Brain Food
1. “Lesole’s Dance Project”: The group performs works that highlight the unique qualities of contemporary modern and Afro-fusion dance, and provides educational programs on traditional South African dances.
Where: Millennium Stage Kennedy Center, 2700 F St. NW
When: 6 p.m. Thursday
Info: Free; 202-467-4600; kennedy-center.org
2. Arts and Artisans from Bolivia and the Peruvian island of Taquile: Indigenous presenters and participants from the eastern lowlands of Bolivia will demonstrate and sell a wide array of foods and crafts, including weavings, embroidery, pottery, sculptures and paintings during this 10-day festival. Dance performance. See Web site for details.
Where: National Museum of the American Indian, Fourth Street and Independence Avenue SW
When: 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. through Sunday
Info: Free; nmai.si.edu
3. “There Are Little Kingdoms”: Kevin Barr’s play, observing a day in the life of an unnamed Irish town, is a bittersweet comedy of misfits and losers, fantasists, fast girls and faster cars.
Where: Keegan Theatre, Church Street Theatre, 1742 Church St. NW
When: Through July 7
Info: $20 to $25; 703-892-0202; keegantheatre.com
4. “Peirce Mill: Two Hundred Years in the Nation’s Capital”: Established by Pennsylvania Quakers, Peirce Mill was in operation before the Revolutionary War and continued to be used to grind corn, wheat and other grains until the 1890s. As Steve Dryden recounts in this history of the mill, the waterwheel was repaired in the 1930s and restoration of the building continues, with the goal of making the Rock Creek landmark an educational facility.
Where: Politics and Prose Bookstore, 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW
When: 1 p.m. Saturday
Info: Free; 202-364-1919; politics-prose.com
5. “Plant Propagation: Reproduction of the Green Kind”: Leaf cuttings, stem cuttings, or seeds: which are the best methods of propagating that beautiful plant that your friend is growing? What type of soil should you use? What time of year should you try to propagate different plants? Learn techniques and secrets through this hands-on workshop. Students will take home the cuttings they start in class.
Where: Conservatory Classroom, U.S. Botanic Gardens Conservatory, 100 Maryland Ave. SW
When: 1 to 2:30 p.m. Wednesday
Info: Free to $5; registration required; 202-225-1116; usbg.gov; program WH032310
Family
1. “Secret Agent 23 Skidoo”: The show returns this summer after rocking the mic to sold- out houses this past fall. Everyone will groove to the positive beats Cactus and his crew are laying down. With an awesome balance of education and entertainment, this unique artist will have everyone on their feet, dancing and shouting for joy. Age 4-12
Where: Discovery Theatre, 1100 Jefferson Drive SW
When: 10:15 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Friday
Info: $4 to $6; 202-633-6060; discoverytheater.org
2. Outdoor campfire and marshmallow roast: The Town of North Beach hosts story time and a marshmallow roast for young children.
Where: Bay Avenue and Fifth Street, North Beach, Md.
When: 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday
Info: 301-855-6681
3. Fort DeRussy Park hike: Join a park ranger on a one-mile hike to this historic fort and learn how it helped save Washington during a Confederate attack. Ages 8 and older.
Where: Nature Center, Rock Creek Park, 5200 Glover Road NW
When: 2 a.m. Saturday
Info: $40; 202-895-6070, reservations necessary: 202-362-0117; nps.gov/rocr
4. “Hansel and Gretel: The Witch’s Twist”: The Witch brews up a scheme to add to
the madness of putting on a middle-school production of this classic children’s fairy tale. The director is caught in an endless curse. The choreographer tries to save her. Will Hansel and Gretel escape in time for the curtain?
Where: Round House Theatre, 4545 East-West Highway, Bethesda
When: 7 p.m. Friday; 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday
Info: $10; 301-634-2270; adventuretheatre.org
5. “Adventures of Tio Conejo/The Adventures of Uncle Rabbit”: Three folk tales will delight you and your children. This well-known trickster from Nicaragua delights in fooling his neighbors, especially his Uncle Tiger.
Where: Classika Family Theater, 4041 S. 28th St., Arlington
When: Through Aug. 15
Info: $12 to $15; 800-494-8497; synetictheater.org
Galleries
1. “Pousette-Dart: Predominantly White Paintings”: Now seldom exhibited, Richard Pousette-Dart’s haunting early 1950s paintings — created from a bone-hued palette and very little paint — look like transcriptions of half-remembered dreams.
Where: The Phillips Collection, 1600 21st St. NW
When: Through Sept. 12
Info: $12; $10 students, seniors 62+, military, free for museum members and visitors age 18 and under; 202-387-2151; phillipscollection.org
2. “Colorforms”: Paul Shartis’s projected installation “Shutter Interface” and Fred Sandback’s yarn sculpture “Untitled (Sculptural Study, Twelve-Part Vertical Construction),” highlight this multimedia exhibit in the Hirshhorn’s basement gallery exhibition of pieces exploring color and abstraction from 1940 to the present.
