The To Do List

Here’s hoping you’ve got a weekend ahead with a limited number of  graduations, weddings and/or traffic-fighting beach excursions. (Not that there’s anything wrong with any of those activities…)  If you’re staying on the Hill, you might want to try some of these weekend options:

Friday, June 11
Dance Place and VSA present Axis Dance Company at The Atlas at 8pm on Friday (and again at 4pm on Saturday).  You are encouraged to “leave all your preconceptions at the door.” AXIS Dance Company, one of the world’s most acclaimed and innovative ensembles of performers with and without disabilities, will change the way you think about dance and the possibilities of the human body forever.  Tickets are $8 for children, $22 for adults and $17 for seniors, students, Dance Place members, educators and artists.

The Washington Early Music Festival‘s “Carmina/Illuminare” will begin at 8pm at St. Peter’s Catholic Church on Capitol Hill.  The program will focus on works that honor and celebrate important female figures of the Bible. It will include: The Mass of Tournai, which has been tied to the celebration of the Feast of the Annunciation and which is the earliest complete setting of the Ordinary of the Mass; the hymn O quanta qualia and the dramatic lamentation Planctus virginum Israel for the daughter of Jepthe, by Peter Abelard (1079-1142); Marian works and motets in praise of the unnamed bride in the Song of Songs, by DuFay, Josquin, and Lhéritier. Readings from the letters of Abelard and Heloise will precede the performance of Abelard’s works.  Tickets are $15 for students and $20 for adults.

Saturday, June 12
In preparation for  Flag Day on Monday, June 14, the Smithsonian’s American History Museum is hosting a “Flag Day Family Festival.”  Beginning at 11 AM, you can watch as 25 children from across the world become American citizens in a Children’s Citizenship Ceremony, enjoy performances from the Fifes and Drums of York Town, learn to fold a 30 x 42′ flag, and visit the museum’s Star-Spangled Banner exhibition to see the actual flag that inspired the national anthem.

While Stephen Strasburg and the Nationals are out of town, why not catch another phenomenal sporting event?  Head over to Dupont Circle for “Soccer in the Circle,” a large-scale, outdoor viewing party for  a few World Cup matches.  Two huge screens in the Circle will show all the Saturday matches beginning with South Korea vs. Greece at 7:30am and featuring U.S.A.vs. England at 2:30pm.  Join the crowd to cheer on team U.S.A.

Sunday, June 13
Get to the National Arboretum by 4pm for the last day of “Art Blooms: Satsuki Azalea Bonsai” in the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum.  There you’ll see breathtaking blossoms cover late-blooming azaleas that are miniature in form, but covered with full-sized flowers. This free, annual spring exhibit showcases the most spectacular examples.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the Hill Center (formerly the old naval hospital) occurs from 2pm – 4:30pm, with the groundbreaking at 2:45pm.

From there, head over to St. Monica & St. James at 222 8th St, NE for a wine and cheese tasting.  The event lasts from 4-7pm and is free (though donations are appreciated).

What else is happening around the Hill and the District this weekend?