Weekend Picks January 27-29

(Photo: The Maestro at The National Theatre)

Friday-

6:00pm-9:00pm: Spy Fest: A Kidspy Family Festival! at The Spy Museum
(800 F St NW)
Families are invited to find out how they measure up at the Museum’s Annual Spy Fest. Mini-missions, tradecraft demonstrations by the experts, and the chance to try spy skill challenges will give KidSpy agents and their handlers an insider’s peek into the shadow world of spying—and who knows, there just may be a spy or two in your midst… Ages: 5 and up* (one adult required for every five KidSpy agents) Tickets are $14/pp. Ticket includes exclusive after-hours admission, SPY snacks, scavenger hunt, prize competitions, and more!
***This event may be sold out, we posted it on the RSVP post so you can plan ahead for other events that sell out quickly.

Saturday-

Blue is playing this weekend at Imagination Stage and is super cute for ages 0-5.

9:30am-4:30pm: The Library of Congress Young Readers
(Jefferson Building  Room G29)
Join us to celebrate new ways of engaging with the Young Readers Center. Come for the ribbon cutting with Dr. Carla Hayden and our Teen Board representatives, story time with award-winning authors Meg Medina and Erica S. Perl, stay for crafts, book accessibility demonstrations, and a very special guest parade. Wear your best book character costume and come have fun! Doors open 9 a.m., special programs 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Space is limited, please arrive early!

9:30am AND 11:00am: The Maestro at The National Theatre
(1321 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington, DC 20004)
In the tradition of Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin, an eccentric mute conductor (Mark Jaster) makes musical mayhem with the kids serving as his unwitting orchestra. Young and old will laugh with delight with high art and slapstick comedy intertwined in a musical morning filled with chaos and confusion.

11:00am-2:00pm: Paint, Build, Create! at Fairlington Community Center & Park
(3308 S Stafford St. Arlington, VA. 22206)
A free day of art and creativity: STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math and the Arts) programming, including go-bots, Indoor snowball fight, Letter/postcard making, Pendulum art, Art exhibits, Cooking project, Special teen lounge with activities for ages 12 & up. See schedule online for times of certain workshops and classes. Local food truck The Farm Effect will be serving up farm-fresh sandwiches and salads.

11:00am-3:00pm: Cocoa and Coloring
(135 West Washington St. Hagerstown, MD 21740)
Join us at the Miller House Museum for a cozy afternoon of family-friendly fun! We’ll provide everything you need to get started: crayons, colored pencils, historical coloring pages for both kids and adults—and a bottomless hot chocolate bar! Top off your cup with treats like whipped cream, graham cracker crumbs, marshmallows and sprinkles and keep coming back for more! Full-size coloring books, locally made mugs and other presents will be available for purchase, and the museum will be open for tours. All ages welcome, but parents must accompany children under the age of 12. This is a free event, but space can be limited at certain times of the day. You’re welcome to pre-register by calling (301)-797-8782.

11:30am-3:00pm: Chinese New Year Festival at American Art Museum Renwick Gallery
(800 G St)
Join SAAM as we open our doors to the Chinatown and DC community for the 2017 Lunar New Year and celebrate the Year of the Rooster! Help us “awaken the lion” and ring in the New Year. Enjoy a variety of activities and demonstrations throughout the day including: traditional paper cutting; bristle dolls; dough sculpting; a display of painting the inside of snuff bottles by Beijing Folk Artists; calligraphy demonstrations with the Confucius Institute at George Washington University; mask coloring and New Year card making with the Confucius Institute at George Mason University; an art scavenger hunt; plus red paper lantern making, coloring sheets, and rooster crafts.

Sunday-

2:00pm: DC Chinese New Year’s Parade
(6th & I St)
Come help usher in 4716, the Year of the Rooster. Take METRO to Gallery Place Chinatown. Come early and grab lunch at one of the many dining spots. This year’s spectacle will be the biggest and best yet. With over 50 parade entries don’t miss this one. It’s all free…so bring the whole crew!