Weekend Round Up: June 24-27
By • June 24, 2021 0 868
This weekend, we’re excited for the virtual Smithsonian Folklife Festival. An online poetry reading from one of DC Public Library’s own and the Hong Kong Film Festival at the National Museum of Asian Art will also be available streaming online. And, in honor of next week’s Fourth of July weekend, stay tuned for an extra-large weekend round up!
Check Out an Online Poetry Reading
DC Public Library’s own Micah Powell will read from his book “Things No One Else Wants to Say.” He’ll be joined in conversation with D.C.’s Regie Cabico, poet and director of Capturing Fire Press. Powell is a writer, orator, poet, DJ and community activist. Cabico, a poet and spoken word artist, has been featured on HBO’s Def Poetry Jam and has been called the “Lady Gaga” of spoken word. The reading will be hosted on YouTube and Facebook. Those interested can register here.
The Smithsonian Folklife Festival, June 25 – 27
This year, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival is continuing in the virtual realm with the theme “Beyond the Mall: Making Matters.” The cultural celebration of “makers” is inspired by “conversations about the way artisans, cooks, and musicians” responded to the pandemic. From Friday through Sunday, the festival will showcase artisans, cooks, sculptors and musicians from all over the world welcoming people into their kitchens and studios to share their stories and skills. The weekend includes a series of craft workshops, kitchen demos, Story Circles and more. Supplies are provided for you to craft and enjoy from home. Spots are limited so register early. More information can be found here.
Get your Flow On with Outdoor Yoga at the Wharf
Hour long vinyasa yoga is taught by District Flow outdoors at the Wharf this evening and Sunday morning. On Thursdays, the first 25 people at Cantina Bambina nearby will get a complimentary Truly Hard Seltzer. Thursday classes are on District Pier and Sunday morning flow is at Recreation Pier. Don’t forget to bring your own mat and water bottle. Classes are $10 each and non-refundable, so remember to check the weather beforehand! Register here.
Stream the Hong Kong Film Festival in its Last Weekend
Now in its 26th year, the Made in Hong Kong Film Festival is the National Museum of Asian Art’s longest running. Like last year, the festival has remained virtual, streaming its films instead of showing them at a theater in the museum. Due to the pandemic and the lack of film production in Hong Kong last year, the festival is focusing on classic films, particularly director Wong Kar Wai’s movies.
Tom Vick, curator of film at the Freer and Sackler Galleries, especially favors the selected films. “I love all of Wong Kar Wai’s films,” he said. “The first one I saw, called Chungking Express, made an impression on me in film school.” Vick called it a “nocturnal film of strange relationships” and “very dreamy and lush… It’s a film you can watch over and over and see something different every time.”
Seven of Wong Kar Wai’s most iconic films — completely restored – will be featured. All available through Sunday, June 27. There’s the crime thriller “As Tears Go By,” or the dreamy “Days of Being Wild.” The dazzling “Fallen Angels” and romantic “Happy Together” and “In the Mood for Love” are also showcased, as is “The Hand” and of course “Chungking Express.” Films can be streamed here.
The festival is made possible by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in D.C.
The Smithsonian’s Freer Gallery of Art and the adjoining Arthur M. Sackler Gallery contain one of the most important collections of Asian art in the world, featuring over 40,000 objects.
