Beltway Bambinos

(re) discover Washington DC through the eyes of your children

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Weekend Picks July 29-31

Whether you need to escape the hot temperatures or dry off from rain this weekend, The National Gallery of Art has a program for your Bambinos! Music: Listen to a Concert where you will step inside a music concert and then listen to a live lute performance. The summer series focuses on discovering Dutch Art designed for children ages 4-7. Pack your imagination and travel to the National Gallery of Art!  There are various times Saturday-Monday to enjoy this.

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Friday-

6:30pm-8:30pm: Concert (food, splashing, drinks) at Yards Park
(355 Water Street SE Washington DC 20003)
The free Capitol Riverfront Friday Night Concert Series is back for its 6th Season, this year on the Great Lawn of Yards Park! Every Friday night this summer, come to Yards Park to relax and enjoy the river view, fantastic bands, food and beverage, and a large variety of great restaurants within a 5-minute walk from the park. Family-friendly lyrics and grassy open space make this an enjoyable event for adults and kids alike.

Lots of live music tonight! 
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Weekend Picks July 22-24

Montgomery County celebrates its agricultural heritage by promoting local farms, and inviting our residents to indulge in seasonally fresh food during the 27th Annual Farm Tour and Harvest as well as throughout the entire growing season. Many of the farms that participated in the annual farm tour are open throughout the growing season. Activities will vary from farm to farm, but several will have hayrides, pony rides, music, animals to visit, and other activities planned.

Has anyone been to the Icebergs exhibit at The National Building Museum? Open 10am-5pm get a reprieve from the weekend heat and cool off with icebergs and shaved ice. 

Plenty of fun places to COOL off this weekend!!!

Friday-

Lots of live music tonight!

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(Yards Park)

Saturday-

9:30am AND 11:00am: Vladimir Goes for the Gold at National Theatre
(1321 Pennsylvania Ave NW)
Meet Vladimir Cashewninski: Champion Badminton player, and sole athlete from the tiny People’s Republic of Insurgistan, as he prepares to compete at the Olympic Games. The night before his big day, he has an enthralling dream that takes him to Ancient Olympia, where he meets the Olympic Herald and teams up with the audience to explore the first Olympic Games.
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Indoor fun in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia

There’s an update to this post and it can be found here.

We figured we’d pull together some great indoor options for you and your kids in the Washington, DC metro area– plus some options up the road in Baltimore. So whether it’s raining, snowing — or just too cold or hot outside, here are some fantastic places to check out. They’ll keep your little ones engaged and might even tire them out enough to keep you happy. We’ll try to keep this list updated, so do add your suggestions to the comments below and we’ll keep building! Scroll all the way to the bottom as there are on-going lists of theatres, gyms and other great indoor spaces.

Washington, DC:

Skill Zone- (709 8th Street SE Washington, DC  20003)

SkillZone is a fun, fresh place to play and learn in Washington, DC., open for drop-in play time, classes, and private parties! A place in the city for children 6 & under. Registration is required.

Smithsonian Museum– (Various Locations)

Most are free of charge! Specific child-friendly areas in museums listed below.

U.S. Botanic Garden– (100 Maryland Ave SW)

Massive indoor exhibits, you can spend all day here. Check website as they occasionally have events such as cooking demonstrations, concerts, baby snuggler days and more.
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Weekend Picks June 10-12

Celebrate Fairfax is Northern Virginia’s largest community-wide celebration and will take place June 10-12, 2016 at the Fairfax County Government Center. The 25-acre site was magically filled with fascinating sights and sounds of more than 300 exhibitors, food vendors, and interactive activities. Celebrate Fairfax! showcases live concerts on eight stages, Innovation Health Children’s Avenue, a petting zoo, the Fairfax County Karaoke Championship, carnival rides, and great festival foods. Another fun free activity for kids is the Fairfax Express Trackless Train Ride and nightly fireworks.

Also worth checking out is the Lake Anne Chalk Festival, happening Saturday & Sunday.

The weekend is supposed to be sunny and hot. Cool down at  a splash park, water park or pool!

Washington Nationals take on the Phillies with day games on Saturday and Sunday!

 

Friday-

5:00pm-8:30pm: Jazz in the Sculpture Gardenth-1
(7th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW)
The Jazz in the Garden Series begins its 15th season in May. The free concert series features jazz artists performing a wide variety of styles—salsa, blues fusion, xylophone, Afrofunk, and more—every Friday evening from 5:00 to 8:30 in the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden. You can purchase food and adult beverages or bring your own picnic (but no adult bevvies are allowed in).
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Live music this summer in Washington, DC

One of my favorite parts about summer in Washington, DC are the (mostly) free, outdoor concerts you can find. A few summers ago we took a sporadic drive to the Mall, walked around, played some ball by the reflecting pool with our then three year old and walked towards the Capitol where the U.S. Air Force Band was performing a free concert. A huge crowd was gathered on the steps and in chairs taking in the gorgeous evening and patriotic tunes. I had no idea they performed for free and for the public on random evenings. This post will help you take advantage of some great music that will help you relax after a long day and see a bit of our city while doing so. Also, included are family focused shows at some favorite venues.  Get out and enjoy the lighter evenings, let your kids stay up a little longer and enjoy the music our city offers. 

The Yards Park Friday Night Concert Series
The free Capitol Riverfront Friday Night Concert Series is back for its 8th Season. Every Friday night this summer, come to Yards Park to relax and enjoy the river view, fantastic bands, food and beverage, and a large variety of great restaurants within a few minutes walk from the park. Family-friendly lyrics and grassy open space make this an enjoyable event for adults and kids alike.