Where: Hirshorn Museum & Sculpture Garden, Seventh Street and Independence Avenue SW
When: Through winter 2011
Info: Free; 202-633-4674; hmsg.si.edu
3. “Painters’ Prints”: Painters Howard Hodgkin, Robert Motherwell, Sam Gilliam, Nathan Oliveira prove what surprising revelations can come when artists abjure their primary medium to work in another one, freeing themselves to play at printmaking.
Where: Marsha Mateyka Gallery, 2012 R St. NW
When: Through July 31
Info: Free; 202-328-0088; marshamateykagallery.com
4. “Ellen Delaney’s Color Fields”: Ellen Delaney’s squared-off landscapes interpolate elements of abstraction without abandoning representation.
Where: The Art League Gallery, the Torpedo Factory, 105 N. Union St., Alexandria
When: Through July 5
Info: Free; 703-683-1780; theartleague.org
5. “Sacred Waters: Photography by John Stanmeyer”: John Stanmeyer’s 45-photo exhibit documents the ways in which people from India to Laos to Haiti rely on water for their physical and spiritual sustenance.
Where: National Geographic, 1145 17th St. NW
When: Through July 25
Info: Free; 800-647-5463; nationalgeographic.com/museum
Gatherings
1. “Who’s Your Daddy: A Father’s Day Special”: Stories about men, masculinity and fatherhood.
Where: Atlas Arts Center, 1333 H St. NE
When: 8 p.m. Friday
Info: $10; 202-399-7993; atlasarts.org
2. Deviated Theater: More than two dozen actors and dancers comprise Deviated Theater, whose flair for original and creative works is captured in their favorite catch phrase, “Depart from the norm.”
Where: Millennium Stage, the Kennedy Center, 2700 F St. NW
When: 6 p.m. Friday
Info: $29 to $79; 202-467-4600; kennedy-center.org
3. “Plants in Culture”: This new permanent exhibit explores the important roles plants have played in the development of ornamentation, music, therapy, ceremony, language and other expressions of culture, from the aromatic incense of the Catholic Mass to the Japanese tea ceremony to the decorative acanthus leaves on Greek columns. The exhibit offers many sensory experiences.
Where: West Gallery, U.S. Botanic Gardens Conservatory, 100 Maryland Ave. SW
When: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily
Info: Free; 202-255-8333; usbg.gov
4. “Sogetsu Ikebana Exhibit: The Legacy of Mary Sugiyama”: Ikebana students from throughout the United States and Japan return to the National Arboretum for this annual tribute to their teacher, the late Mary Sugiyama. The exhibit features the sogetsu school of ikebana, a style which is based in tradition but encourages free-form use of materials and forms. Free ikebana demonstration June 20.
Where: National Bonsai & Penjing Museum, Special Exhibits Wing, National Arboretum, 3501 New York Ave. NE
When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; 1 p.m. Sunday — ikebana demonstration
Info: Free; 202-245-2726; usna.usda.gov
5. Forty-Fifth Annual Old Time Music Hall: The British Players sing and joke in the tradition of British music halls. Light refreshments served.
Where: Kensington Town Hall, 3710 Mitchell St., Kensington
When: 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday
Info: $30; 301-949-2424
Music
1. National Symphony Orchestra: Juraj Valcuha conducts Haydn’s Symphony No. 85 and Mahleri’s mighty Symphony No. 1. Jennifer Koh performs Szymanowski’s Violin Concerto No. 1.
Where: Kennedy Center Concert Hall
When: 7 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Info: $20 to $85; 202-467-4600; kennedy-center.org
2. Sheryl Crow: The singer/guitarist plays her folk-rock classics. Special guest: Colbie Caillat, R&B and folk-rock artist.
Where: Wolf Trap Filene Center
When: 8 p.m. Thursday
Info: $50 in-house, $35 lawn; 877-965-3872; wolftrap.org
3. Wolf Trap Opera Company: “Zaide,” Mozart’s unfinished opera about a man and woman who find love while in captivity. The audience decides if the story ends in joy or tragedy.
Where: The Barns at Wolf Trap
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday
Info: $32 to $72; 877-965-3872; wolftrap.org
4. Gil Scott Heron: The “Godfather of Rap” bends ears with the spoken word and his poetic music and musings for four exhilarating evenings.
Where: Blues Alley
When: 8 and 10 p.m. Thursday-Sunday
Info: $35; 202-337-4141; bluesalley.com
5. Larry Graham and Graham Central Station: The musician/songwriter and bass guitarist exhibits his “Thumpin’ and Pluckin’ ” expertise during an evening of fresh funk and soul.
