Lunar New Year
Join the Kennedy Center to celebrate the Year of the Pig with a Family Day. The annual celebration includes activities showcasing the arts and culture of China’s Guangdong Province, which according to the Kennedy Center, is the place to find the “best mooncakes in China.” You can also brush up on your Mandarin by joining a guided tour of the building conducted in Mandarin. The day’s schedule of events includes marionette puppets, face painting, traditional Cantonese music, and live contortionist shows, among much more.
Kennedy Center, Saturday, 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Valentine’s Day
Wanna see some kids eat glue while they do crafts? Ballston Quarter is hosting a family Valentine’s Day party that includes Valentine making, cookie decorating, friendship- and love-themed story time, and friendship bracelet making for parents and kids.
Ballston Quarter, Saturday, 10 a.m.
Just in time for Valentine’s Day, Zenith Gallery celebrates its 40th anniversary with the exhibit Love in all Mediums, a program on “love, kindness, and the important things in life” expressed through a variety of artistic mediums, hence the name. The exhibit’s dozens of artists include Hubert Jackson, who focuses on mixed media and acrylics, and collage artist Philip Hazard. Visitors can meet with artists at the reception on Friday and Saturday.
Zenith Gallery, Friday 5 p.m.-8 p.m. and Saturday 2 p.m.-6 p.m. Exhibit runs through March 23.
Black History Month
Take a break from the stories of black trauma to celebrate black excellence for a night with composer and vibraphonist Nikara Warren as she performs her project Black Wall Street. Warren’s jazz and uptempo rhythms put an emphasis on dancing. The set of upbeat tracks act as an homage to black music and highlight the Tulsa, Oklahoma Black Wall Street massacre of 1921, while hopefully looking to the future.
Kennedy Center Millennium Stage, Sunday, 6 p.m.
The National Gallery of Art is hosting a screening of Half Past Autumn: The Life and Work of Gordon Parks as part of Warren Forman’s Artists at Work documentary series. Gordon Parks was an esteemed photojournalist and filmmaker, whose prominent works of the 1940s focused on African American subjects and highlighted issues of civil rights and poverty. The HBO-produced documentary on the filmmaker’s life includes insightful interviews from Parks, his friends and family, and collaborators. The showing is preceded by The Weapons of Gordon Parks, an early documentary about Parks, told in his own words.
National Gallery of Art, Saturday, 2 p.m.
Want more ideas for your weekend, even if they cost a little money?
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