The Weekend Round-Up: April 20-22

Earth Day celebrations, a fairy and gnome fest, free admission to national parks, Shakespeare’s birthday, live entertainment, lots of spring fun… and a nice dose of sunshine (we hope), to boot. Happy Weekend!

Earth Optimism Day
Where: National Zoo | Woodley Park, DC
When: Saturday, 10am – 2pm
Admission: Free
Celebrate conservation success stories at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in honor of Earth Day. This year’s event features family-friendly activities, hands-on learning opportunities, and interactive demonstrations — all in the name of conservation. Hear first-hand from Zoo experts about some of the innovative solutions being used in the fight to save species, and learn how you can take action to help protect the planet.

Free Parking
Where: National Parks
When: Saturday
Admission: Free
National Park Week starts on Saturday, and it’s kicking off with a fee free day, so there’s no entrance fee to national parks that usually charge admission. Take advantage and hit the trail at Shenandoah, Prince William Forest, Great Falls, Harpers Ferry, or head up to Baltimore to explore Fort McHenry. Find even more parks to visit here.

Frühlingsfest
Where: Heurich House Museum | Dupont Circle, DC
When: Saturday, 12-4pm
Admission: Free
Welcome spring at Frühlingsfest! Translated as ‘Spring Festival,’ the occasion is know as ‘Oktoberfest’s little sister’ in Germany and celebrates the end of a cold winter and beginning of the new season. Heurich House Museum is partnering with local artisans and businesses to present the garden festival. Enjoy German sausages, art, gardening, crafts, museum tours, and an afternoon beer.

Fun at Fairfax Parks
Where: Parks in Fairfax, VA
When: Throughout the weekend
Admission: Varies by activity
The Fairfax County Park Authority hosts all kinds of events on weekends for guests of all ages. On Friday evening, join an animal pajama party at Hidden Oaks or hear a Symphony of Frogs at Huntley Meadows. On Saturday, Build Your Own Beehouse and see bluebells at Riverbend Park. On Sunday, celebrate Earth Day at Ellanor C. Lawrence Park. Get more details on these activities and see what else is going on here.

Sensory-Friendly Movie Screening
Where: Regal Rockville Center Stadium 13 | Rockville, MD
When: Saturday, 10:30am
Admission: $6.50
Join Regal for the latest My Way Matinee movie, Ready Player One. Adventurous movie fans can enjoy the fun, action-packed universe of the film. My Way Matinee gives everyone the opportunity to experience a movie once a month with the sound turned down and the lights turned up. Watch the Ready Player One trailer here.

Wild Kratts LIVE!
Where: DAR Constitution Hall | Downtown DC
When: Saturday, 1pm & 4:30pm
Tickets: $32-52+
Animated Kratt Brothers Martin and Chris “come to real life” in a classically Wild Kratts story. The Emmy nominated duo will activate some fan favorite Creature Power Suits to confront a comic villain. Through hilarious pratfalls and amazing animal “wow facts,” the Wild Kratts team rescues their favorite invention from Zach’s clutches so the animals of the creature world are safe once again.

Show Time
Where: Theatres around the DMV
When: Throughout the weekend
Admission: Varies by venue
* It’s opening weekend for Judy Moody and Stink: The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Treasure Hunt at Adventure Theatre
* Scrap Arts Music: Children of Metropolis at Strathmore will make for great Friday night entertainment
* Enjoy Symphony for kids at the NSO concert The String Thing
* Reserve free tickets for BOP GOES THE WEASEL – Jazz For Kids! this week’s Saturday Morning at the National performance
* It’s your last chance to LOL at a Potted Potter performance at Sidney Harman Hall. (Read a past review here.)
* Robin Hood is on the Imagination Stage
* Ease on down the road to Ford’s Theatre for The Wiz
* Catch a fairytale classic as The Puppet Co. presents Little Red Riding Hood & the 3 Little Pigs
* And there will be a Tiny Tots Sing-a-Long for littles there on Sunday
* Snow Child is the newest production at Arena Stage
* Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site, perfect for ages 3-8, will be on stage at Hylton Performing Arts Center

Weekend Tots: Welcome Spring
Where: Tudor Place | Georgetown, DC
When: Saturday, 10-11am
Admission: $5/child, free for adults
It’s a special weekend session of the (usually) Tuesday program for little ones to celebrate spring. Read, sing, and play as Tudor Place celebrates spring in the picturesque gardens. Tots will take home a craft they’ve made themselves. Register in advance.

Eloise Greenfield Day
Where: Sankofa Video & Books | Petworth, DC
When: Saturday, 2pm
Admission: Free
Join the celebration that honors author Eloise Greenfield Day’s lifelong efforts to portray positive, realistic images of African American communities in literature. The program begins with a selection of poems read by local elementary school students; a live jazz rendition of Honey, I Love , inspired by the 1982 recording by Mrs. Greenfield and Byron Morris; a tribute from renowned illustrator and longtime collaborator, Jan Spivey Gilchrist; a conversation between Mrs. Greenfield and her daughter, Monica; a presentation by Mrs. Greenfield entitled, “Words and Music,” and a signing of Ms. Greenfield’s forthcoming book, “PAR-TAY!: Dance of the Veggies And Their Friends.”

Earth Day Plogging and Fun Run
Where: Starts at New Hampshire & Kennedy St. NW | Northwest DC
When: Saturday, 11am – 4pm
Admission: Free
DC Parks & Recreation and Uptown Main Street are celebrating Earth Day with a Plogging event! Plogging is a combination of jogging with picking up litter. It started as an organized activity in Sweden around 2016 and spread to other countries in 2018, following increased concern about plastic pollution. A warm up and stretch will be facilitated by Twist and Turns Fitness. After plogging, help with trash and plantings at the small park on 14th & Kennedy St NW enjoying food, games, and fellowship! 

