Hendrick Avercamp, Skaters and Tents along the Ice, c. 1620, oil on canvas. Courtesy National Gallery of Art.

Spring is coming. It’s true. The calendar foretells it. That and the various festivals starting this month.

>> The 44th Annual Smithsonian Kite Festival will be held Saturday, March 27 at the base of the Washington Monument. Enjoy this annual springtime event complete with a kite making competition, kite tricks and the Rokkaku Challenge, in which flyers attempt to bring down their opponents’ kites. The first 1,000 kids will receive a free kite, so you might want to think about getting there early. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

>> The National Cherry Blossom Festival also kicks off March 27 and runs through April 11. The Freer and Sackler Galleries celebrate with a curator-led tour of the exhibition, Cornucopia: Ceramics from Southern Japan, a text-message scavenger hunt and paper crafts.

>> At the National Portrait Gallery, learn about the evolution of D.C.’s Penn Quarter neighborhood, including the transformation of the Hecht building, construction of the Metro stop, the arrival of the Verizon Center, and a visual history of the Patent Office Building in Glimpse of the Past: A Neighborhood Evolves. March 5.

>> Opening March 10, the American History Museum presents The Modern Gown Gallery: A First Lady’s Debut. Featuring 11 inaugural gowns from the first ladies, starting with Mamie Eisenhower’s. A placeholder is reserved for Michelle Obama’s gown, which will be added at a later date.