28 Things to Do in the DC Area This Week and Weekend

Happy Cherry Blossom season, DC!

St. Patrick’s Day parties continue this evening at area bars and lounges. Also, the National Cherry Blossom Festival gets underway with the opening ceremony happening this weekend at Warner Theatre.

Best Things to Do This Week and Weekend

March 17–23

1. 1. National Cherry Blossom Festival Opening Ceremony. DC’s much-anticipated Cherry Blossom Festival kicks off this weekend with an opening ceremony packed with Japanese cultural performances including tap dancer Kazunori Kumagai and puppet theater company Seiwa Bunraku. The event at the Warner Theatre is sold out, but there will be a limited amount of walk-up tickets available (Sat, free, Warner Theatre).
   2. SAAM Cherry Blossom Family Celebration. Celebrate the season of cherry blossoms at the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s family day, which features outdoor and indoor programming. On the F Street plaza, visitors can watch a taiko drumming performance by music group Nen Daiko; inside the museum, activities include cherry blossom-themed craft making for children, a ballet showcase, and Japanese pop tunes by Les The DJ (Sat, free, but registration encouraged, Smithsonian American Art Museum).
   3. Pink in the Park. National Landing’s Pink in the Park extravaganza returns to Arlington this weekend. The multi-week event features pink-themed art activations, live music, family fun, vendors, and more. First, families are invited to a splash party at Pink in the Pool this Saturday at Long Bridge Aquatics Center where kids can eat cotton candy, taste tea, and make origami. In the coming weeks, Pink Beats—an outdoor music festival featuring local bands—will take over Water Park on select days through March and April. On April 11, Art of Pink is hosting a nighttime art gathering and food market at Met Park (March 22, 27, April 3, 10-11, free, Arlington).
   4. Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital. You can watch an array of movies and documentaries this week at DC’s Environmental Film Festival. This year’s motion picture showcase presents narratives that examine America’s climate crisis, conservation efforts, and wildlife, with showings at neighborhood libraries, museums, memorials, and universities. The opening night screening is the DC Premiere of the political documentary The White House Effect (Thurs through March 29, free+, various DC locations).
   5. NMWA Nights. Celebrate Women’s History Month and make new friends at the NMWA Nights after-hours party. This month’s experience—in partnership with We Met IRL— is all about community and friendship. Attendees can dance to tunes by DJ Precious Layne, make a friendship bracelet, and join a conversation with We Met IRL founder Maxine Williams about building relationships; there will be cocktails and mocktails, too (Wed, $25, sold out, but limited walk-up tickets available, Northwest DC).

Want More Things to Do?

Arts and culture:

• Writer Miriam Zoila Pérez celebrates their debut young adult novel Camila Núñez’s Year of Disasters at Politics and Prose (Tues, free, Northwest DC).
• Paint, Play, and Pour cherry blossom art at the Museum of Illusions DC (Thurs, March 25-27, Downtown).
• Travel to Zimbabwe without boarding a plane by experiencing its food, drinks, music, and cultural dancing at the Embassy of Zimbabwe (Thurs, $64, Dupont).
• Author Nora Lange discusses her family epic US Fools at Lost City Books (Fri, free, Northwest DC).
• Watch a movie screening of 1939 melodrama The Women at the National Portrait Gallery (Sat, free, Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery).
• View a 10-foot-wide Japanese Daruma doll aerial art installation at Anthem Row. The opening event will include a fashion show and food (Sun, free, Downtown).

Community and heritage:

• Race paddle boats in honor of Stumpy—DC’s beloved tiny cherry blossom tree (Thurs, $100 per team, Tidal Basin).
• Cruise along the Potomac River in a Water Taxi to see budding cherry blossoms (opens Thurs, $22, Alexandria, Wharf).
• Explore the exhibits at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and learn about Black women change-makers at the museum’s Community Day (Sat, free, but registration required, Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture).
• The Tidal Basin Welcome Area and ANA Stage open for cherry blossom season this weekend. Visitors can catch daily cross-cultural shows and music performances on the outdoor stage (Sat through April 6, free, Tidal Basin).
• Celebrate Women’s History Month on a guided history tour with Off the Mall Tours through Congressional Cemetery (Sun, $30, Hill East).

Theater and shows:

• Comedy troupe Foil Arms and Hog bring a funny mix of sketch comedy, audience participation, and improvisation to Capital One Hall (Tues, $42+, Tysons).
• Laugh at top standup comedians Carol Leifer, Rich Hall, and Rondell Sheridan at Wolf Trap (Fri, $33, Vienna).
• Watch traditional Japanese puppet theater company Seiwa Bunraku perform at Georgetown University (Fri, free, but rsvp required, Georgetown).
• Keegan Theatre presents the world premiere of #Charlottesville (Sat through April 13, $54, Dupont).
• Homegrown theater production DC Black Broadway premieres Da Golden Girlz Dinner Theater (Sat-Sun, $47+, Hillcrest Heights).

Music and concerts:

• Bands Movements and Citizen team up for a live show at Fillmore Silver Spring (Tues, $53+, Silver Spring).
• The PostClassical Ensemble plays classic scores from Italian composer Nino Rota (Tues, $45+, Kennedy Center).
• Rising local star Tommy Richman promotes his new album Coyote at Howard Theatre (Tues, $25+, U Street Corridor).
• Yo La Tengo & Sun Ra Arkestra host a cosmic-funk concert at Howard Theatre (Sat, $40, U Street Corridor).

Bites and beverages:

• Bar hop on Saint Patrick’s Day at ten of U Street’s eateries and lounges (Mon, $25+, U Street Corridor).
• Wear your luckiest green attire, and sip discount drinks at Alexandria pubs on St. Paddy’s Day (Mon, free+, Alexandria).

Things to do with kids:

• Kids can create a model of the Japanese bullet train, and craft cherry blossom origami at Children’s Science Center Lab (Sat through April 13, $13+, Fairfax).

If you enjoyed these events, please don’t forget to share this post with a friend on social media, and sign up for our newsletter for more things to do.

Briana Thomas

Briana A. Thomas is a local journalist, historian, and tour guide who specializes in the research of D.C. history and culture. She is the author of the Black history book, Black Broadway in Washington, D.C., a story that was first published in Washingtonian in 2016.