FRIDAY, FEB. 17
MID-ATLANTIC JAZZ FESTIVAL: Jazz up your weekend with a trip to the Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival, which takes over the Hilton Hotel in Rockville from Friday to Sunday. The annual festival brings three days of jazz music spread out across four stages — three paid, and one free. In addition to the concerts, don’t miss the festival’s masterclasses, live interviews, line and swing dancing, and jam sessions. (Hilton Hotel & Executive Meeting Center Rockville; Friday through Sunday; FREE+)
SAVOR BETHESDA: Head to Bethesda for a meal that’ll keep your stomach and your wallet full. Savor Bethesda Restaurant Week kicks off on Thursday, Feb. 16, with over 30 participating restaurants offering dinners for as low as $20 and lunches for as low as $10. (Bethesda; through Feb. 26; $10+)
ROMEO AND JULIET: Valentine’s Day may be over, but the American Ballet Theatre is bringing you another reason to cry over the impermanence of love. Head to the Kennedy Center this weekend for the company’s take on Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare’s story of star-crossed lovers. (Kennedy Center; Friday and Saturday 1:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; Sunday 1:30 p.m.; $49+)
ARTY-GRAS: Bourbon Street is coming to Ballston Quarter this Friday at Artomatic’s first-ever ARTY-GRAS party. This soirée includes a masquerade parade, a costume contest (complete with cash prizes), an art raffle to benefit Artomatic, and a dance party that promises to be fabulous, DJed by Mike Rodriguez. (WHINO; 8 p.m.-2 a.m.; FREE)
50 YEARS OF HIP HOP: Didn’t get an invitation to the Grammys? Don’t worry, you can celebrate 50 Years of Hip Hop at your neighborhood theater. Local go-go group Black Alley and Bronx rapper Lord Finesse are taking over Howard Theatre to commemorate hip-hop’s 50th birthday with a night of homage performances featuring Pharoahe Monch, Grand Puba and more. (Howard Theatre; 9 p.m.; $50+)
MORE: Mardi Gras Weekend on Barracks Row (8th Street SE; through Feb. 21; FREE), Sweet Home Café Black History Month Chef’s Table (National Museum of African American History & Culture; 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.; FREE), History Happy Hour: Martin Luther King’s Vision of Democracy (Sandy Spring Museum; 6:30 p.m.-8 p.m.; $20), The Last Black Man in San Francisco (Joe’s Movement Emporium; 7 p.m.; FREE),No Sex In The Champagne Room: R&B Video Party (Songbyrd Music House; 7 p.m.-9:30 p.m.; FREE), Vocal Music Black History Month Concert (The Ellington Theater; 7 p.m.; $15), Evening at the Embassy of Ethiopia (Embassy of Ethiopia; 7:30 p.m.-10 p.m.; $79), Jokes up in Smoke (The Pyramid; 7:30 p.m.; $15)
SATURDAY, FEB. 18
AFRO HOUSE: SPIRIT FEST: Black History Month is well underway, and Anacostia Arts Center is celebrating this Saturday with Afro House: Spirit Fest, a day-long celebration of Black wellness and spirit. The festival includes a drum circle, a drum history lesson, a smudge stick workshop, a sound bath meditation, a West African styling demo, and more. (Anacostia Arts Center; 12 p.m.-6 p.m.; FREE)
MARDI GRAS PARADE: If you can’t make it to New Orleans this Mardi Gras, you can at least make it to the Wharf. There, you’ll find a Mardi Gras parade featuring stilt walkers, the Mardis Gras king and queen, floats from local organizations, and plenty of performances. Keep the party going into the night with live music on District Pier and a fireworks salute. (The Wharf; 3 p.m.-7 p.m.; FREE)
LIVING THE DREAM: It’s been 60 years since Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his historic “I Have a Dream” speech at the March on Washington. To commemorate his powerful words, DC Strings presents Living the Dream: A Celebration of the March on Washington, which features the music of Black composers. The celebration includes two events, the first featuring the Accord Symphony at National United Methodist Church on Saturday and and the second featuring soprano Ayanna Freelon and pianist Trey Walton at Mt. Zion United Methodist Church. (National United Methodist Church and Mt. Zion United Methodist Church; Saturday 5 p.m.; Sunday 3 p.m.; $20+)
WE ARE FUGAZI: The last time that hometown hero band Fugazi played together was in 2002. Two decades later, AFI Silver invites you to take a trip down memory lane and relive the group’s glory days with We Are Fugazi From Washington, DC, a compilation of crowd-sourced, fan-recorded live shows and rare archival footage that pays tribute to the beloved post-hardcore band. (AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center; 7 p.m.; $5)
FREE: Prayer and Transcendence (The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum; through July 1; FREE), Cooking for Peace (Meditation Museum; 1 p.m.-3 p.m.; FREE), Black History Month Brunch and Trivia (butter me up; 2 p.m.-5 p.m.; $65+), Bourbon to U Street Mardi Gras Bar Crawl (U Street Corridor; 2 p.m.-10 p.m.; $20), Mardi Gras at metrobar (metrobar; 3 p.m.-11:30 p.m.; FREE+), Black History Month Trivia Night (East City Bookshop; 5 p.m.; FREE), Nerd Nite (DC9 Nightclub; 6:30 p.m.; $10+), Mamie Smith, Bessie Smith, and the Centennial Year of Race Records (National Museum of Natural History; 7 p.m.; $25), Voices of Woodlawn (Joe’s Movement Emporium; 7 p.m.; $10+), Girlhood (Round House Theatre; Saturday 8 p.m.; Sunday 2 p.m.; $25), Marin Conducts Titan (The Music Center at Strathmore; 8 p.m.; $35+)
SUNDAY, FEB. 19
FUN-A-DAY SHOWCASE: Every January, amateurs and professionals alike participate in Fun-A-Day. The premise is simple: Choose one form of creative output, and work on it every single day of the month. Now that it’s February, Rhizome is inviting local participants to show off what they worked on in a Fun-A-Day Showcase. Support your neighbors — and maybe leave inspired to participate next year. (Rhizome DC; 12 p.m.-3 p.m.; FREE)
BLACK HISTORY IN LAFAYETTE PARK: Sprinkle some learning into your Sunday walk with Black History in Lafayette Park, a walking tour that highlights local Black history. From abolitionist Paul Jennings, who was enslaved by former president James Madison, to James Wormley, the owner of one of Washington’s most successful hotels, this tour will recount the stories of Black figures who have shaped this city’s history. (Lafayette Park; 2 p.m.; $35)
TEMPLE GARDENS OF KYOTO: Unfortunately, this $30 ticket does not come with a flight to Kyoto, but it does come with a virtual tour of the Japanese city’s temple gardens, which are found in the city’s many Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines. This Botanical Gardens World Tour program explores the meaning and care of three of these gardens: Tofukuji, Ryoanji, and Kiyomizu. (Virtual; 4 p.m.; $30)
MORE: FITDC’s Black History Month (Dock5; 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m.; FREE), Harlem Renaissance in DC Walking Tour (Howard Theatre; 2 p.m.; $25), The Pagan Roots of Late Winter Holidays (Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital; 3 p.m.-5:30 p.m.), Finding My Voice with Emerald Garner (Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library; 4 p.m.; FREE), Impractical Jokers (Capital One Arena; 5 p.m.; $49.50+), Parable of the Sower Book Club (Crazy Aunt Helen’s; 6 p.m.; $10), Champagne, Comedy, And Drag Show (DC Comedy Loft; 8 p.m.; $15), Underground Comedy (Hotbed; 8 p.m.; FREE)
