What’s on Washington

IN SERIES’ WOMEN COMPOSERS FESTIVAL AT GALA IN Series’ Women Composers Festival is a two-day festival celebrating female composers. It centers on two new stagings of operas by living artists—Here Be Sirens by Kate Soper (USA) and Ana y su Sombra by Gabriela Ortiz (Mexico). The festival on March 6 and 7, at GALA Theatre, 3333 14th St. NW, also features an opening gala concert, a Dorothy Fields cabaret and a love songs cabaret. All tickets are $25. inseries.org.

Get your steps in with this climb to a spectacular view. Photo: Danielle E. Thomas/Washington National Cathedral

NATIONAL CATHEDRAL ANGELS AND MONSTERS TOWER CLIMBS On Saturday, Feb. 1, 10:30 a.m. and Fridays, Feb. 14 and 21 at 2 p.m., you can climb the National Cathedral’s two western towers and get a close-up look at the many gargoyles and grotesques while visiting the open-air walkway wrapping around these two towers (about 125 feet above the ground). The climb ends on the very top of the northwest tower, which provides the best views of the Cathedral itself, and 360-degree views of the surrounding area (over 200 feet above the ground). $50. cathedral.org.

Gabriela Ortiz, composer of “Ana y su sombra,” a family opera. Presented by IN Series as part of the Women Composers Festival in March 2020 at GALA Hispanic Theatre. inseries.org. Photo: Martierene Alcántara

MARDI GRAS AT THE WHARF Can’t go to New Orleans? On Saturday, Feb. 22, 4 to 7 p.m., at the District Pier, the Wharf is celebrating Mardi Gras with a community-wide extravaganza featuring a spirited parade down Wharf Street, a dance party with live music on District Pier, and a special finale. Get special treats at your favorite neighborhood restaurants. They’ll also have activities and crafts for kids. And don’t forget to stop by the Caps Campfire at Camp Wharf for s’mores. wharfdc.com.

THE SCIENCE OF CBD: ANECDOTES AND EVIDENCE Of the more than 100 related chemicals found in cannabis plants, cannabidiol (CBD) has become almost as wellknown as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), seemingly overnight. Now widely available in retail stores and websites, it has suddenly emerged as a popular consumer product. Much remains unknown about the effects, mechanism, long-term consequences and legality of CBD. On Thursday, Feb. 20, 6:45 p.m., join Steven Grant, a neuroscientist at the National Institutes of Health, for an examination of what research has—and more importantly, has not—discovered about this elusive chemical’s potential benefits and risks. $45. smithsonianassociates.org.

ART AFTERWORDS: BROWN GIRL DREAMING AT NPG On Tuesday, Feb. 18, 5:30 to 7 p.m., join staff from the National Portrait Gallery and the DC Public Library for a monthly conversation about portraits and prose. Discuss a portrait from the museum’s collection in addition to Br own Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson. Jacqueline Woodson shares what it was like to grow up as an African American in South Carolina and New York during the 1960s and ’70s. Her vivid poems touch upon life at the end of the Jim Crow era and the growing awareness of the civil rights movement. You will discuss how activist Angela Davis is portrayed in Woodson’s memoir and in a photograph on view in the exhibition “In Mid-Sentence.” National Portrait Gallery, Eighth and F Streets, NW. npg.si.edu.

DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS Drive-By Truckers is kicking off the election year with The Unraveling, their first album in three and a half years. “Those years were among the most tumultuous our country has ever seen and the duality between the generally positive state of affairs within our band while watching so many things we care about being decimated and destroyed all around us informed the writing of this album to the core.” Drive-By Truckers is at the 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW, on Friday, Feb. 28 and Saturday, Feb. 29, at 8 p.m. $35. 930.com.

Drive-By Truckers. Photo: Andy Tennille

STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER AT AIR & SPACE No one’s ever really gone... Rey’s journey continues and the Skywalker saga concludes in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker plays in the IMAX Theater at the Air and Space on the Mall. It’s $15 for adults with discounts for seniors and kids. For showtimes, visit si.edu/imax/movie/star-wars-rise-skywalker. Runs 155 minutes. si.edu/imax.

Photo: Angela Davis by Stephen Shames. Gelatin silver print, 1969. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. © 1969 Stephen Shames

GEORGE WASHINGTON BIRTHDAY PARADE IN OLD TOWN The 2020 George Washington Birthday Parade in Alexandria’s Old Town is on Monday, Feb. 17, 1 to 3 p.m. The oldest and largest parade celebrating the birth of George Washington in the USA, it winds through a one-mile route along the historic streets of Old Town The theme of the 2020 Celebration is “Selfless Service to Country.” The focus of the 2020 parade is music and the performing arts. This year’s Grand Marshal is Rear Admiral Robert Shumaker (Ret.). washingtonbirthday.com.

