While Washington, D.C., may have had to endure a snowy midweek, the temperatures and prospects for fun are also rising this weekend. From dance in Germantown to a Jazz Era-based play in Alexandria to the Danish Girls' Choir at the Kennedy Center, locals will find plenty to keep them entertained in the suburbs and downtown. Here's a closer look at some of the great things happening in D.C. and the suburbs this weekend, March 8-10.
Real Pirates: The Untold Story of the Whydah From Slave Ship to Pirate Ship
Friday-Sunday, March 8-10, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
National Geographic Museum
1145 17th St. NW, Washington, D.C.
$11 adults, $9 members/military/seniors/students/groups, $7 kids ages 5-12
A new exhibition arrives at the National Geographic Museum this weekend. Artifacts from the Wydah, the first pirate ship located in U.S. waters, are on display through September 2.
The Wydah was the flagship of pirate Sam Bellamy, and it sank in 1717 carrying prize money from over 50 captured ships. The treasure, swords, and cannons lost by Bellamy and recovered by explorer Barry Clifford could be a real treat for younger pirates in your family this weekend.
Through Tuesday, March 12, various times
AFI Silver Theater and Cultural Center
8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring, MD
$8.50 to $12
AFI Silver, along with TransAfrica and afrikafé, brings the ninth annual New African Films Festival to the D.C. area this week. Films being shown are from across the continent, including Kenya, Zimbabwe, Egypt, Nigeria, Mali, Congo, and Senegal. Algeria and South Africa are each represented twice.
Movies topics range from a biopic of the man who helped spark Algerian independence to a more light-hearted "Sex in the City" take on life in Zimbabwe.
Friday, March 8, 6 p.m.
The Kennedy Center
2700 F St. NW, Washington, D.C.
Free
As part of Nordic Cool 2013, a month-long music, theater, dance, and arts festival focusing on Scandinavian culture, the Danish National Girls' Choir will present a free concert at the Kennedy Center. The ensemble covers modern compositions, pop, and the hymns of Grundtvig.
To sample their sound before checking out the live performance, compositions "November" and "Winter" can be heard on Spotify.
Friday, March 8, 8 p.m.; Saturday, March 9, 3 p.m., 8 p.m.; Sunday, March 10, 3 p.m., 7 p.m.
MetroStage
1201 North Royal St., Alexandria, VA
$55
This jazz fable has been extended from an original closing date of March 13 through March 31, so this isn't the only weekend you can catch the performance. But you'll want to try to see this look at four jazz divas in a dressing room in New York before performances sell out.
The book and lyrics, with their original look at the passing of Charlie Parker from the perspective of divas much like Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, Peggy Lee, and Ella Fitzgerald, was written by Thomas W. Jones II.
Friday, March 8, 8 p.m.
Black Rock Center
12901 Town Commons Drive, Germantown, MD
$32
A fantastic dance recital primarily developed by choreographer Lula Washington can be seen in Germantown's Black Rock Center for the Arts this weekend. Some of the dances could include "Ode to the Sixties," "Reign," "We Wore That Mask," and "The Healers." Washington will give a pre-show talk at 7:15 p.m.
Saturday, March 9, 10 p.m.
9:30 Club
815 V St. NW, Washington, D.C.
$20
The 9:30 Club presents the British four-piece Django Django on Saturday, an sometimes electronic band that's comfortable using starkly acoustic, big-sounding instrumentation to fill out their sound.
With jangly guitars, muted rhythms, background atmospherics, and an upbeat infectious sound, Django Django is both haunting and still strangely head-bobbing in its delivery.
Sunday, March 10, 8 a.m.
Fort Hunt Park, Alexandria, VA
$5
As part of the D.C. Road Runners' "Snowball Series," area runners should prepare for more than five laps around the Fort Hunt Park perimeter this weekend. The Fort Hunt 10K is marked, on a paved road, and requires advance registration. The course is not certified.
Race organizers note that the original starting time of 10 a.m. was bumped back to 8 a.m. by the National Park Service and reminds runners to set their clocks an hour forward Saturday night due to Daylight Saving Time, which goes into effect very early on Sunday morning.
Shawn Humphrey is a former contributor to The Flint Journal who lives near Washington, D.C., in Germantown, Maryland.