Happy Birthday to the Bard!
Where: Folger Shakespeare Library | Capitol Hill, DC
When: Sunday, 12pm
Admission: Free
‘Tis Shakespeare’s 454th birthday, and the Folger Shakespeare Library is celebrating with its annual Open House on Sunday afternoon. In true Renaissance fashion, there will be song and dance, Elizabethan crafts, and theatrical performances, sword fighting demos, special tours, a giant birthday cake, and appearances by Emily Jordan Folger and Queen Elizabeth I. The free event takes place rain or shine. Food trucks will be stationed in Puck’s Circle. The Folger Shakespeare Library is located at 201 East Capitol Street SE. Read more about the Folger in this KFDC post.

Fairy & Gnome Home Festival
Where: Annmarie Sculpture Garden | Lusby, MD
When: Sunday, 12-4pm
Admission: $7, free for member and under 2
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This annual festival at one of the most enchanting places will delight the whole family — and we know from experience. Festivities are scattered throughout the beautiful grounds, creating a charming journey of discovery for young (and old) guests. Search for hidden fairy and gnome homes and use them as inspiration to create your own special pieces. Climb, explore, build, and dream in the lovely Fairy Lolly. Get faces painting, and enjoy music, dancing, games, crafts, food, drink, and more. Oh, and don’t let little ones miss the unicorn (yes, unicorn!) rides and a petting zoo. Read more about Annmarie Sculpture Garden in this KFDC post and this one.

Earth Day Celebration
Where: Brookside Gardens | Wheaton, MD
When: Sunday, 12pm
Admission: Free
Our planet is priceless! Head to Brookside Gardens and learn ways to keep it healthy. This event offers something for everyone: a green craft fair, native plant sale, community art project, family activities and games, environmental educational alley, live music, and more. Discover how small changes in your everyday habits can make a big impact on improving our environment. While you’re there, check out the Wings of Fancy butterfly exhibit, which just opened the season – read about it here!

Garden Party
Where: Frager’s Hardware | Capitol Hill, DC
When: Sunday, 12-4pm
Admission: Free
Join Frager’s at their new garden center at 1123 Pennsylvania Ave SE for their biggest gardening event & sale of the year! Get 20% off all things gardening (Saturday, too) including pottery, plants, soil & mulch, gardening supplies, and patio furniture grilling accessories. There will be a potting station, a seed starting workshop, cheese and meat samples, a DIT terrarium workshop, opps to chat with gardening pros, giveaways, and more.

Kite Fly Day & Air Play
Where: Strathmore | Bethesda, MD
When: Sunday, 1pm
Admission: Free
All are invited to spend the day on Strathmore’s rolling campus flying kites, picnicking, playing yard games, and watching flight demos from members of Wings Over Washington and the Maryland Kite Society. At 4pm, enjoy Air Play (see below).

Air Play
Where: Strathmore | Bethesda, MD
When: Sunday, 4pm
Admission: $22-46
A whimsical, modern spectacle perfect for families, nothing is as it seems in Air Play’s fantastical stage show—the creation of husband and wife team Seth Bloom and Christina Gelsone that merges circus and street theater performance art. Flying umbrellas, larger-than-life balloons, giant kites, and an enormous snow globe captivate in this circus-style adventure that tells the story of two siblings journeying through a surreal land of air, transforming the ordinary into objects of uncommon beauty. Fabrics dance in the wind, balloons have a mind of their own, confetti become the night sky, and an enormous canopy of hovering silk forever alters the future of this sibling pair.

Spring in the Valley
Where: Spring Valley Pediatrics | Spring Valley, DC
When: Sunday, 11am – 2pm
Admission: Free
Join Stork Childbirth Education, the Spring Valley Neighborhood Association, Children’s National Medical Center, and Safe Kids DC for a family fun day. There will be food trucks, face painting, local businesses, giveaways, and festivities for the whole family.

Museum Morning
Where: Hirshhorn Museum | National Mall, DC
When: Saturday & Sunday, 10am – 2pm
Admission: Free
There’s all kinds of fun for little ones at the Hirshhorn this weekend. On Saturday, join a STORYTIME session (10am) then celebrate spring with a Maker Morning (10am & 11am). After that, enjoy the Library + Art Pop-Up and find a cart in the galleries and check out a fun kit full of our favorite finds for kids. On Sunday, STORYTIME will feature The Lorax by Dr. Seuss at the Wish Tree in the Sculpture Garden.

Hop on the Eye Spy Trains
Where: Montgomery County Parks | Cabin John & Wheaton, MD
When: Saturday & Sunday
Admission: $4/ride
Montgomery Parks recently started offering Spring Eye Spy Train rides at Cabin John and Wheaton Regional Parks ! (The mini trains run during summer, too, but the Eye Spy fun is usually reserved for Halloween.) Hope on board and look for hidden figures in the woods as you ride around the park. Of course, stay to play at the park, too. Read KFDC write-ups about the Cabin John playground and the Wheaton playground.

***MORE GOOD STUFF TO KNOW***
* Gymboree Play & Music of Washington, DC, just shared some news — and a business opportunity.
* No Spectators: The Art of Burning Man at the Renwick Gallery is an exhibit the whole family will dig.
* If you’re into true crime, check out this book.
* The new Amy Schumer movie, I Feel Pretty, opens this weekend, and it’s a perfect flick for a mom’s night out (cocktails after, of course).