Weekend Roundup, Feb. 1 – 4
By • February 1, 2024 0 775
Happy weekend! February is Black History Month and The National Gallery of Art is hosting some great programming. Lunar New Year celebrations are at The National Museum of Asian Art and there are lots of additional performances and shows throughout the weekend.
Black History Month Programming Starts at The National Gallery of Art
Check out First Saturday, celebrating Black history, art and stories inspired by Alma Thomas and Sam Gilliam, two of D.C.’s greatest artists. There will be short films for kids and teenagers highlighting Black narratives across cultures and performances from the D.C. Youth Orchestra. Tomorrow at 3 p.m., don’t miss the beginning of a series of gallery talks in the East Building, Ground Level. The talks will feature works by Black artists in the museum’s collection, including Chakaia Booker, Martin Puryear and more. More information on the First Saturday event can be found here and gallery talks this month here.
Visitors enjoying a Drop-In Art Making activity in the East Building Atrium. Photo courtesy of The National Gallery of Art.
Check out “The Sensational Sea Mink-ettes” at Woolly Mammoth Theatre
Don’t miss the world premiere of Virginia native Vivian J.O. Barnes’s play that follows an HBCU dance team (The Sensational Sea Mink-ettes). The team is just days away from their homecoming performance and they grapple with stress from the student body, administration, alumni and more. More on how to get tickets can be found here.
Visit the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture’s Sweet Home Café
Throughout February, the Sweet Home Café at the NMAAHC will host Friday afternoon events from 12 noon to 3 p.m., featuring special menu takeovers from select chefs around the U.S. First up is Chef Chris Scott, Bravo TV’s Top Chef Season 15 finalist. He will have a book signing 10:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m. with a special menu at the café beginning at noon. More information on the event can be found here.
Chris Scott of Bravo’s Top Chef will be making an appearance at the National Museum of African American History and Culture this weekend. Photo courtesy of NMAAHC.
The National Museum of African American History and Culture. Courtesy NMAAHC.
Washington Bach Consort’s Dumbarton Concerts Presents ‘Resplendent Baroque Music for Soprano Written and Inspired by Women’
Artistic director Dana Marsh and featured soprano Amy Broadbent will be performing a show revolving around solo cantatas by Barbara Strozzi and Francesca Caccini, two undervalued female composers of the time. There will also be Bach and Handel arias for soprano voices. More information on the show, which will take place at Dumbarton United Methodist Church, can be found here.
See “The Palacio Sisters” at GALA Hispanic Theatre
GALA Hispanic Theatre is hosting the world premiere of “The Palacios Sisters” by Cuban American Cristina Garcia and directed by producer Adrian Alea. The show is an adaptation of the Chekhov classic “The Sisters.” The show takes place in 1980s Miami, where the Palacios sisters have big dreams and wax nostalgic amidst the backdrop of drug wars and violence. More information on the show can be found here.
Courtesy GALA Hispanic.
Seth MacFarlane and Liz Gillies Will Sing at The Kennedy Center
Emmy winner, Grammy and Academy Award-nominated actor and singer Seth MacFarlane (who many know of “Family Guy” fame, will be at The Kennedy Center Friday evening along with actor and singer Liz Gillies. The longtime friends and collaborators will be singing orchestral jazz duets intermixed with comedy bits. More on how to get tickets can be found here.
MacFarlane and Gillies. Courtesy Kennedy Center.
Celebrate The Lunar New Year at The National Museum of Asian Art
Enjoy the Year of the Dragon with a Saturday afternoon celebration featuring performances, chef talks, tours, activities and more. Scoop up the last bit of free timed tickets for the Vietnamese Opening Ceremony and Sichuan Opera performances before they’re gone! More information on the event can be found here.
The Lunar New Year will be celebrated this weekend at The National Museum of Asian Art. Courtesy of NMAA.
