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Hear that? Chuck Brown and E.U.’s “Da Butt” are playing on repeat in our headphones as The Go-Go Museum & Café starts welcoming visitors.
D.C. is a go-go town and a museum town. So, a place to celebrate, preserve and share the music with new generation has been a long time coming.
Take it straight from the museum’s curator and D.C. native Ron Moten, who first shared the idea in 2009 and is finally seeing it come to life. In The Weekend Scene newsletter this week, he shared an inside look at the museum (and his four essential go-go songs! You can listen to them in our Spotify playlist).
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4 things to know for the weekend
- Saturday and Sunday will bring some of the best weather of the week with highs in the 40s. Here’s your forecast.
- Sad news: Landmark E Street Cinema is closing, a blow to anyone looking to watch independent films or late-night screenings of cult classics.
- Cheap and family-friendly: Try Flurry Fest at The Yards, a Frog Frenzy science tour in Arlington or Josiah Henson Museum and Park’s Black History Month Family Day in North Bethesda.
- Any laid-off or furloughed federal workers out there? Olney Theater company is offering free tickets to “Waitress.”
Weekend highlights
The Scene
The most fun things to do and places to be in D.C., Maryland and Virginia
JumpDC & Floyd's Double Dutch is Black History Competition
Sat., 9 a.m., Sojourner Truth Public Charter School in Southeast, $12 for spectators
🔗 Details
Jump into exciting competition, team camaraderie and Black heritage as The Scene favorites Jump DC host a friendly tournament at Soujourner Truth Charter School in Northeast.
“It's a way for us to be creative and a way for us to express ourselves,” coach Sharde Perry said. “It’s an integral part of our Black American history.”
This weekend’s competition also features a team coming from Africa.
Ticket sales support Jump DC and their effort to get to world championships.
Jump DC joined us in the studio for a preview of Saturday’s tourney.
Free pick
Garage Racing National Championships
Sat., races from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., National Landing (201 12th Street S., G4 Parking Level)
🔗 Details
In the words of Freddie Mercury, “Get on your bikes and ride!”
“America’s only underground bike racing event” is a day of wacky races inside an Arlington parking garage with plenty of twists and turns like giveaways and costumes.
Cheer on cyclists from the side while snacking and sipping refreshments from Acme Pies, Good Company Doughnuts and Port City Brewing Co.
It’s free to watch, and you’ll be able to catch races every 50 minutes or so leading up to the Anything Goes grand finale at 6:20 p.m.
Want to ride? Sign up here by Friday. It might just be the most fun you ever have in a parking garage.
Free pick
Flurry Fest at The Yards
Sat., 1-4 p.m., The Yards in Southeast D.C.
🔗 Details
If you were disappointed that this week’s possible snowstorm amounted to… almost nothing… then you can get your snowflake fix at this festival in The Yards Park.
Snowy activities like snow throw, bubble hockey and photo ops await, alongside giveaways, glitter tattoos, crafts and more.
You know we love a Polar Plunge (especially one benefiting Special Olympics!), and Flurry Fest has one! Plungers will be diving into chilly waters to benefit Special Olympics DC.
Concerts this weekend
King Face, 8 p.m. Friday, Black Cat, $20
Founded in D.C.’s ‘80s “salad days,” this hard core quartet also owes a debt to the hair metal of the era. While inactive more often than active in the decades since, the band has recorded new material in recent years. Messthetics – 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) – and Bed Maker – formed a few years ago by veteran D.C. musicians – open the show. Details.
Folsom Prison Experience, 6:30 p.m. Friday, Lincoln Theatre, $35-$70
Well, this sounds really cool if they pull it off. It promises the immersive experience of being an inmate at Johnny Cash’s legendary 1968 jailhouse concert recording. Tickets.
Poison Ruin, 9 p.m. Sunday, Comet Ping Pong, $26.78
Philly quartet puts Middle Ages imagery to dense – often exhilarating – punk rock. Not uncommon for heavy metal but relatively unique for punk. Details.
Things to do in D.C.
