Beautiful Weekend Weather, Y’all!
Hello Neighbor,
Hope your weekend is filled with less April Fool’s pranks, and more sunshine.
Ramadan Mubarak!
So, What Should You Do?
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.
- And lastly, the 🆓 indicates an event is free.
- The 💉 indicates an event requires proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test.
Your Last-Minute Weekend Plans
- Get outside this weekend. 🌳🌳🌳 There’s plenty of ways to bask in the sunshine and celebrate spring! Wander around the largest two-day celebration of Japanese culture at the Sakura Matsuri – Japanese Street Festival (Sat-Sun, $15 both day early bird, 🌲, Downtown). While there on Saturday, you may be interested in seeing a ballet performance entitled “Rising Sun” by the Washington Ballet. Roam the Rose Garden at the White House Spring Garden Tours (Sat-Sun, 🆓, 🌲, White House). Or, take yourself out to the ballgame for the rescheduled Nationals Opening Day (Thurs, $, 🌲, Navy Yard). Learn how to speak for the trees at an outdoor screening of “The Lorax” (Fri, $5, 🌲, The Yards). Shop plants, vintage, and cookbooks at the “Bloom” (Sat, 🆓, 🌲, Mount Pleasant) pop-up at Bold Fork Books. Identify plants in Palisades with Casey Trees (Sun, 🆓, 🌲, Palisades).
- The Easter Bunny is coming to town. 🐰 Partake in an underwater egg hunt (Sat, $8, 🛋, Reston). Explore boutiques in Old Town Alexandria while taking part in the annual Bunny Hop (Sat, 🛋, 🆓, Alexandria). Or head to Schrom Hills Park for a traditional egg hunt (Sat, 🆓, 🌲, Greenbelt).
- Ice Ice Baby. 💎 The Embassy of Slovakia is hosting a Crystal Show (Fri, 🆓, 🛋, Van Ness). By the way, did you know you can see a 260-ct diamond necklace gifted by Napoleon to his second wife at the Natural History Museum?
- A Food Fight, but not really. 🥘 While tasting from over 60 local restaurants, watch DC chefs battle it out at the Capital Food Fight in front of celebrity chefs such as Spike Mendelsohn and Tom Colicchio to raise money for DC Central Kitchen (Thurs, $350, 🛋, The Wharf). Head to the Anacostia Community Museum (Sat, 🆓, 🛋, Anacostia) and take on the role of a strawberry trying to avoid food waste.
- Anacostia River Festival. 🛶 Get dirty while doing good at an Anacostia River cleanup (Sat, 🆓, 🌲, Anacostia). Stop by the Chair on your way to the Anacostia River Festival (Sun, 🆓, 🌲, Anacostia) and meet a human butterfly (Sun, 🆓, 🌲, Anacostia).
- A hodgepodge of indoor events. 🌈 Learn how to make a vase (Sat, $70, 🛋, Union Market). Watch a drag show and dance at the newly-opened As You Are Bar (Sun, no cover, 🛋, Capitol Hill). Follow the light at the “LARCH” program of the Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival (Thu-Sat, $35, 🛋, Dupont Circle), including film shorts of dramatic sunsets as well as the illumination of hot-air balloons over Turkey. Hear from Siobhan Rigg, who kayaked along eight miles (Sun, 🆓, 🛋, Anacostia) of the Anacostia River documenting on various maps all the edible plants she collected.
What Is on Our Radar: Ways to Relish in Spring
- Rent a kayak, canoe, or paddleboat. Boating in DC resumes its season on April 16 (next week!). Paddle your way around the Potomac or Anacostia rivers from one of their eight boathouses. Season passes can be found here.
- Do you have a green thumb? Plants Alive! and Cultivate the City have ongoing opportunities to volunteer in their greenhouses.
- Tens of thousands of cheerful bulbs. Discover the gardens of the Hillwood Museum at various Gardener’s Focus Tours.
- Gardens along the mall. Besides sculpture gardens, did you know you can visit a re-created World War II Victory Garden or a lush Floral Library? You can also visit a native habitat exhibit at the Natural History Museum.
- Run Around. DC is home to many social running clubs. A few you might want to check out for some spring-time runs can be found here.
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.
