Everyone is always looking for something to do on the weekend. Below is a list of activities going on this weekend in the Washington, DC area. Hopefully you find something that might interest you. If not, please let me know what kind of activities you would like for me to look for and I’ll see if I can find them for you in this area. Have a great weekend.
Washington, DC - 1/27
This benefit show raises money for health costs for DJ Jonathan Toubin, the victim of a truly bizarre bizarre accident. While he was staying at a hotel in Portland, Ore., a taxi crashed into his ground-floor room, pinning him against the wall and sending him to the ICU. Toubin made a speedy recovery but racked up quite a big medical bill. Help him out and see performances by local favorites Chain and the Gang, Deathfix, Cane & the Sticks and DJs Kid Congo Powers and Baby Alcatraz.
Arlington, VA - 1/27
NPR's beloved Tiny Desk Concerts series started with singer-songwriter Laura Gibson. She was so quiet, and the crowd at Iota was so chatty that Bob Boilen invited her to come play in the office so he could actually enjoy her music. It was a happy accident that led to a great Web series, but the lesson remains -- don't talk through a show. She's back at Iota for round two.
College Park, MD - 1/27
Noam Chomsky's ideology is far from the mainstream, but it's hard to pick a time in recent memory when the iconoclastic intellectual's anti-capitalist critiques have had as much prominence as they do today. For proof, just take a walk through the Occupy D.C. camp at McPherson Square. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology linguistics professor will deliver one of the University of Maryland's Dean's Lectures at 7 p.m.
Washington, DC - Through 1/29
All the mangled metal here is by design, so feel free to cheer with abandon when these 10,000-pound monster trucks (Grave Digger! Stone Crusher! Maximum Destruction!) demolish all obstacles and barriers before them as flames shoot every which way.
Washington, DC - Through 3/11
A pedestrian might notice the "I Am Art" stickers affixed to signposts and telephone poles and mull over the identity of the bearded, goggle- and beret-sporting gentleman they portray. "Artuare," the exhibition of work by photographer Steven M. Cummings at the Anacostia Community Museum, offers a few answers. For starters, the familiar bearded face belongs to artist B.K. Adams, Cummings's friend and frequent collaborator. While a few pieces in the exhibit spotlight other characters, Adams is the unofficial star of the show.
Washington, DC - 1/28
Most record labels have a clearly defined aesthetic, but Sockets is not one of them. Hyper-political rap group Cornel West Theory and explosive punk-prog quartet Hume headlined the last two blowouts; this year it's space-disco duo Protect-U. Also performing -- and celebrating an album release -- is local trio Imperial China, which plays jittery, jumpy post-punk. Throw in free-flowing instrumental rock from Buildings and the gentle, basement pop of Cigarette, and it's a properly diverse Sockets lineup.
Git Up and Git Down: World Music Grooves from Africa to Brazil
Arlington, VA - 1/28
If only all concerts came with explanatory titles such as Saturday's show at Artisphere. Git Up and Git Down: World Music Grooves from Africa to Brazil features performances by local Afrofunk group Elikeh, Baltimore's old-school soul group the Bellevederes and Alma Tropicalia, the local band that pays tribute to Brazil's psychedelic sounds of the '60s.
Arlington, VA - 1/28
The IBIS Chamber Music Society highlights how music makes a story richer with a performance of music from "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" and an arrangement of Ravel's Mother Goose Suite. The latter will be narrated with images projected on the ceiling.
Annapolis, MD - 1/28
Need a January jolt to shake off those mid-winter doldrums? Maryland's Polar Bear Plunge annually attracts thousands of warm-blooded thrill-seekers to shed their parkas and ski pants and sprint into the Chesapeake Bay's chilly (to put it mildly) waters. If you don't see the upside to that, there's no point in reading any further. But if that sounds like a challenge you're up for, plan to raise at least $50 for Special Olympics Maryland and then start training for the 8 a.m. plunge.
Laurel, MD - 1/28
Shoveling the walk has nothing on the winter chores that people of the 18th and 19th centuries had to do. Families can find out all that went into running a Maryland household in the winter time through demonstrations, hands-on activities and games.
