Weekly Arts Round Up, December 31, 2020
By • December 31, 2020 0 1020
Once January gets underway, you can go online to connect with fellow anime fans and crafters and take in concerts, poetry readings and presentations on pandemic history, insect adaptations, interior design (during the virtual 2021 Washington Winter Show) and Burman textiles. Clicking on the headings below will take you to the relevant sites. What about New Year’s, you ask? Take a hike!
Virginia State Parks: First Day Hikes
To enter the Virginia State Parks First Day Hike Challenge, visit a Virginia state park on Jan. 1, then fill out the online form for yourself or your group no later than 11:59 p.m. Winners will be selected at random for gift certificates in the amounts of $500 (one grand-prize winner), $250 (one first-place winner), $100 (one second-place winner) and $75 (multiple third-place winners), which may be used for overnight stays, picnic shelter rentals or annual passes. Persons who complete the form will receive a 2021 First Day Hike Commemorative Sticker for themselves and for each of their group members, if applicable.
Phillips Collection: Live-Streamed Concert
On Jan. 3 from 4 to 5:30 p.m., the Phillips Collection will live-stream a concert by violinist Stefan Jackiw and pianist Conrad Tao from the museum’s famed music room. Following a solo improvisation by Tao, the duo will play a piece Tao wrote for Jackiw, “all I had forgotten or tried to,” then Beethoven’s Violin Sonata No. 10 in G Major, Op. 96. The free concert (register to get the password) will be available for on-demand viewing for the following seven days.
DC Public Library: Online Club Meeting
The Tenley Library Manga and Anime Club invites “those looking for a place to nerd out about My Hero Academia, Demon Slayer, Fruits Basket and Sailor Moon” to drop in for a free virtual get-together on Jan. 4 at 4 p.m. Participants in Anime 101 will discuss the manga they’re reading and the anime they’re watching with fellow otaku (fans), while picking up kiregire (scraps) of Japanese culture and history. For the meeting link, email brandon.digwood@dc.gov.
On Jan. 4 from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m., the Writer’s Center and the Word Works will present Café Muse, with free online readings by poets Don Colburn and Lesley Wheeler. Colburn, a former reporter for the Washington Post and the Oregonian who lives in Portland, Oregon, is the author of several poetry collections, most recently “Mortality, with Pronoun Shifts.” Wheeler’s latest collection is this year’s “The State She’s In.” Poetry editor of Shenandoah, she lives in Winchester, Virginia. Michael C. Davis will play guitar for a few minutes before the program’s 7:30 p.m. start. Registration is required.
American History Museum: Virtual Panel
The National Museum of American History will present a virtual panel discussion, “Pandemic Perspectives: Racing for Vaccines,” on Jan. 5 from 4 to 5 p.m. Moderated by Keith Wailoo, Henry Putnam University Professor of History and Public Affairs at Princeton, the panel — which will discuss vaccine invention, testing, marketing and distribution from a historical perspective, also commenting on developments since COVID-19 was identified — will consist of Col. (Ret.) John Grabenstein, president of Vaccine Dynamics; Paul Offit, MD, director of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s Vaccine Education Center; and Diane Wendt, a curator in the museum’s medicine and science division. Admission is free, but registration is required.
Alexandria Library: Online Crafter Chat
On Jan. 5 from 7 to 8 p.m., the Alexandria Library in Virginia will host an evening edition of its Handcraft Tuesday series. Adult handcrafters are invited to join an online chat to share what they are working on and see what others are creating. The event is free and neither an Alexandria address nor a library card is necessary.
Natural History Museum: Online Insect Zoo Tour
Chris Mooney, O. Orkin Insect Zoo and Butterfly Pavilion lead, will conduct a virtual tour of the zoo, part of the National Museum of Natural History, on Jan. 6 from 11 a.m. to noon. Participants will view and ask questions about zoo residents such as tarantulas, moths and millipedes, with Mooney helping even confirmed bug-haters appreciate insects’ adaptations for survival. The last 15 minutes of the program, designed for grades three to five, will be an optional extended Q&A. Admission is free and registration is requested.
Anacostia Community Museum: Online Performance
The Anacostia Community Museum’s Take Time Thursday on Jan. 7 from 2:30 to 3 p.m. will feature a free online performance by New York-based classical guitarist and composer Carlos Pavan. Born in Argentina, Pavan combines tango and folkloric rhythms from his native country with jazz harmonies and classical techniques and forms. Presented in collaboration with the Smithsonian Latino Center, the program will be guest-hosted by David Coronado, senior communications officer at the center.
Washington Winter Show: Virtual Lecture and Lunch
A highlight of the 2021 Washington Winter Show, taking place online from Jan. 7 to 10, will be a talk by designer Mark D. Sikes at a virtual lecture and lunch on Jan. 8 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The topic, “More Beautiful: All-American Decoration,” is also the title of his recently published second book. Sikes’s work has been featured in AD, Veranda, Elle Decor, House Beautiful and the Wall Street Journal. Tickets — including the lecture, a lunch catered by Susan Gage Catering (prepared for pickup) and run-of-show admission — are $100 per person. A cocktail kit and an orchid in a cachepot are available as add-ons.
Textile Museum: Online Author Talk
Sylvia Fraser-Lu will speak about her new book, “Textiles in Burman Culture,” at a Rug and Textile Appreciation Morning on Jan. 9 at 11 a.m. Presented online by the George Washington University Museum and the Textile Museum, Fraser-Lu’s talk will feature examples of embroidered wall hangings, patterned ribbons for binding Buddhist manuscripts and the wave-patterned tapestry weave known as luntaya acheik, along with lesser-known textiles from remote areas of Myanmar’s Burman (Bama) heartland. Admission is free.
