Downtown DC’s newest pop up arts market launches as Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center (RRB/ITC) hosts Capital Arts Collective. The series kicks off on June 20 and continues through September every third Thursday of the month from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm. Locals and passersby can shop and explore a curated selection of items by the area’s most talented creatives, including everything from jewelry, paintings, candles, custom designed items, home goods, and more.
Capital Arts Collective aims to celebrate and support the local art scene. The RRB/ITC is excited to welcome homegrown artisans to Wilson Plaza; with plenty of seating and eateries it’s the perfect place for art enthusiasts of all ages, to grab lunch, browse and shop from the best creators in the DMV area. Capital Arts Collective is a program of RRB/ITC and is sponsored by TCMA (A Drew Company).
View this summer’s artists: https://itcdc.com/capital-
What: Capital Arts Collective (#CapitalArtsCollective)
When: June 20, July 18, August 15, & September 19, from 10 am- 2 pm.
Where: Wilson Plaza at Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center
1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Metro: Federal Triangle Station
Who: Free and open to the public
SMITHSONIAN at 8, in collaboration with the National Museum of African Art and the Freer | Sackler Galleries presents A Garden Party: From Africa to Asia
WHEN: Fri., Aug. 16, 8–11 p.m. (7–11 p.m. for VIP ticket-holders)
WHERE: Smithsonian’s Enid A. Haupt Garden, National Museum of African Art, and Sackler Gallery (Entrances at 1000 Independence Ave. and 1100 Jefferson Dr. SW, Washington, DC)
There’s no better place to celebrate summer than the Enid A. Haupt Garden, flanked on either side by the National Museum of African Art and the Sackler Gallery. Spend a late-summer evening in the dramatically lit garden and enjoy exclusive late-night access to galleries featuring art from the African and Asian continents.
Take in two exciting new exhibitions spotlighting the work of women: I Am…Contemporary Women Artists of Africa at the African Art Museum and My Iran: Six Women Photographers at the Sackler.
Add music by DJ Alkimist, specialty cocktails, and curators’ talks, and you’ve got an artful garden party you just can’t miss.
More of the evening’s features include:
- A GIF photo booth courtesy of OM Digital
- A cash bar provided by Geppetto Catering
- Food for sale by Geppetto Catering, Teaism, and Ruby Scoops
- A scavenger hunt throughout both museums
Come dressed in your global garden-party best!
Garden party guests have two outstanding Smithsonian museums all to themselves, featuring exhibits focusing on everything from the breathtaking gold jewelry of Senegalese women to a look at artwork that explores Asia’s rich Buddhist heritage. Explore what’s on view at the African Art Museum and the Sackler Gallery. Channel your inner curator as you investigate the influence of women on the Smithsonian collections.
The party goes on rain or shine! In case of rain, the event will take place inside the S. Dillon Ripley Center, which connects to both museums underground.
Special features for VIP ticket-holders: Exclusive early access to the event from 7 to 8 p.m., including an open bar featuring beer, wine, and specialty cocktails and small bites, courtesy of Nando’s, Teaism, JRINK, and Sweet Teensy Bakery. (Please note that these VIP benefits are available only between 7 and 8 p.m.)
Advance sale: $30 /VIP $55
At the door: General Admission: $35 /VIP $60
Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater kicks off the 2019/20 Season with a free Community Day and Props Sale on Saturday, August 24, 2019 from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Mead Center (1101 Sixth Street, SW). The day will feature an Arena Stage Prop Sale with beautiful pieces from Arena Stage productions up for sale; performances from award nominated tap dancer Leo Manzari (Arena Stage’s Sophisticated Ladies, Tappin Thru Life and Hoizer’s music video for “Almost (Sweet Music)”); and a behind-the-scenes Q&A with our Arena Stage Production Team to discuss some of Arena’s most exciting productions!
Filled with activities for all ages, this full day of programming celebrates Arena Stage’s 2019/20 Season. Feel the rhythm of Southwest D.C. through dynamic, live music, face painting, storytelling, great food, pony rides and dance performances that reflect the sounds and themes of the upcoming Arena Stage season. Traditional and contemporary Cuban rhythms will be brought to life by the DC Cuban All-Stars; the jazz, blues and soul vocalist Akua Allrich will give audiences a feel for the music in August Wilson’s Seven Guitars; and the DC Casineros Dance Company will offer classes and performances that can make anyone a dancer. Community Day is FREE and open to the public. No reservations are required.
Other scheduled activities include live music from Americana band Justin Trawick and the Common Good; fantastic aerial performances from Wings Aerial Entertainment; music by trumpeter, singer and lyricist Jared “MK Zulu” Bailey; face painting; and great food from restaurants in Southwest D.C. including Masala Art and Station 4.
Arena Stage’s Props Sale beginning at 1 p.m., features select prop items from historic productions including Carousel, Anything Goes, South Pacific, Kleptocracy, Disgraced, Smart People, Mother Courage and Junk. Items range from $1-$900 and include full dining room table sets, lounge chairs, and specially-priced handmade prop and set pieces that will be perfect in any living or office space. Both cash and credit cards are accepted.
