Mostly Virtual Arts Round Up, August 13, 2020
By • August 13, 2020 0 891
Strathmore’s annual celebration of all things ukulele tunes up tomorrow on Zoom and YouTube. Starting a two-week run on Monday: Metropolitan Washington Restaurant “Week.” Also on Monday, works of art 12 and 24 feet tall go on view at the reopened Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden. Click on the headlines below for details.
Molly’s Salon is a weekly series of half-hour Zoom conversations with some of the creative firebrands associated with Arena Stage, hosted by Artistic Director Molly Smith. Participating in the session on Aug. 13 at 7 p.m. will be directors Sheldon Epps, Leah C. Gardiner and Ruben Santiago-Hudson. Admission is free.
Alliance Française: Songs for Kids
On Aug. 14 from 11 to 11:45, the Alliance Française DC will present a free online immersion program of traditional French songs, performed for children by Achille Ango.
Strathmore’s 12th annual UkeFest will take place via Zoom and YouTube starting Aug. 14 (registration closes at noon). Tuition is $175, which includes the launch party, two days of skill-based classes, online jam sessions and open mics, vocal and percussion workshops, virtual social time, the closing cocktail and costume-party sing-along and the full evening concert with all staff. Private 45-minute lessons are also available for $50 per lesson. Though UkeFest is geared to adults, to inquire about admission for students aged 13 to 17, email uke@strathmore.org. The festival concludes on Aug. 19.
Wolf Trap: Streamed Opera Scenes
Starting Aug. 16, Wolf Trap’s Opera UNTRAPPED Online will make available at no charge streamed performances by Filene Artists of the Act 1 quartet, Lensky’s Act 2 aria and the Act 3 quartet from Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin.” The singers are: Shannon Jennings as Tatyana, Leia Lensing as Olga, Brian Michael Moore as Lensky, Thomas Glass as Onegin, Wm. Clay Thompson as Gremin and Gretchen Krupp as Larina.
Area residents are invited to “Dine Out. Take Out. Eat Up.” during Metropolitan Washington Restaurant Week, running for two weeks starting Aug. 17 (the last day is Aug. 30). At participating restaurants, three-course lunches and brunches are priced at $22 and three-course dinners at $35 and $55. Family-style to-go dinners at the $35 level are $60 for two and $130 for four; family-style to-go dinners at the $55 level are $100 for two and $210 for four. Prizes for participants in the Diner Rewards Program include restaurant gift cards and cookbooks from local chefs and restaurant concepts.
Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden: Reopening
On Aug. 17, the Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden — displaying more than 30 modern and contemporary works on one and a half acres on the National Mall, mostly below ground level — will reopen to the public with two highly visible new acquisitions on view: “We Come in Peace” by Huma Bhabha and “DOUBLE CANDLE” by Sterling Ruby. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily. Capacity is limited, face coverings are required for age 6 and older and social distancing will be in effect. The museum remains closed.
Natural History Museum: Zoom Webinar
Habiba Chirchir, a biological anthropologist at Marshall University and a research associate with the Human Origins Program at the National Museum of Natural History, will share her work in a free Zoom webinar, “From Foraging to Farming: How Our Skeletons Changed,” on Aug. 19 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Briana Pobiner, paleoanthropologist and educator at the museum, will serve as moderator. Registration is requested.
On Aug. 20 at 5 p.m., Psalmayene 24 will moderate a free Psalm’s Salons discussion with Natalie Graves Tucker, Dane Figueroa Edidi and Farah Lawal Harris about forging a career in theater as a woman of color, support systems for women of color in the D.C.-area arts sector and opportunities for trans and nonbinary people in theater. With original music from DJ Nick tha 1da, Psalm’s Salons are streamed live on Studio Theatre’s Facebook and YouTube pages.
National Geographic: Trivia Night
National Geographic is partnering with District Trivia to present a Virtual Explorer Trivia Night on Aug. 20 at 7 p.m. The free event will feature two National Geographic Explorers: underwater photographer and shark aficionado Brian Skerry and marine biologist Asha de Vos, who has pioneered blue whale research in Sri Lanka. Registration is required.
Make Your Own Mailbox is one of several at-home activities for kids on the website of the National Postal Museum. Using a downloadable template — plus scissors, clear tape, a paperclip and markers, colored pencils or crayons — home-crafters can construct a paper mailbox complete with their address and a “flag” to let the letter carrier know there are letters to family members ready for pickup and delivery.
