Weekend Roundup, Nov. 16 – 19
By • November 16, 2023 0 904
We’re at the last weekend before Thanksgiving and the bustling holiday season. This week, check out a new exhibit at the National Museum of Asian Art, a community day at Planet Word, the Congressional Chorus’s season opener and more. Happy weekend!
Planet Word to Host Enchanted Pages Community Day
Planet Word, the museum of words and language, is hosting an “Enchanted Pages Community Day” this Saturday. The celebration will mark the expansion of the Schwarzman Family Library. The library is an interactive gallery space that brings books to life. Information on the day’s schedule, including timed admission (which is free), can be found here.
TransformerDC’s Benefit Auction Gala ‘The Invincible Visible’ is Saturday
Don’t miss the closing benefit gala for TransformerDC’s “The Invincible Visible” Saturday at American University’s Katzen Arts Center. There will be over 150 artworks up for silent bidding (including a special selection of artworks by Argentinian artists in collaboration with the Argentinian Embassy), food and drinks and music by guest DJ PWRPUFF and D.C.’s Flower Factory Collective. Mistress of Ceremony Pussy Noir will be giving a special performance too. More information can be found here.
Courtesy TransformerDC.
Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art Debuts ‘Whistler: Streetscapes, Urban Change’
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art debuted an exhibition that highlights American painter James McNeill Whistler. Whistler had a long-term engagement with social and economic change. Expect lots of works (over 100 to be exact) from the Freer Gallery of Art’s Whistler collection, with some on view for the first time. More information on the exhibit can be found here.
Don’t miss a new exhibit at the National Museum of Asian Art featuring pieces by James McNeill Whistler. “Flower Market: Dieppe,” James McNeill Whistler, 1880s, Watercolor on paper.
PostClassical Ensemble Debuts Newest Season
This evening, the PostClassical Ensemble starts their newest season with “Bouncing off the Walls: Music and Architecture” at The Kennedy Center Terrace Theater. Joining PCE Conductor and Music Director Angel Gil-Ordoñez will be Pulitzer Prize-winning architecture critic for the Washington Post Philip Kennicott. More information on the event can be found here.
Facebook photo.
The Congressional Chorus Opens Its 37th Season
Enjoy a concert that opens the 37th season of the Congressional Chorus. The show, called “What a Wonderful World: Treasuring the Gifts of the Earth” will be Saturday beginning at 4 p.m. with the American Youth Chorus, followed by an appearance by the NorthEast Senior Singers. There will also be two world premieres of newly commissioned works by Emily Mason and George Stewart, two local composers. More information on the event can be found here.
Christmas at The Gaylord Returns
Beginning Sunday, Gaylord National Harbor will bring back its Christmas extravaganza. There will be a dazzling 55-foot Christmas tree suspended from the 19-story atrium, indoor snowfalls, and of course the ICE! tradition. This year, ICE! has a “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” theme. Those who remember the 1964 stop-motion animated movie will enjoy seeing all their favorite characters come to life as ice sculptures. More information on the event can be found here.
This year’s iteration of ICE! at the Gaylord is based on the 1964 stop-motion animated movie Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” Photo courtesy Marriott.
Check out ‘Public Obscenities’ at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
Now through December 23, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company is performing “Public Obscenities,” a bilingual play from writer-director Shayok Misha Chowdhury. A quick synopsis: Choton returns to Kolkata on a research trip with his Black boyfriend Raheem. His grandfather’s photo stares down at him at his family’s home. Choton translates between Bangla and English, interviewing queer locals along the way, while showing Raheem his world. Through the lens of Choton’s grandfather’s old camera, Raheem, who is American, notices things that Choton can’t. More information on performances can be found here.
“Public Obscenities. Courtesy Woolly Mammoth.
InSeries Opera Performs ‘The Promised End’
A theater and music experience unlike any other, this show weaves together Giuseppe Verdi’s “Requiem” performed by just eight vocal artists and a one-woman monodrama. The monodrama portrays the composer Verdi, the play King Lear and King Lear himself. The performance was conceived by Timothy Nelson, a previous Georgetowner Culture Power Breakfast speaker. The show includes texts by Marjorie Garber, design by Jonathan Dahm Robertson and is directed by Steven Scott Mazzola and music direction is by Emily Baltzer. More information on the show can be found here.
Don’t miss InSeries’s “The Promised End.” Courtesy InSeries.
The Downtown Holiday Market Returns for Festive Shopping
The 19th annual Downtown Holiday Market returns tomorrow to downtown Penn Quarter. Two blocks on F Street NW will feature local craft goods from artisans. Opening day will feature performances by Jennifer Holliday, the Washington Ballet, and have appearances by Mayor Bowser and more. More on the market, including its hours, can be found here.
A photo from a previous Downtown DC Holiday Market. Courtesy RAMW.
