Since Covid ended our family has been frequent patrons of the Kennedy Center, Wicked being our 4th…read moreevent in less than 1 year. I've always heard good things and knew nothing about the plot or story of Wicked. Did a weekday matinee which was much less stressful to get to, though there are a lot of students/kids which I hadn't figured on. I used the brand new Ashburn Metro station to go into DC and it was awesome. Set and costume design were amazing and the story was a interesting spin on the original that we're all familiar with. To be honest, the tunes were not quite as catchy as some of the others that I've seen this year but good nonetheless. I was in the top balcony b/c seats were very inexpensive but to be honest a bit hard to hear and a bit of a vertigo if you have to walk down the steep stairs. I think in the future, I'll try to keep everything at the orchestra level.

I've always had good experiences at the Kennedy Center! I have been here many times over the years…read morefor various shows and the venue has never disappointed me. How can it with the spectacular view right by the water. The theater really is a magnificent piece of architecture. The grand ceilings are a sight to see. The last time I went was to see the The Book of Mormon. What a fantastic show! I thoroughly enjoyed myself and would recommend anyone who like the tv show South Park to see that show. Others I've seen there that I can recall are Lion King the musical and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The center definitely keeps a wide variety of shows coming around. Also for anyone metroing there, there is a red shuttle that can pick you up at from the closest metro stop straight to the theater. How convenient! I will say that I wish the prices for snacks and drinks were a bit less. Two drinks can easily be $20 depending on what you get. Hopefully they will reconsider their prices someday. But overall I always love coming here for a day out and a great show!

Visiting the cherry blossoms has been a wonderful tradition in my family. We would pack a picnic…read moreand head towards the tidal basin. The parade is a wonderful way to celebrate the ending of the cherry blossom season. Hubby and I usually work during the parade in the telecast area. The cherry blossom festival organization is non-profit. The parade is free, however you can sit in a ticketed area for a closer view. Ticket sales help fund the various cultural activities that the festival sponsors. I love watching the cherry blossom & lantern balloons. There are usually funny characters, including clowns on tricycles.The musical numbers are fun. I enjoy seeing the park police on horses. Bonus points to the clean up crew.

After all these years, I finally had the chance to attend the National Cherry Blossom Festival…read moreParade. The weather was cooperative (very nice considering the recent patterns), except that standing in one spot too long without shade proved to get very hot after awhile. The section of the parade that was free for spectators was on Constitution Avenue right in front of the National Museum of American History (between 10th and 14th Streets). This section is easily accessible from the Federal Triangle Metro Station. The steps of the EPA made for some decent seats if you couldn't get to one of the large flower pots that lined the road. In at least one spot, they had a performance artist (singer) in between two marching bands -- that was so not cool -- it came out sounding like a bunch of noise. I couldn't hear the singer at all nor could I separate the music sounds for each performance. I think that was a bad call - I hope that someone on the coordination team noticed and won't do that again. Overall, not bad but I'm still not sure how I feel about the guy selling "fresh" pretzels out of a Petco shopping cart... :/

This random little museum has a beautiful building if you're looking for a wedding venue (the…read morereason I was here). There is a large empty room on the second floor of the museum which can be used for a wedding ceremony. The museum itself was small but had some nice touches. My kids enjoyed seeing the lighthouse lights, especially seeing how small the lights were compared to the amount of light they generated. The museum had a few other touches for kids, like a small table with coloring sheets and crayons, and a large deer hide with a sign saying PLEASE TOUCH. Admission is free for Alexandria residents. I'm not sure I would have paid if I wasn't already there for the wedding. There is also a small parking lot with about 15-20 parking spots, and plenty of paid 2-3 hour street parking around there.

I do believe this is a must-stop for any Alexandrian looking to learn more about the history of the…read moretown in which they live. And bonus points: it is free for Alexandria residents. I guess it is shameful it took covid for my museum loving self to come here (it is open while many of the other local Alexandria museums are still closed) Full disclosure: this is a small little museum of history. You won't be spending all day here. But it is a good stop for residents and visitors.