No better place to see George Washington than at this festive tribute in Old Town. Photo: Steve Muth

MELISSA ALDANA QUARTET AT SIXTH & I Recently seen and heard with Cécile McLorin Salvant in WPA’s “Monterey Jazz Festival on Tour” concert, Chilean-born tenor saxophonist Melissa Aldana has a storybook résumé: A saxophonist since age six, she was playing pro gigs as a teenager when she found an early booster in pianist Daniel Perez. She went on to study at Boston’s Berklee College of Music and then, at age 24, became the first woman to win first prize in the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition. On stage at Sixth & I on Saturday, Feb. 15, 8 p.m. $30. sixhandi.org.

On her fifth album, Visions, the Chilean-born tenor saxophonist Melissa Aldana evokes the life of Frida Kahlo and brims with Aldana’s trademark harmonic sophistication and deftly spun solos. Photo: Courtesy of Washington Performing Arts

DC AIR SEX CHAMPIONSHIPS Entering its tenth year as a nationally touring roadshow, Air Sex is the worlds first SPART--a combination of sports and art. Each Air Sex show combines the pageantry and prestige of professional sports with the excitement and creativity of a first-rate talent competition. Think Air Guitar, but instead of pretending to play old musical instruments, Air Sex participants have jaw-dropping sexual encounters with an invisible partner (or partners!) using nothing more than the art of pelvic storytelling and pure imagination. DC Air Sex Championships is on stage, for those 21 and older, at the Rock and Roll Hotel, 1353 H St. NE, on Wednesday, March 4, 8 p.m. (doors at 7 p.m.). $15. rockandrollhoteldc.com.

BRENTANO STRING QUARTET On Friday, Feb. 28, 7:30 p.m., the Brentano Quartet performs at The Barnes at Wolf Trap with a program that pays homage to inspiration, both earthly and divine. Beethoven’s brilliant Quartet in A minor Op. 132 is followed by tributes by Mario Davidovsky and Mendelssohn. $42. wolftrap.org.

Mark Steinberg, Serena Canin, Nina Lee and Misha Amory. Photo: Juergen Frank SHIPWRECK: A HISTORY PLAY ABOUT 2017 AT WOOLLY A group of well-meaning liberals gather at a farmhouse in upstate NY for a relaxing weekend. A son adopted from Kenya struggles to feel connected to his new family and country. And the 45th US President sends a history-altering dinner invitation. There is plenty of blame to spare as snow piles high, mountains crumble, and the wounds of the 2016 election break open. The mythology of America is re-written in real time as we are forced to grapple with the legend of a frightening New York man made from gold. At Woolly Mammoth, 641 D St. NW, from Feb. 10 to March 8. woollymammoth.net.

The mythology of America is re-written in real time in Shipwreck at Woolly Mammoth. Image by Cade Martin

Anne O’Donnell (soloist) in Martha Graham’s “Diversion of Angels.” Photo: Brigid Pierce

MARTHA GRAHAM DANCE COMPANY: THE EVE PROJECT AT THE KC Martha Graham is inarguably the mother of American modern dance. In celebration of the centennial of the 19th amendment in 2020, which gave women the right to vote, the Martha Graham Dance Company has created a collection of new commissions and signature Graham classics that each make bold statements about female power. The Martha Graham Dance Company: The EVE Project is at the Kennedy Center from March 5 to 7. kennedy-center.org.

Having fun with DC Fray. Photo: Courtesy of DC Fray

DC FRAY SPRING REGISTRATION OPEN DC Fray uncovers the coolest things to do in DC. Discover the best in food and drink, sports, fitness, events, attractions and other can’t-miss activities. Registration is open for basketball, bocce, bingo, bowling, cornhole, dodgeball, flag football, hockey, kickball, shuffleboard, skeeball, soccer, softball, tennis, volleyball, trivia, ultimate frisbee and yoga. Read more and register at dcfray.com.

JONATHAN RICHMOND AND BONNIE “PRINCE” BILLY AT THE LINCOLN On Saturday, March 7, 8 p.m. (doors at 6:30 p.m.), see punk rockers Jonathan Richmond and Bonnie Prince Billy at the Lincoln Theater. Jonathan Richman is a singer, songwriter and guitarist who has been playing music, recording and touring most of his life. Bonnie “Prince” Billy’s (stage name) music known for his honesty and punk aesthetic, has been likened to Americana, folk, punk and rock. $35. They share the stage at the Lincoln Theater, 1215 U St. NW. thelincolndc.com.

Photo: Tim Mosenfelder

DC COCKTAIL FESTIVAL The annual DC Cocktail Festival is on Feb. 29, noon to 10 p.m., at the National Union Building, 918 F St. NW. They ask you to come, throwback great food and enjoy live musical performances, all while sampling some of the best cocktails from the city’s best cocktail mixologists. All craft cocktail tastings are included in your timed ticket which starts at $60. To sample the cocktail tastings, you will be provided with a tasting card that you can use to redeem the 15 cocktail samples. dccocktailfestival.com.

Mixologists mix it up at the DC cocktail Festival. Photo: Cordell PageMixologists mix it up at the DC cocktail Festival. Photo: Cordell Page