Weekend Picks September 9-11

Saturday and Sunday The Kensington Train Show with model trains, live music and kids activities chugs into Kensington! The event is a benefit for the Noyes Children’s Library Foundation and the Kensington Historical Society. Admission is $5 Adults; $2 Kids; $10 Family and the hours are 11:00am-5:00pm. This annual train show is located at Kensington Town Hall, 3710 Mitchell St., in Kensington, Maryland.

Saturday and Sunday from 10:00am-7:00pm Maryland Renaissance Festival will be joisting and serving up lots of turkey legs weekends through October 23.  The festival is free to children 11 and under. Take a time machine back to medieval times. With plenty of entertainment, including music, joisting, puppetry, pony rides and so much more. Your children will see people dressed up in 16th century outfits. Dress like a knight and come participate!

Saturday-

10:00am-3:00pm: Family Day at President Lincoln’s Cottage
(140 Rock Creek Church Road NW, Washington DC 20011)
Join us for a field day inspired by the Lincoln family and their life at Soldiers’ Home. Activities for all ages included in this FREE event including a petting zoo, pony rides, arts and crafts (including a top hat station and card making for veterans), food vendors and picnic grounds, live music, and a Civil War encampment featuring reenactors of the Pennsylvania Bucktail Soldiers from Lincoln’s Presidential Guard.

10:30am: Jim Thorne at Jammin Java
(227 Maple Ave E Vienna, VA 22180)
Can kids go into space? Come find out! Dr. Jim Thorne, a real space scientist and singer/songwriter, will take you and the kids on a musical journey from the historic Apollo moon program all the way to the stars. Hear the stories of Tommy and Laura, two young space explorers who return to the moon and go beyond. Be ready for some questions about space science – you just might learn something! Tickets are $8.

11:00am-2:00pm: Pierce Mill in Rock Creek Park
(2401 Tilden St NW, Washington, D.C.)
The waterwheel will be turning to make cornmeal from 11:00-2:00 p.m.  Visitors are invited to watch Jeanne, the miller, engage this giant wooden machine, which operated commercially on Rock Creek until 1897, when the waterwheel broke. Free! Family games and activities will also take place on Saturday from 11:00-2:00 with historic games, water mill toys, and nature crafts.  All are welcome but the family workshop is designed for young millers age 3-7. Free!

12:00pm-4:00pm: PawPaw Festival at Meadowside Nature Center
(5100 Meadowside Lane Rockville, Maryland 20855)
It is time to get your paws on some pawpaws! Meadowside Nature Center will celebrate this delightful native fruit with music, storytelling, crafts, games, expert advice on pawpaw cultivation, and most importantly a pawpaw tasting station. We’ll have pawpaw fruit and trees for purchase! Children ages 2 and under are free. No registration required. Cost: $5

1:00pm-7:00pm: Rosslyn Jazz Festival
(1300 Lee Highway)
For the past 26 years, the Rosslyn Jazz Fest has taken over all of the three-acre, urban Gateway Park. Enjoy several bar areas serving wine and beer, plus a variety of favorite local food trucks. From 1:30 PM to 4:30 PM, children can create their own instrument by the Sandbox! We will also have many lawn games!

Sunday-

11:00am-2:00pm: Family Picnic with Rainbow Families at Hillwood Estate
(4155 Linnean Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20008)
Pack a picnic from home or purchase food from the café’s express menu to enjoy on the magnificent lawn. Play games on the lawn, including hula hoop, badminton, and jump rope. Practice your putt on the Putting Green. Get your face painted with your favorite garden critter. Try on costumes from a collection of hero’s capes, royal crowns, knight’s sheilds, and more. Decorate a paper lantern of your very own to take home, inspired by lanterns displayed in the special exhibition, Deco Japan: Shaping Art and Culture, 1920-1945. Explore the treasures in the exhibition with an art search activity guide.

12:00pm-6:00pm: Adams Morgan Day
(18th St. NW, between Florida Ave. and Columbia Rd., Washington, DC)
Now in its 38th year, Adams Morgan Day is Washington’s longest running neighborhood festival with live music and international food from around the world. Enjoy sidewalk cafes, colorful vendors, cultural demonstrations and dances. The expanded Kid’s Fair has games, interactive science exhibits, clowns, and the Chinese Lion Dancers.

6:00pm: Movies on the Potomac at National Harbor: Wreck it Ralph
(165 Waterfront St National Harbor, MD 20745)
Nothing says summer like an evening under the stars—and there’s no better way to enjoy the season than Movies on the Potomac at National Harbor. Pack your picnic blankets, grab food to go from one of our delicious dining establishments, and meet us at the Plaza’s big screen for a FREE evening of fun for all ages!