#FlyWashington Magazine Spring 2018 | Page 72

ON THE WATERFRONT
Washington ’ s newest playground is The Wharf , a vibrant mix of restaurants , entertainment venues and retail shops on the city ’ s Southwest Waterfront . The sprawling , 10-acre riverfront expanse has four piers dedicated to commerce , entertainment , transportation and recreation . There ’ s also plenty of green space and its 7th Street Park beckons with walking trails . Waterfront Park sports plenty of shade trees to relax under and bocce courts to play on . When it ’ s nippy , take a seat in front of an outdoor fire pit . Free jitney service ferries passengers across the Washington Channel to East Potomac Park ( a handy way to access the bustling Tidal Basin during the National Cherry Blossom Festival ) or rent a kayak or paddleboard and propel yourself across . Commercial sightseeing and dinner cruises also embark from The Wharf . Take in a concert or lecture at The Anthem , a massive theater that accommodates up to 6,000 spectators or watch buskers perform for free in a variety of outdoor venues . The Wharf hosts a number of tony restaurants , but snack stands and informal eateries make it welcoming to budget-minded visitors , too .
BLOSSOM MANIA
The National Cherry Blossom Festival ( March 20-April 15 ) ushers in what many Washingtonians regard as the city ’ s most splendid season . Hundreds of Japanese cherry trees around the Tidal Basin erupt in pink and white blooms . The multi-event extravaganza spans four weekends . Among signature events for 2018 are the opening ceremony on March 24 at the Warner Theatre . Tickets are free with a $ 5 registration fee , but must be reserved in advance . The Blossom Kite Festival takes flight on the grounds of the Washington Monument on March 31 . Petalpalooza , a family-friendly event at The Wharf on April 7 , features games , interactive art installations and free performances on three stages . It ends with a bang in an evening fireworks display . Get there via the Southwest Waterfront or L ’ Enfant Plaza Metro stations . Free shuttlebuses also carry visitors from the National Mall . Finally , on April 14 , colorful floats , giant helium balloons , marching bands and more , fill 10 blocks of Constitution Avenue in the National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade . Arrive early for prime viewing spots on the mile-long route . Or reserve grandstand seating ; tickets start at $ 20 . Get there via Metro , the D . C . Circulator ’ s National Mall route , or Capitol Bikeshare , the city ’ s bike-sharing program .
NEW ON THE MALL
The Smithsonian ’ s newest museum , the National Museum of African American History and Culture , continues to exceed attendance expectations since its September 2016 debut . Like other Smithsonian repositories , admission is free , but tickets to this venue are timedentry passes and they ’ re hard to come by . So plan accordingly . Passes are released the first Wednesday of each month for admission three months later , and they ’ re snapped up quickly . An alternative strategy : Some same-day tickets are released daily . To snag one , jump on the museum ’ s website ( nmaahc . si . edu ) at 6:30 a . m . EST . Another option : A limited number of passes are released for walk-up visitors on weekdays . They ’ re available starting at 1 p . m ., but plan to arrive at the building ’ s Madison Drive entrance by 12:30 p . m . The passes are distributed ted based on the museum ’ s capacity limits .
RE-VISITING THE 1980S
Ah , the ’ 80s , the decade that brought us Madonna , padded shoulders and Reaganomics . It ’ s also the era when the lines between art and commercialism blurred . Brand New : Art and Commodity in the 1980s at the Smithsonian ’ s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Feb . 14- May 13 , examines the artist as brand , and art as commodity . The show features 150 works by 66 New York-centric counterculture artists , including Jeff Koons and Cindy Sherman , plus multimedia installations re-created from the 1980s .
GARDENS GALORE
A harbinger of spring 2018 is the re-opening on March 15 of the
Dumbarton Oaks Gardens , closed since July for infrastructure improvements . Designed in 1921 by renowned landscape architect Beatrix Ferrand , its 16 undulating acres are both manicured and wild . After you ’ ve explored the grounds , take time to check out the Byzantine , pre-Columbian and medieval art collections housed in the estate ’ s mansion in D . C .’ s posh Georgetown neighborhood .
FREDERICK DOUGLASS ANNIVERSARY
February marks the 200th anniversary of Frederick Douglass ’ birth , making 2018 an apt time to visit his home in Washington ’ s Anacostia neighborhood . The runaway slave who became a statesman and abolitionist leader spent his final 17 years at his Cedar Hill estate . Tours of the house , now the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site , are conducted daily by National Park Service rangers . Don ’ t miss the “ growlery ,” a one-room stone cabin on the grounds . Consider it Douglass ’ version of a man cave . The great orator retreated there to think , read , write and simply be alone .
HOOPS MADNESS
College basketball fan alert : The 2018 Atlantic 10 Men ’ s Basketball Tournament Championship bounces into action at Washington ’ s Capital One Arena March 7-11 . This marks the first year the A-10 has brought its 14 member teams to the nation ’ s capital for the run-up to NCAA March Madness .
RIVERFRONT BASEBALL
For baseball fans , the Washington Nationals are at bat April 5 in their first season home game at Nationals Park . Even if you ’ re not a fan , the Capital Riverfront , a fast-growing neighborhood in a former industrial area , is worth a visit . It sports dozens of restaurants , including the award-winning Bluejacket Brewery , and a 16-mile walking path along the Anacostia River . Access it via the Navy Yard- Ballpark and Capitol South Metro stations or take the D . C . Circulator bus from Union Station .
BURNING MAN IN D . C .
A piece of Nevada ’ s Black Rock Desert invades the elegant rooms of the Smithsonian ’ s Renwick Gallery with the exhibit No Spectators : The Art of Burning Man ( March 30 , 2018-Jan 21 , 2019 ). Showcasing costumes , jewelry and other ephemera from the annual desert bacchanal , room-size installations will occupy the entire museum , which showcases s American craft and decorative arts from the 19th to 21st centuries . Outside in the city ’ s Golden Triangle neighborhood , No Spectators : Beyond the Renwick will display eye-popping sculptures from past Burning Man spectacles .
FLYWASHINGTON . COM 70 SPRING 2018