Where: The Birchmere
When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday
Info: $69.50; 703-549-7500; birchmere.com
Outdoors
1. Walking Tours: History on Foot: “Investigation: Detective McDevitt”: Join McDevitt as he revisits and reexamines the sites and clues from the investigation into the Lincoln assassination conspiracy. The tour lasts about 2 hours and makes at least eight stops from Ford’s Theatre to the White House. “A Free Black Woman: Elizabeth Keckly”: Join Elizabeth Keckly, confidante to First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln, as she tells the story of her friendship with the Lincoln family and of her efforts to help former slaves find their way in newly free Washington City. The tour lasts about 90 minutes; distance walked: about 1.5 miles.
Where: Tours begin outside Ford’s Theatre, 511 10th St. NW
When: See Web site for dates and times.
Info: $12 if purchased on Ford’s site; 202-397-7328 (surcharge added to ticket); fords.org
2. “Civil War to Civil Rights: Downtown Heritage Trail”: 21 poster-sized illustrated signs combine story-telling with historic images. Discover the little-known sites that link the history of the city to the history of the nation. Walk in the footsteps of Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Walt Whitman and other great Americans whose lives were intertwined with the history of the nation and its capital city. Along the way, you’ll see a former boarding house frequented by the Lincoln conspirators, the alley down which John Wilkes Booth fled after shooting President Lincoln, the home and office of American Red Cross founder Clara Barton, and more.
Where: See Web site for trail map
When: Any day
Info: Free; 202-661-7581; culturaltourismdc.org
3. “Shrek”: Part of “Movies on the Potomac: Family Sundays” series. Movies at sunset on the National Harbor waterfront.
Where: National Harbor, Waterfront Street, Oxon Hill, Md.
When: “Shrek” shows Sunday; “Movies on the Potomac” runs through Sept. 26
Info: Free, lawn chairs recommended; 877-628-5427; nationalharbor.com
4. Dumbarton Oaks Gardens: In 1920 Mildred and Robert Woods Bliss found their perfect country house and garden within Washington, D.C. They purchased a 53-acre property at the highest point of Georgetown. In 1940, they gave the lower 27 acres to the U.S. government to be made into a public park.
Where: R and 31st streets NW
When: 2 to 6 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday; tours at 2:10 p.m.
Info: $5 to $8; 202-339-6401; doaks.org
5. 184.5 Miles of Adventure: Explore the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park. The old canal towpath now provides a way for hikers and bikers to see the beautiful Potomac River Valley. The National Park Service operates visitor centers at six different locations along the canal, from Georgetown to Cumberland. Visitors can also experience the canal by taking a ride on one of the park’s two mule-powered canal boats. These restored boats operate during the summer months at both Great Falls and Georgetown.
Where: Georgetown visitor center: 1057 Thomas Jefferson St. NW
When: Open during daylight hours; see Web site for details
Info: $3 to $5; 202-653-5190; nps.gov/choh
Theater
1. “Trumpery”: This play explores Darwin’s dilemma over the decision to publish his theory on natural selection. Spurred by the possibility of being beaten to the publishing punch by an unknown explorer who has developed the same theory, Darwin stakes his claim, 20 years after first coming up with the idea. But does he do so at the expense of his faith?
Where: Olney Theatre, 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney
When: Through July 4
Info: $26 to $54; 301-924-3400; olneytheatre.org
2. “Suburban Motel”: This dark cycle of plays by George F. Walker involves a pack of characters with a determined instinct to survive but without the capacity to think their way out of trouble.
Where: 1st Stage, 1524 Springhill Road, McLean
When: Through July 3
Info: $15 to $25; 703-854-1856; 1ststagespringhill.org
3. “A Man of No Importance”: With book by Terrence McNally and music by Stephen Flaherty, this musical combines passion, humor and sexual awakenings as it tells the story of an amateur theatre group in Dublin that is determined to stage a version of Oscar Wilde’s “Salome” against the objections of the church.
Where: Keegan Theatre, Church Street Theatre, 1742 Church St. NW
When: Through July 1
Info: $30 to $35; 703-892-0202; keegantheatre.com
4. “Source Festival”: Completely new works will be presented in this three-week festival. Some of the nation’s best playwrights will be paired with some of Washington’s finest actors to present the festival. You can enjoy 10-minute plays, three full-length plays as well as four Artistic Blind Dates, in which 12 artists from various fields (playwrights, filmmakers, musicians, etc.) collaborated for three months to create extremely eclectic art.
Where: Source Theatre, 1835 14th St. NW
When: Through July 3
Info: $18; 866-811-4111; sourcedc.org
5. “Legends!”: Lypsinka and James Lecesne offer a new adaptation of James Kirkwood’s play, in which two aging divas battle it out in order to revive their dying careers.
Where: The Studio Theatre, 1501 14th St. NW
When: Through July 4
Info: $50 to $71; 202-332-3300; studiotheatre.org
