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Spring is all about new beginnings.
Beyoncé's new album “Cowboy Carter” is here (but don’t call it a country album!), baseball is coming back and it’s a big weekend for cherry blossom parties!
Maybe it's a good time to plant the seeds for a new friendship?
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We see a lot of people asking how to make friends in the D.C. area, so we went to the experts.
Marisa G. Franco, author of “Platonic: How the Science of Attachment Can Help You Make and Keep Friends,” gave us some great research-based advice we love.
This weekend's weather will be great for getting the crew together for a picnic at the Blossom Kite Festival or any Easter brunch plans, Storm Team4 says.
Weekend highlights
Free pick
Blossom Kite Festival
Sat.,10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Washington Monument
Normally when we say “go fly a kite,” it’s… not good. But we’re tickled pink for the Blossom Kite Festival ascending at the Washington Monument.
Hundreds of kites will soar around the National Mall in one of the most magnificent visuals of cherry blossom season.
Professional flyers will host performances and demonstrations, but anyone is invited to fly one themselves or enter a kite-making competition. Stop by the outdoor Sylvan Theater for the Sakura Taiko Festival showcasing Japanese drummers.
Pro tip: Learn the ropes (strings?) before you go! Kite building expert and springtime Santa Val Deale can show you how to make a simple kite at home and how to fly a kite.
More cherry blossom fun:
- Start your weekend partying in pink for Cherry Night. Highlights include Wunder Garten’s Nicki Minaj Pink Friday Dance Party and tarot readings at metrobar. Entry to both parties is free.
- Bloomaroo is back on Saturday at The Wharf (it was postponed last weekend because of rain). The festival will take place from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. — with fireworks at 8:30 p.m. — and is free to attend.
Black Opry Revue
Fri., doors open 6:30 p.m., The Barns at Wolf Trap, $37
🔗 Details
Just as Beyonce’s “Cowboy Carter” drops Friday, Wolf Trap brings the Black Opry Revue to The Barns.
Sug Daniels is one of the talented performers bringing her beautiful music to the stage. We’ve been streaming her songs “Heavy” and “Take Your Time” all day.
“The idea of community really made me want to be a part of something that was bigger than myself,” Daniels told Tommy. “This isn’t just a ‘come witness these Black musicians.’ This is a big part of American history.”
Tulip and daffodil festival
Through April 14, Burnside Farms in Nokesville, Virginia, $19 to $25 per person (in advance)/$25 to $31 (day-of)
🔗 Details
D.C.’s cherry blossom season is in full swing, but just across the state lines, Burnside Farms’ Festival of Spring is blooming in Nokesville, Virginia.
The festival opened Sunday, March 24, and runs through April 14, but could extend longer depending on flower conditions, according to Burnside Farms’ Instagram.
"We're still early in our season and we estimate about 25% of our tulips are in bloom. Full bloom is expected to begin later in the first week of April and usually lasts about 10 days," Burnside Farms said on Tuesday.
Burnside Farms said they’ve planted more than 150 kinds of tulips and 30 varieties of daffodils.
“It’s like Holland in Virginia,” Burnside Farms said.
Spring Wine Fling
Through March 31
The Spring Wine Fling is essentially Restaurant Week for cherry blossom season -- with a twist you can toast to. Participating restaurants are offering $55 specials that generally include two courses paired with two glasses of wine.
Here’s the full list of participating locations.
Theater this weekend
The theater scene is also in bloom, budding new shows like “Nancy” at Mosaic Theatre. It looks at Nancy Reagan’s family connection to Pocahontas.
Rhiana Yazzie, a Navajo playwright, stumbled across the little-known fact while writing a different play.
“It’s a fun comedy that does this crazy, absurdist, madcap of a journey where you get to see Nancy Reagan but also the story of Esmeralda, this Navajo woman who’s fighting, actually, the clearing of uranium mines on her reservation,” the play’s director Ken-Matt Martin told us.
More shows to know about:
- A world premiere of “Hester Street,” an adaption of the 1970s film by the same name, is premiering at Theatre J.
- “School Girls” has been called the “African ‘Mean Girls’” and takes the stage at Next Stop in Herndon.
- “Unknown Soldier,” an original musical, brings a three-generation family mystery to Arena Stage.
- Olney Theatre’s “Avaaz” is timed perfectly with the Persian New Year, Nowruz. It tells the creator’s mom’s story of fleeing Tehran to, as he says, “Theran-geles,” California.
Concerts this weekend
Cor de Lux, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Rhizome, $10-$15
Often sounding dark and always sounding urgent, this North Carolina post-punk band also draws on garage rock and goth. Details.
Lime Cordiale, 8 p.m. Thursday, Howard Theatre, $25
Witty, playful pop rock band from Australia that you can bounce around to. Details.
The Messthetics & James Brandon Lewis, 8 p.m. Friday, Black Cat, $20
At first a marriage of Fugazi’s rhythm section (drummer Brendan Canty and bassist Joe Lally) and versatile guitarist Anthony Pirog (jazz to punk and anything in between), the trio came together like Voltron with saxophonist James Brandon Lewis for an LP of heavy fusion. At times, it sounds like Fugazi added a saxophone – which now sounds like an intriguing idea. Details.
Things to do in D.C.
A Conversation: The Enduring Legacy of Frederick Douglass
Thurs., National Portrait Gallery, free
Eckington Flea Market returns
Saturdays, March 30 to May 4, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Quincy Lane, free entry
Robert Glasper—Black Radio: A Duke x Dilla Celebration
Sat., The Kennedy Center, $119
DC United: Women’s History Night
Sat., Audi Field, $29+
Environmental Film Festival
Through Sat.
Nationals home opener
Mon., April 1, Nationals Park
Bunny Bash!
Sun., noon, St. Vincent Wine in Park View, $15
Things to do in Maryland
Free photo with the Easter Bunny
Sat., noon to 4 p.n., and Sun., noon to 2 p.m., Ellsworth Place in Silver Spring
Green Eggs and Kegs
Sat. and Sun. World of Beer in Rockville and Bethesda, $45+
City of Greenbelt Annual Egg Hunt
Sat., 10 a.m., Buddy Attick Park, free
Ages 18 months to 4th grade
MatchboxCon
Sat. and Sun., Montgomery County Fairgrounds in Gaithersburg, $4-$10
Easter Bunny Hoppy Hour
Sun., 2-4 p.m., Le Fantome in Riverdale, free entry
Things to do in Virginia
PEEPS® Show
Through Sat., historic Occoquan, Virginia, free
Taylor Williamson (as seen on “America’s Got Talent”)
Fri. and Sat., Arlington Drafthouse, $20
Baskets and Bunnies
Sat., Burke Lake Park in Fairfax Station, $5 for egg hunt, $10-$15 for amusements
Jurassic World Live Tour
Weds., Fri., Sat. and Sun., EagleBank Arena, $20+
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