Beginning at 2 p.m. Arena’s Grape Stand will open. This wine and beer garden will offer guests 21 and over the opportunity to relax on Arena’s terrace with a glass of wine or a cold beer while playing a variety of lawn games.
For additional details about Community Day on August 24, visit arenastage.org/communityday.
Join us for an exhilarating dance performance!
Step Afrika!, the world’s first professional dance company dedicated to the tradition of stepping, celebrates its 25th anniversary season with the energetic and exciting 7th annual Step Xplosion tour of all eight wards in Washington, D.C. This free tour includes performances and workshops for all ages. NMWA hosts the Ward 2 lunchtime performance. Enjoy this interactive experience and then grab a bite at the museum’s Mezzanine Café. For more information about other tour performances, visit www.stepafrika.org.
PRICE: Free. Registration not required.
Cultural Capital: Step Afrika!
Friday, Aug. 30, 12–1 p.m.
Step Afrika!, the world’s first professional dance company dedicated to the tradition of stepping, celebrates its 25th anniversary season with the energetic and exciting 7th annual Step Xplosion tour of all eight wards in Washington, D.C. This free tour includes performances and workshops for all ages. NMWA hosts the Ward 2 lunchtime performance. Enjoy this interactive experience and then grab a bite at the museum’s Mezzanine Café. For more information about other tour performances, visit www.stepafrika.org. Free. No reservations required.
On Friday, August 30, the award-winning Hay-Adams, located steps from the White House at 800 16th Street, NW, 20006, will host its next Author Series luncheon honoring Barbara Kingsolver to discuss her latest work, Unsheltered. The Hay-Adams’ Author Series, where literary crowds honor literary masters, is an on-going event, which hosts outstanding writers in a historic setting. One will enjoy exceptional food, drink and lively conversation in the elegant Hay-Adams Room, one of Washington, D.C.’s signature stately event venues. Tickets are priced at $90 per person (all inclusive), which includes a three-course, prix fixe menu with wine pairings: https://www.hayadams.com/
Additionally, Kramerbooks (http://kramers.com) will be on hand so guests will have the opportunity to purchase a copy of Unsheltered, which published October 16, 2018, as well as other notable works by the author. Kingsolver will be available to sign and personalize after the luncheon. Tickets go on sale August 2 and will be available online at: http://www.hayadams.com/
WHO: Barbara Kingsolver, is The New York Times bestselling author of Flight Behavior, The Lacuna, and The Poisonwood Bible and recipient of numerous literary awards—including the National Humanities Medal, our country’s highest honor for service through the arts. Critical acclaim for her books includes the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, the Orange Prize andmultiple awards from the American Booksellers Association and the American Library Association. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle won numerous prizes including the James Beard award. She was named one of the most important writers of the 20thcentury by Writer’s Digest.
Her newest book, Unsheltered, is a timely novel that interweaves past and present to explore the human capacity for resiliency and compassion in times of great upheaval. It is the compulsively readable story of two families, in two centuries, who live at the corner of Sixth and Plum in Vineland, New Jersey, navigating what seems to be the end of the world as they know it. With history as their tantalizing canvas, these characters paint a startlingly relevant portrait of life in precarious times when the foundations of the past have failed to prepare us for the future. A New York Times bestseller, the novel is the recipient of many accolades including being named an O, The Oprah Magazine’s Best Book of 2018, and both an NPR and Newsweek’s pick for Best Books of The Year.
Barbara Kingsolver was born and grew up in rural Kentucky. She earned degrees in biology from DePauw University and the University of Arizona and has worked as a freelance writer and author since 1985. She has two daughters, Camille and Lily. Her husband, Steven Hopp, teaches environmental studies. At various times in her adult life, she has lived in England, France, and the Canary Islands, and has worked in Europe, Africa, Asia, Mexico, and South America. Kingsolver spent two decades in Tucson, Arizona, before moving to southwestern Virginia. She currently resides on a farm in southern Appalachia, where she and her family raise an extensive vegetable garden and Icelandic sheep.
WHEN: The luncheon will be held in The Hay-Adams Room on Friday, August 30, 2019, from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. (doors open at 11:30 a.m.).
8 p.m. Eisenhower Theater
What the Constitution Means to Me
Heidi Schreck’s timely and galvanizing play, directed by Oliver Butler, became a sensation off-Broadway last fall before transferring to Broadway this spring and receiving two Tony Award® nominations (Best Play, Best Actress in Leading Role in a Play)and two Drama Desk Award nominations (Outstanding Play, Outstanding Actress in a Play).
Tickets: $45-129
Event: Capital Book Fest
Where: Woodrow Wilson Plaza (1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Washington, DC 20004)
When: September 12 & October 24, from 10am-6pm
Description: Visit our downtown DC pop-up book sale on Wilson Plaza! Browse over 12,000 gently used books, CDs, and DVDs, all on sale for under $6. Books are provided by Carpe Librum, a used, donation-based bookstore benefiting the DC nonprofit Turning the Page. There’s something for everyone at this sale: children’s books, teen reads, brand-new bestsellers in amazing condition, classic vintage hardbacks and more!
Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/capital-book-fest-tickets-69211919715
