The Weekend Scene: Airplane Bean Bag Toss and Japanese Street Festival

This weekend in the Washington, D.C., area, you can help Ukrainian refugees by dropping bean bags from a moving airplane, celebrate Japanese culture or catch a film festival.

The weekend forecast will be cool and pleasant enough to get outside, although grab an umbrella for on and off showers possible Saturday. Here’s the forecast.

Following Opening Day on Thursday, it will be a busy weekend at Nationals Park.
The Nats face the Mets Friday, April 8 and Saturday, April 9 (both at 7:05 p.m.), and Sunday, April 10 (1:35 p.m.).

The game on Sunday, April 10 will include a National Cherry Blossom Festival celebration, and the team is set to don their special blossom-themed uniforms.

Here's our full guide to opening weekend and what to know if you're headed to Nats Park.

Aviation Adventures is offering a daring way to help support people in Ukraine: an airplane beanbag toss. Participants will fly 50 feet over the ground and try to hit the target, a four-foot plastic swimming pool.

You can pay to ride with one of Aviation Adventures' commercial pilots  — or sign up with your own plane. On the ground, there will be food trucks and activities for kids. Proceeds go to World Central Kitchen.

Check out Airdrop for Ukraine on Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Warrenton/Fauquier Airport. See more details here.

Looking for something more laid back? Catch extreme adventure action from the comfort of a theater seat.

National Geographic’s BANFF Center Film Festival is back in person and running until April 9. Your BANFF film fest ticket also gets you into the National Geographic Museum’s “Once Upon a Climb” exhibit through May 1.

Tickets are $35. See more details here.

Shear Madness is returning to the Kennedy Center stage this week for the first time since March 2020.  Fun fact, the interactive whodunit show holds the Guinness record for longest-running play in America. It’s been more than 30 years. Here's showtime and ticket info.

The National Cherry Blossom Festival is in full swing this weekend.

The National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade returns Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon. You can purchase grandstand seating or find a spot for first-come, first-served viewing. Here are the details.

On Saturday and Sunday, the Sakura Matsuri Japanese Street Festival takes over Pennsylvania Avenue. The Japan-America Society brings cultural performances, authentic food, plus home goods and artwork directly from Japan or inspired by the gift of the cherry blossoms 110 years ago. It's a good idea to buy tickets in advance. Here’s more information.

The Anacostia River Festival will feature a variety of music performances, including go-go music and local drum lines at the 11th Street Bridge Park Sunday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

The free festival aims to honor the "history and sounds of communities on both sides of the Anacostia River and amplifying the stories, culture, and heritage of neighboring African American residents."

More things to do in the D.C. area

• The Nationals continue their series against the New York Mets on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Here's what to know if you're going to the ballpark this season.
• If you're near Nats Park or just want to check out Navy Yard, here's our guide to home-run eats and drinks.
• Burnside Farms in Nokesville, Virginia has its annual Festival of Spring, where you can stroll through fields overflowing with tulips, pick your own flowers or capture a few selfies. Details here.
• The U.S. Botanic Garden has reopened.
• The wildly popular work of artist Yayoi Kusama is back at D.C.’s Hirshhorn Museum. Get a sneak peek.

Keep up with all the most fun things to do and places to be in D.C., Maryland and Virginia with The Scene.