Top-notch activities this weekend and the week ahead.
By Helen Yoshida
"Art on the Rocks" mixes art and cocktails (Photo by Erica Fortwengler)
We’re kicking off this weekend with White House garden tours, Community Day at the Corcoran, an arts festival at night in Downtown DC, and a dance festival at the Shakespeare Company Theatre. Next week tune in for performances of Platero y yo, a reading by David Sedaris and an evening of sipping cocktails inspired by local artwork in the Torpedo Factory Art Center.
White House Fall Garden Tours
Sat., Oct. 20, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Ellipse Visitor Pavilion
15th and E streets NW
202-456-7041; Free
Step into fall and indulge your green thumb with tours of the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden, Rose Garden, South Lawn of the White House, and the White House Kitchen Garden. Timed tickets distributed on a first-come, first-served basis starting at 8 a.m. the morning of the tour.
Budding Artists
Inaugural Community Day and Art Fair
Sat. Oct. 20, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
Corcoran Gallery of Art and College of Art + Design
500 17th St. NW
202-639-1700; Free; all ages welcome
Connect with your inner artist and take a crack at printmaking, bookmaking and pottery. Roll up those sleeves and craft your own ceramic bowl to be donated to the D.C.-based nonprofit So Others Might Eat (SOME), mingle with artisans and score their unique wares at the Community Art Fair, and nosh on great eats from the museum’s premiere restaurant Todd Gray’s Muse at the Corcoran.
Art All Night DC: Nuit Blanche
Sat., Oct. 20, 7 p.m.-3 a.m.
Information Headquarters
800 I St.
Free, but you must “purchase” a ticket.
You have eight hours to explore eight venues filled with contemporary art, musical performances and culture. Go. Don’t forget to pick up food and drinks to keep you going.
Movers ‘n Shakers
VelocityDC Dance Festival 2012
Fri., Oct. 19, 8 p.m.
Sat., Oct. 20, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Sun., Oct. 21, 2 p.m.
Shakespeare Theatre Company
Sidney Harman Hall
610 F St. NW
202-547-8849; $18
Jump and jive with this fourth annual dance festival showcasing dance companies from here and abroad. Featured companies include Washington Ballet, Just Tap, Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble, American University Dance Company, and Flamenco Aparicio and Pastura Flamenco.
"Platero y yo" (Photo courtesy GALA Hispanic Theatre)
Family Friendly
Platero y yo
By Juan Ramón Jiméniz
Directed by Cornelia Cody
Mon., Oct. 22-Fri., Oct. 26, 10:30 a.m. (weekday student matinees)
Sat. Oct. 20 and 27, 3 p.m. (general public performances)
GALA Hispanic Theatre
3333 14th St. NW
202-332-1247; $10-$12
Bring the whole family for this bilingual performance about a poet and his donkey Platero as they embark on adventures and meet new friends along the way. This performance is based on the children’s book by Juan Ramón Jiméniz.
Cultural Vultures
Strathmore Speaker Series: A Night with David Sedaris
Tues., Oct. 23, 8 p.m.
The Music Center at Strathmore
5301 Tuckerman Lane
North Bethesda, MD 20852
301-581-5100; $45-$75
Whether he is recalling his childhood in Raleigh, North Carolina or a recent trip to France, David Sedaris will keep you laughing with his dry wit and keen powers of observation until your sides ache. So grab your favorite Sedaris book (or two) and prepare yourself for an evening of laughs straight from the author himself.
Art on the Rocks
Wed., Oct. 24, 6 p.m.-9 p.m.
The Art League (in the Torpedo Factory Art Center)
105 North Union St.
Alexandria, VA 22314
703-683-1780 and purchase tickets here; $35
Hailing from restaurants including Bastille, Chadwick’s Columbia Firehouse, Light Horse Restaurant, Red Rocks Pizza, Napoletana and Union Street Public House, six mixologists compete in a cocktail contest to create a drink inspired by October’s “Color Sphere” exhibit. Nibble on appetizers, participate in a raffle and relax with live jazz music by the Gassmann Duo.
