Events/Things To Do

On December 3, over sixty beautiful boats will parade down the Washington Channel in the 30th anniversary of the District’s Holiday Boat Parade. In addition to the parade, guests will enjoy ornament decorating and face painting, roast s’mores at the Camp Wharf fire pit, skate at the The Wharf Ice Rink, and visit the area’s lighted 45ft Christmas Tree.

What better way to celebrate a successful and fashionable year than to cheers with FGIDC!

Wednesday, December 14 | 5 – 8PM

Barkada Wine Bar
1939 12th St NW, Washington, DC 20009

Free for members and non-members

Cash bar

Winter Blast: A Weekend of Indigenous Games

Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 28–29, 10 a.m.–4:30 p.m.

Games can be fun as well as teach important life skills. Jeremy Red Eagle (Sisseton Wahpeton) from the International Traditional Games Society, Julia Garcia (Aymara), and members of the Native Hawaiian school Hālau O‘Aulani, share Indigenous games from the Great Plains, Bolivia, and Hawai’i.

Tysons Corner Center Announces Lunar New Year Celebration
Asian American Chamber of Commerce to Hosts Line-Up of Activities at Center
Saturday, January 28, 2023
1:00 – 3:00 p.m. ET

1961 Chain Bridge Road, Tysons Corner, VA

www.TysonsCornerCenter.com
Tysons Corner Center in partnership with the Asian American Chamber of Commerce brings in another year of hosting the Lunar New Year. Located in the Fashion Court on the Lower-Level Nordstrom Wing at the center, this free event will include an array of artists and performances to celebrate the year of the rabbit including:

• Vietnamese Song by CDVNDMV
• Chinese Musical Instrument – Guzheng, Alice Gu-Zheng Ensemble
• Chinese Dance by Fairfax Chinese Dance Troupe
• Magic Show by Sun Magic
• Korean Dance by Korean Culture and Art of MD
• Indonesia Dance by Santi Budaya Performing Arts, LLC
• Mongolia Fashion Show, MONDO TRIP TODAY
• Dragon Dance, by Chinese Culture Institute

As part of the tradition, Tysons Corner Center will provide fortune cookies and offer giveaways and prizes during the event. This event is free and open to the public and sponsored by
Sunrise McLean Village Retirement Home.

Winter Blast: A Weekend of Indigenous Games

Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 28–29, 10 a.m.–4:30 p.m.

Games can be fun as well as teach important life skills. Jeremy Red Eagle (Sisseton Wahpeton) from the International Traditional Games Society, Julia Garcia (Aymara), and members of the Native Hawaiian school Hālau O‘Aulani, share Indigenous games from the Great Plains, Bolivia, and Hawai’i.

Native Cinema Showcase Screening: Encanto

Saturday, Feb. 11, 2 p.m.

(USA, 2021, 120 mins.) Directors: Byron Howard, Jared Bush, and Charise Castro Smith

Encanto tells the tale of an extraordinary family, the Madrigals, who live hidden in a magical house in a vibrant town in the mountains of Colombia. The magic of this wondrous, charmed Encanto has blessed every child in the family with a unique gift, from super strength to the power to heal—every child that is except one, Mirabel (voice of Stephanie Beatriz). But when she discovers that the magic surrounding Encanto is in danger, Mirabel decides that she might just be her exceptional family’s last hope.

Special support for Native Cinema Showcase provided by the Walt Disney Company.

On Thursday, March 23 at 7:30 pm the Folger Shakespeare Library’s

O.B. Hardison Poetry Series presents the Eudora Welty Lecture with Pulitzer Prize-winning author

Elizabeth Strout (Olive Kitteridge, My Name is Lucy Barton) at the National Press Club. Sponsored

by the Eudora Welty Foundation, this annual lecture celebrates creative origins in the spirit of Welty’s

treasured One Writer’s Beginnings.