New exhibit- We Gather at the Edge: Contemporary Quilts by Black Women Artists: Opens. Fri., The Renwick, free
Comedy - The Washington Roast: Thurs., 7:30 p.m., DC Improv, $20+
Mother Tongue Film Festival: Thurs. to Sun., National Museum of the American Indian, free
Wizards Friday Night concert: T.I.: Fri., Capital One Arena
Comedy - Liza Treyger: Fri. and Sat., DC Improv, $25+
JumpDC & Floyd's Double Dutch Elite Double Dutch is Black History Competition: Sat., 9 a.m., Sojourner Truth Public Charter School in Northeast, $12 for spectators
Flurry Fest at The Yards: Sat., 1-4 p.m., The Yards in Southeast D.C., free
Cinema + Conversation: Screening of Will (1981): Sat., National Museum of African American History and Culture, free
Afro House: Spirit Fest: Sat., 1 to 4:30 p.m., Anacostia Arts Center, free
District Beer Fest: Sat., Dock5 at Union Market, $35+
Rock the Rink: Sat., 2 p.m., The Wharf Ice Rink, fans in Caps gear get $5 off ice skating
Comedy - Jo Koy: Just Being Koy Tour: Sat., 8 p.m., Capital One Arena
Don’t Tell Comedy with the International Spy Museum: Sat., doors open 7:30 p.m., near the National Mall (exact location TBA), $25
Dazzling Rainbows: Create Your Own Suncatcher: Sun., 11 a.m., Steadfast Supply in Southeast, $55
Music Bingo Sundays: Sun., 3 p.m., Lulu’s Winegarden in Northwest, free but reservation recommended (choose “music bingo” option)
Ballet - Atlantic Paradox: Sun., 3 p.m., National Portrait Gallery, free
Things to do in Maryland
"Savor Bethesda" Restaurant Week: Feb. 20 to March 2
Living History: Black Aviators specialty tour: Sat., 11 a.m., College Park Aviation Museum, $10 for residents; $13 for non-residents
Black History Month Family Day: Sat., 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Josiah Henson Museum and Park in North Bethesda, $4 for children and seniors, and $5 for adults
Lalah Hathaway: Sat., The Music Center at Strathmore in North Bethesda, $28 - $124
Black A** Comedy Show: Sat., 7 p.m., Busboys and Poets Hyattsville, $28.52
Things to do in Virginia
The Second City 65th Anniversary Show: Through Sat., Wolf Trap in Vienna, $48+
Stephen Sol & The Wrizzards: A Night of Music and Comedy: Fri., 7:30 p.m., Galactic Panther Art Gallery in Alexandria, $15
Capital Remodel + Garden Show: Fri. to Sun., Dulles Expo Center in Chantilly, $10 (general admission online and in advance) but many are eligible for free days
Garage Racing National Championships: Sat., races from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., National Landing (201 12th Street S., G4 Parking Level), free
Feel the Heritage Festival: Sat., noon to 5 p.m., Charles Drew Community Center in Arlington, free
All Things Frozen Tea Party with a naturalist: Sat., 1 p.m., Hidden Oaks Nature Center in Annandale, $15
Frog Frenzy science tour: Sat., 2 p.m., Potomac Overlook Regional Park, $7 for participants over 5
African Storytelling Reimagined with Ada Ari: Sat., 4 p.m., Centreville Regional Library, free
Galentine's Dance Fitness Party with CurvyFit: Sun., 10 a.m., Fabletics Tyson’s Corner, free
Art After Hours @ MoCA Arlington: Sat., 5-8 p.m., Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington, free
Black History Month talk - Paths of Freedom Seekers: Sun., 3 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., Ellanor C. Lawrence Park in Chantilly, $8
Self-Love In Full Bloom: A Galentine's Gathering: Sun., 2-4 p.m., Yerba in Alexandria, $29
STEAM-tastic: Mandalas and Meows (ages 6-10): Sun., 9 a.m., Del Ray Artisans in Alexandria, $10
Czech National Symphony Orchestra: Sun., Hylton Performing Arts Center in Manassas, $51+
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