It’s an excellent weekend for cars and comedy, with Washington Improv mixing it up and the Washington Auto Show jump-starting Friday (also on Friday: “The Newly Dead Game” at AMP by Strathmore). Music-wise, Georgetown will welcome classical guitarists and the King’s Singers. Keep an eye out for doggy dance and foodie films. And, on Sunday, abolition is the theme at All Souls Church and the Kennedy Center.
Washington Auto Show
One of the nation’s top five auto shows will display more than 600 new models from more than 35 manufacturers at the Washington Convention Center, 801 Mount Vernon Place NW. Hours this weekend are: Friday, Jan. 26, noon to 10 p.m.; Saturday, Jan. 27, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.; and Sunday, Jan. 28, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The show continues through Sunday, Feb. 4. Tickets are $12 ($5 for ages 6 to 12, 5 and under free). Students get $7 off on Friday, Jan. 26, and $4 off on other weekdays. Seniors and military get $4 on weekdays and $2 off on weekends. For details, visit washingtonautoshow.com.
Washington Improv’s ‘Wintry Mix’
Spurred by a single audience suggestion, the creative performers of Washington Improv Theater spontaneously build entire worlds populated by colorful characters and situations. This show, “Wintry Mix,” at DC Arts Center, 2438 18th St. NW, through Feb. 4, features an improvised romantic comedy inspired by the movie “Love Actually.” Performances this weekend are: Thursday, Jan. 25, and Sunday, Jan. 28, at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, Jan. 26, and Saturday, Jan. 27, at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 ($12 in advance). For details, visit witdc.org or call 202-462-7833.
‘The Newly Dead Game’
You’re at a taping of the popular TV game show “Clash of the Couples,” where couples compete for cash and prizes. One couple will win it all and one contestant will lose more than the game. AMP by Strathmore, 11810 Grand Park Ave. in N. Bethesda, Maryland, hosts “The Newly Dead Game,” a murder-mystery comedy show, part scripted and part improv with audience participation, on Friday, Jan. 26, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $30 ($20 standing). For details, visit ampbystrathmore.com or call 301-581-5100.
‘Strike a Prose: Stories on Their Faces’
Using guided writing prompts, participants will develop stories and poems inspired by the portraits and images from the exhibition “The Sweat of Their Face: Portraying American Workers” on Friday, Jan. 26, and Saturday, Jan. 27, at 10:30 a.m. at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, Eighth and F Streets NW. Open to writers of all levels, age 18 and older, this event is free with RSVP. For details, visit npg.si.edu or call 202-633-8300.
Potomack Company Live Auction
This live auction — Saturday, Jan. 27, at 10 a.m. at the Potomack Company, 1120 North Fairfax St. in Alexandria, Virginia — will feature property from Owlwood, the former home of Mr. and Mrs. William Myron Keck in the Holmby Hills section of Los Angeles. In 1921, William Myron Keck founded the Superior Oil Company (now part of ExxonMobil) in California. For details, visit potomackcompany.com or call 703-684-4550.
Jane Franklin Dance: ‘Complete Dogness’
On Saturday, Jan. 27, at 3 p.m., Jane Franklin Dance presents “Complete Dogness” at Theatre on the Run, 3700 S. Four Mile Run Drive in Arlington, Virginia. In this new, family-friendly work, incorporating spoken word, movement, music and kinetic imaging and animation, a delightful little doggy (brought home in box) bursts on the scene and adjustment is required. Tickets are $15 ($10 for children under 10). For details, visit janefranklin.com or call 703-933-1111.
Duo Deloro: ‘La Buena Vida’
Also on Saturday, Jan. 27, at 8 p.m., Dumbarton Concerts presents guitarists Adam del Monte and Mak Grgic Dumbarton United Methodist Church, 3133 Dumbarton St. NW. The two dynamic musicians will perform traditional Argentinian tangos, original flamenco compositions and new arrangements of compositions by Albéniz and Granados. Tickets are $42 ($39 for seniors). For details, visit dumbartonconcerts.org or call 202-965-2000.
‘There’s No Food like My Food’
On Saturday, Jan. 27, at 10:30 a.m. and Sunday, Jan. 28, at 11:30 a.m., the National Gallery of Art presents a free screening of short documentary films about food from France, Argentina, Trinidad, Thailand and Kazakhstan. The screening will take place in the East Building Auditorium, 6th Street and Constitution Avenue NW. For details, visit nga.gov or call 202-737-4215.
AromaTouch Certification Class
This class, on Sunday, Jan. 28, at 1 p.m. in the Fairmont Hotel’s Balance Gym, 2401 M St. NW, will provide six hours of classroom and experiential instruction in the AromaTouch Technique, an application of doTERRA essential oils to the back and feet developed by Doctor of Chiropractic David K. Hill. Tickets are $149. For details, visit eventbrite.com or call 202-457-5070.
Talk on Abolitionist Lucretia Mott
On Sunday, Jan. 28, at 1:15 p.m., journalist and history lecturer Jamie Stiehm will give a free talk at All Souls Church, 1500 Harvard St. NW, about abolitionist Lucretia Mott, who addressed members of Congress on the topic of emancipation 175 years ago at All Souls (then First Unitarian), with John Quincy Adams and Ralph Waldo Emerson in the audience. For details, visit all-souls.org or call 202-506-0070.
The King’s Singers at St. John’s
Celebrated for their commitment to perfection in blend, balance and intonation, the King’s Singers have an impressively diverse repertoire that encompasses masterworks from medieval to Renaissance and from lieder to jazz. Tickets to this Georgetown Concert Series performance on Sunday, Jan. 28, at 5 p.m. at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 3240 O St. NW, are $40. For details, visit stjohnsgeorgetown.org or call 202-338-1796.
‘Kathleen Battle’s Underground Railroad’
Also on Sunday, Jan. 28, at 5 p.m., five-time Grammy-winning soprano Kathleen Battle will return to D.C. with “Kathleen Battle’s Underground Railroad: A Spiritual Journey,” a concert program at the Kennedy Center celebrating the power of the human spirit and the spiritual as a musical form. Tickets are $25 to $129. For details, visit kennedy-center.org or call 202-467-4600.