Ann Patchett (Bel Canto and The Dutch House), who presented the Lecture from Welty’s living room in

Jackson, Mississippi in 2022, will introduce Strout. The Lecture will be followed by a book signing with

Elizabeth Strout.

Tickets are $25 ($20 for Folger Members and subscribers) and can be purchased at www.folger.edu/poetry

or by contacting the Folger Box Office at (202) 544-7077.

Previous Welty Lectures were delivered by Salman Rushdie in 2016, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in

2017, Richard Ford in 2018, Jesmyn Ward in 2019, and Ann Patchett in 2022.

Elizabeth Strout is widely known for her works in literary fiction and her descriptive characterization.

She was born and raised in Portland, Maine, and her experiences in her youth served as inspiration for

her novels—the fictional "Shirley Falls, Maine" is the setting of four of her seven novels. Strout's novels

include Amy and Isabelle, Abide with Me, Olive Kitteridge for which she won the Pulitzer Prize for

Fiction, The Burgess Boys, My Name Is Lucy Barton, Anything is Possible, Olive, Again, and Oh,

William!. Her latest book Lucy by the Sea was published in 2022.

Ann Patchett is the author of seven novels: The Patron Saint of Liars, Taft, The Magician’s

Assistant, Bel Canto, Run, State of Wonder, and Commonwealth. She has written three books of

nonfiction—Truth & Beauty, about her friendship with the writer Lucy Grealy; What Now?, an expansion

of her graduation address at Sarah Lawrence College; and This is the Story of a Happy Marriage, a

collection of essays examining the theme of commitment. In 2019, she published her first children’s

book, Lambslide.

The event is NOW ON SUNDAY, MARCH 26 in pursuit of better weather! Same time, same place, same fun and FREE activities.

National Kite-Flying Day is the perfect day for the National Cherry Blossom Festival to share all the ways attendees can “spring” on the fun of kite flying, including its signature Blossom Kite Festival, taking place Saturday, March 25, 2023 (10 a.m.–4:30 p.m.) at the Washington Monument Grounds. Presented by Hilton, National Cherry Blossom Festival’s proud Premier Hotel Provider, the Blossom Kite Festival is free, fun, and open to the public and features activities, music, competitions, and performances suitable for all ages.

The Blossom Kite Festival showcases kite performances and competitions, kite-making activities, a Family Field with children’s activities, and more. Special guest, Mr. Mikio Toki, a master of traditional Edo-style kites, has traveled the world showcasing his kites and will travel from Japan to be at this year’s Blossom Kite Festival.

FEATURED PARKS: People of all ages can join Blossom Kite Festival from their homes, favorite neighborhood parks, or anywhere around the world. Participating parks in all eight D.C. wards, Maryland, and Virginia will offer free activities for local residents between April 1 and 2. All interested parties can show off their skills, virtually learn how to make and fly kites, and take to the skies on March 25. Featured parks will be listed on the Blossom Kite Festival event page.

Attendees at the Festival’s kite-flying activities can bring their own kites, purchase kites onsite, or pick up free kite kits they can decorate (while supplies last), courtesy of Hilton. Kite flyers can even purchase the official 2023 Festival kite onsite or online at National Cherry Blossom Festival Store.

COMMEMORATIVE KITES: Kite flyers can purchase commemorative kites from previous years (while supplies last) at the Festival’s online gift shop. The 2023 commemorative kite, featuring the work of the 2023 National Cherry Blossom Festival’s Official Artist Orlando Quevedo, will be available for purchase in March during the Festival at select events and in the online store. 

PLANNING YOUR FESTIVAL EXPERIENCE: The Festival begins March 20 and runs through April 16. Visit the Festival website to add the Blossom Kite Festival to your calendar. When planning your Festival experience, it matters where you stay. As Premier Hotel Provider, Hilton has over 100 properties in the Washington, D.C., area to meet the needs of any kite enthusiast seeking a staycation or vacation throughout the Festival season. Visit the Festival hotel page to learn more about recommended Hilton hotels.