Weekend Roundup, Jan. 12 – 16
By January 12, 2023 0 1651
•Welcome to another weekend (and a long MLK-one at that!) Without further ado, here’s your weekly roundup of things to do. Enjoy the beginning of Winter Restaurant Week, a tea at the Park Hyatt, shows, art exhibits and more. And, on Monday, commemorate and honor the life of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Kennedy Center Showcases All-Star Disabled Dance Crew
This family-friendly performance is from “Ill-Abilities,” an international breakdancing crew of seven of the world’s best disabled dancers. The show, called “No Excuses, No Limits,” brings audiences through a story of dance, music, audience interaction and a better understanding of the limitless possibilities for anyone, no matter what disability you may have. The show is in town this weekend only. More information on how to get tickets can be found here.
Don’t Miss the 2023 MLK Holiday DC Annual Peace Walk and Parade
Beginning promptly at 9:30 a.m., the 40+ year old tradition started by radio talk show host and activist Ralph Waldo “Petey” Greene, Washington Informer publisher Dr. Calvin W. Rolark and former Ward 8 Council Member Wilhelmina J. Rolark, the parade remembers the ideas and message of Martin Luther King, Jr. Participants are encouraged to think of the day as not necessarily a “day off,” but a “day on,” using it for service and to give back to their communities. More on the walk and parade can be found here.
Beginning Monday: Winter Restaurant Week
Presented by the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington, Winter Restaurant Week begins Monday and goes through January 22. Expect multi-course brunch and lunch menus at $25 per person and multi-course dinners from $40-$55 per person for in-person dining. Extended brunch offerings are available on Monday in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. More information on Winter Restaurant week can be found here.
Darling, Fancy Some Park Hyatt Tea?
The Park Hyatt Washington D.C. will be hosting an afternoon of rare tea with tea specialists Emilie Mena of Palais des Thes and Yunhan Zhang of Valley Brook Tea (along with Joseph Cerione, Blue Duck Tavern general manager and sommelier and Andrew Cleverdon, Blue Duck’s Chef de Cuisine, Colleen Murphy, Blue Duck’s pastry chef, as well as Paris Gourmet Corporate Pastry Chef Eric Bertoia who will be at the event as well). Sip rare, single-origin teas available in the Park Hyatt’s Tea Cellar. Register for the event here.
See National Gallery of Art’s “Called to Create: Black Artists of the American South”
See over 40 paintings, sculptures, drawings and more from Black artists like Lonnie Holley, Purvis Young, Mary T. Smith and more. These artists used recycled materials as art supplies and yards, porches or boarded-up storefronts as their own makeshift galleries. See quilts from the women of Gee’s Bend, Alabama, who made them from well-worn clothing or leftover scraps of fabric. Despite racism and discrimination, the artists featured in the exhibit all drew on deep-rooted traditions to create some of the finest art of ever made. More information on the exhibit, which ends in March, can be found here.
Take a Wild Ride at Arena Stage
Arena Stage debuts the strange and eccentric, yet delightfully offbeat “Ride the Cyclone” musical this weekend. The show tells the tale of a half-dozen teenage chamber choir singers who are killed in a freak roller coaster accident. They are stuck in the afterlife, until a mechanical fortune teller gives them a chance to sing their way back to Earth. “Ride the Cyclone” blends humor, tragedy and pure enchantment. More information can be found here.