Washington, DC - 1/28 - 1/29
After a two-year renovation, the National Gallery of Art's French Galleries -- which contains priceless works by Manet, Monet, Renoir, Cezanne, Van Gogh, Gauguin and others -- are set to reopen. The most noticeable change is in the orientation of the paintings, which have been reorganized to emphasize the thematic and historical narratives present in the brushstrokes. Concerts, gallery talks and film screenings to coincide with the reopening are scheduled to begin Saturday at 1 p.m.
Washington, DC - 1/29
While the world's Chinese community welcomed the Year of the Dragon on Jan. 23, Sunday is when Washington's Chinese community celebrates the arrival of another year on the lunar calendar. The annual parade through Chinatown begins at 2 p.m. and features dragon floats, marching bands, music, dancing and plenty of nearby restaurants where you can move the celebration from the street to your plate.
Late Night Murder Mystery and Crime Solving Scavenger
Crime and Punishment Museum, 575 7th Street Northwest, Washington, DC 20004
Saturday Jan 28, 2012
7:00pm-11:30pm
Cost: $55.00
TAKE A BITE OUT OF CRIME! Get ready for a multi-faceted night as you and a few teammates will become crime solving authorities in a very unique venue. TTD will be getting exclusive access to the Museum of Crime and Punishment where we will have you hunting for clues, completing a variety of crime solving tasks, competing with other teams in unique competitions (ever see the "Amazing Race"), like high speed chases or at an FBI target style gun range(not to mention a Pizza Party Dinner).
A new special twist on our all of our previous Scavenger Hunts and Secret Agent Days! In an evening of crime and crime solving - in Local and Federal Detective Fashion – you will race around this multi-level museum - through time, through laboratories, through cities, collecting items, and solving clues and competing in a variety of tasks. The winning team will be the one who has collected the most points through collecting items, solving clues and tasks. In exchange for helping your city find and capture bad guys through your masterful detective efforts, a grand prize will be awarded to all on the winning team.
Sound fun? Here’s how it all works:
1) PIZZA PARTY: Upon arrival, meet your fellow sleuths to be over pizza and sodas in a warm up pizza party. Now is your chance to scope out fellow potential teammates whom you think can help you solve the ultimate crime tonight. If you arrive with friends you will be placed on the same team (upon on site request). If not, we will find a great team for you.
2) MURDER MYSTERY BEGINS 8:00 PM - 11:30 PM:
Each team will receive a list of assignments to complete and clues to collect. The list will also contain clues where each team must check in by a certain time. The clues given to you at each check in point list will always present information that you must decipher to find out the next check in point. Each team should take whatever items it has obtained and complete whatever tasks possible in the time allotted to arrive the location by the designated time. If you are late, you lose points.
3) At locations, you may be given a special task to complete on site. As master detectives, you are expected to use your wits, teamwork, skills, good humor and ability to have fun to prevail for your team. For example, one teammate will find himself/herself in a high speed car chase. Another will test their strength. Still another may find themselves in the morgue, or perhaps answering trivia to get another member out of a jail cell. Test your Wild West shooting skills, crack a safe, and try to hack into a computer. Based on your completion of tasks, and retrieval of clues and items, you will be evaluated and judged against your fellow law enforcement officers.
Throughout this evening, you find yourselves embroiled with tasks and trivia involving pirates, Medieval Knights, Al Capone, and more cast of characters in America’s history of crime. You will also find the ultimate instruments of punishment, including an electric chair and lethal injection machine. You'll complete a CSI investigation using such forensic science techniques as fingerprinting, ballistics, and DNA testing to solve the crime.
Again, prizes will be awarded and all attendees will be invited to a special TTD future event.
Suggested Attire: Casual.
Introduction to Indoor Rock-Climbing
SportRockII, 5308 Eisenhower Avenue, Alexandria, Virginia
Sunday Jan 29, 2012
11:45am-2:00pm
Cost: $45.00
If you've never climbed before, this introductory class is perfect for you. Enjoy a brief lesson on safety, followed by at least 90 minutes of supervised climbing by expert instructors.
The 40-foot tall facility features an impressive display of slabs, steep walls, arches, roofs, towers, and an awesome boulder cave, housed in 8,000 square feet of space. The gym's walls are coated with a sculpted texture finish and are also water-streaked to create a more rock-like feel. Given this gym's great location (next to a I-395 exit and only 200-yards from the Metro), many people have found this indoor rock climbing gym is as convenient as a traditional health club.
Suggested Attire: We provide all gear for this event. Please wear comfortable clothes for climbing.
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