Darkness of the Night.” MGM National Harbor has transformed their conservatory into a cherry blossom oasis with 18 8-foot butterflies, 2,300 plants, 12-foot-tall iris plants, and an animatronic frog.
- LGBTQ events. 🌈 DC Dyke March is having a 101 session for their 2022 DC Dyke March (Sat, free, 🌲, Columbia Heights). Queer DJ Collective Flower Factory (Sun, no cover, 🛋, Downtown), is having a dance party.
- Ukraine. 🇺🇦 This lecture by Profs & Pints about the war in Ukraine sold out last time (Tues, $13, 🛋, Georgetown).
- Passover. 🕍 Ever wonder what it takes to lead a seder (Thurs, free, 💻)?
- All the varieties of cherry blossom. 🌸🌸🌸 Brush up on your identification skills thanks to a lecture on cherry blossom varieties hosted by the Library of Congress (Wed, free, 💻). Stop by She Loves Me for an evening of watercolor and cherry blossom floral exploration (Fri, $95, 🛋, Eckington). Wrap up a floral week at ShopMadeInDC with a flower vase (Sat, 🛋, $70, Union Market) pottery workshop. P.S., If you attend this Arte Original (Sat, $10, 🛋, Union Market) exhibition, you’ll receive a cherry-blossom-themed gourmet chocolate box.
- Taylor Swift vs. Queen. 🎻 Grab some wine, and sit outside enjoying the Edgewood String Quartet’s outdoor “Enchanted Rhapsody” concert (Sat, free, 🌲, Ballston).
- Save Truffula Trees. 🌴 Watch “The Lorax” (Fri, $5, 🌲, The Yards) at Yards Park as part of their month-long Earth celebration.
- National Walking Day. 🚶♀️ Take part in Walkingpalooza and enjoy walking tours of Arlington’s neighborhoods (Sat, free, 🌲, Arlington).
- House of Sweden. 🇸🇪 Stop by the “Arctic Highways” exhibit showcasing indigenous artists before watching an outdoor screening of “Sami Blood,” which describes racism faced by a Sámi girl at her boarding school (Tues, free, 🌲, Georgetown).
- Ping pong or table tennis? 🏓 Whatever it’s called, District Fray is hosting a March Madness tournament to raise money for Playtime Project ($50 to compete, 🌲, Union Market).
- Eat Yourself Sexy. 🍫 That’s the name of this sacred cacao ceremony and sound bath (Wed, $50, 🛋, Downtown).
- Volunteering! 🗑 It may be a little muddy from the rain, but Anacostia River Festival is hosting a cleanup (Sat, free, 🌲, Anacostia).
- Art exhibit openings. 🖼 See Azikwe Mohammed’s “Catfish and Sweet Tea: An Open Platform for Discussion” (opens Sat, free, 🛋, Logan Circle) at Transformer. Enjoy an opening reception regarding a large-scale tissue-paper sculpture (Fri, free, 🛋, Shepherd Park).
- Artist talks. 🎨 Head to the “Down to Earth” exhibit at Honfleur Gallery to hear from artist Nikki Hendricks (Wed, free, 🛋, Anacostia). Or discover how the theme of “fearlessness” has impacted African American art and art of the Diaspora (Fri, free, 🛋, National Mall). Learn about art and Flat Pack (Fri, $35, 🛋, Adams Morgan) with Lost City Books. Explore the famous contemporary female collectors of porcelain (Wed, $22, 💻), Indigenous Art (Thurs, free, 💻) , or how artists address questions of gender and authority (Thurs, free, 💻).
Your Neighbor,
Jade (@clockoutdc)
Jade Womack is an energy economist by day, and an events blogger by night. She started her blog, Clockout DC, when she was moonlighting as a bartender in 2019. She grew up in Arlington, and currently lives in Adams Morgan with her dog.