RecessMonkeyStrathmore’s Backyard Theatre for Children
Enrich your little ones’ summer mornings with sunshine, music, and laughter at Strathmore’s Backyard Theater for Kids. This eclectic program is the perfect summer escape for busy families. Pack a picnic and enjoy live performances by highly esteemed and innovative family-friendly entertainers. From folk and jazz to the amazing sounds of the steelpan, Backyard Theater makes it easy to engage kids at every stage. We promise to keep both kids and parents entertained, so bring your family for a morning of inspiration and celebration!

LITTLE MISS ANN Thu, July 5

JOJO & THE PINECONES Thu, July 12

POSITIVE VIBRATIONS Thu, July 19

LUCKY DIAZ & THE FAMILY JAM BAND Thu, July 26

Also for kids!
ARTS ON THE HORIZON: TO THE CLOUDS Sat, July 28

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Cancel the sitter: Hair and makeup at your doorstep

Time is money. As a stay-at-home mom, splurging to get a pedicure means having to pay a babysitter. Same goes for getting my hair cut or colored. It’s frustrating to have to double-pay — and the price tag can make it hard to justify such outings. Thanks to a friend who recommended I check out a local company for Beltway Bambinos readers, I found a solution! StyleMeBar provides on-demand and at-your-leisure professional hair and make-up services in the DC Metropolitan Area. And yes…right at your house. Services include: blowout, make-up, haircuts for children and adults, hair coloring and more. You conveniently make an appointment using their app and a stylist will come to your home or business and make you look amazing.

I had the pleasure of working with Shari. I was originally scheduled to get a blowout and my son was going to get a haircut. Well, my son had other plans, he got the stomach flu and we were forced to cancel date night and put off an extremely overdue haircut. Shari was understanding and flexible and we quickly rescheduled for an evening I had plans to celebrate my husbands birthday.

Shari communicated with me a few days before my appointment to verify we were still on and see if I had any questions as well as the day of. She arrived a few minutes early in a StyleMeBar shirt and badge with all of her gear in tow. She quickly setup on my dining room table and didn’t even blink an eye as she pushed Legos aside and stepped over baby dolls. We talked about what I’d like her to do and she got right to work.

I’m used to my hair drying naturally after taking 15 minutes to shower and look somewhat presentable for the day before rushing to pack lunchboxes, get breakfast ready and out the door on time. I wanted to make sure I wouldn’t look like I stepped out of a Glamour Shots shoot when Shari was finished. She suggested soft curls and a natural makeup look. Perfect!

An hour later I looked like I had just walked out of my hair salon but didn’t feel rushed to get home to relieve a babysitter. I loved the way Shari did my hair and make-up and also loved that I could sit in the comfort of my home while one child napped and the other watched a movie.

This is the perfect service for new parents who can’t leave the house, stay-at-home parents and even giving a gift certificate for a new parents to pamper themselves. Because who doesn’t love a good blow dry or getting their makeup done to go out to dinner?!

StyleMeBar can be found on Instagram, Facebook,  Twitter, their Blog and make sure to download their App on Apple or Android for accessible access to booking and managing an appointment.

Weekend Picks

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Fabergé Egg Family Festival will take place at Hillwood Estate Museum and Garden this weekend from 10am-5pm. Lots of family-friendly activities like decorating your own Fabergé-inspired egg and traditional Russian egg-rolling game.Children under 6 are free, buy tickets online here.

Ticonderoga Farms bunny will be joining everyone at the farm. Hopping around and posing for picture opportunities during our weekend hours and playing with our favorite friend Chickadee. Together hiding eggs for all the children to enjoy finding, especially the golden eggs that provide extra fun prizes for those who find them. Egg hunts will be held at 11:00am and 2:00pm this weekend. Cost is $11.95. Giant slides, mazes, animals, face painting and much more will be there!

Enjoy a hayride down the Bunny Trail at Bunnyland at Butler’s Orchard, race the Rubber Duck Derby, hunt for colorful eggs (we provide the basket!), exchange eggs for a goodie basket to take home, visit with the farm’s very own Country Bunny, ride pedal tractors, play in Hayromp and Playground, hop in inflatables, ride the giant slides, see bunnies, lambs and chicks, get your face painted and ride a pony. $9 per child and $7 per adult. Open 9am-4pm this weekend.
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Weekend Picks: Valentine’s Edition

It’s Valentine’s weekend and President’s weekend. We’ll post a separate post on activities for Monday for those of you who are off with your Bambinos. Did you stop by any of the chocolate shops mentioned in our guide?   Hopefully you “like” our Facebook page because we noted a new chocolatier this week, not mentioned in the post and we are constantly sharing relevant articles and information. DgD6-VvKRbFSGrhO5jCh0llT A yummy highlight this weekend is Sur La Table- Sweet Valentine’s Treats Cooking Class.
The Alexandria, VA and Arlington, VA locations are participating and will have a class on both Saturday & Sunday (see link for details). Bring your little one and join us for a family afternoon filled with baking, laughter, and plenty of tasty Valentine’s Day treats. Mom, grandparent, or special adult along with their kids will have a wonderfully sweet time creating yummy cookies, whoopie pies and chocolate-dipped hearts. Plus, our instructor will walk you through the steps for making delicious cream cheese frosting and share some fun decorating tips. This year, make Valentine’s Day extra special for your little loved ones by making delicious desserts—and precious memories—together.
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