Thank you so much, Sydney and Jollof Festival, for allowing me to participate in this event!…read more There was a bit of a confusion in terms of how to redeem our tickets and the check-in process - it seemed a bit disorganized, as there was a line to 'enter' the festival on one side of the festival, but people were coming through the other side. The security seemed to be overwhelmed with the questions from the patrons and how to get their waistbands, since the event planners didn't seem to relay any of the protocol, procedures, and how to check people in... With persistence, we were able to get our wristbands and our tickets - the front staff didn't explain what the tickets were for... we did find out that the 'meal ticket' is to gain entry to the 'Orange Ticket Holder' area to sample various vendors' jollof rice, and the Yelp red tickets were to use to cast votes at the vendors that were located outdoors. We were able to check out: +Fly Chef +Hajara's Kitchen +Yvoni's There was a DJ playing some beats, vendors who were selling jewelry/accessories and clothing, and a bar located in the middle to order beverages. The hubs and I had a great time sampling the jollof rice and speaking with the business owners! Definitely a packed event! Street and lot parking can be found in the area. Thank you for a fun Saturday! +jollof tasting & contest +friendly vendors +music +local businesses +at Union Market

Ticket made possible through Yelp Elite Squad…read more First introduction to the Jollof Festival was unorganized. With 2 entrances open for guests to arrive, only 1 was designated for ticketing which was unmarked. Signage had directions for way-finding only for the festival itself rather than the ticketing portion. This made for getting into the festival a longer (even if you arrived close to opening time there was a minimum of 1 hour wait in peak DC summer heat) excursion. With not being able to properly check in, no designated between VIP or general ticket holders, a wristband shortage, a line down the block, and abundance of under trained staff, and increasingly agitated guests, it was visibly rough for everyone there. For tickets above general entry that included a Jollof Rice Tasting, visitors had to stand along to the Union Market garbages for their 5 (realistically 4 samples due to shortages) of jollof. The option to taste the samples in the venue itself was open to visitors, but had no tables or chairs to accommodate so folks were eating a box of jollof either standing or on the concrete ledges only at the edge of the interior building. Despite this, the festival itself was lively with all the external contractors independant to the festival really carrying the enjoyment factor. The Dj was well placed in the center and had festival goers moving. The bar was also centrally placed with more access to alcohol and beverages. Food vendors brought BBQ pits, making jollof fresh, and added a modern twist to these familiar food palettes. We spoke to some of the chefs and they are incredibly proud of the food they're sharing. Mascot was on point! Jewelry vendors were fair and approachable.

Arena stage is a performance arts center that offers many plays, musicals and shows during each…read moreperformance season. They have 3 theatres within the venue. There is also a bar to order drinks before the show and during intermission. Tonight we saw the CrazySexyCool TLC musical and it was phenomenal! The show was a biopic of TLCs journey as a musical performance group, the ups, downs, challenges and losses. I really learned a lot about the group as I listened to them growing up without knowing much about their personal history and life details. The main actors for T-Boz, Left Eye and Chilli were spectacular. Their voices were incredible and evoked a lot of emotions. The show highlighted many of TLCs music as expected and the show exceeded my expectations. Highly recommended!

Fruits of our Labor by Step Afrika at arena stage is a Must See! It starts off with an intriguing…read moresetting that brings the crowd to participate. They make music with every aspect of their body. A powerful story was told with a range of mix media - tap, music, sermon, voice, clap, and beats. There were no bad seats. The theatre is perfectly set up to watch it from multiple angles. This show had me moving in my seat. Arena stage's venue was very nice.

A few friends and I went to see W. Kamau Bell at the Kennedy center and decided to grab dinner and…read moredrinks at the Reach before the show. First things first...... make reservations! We did and I'm glad. The bar area was cozy but it was nice and we were able to find a place to sit while we waited for our reservation time. That place gets very busy since every one is doing the same thing -waiting for their performance. The view of the river and the planes coming in was phenomenal Al. The atmosphere was just adults all have a good time. I enjoyed the vibe. Our waiter was great, the hostess was great. No complaints at all. I had the jumbo crab cakes(see pic). They were very flavorful and did nit need the sauce. I had that Ali g with a Caesar salad which was large enough to share. Also, the crème brûlée with a coffee. My total came to about $108 before tip. Not complaining it was a great evening, great food and great company.

The REACH is a new campus right next to the main Kennedy Center building with the goal of…read moredemocratizing inspiration. It's a campus for all people breaking the barriers between the audience and art. The campus itself is three buildings above ground and a world of theaters, spaces, and classrooms underground. Every element on campus is named after something in JFK's life. For example, one of the classrooms for children is named Macaroni after Caroline Kennedy's pet horse. These rooms host local artists offering dance classes, performances, and more. The designer wants visitors to pay attention to what's there and what's not. To that end, there's lots of open space. Above ground is the largest green roof in the city with gardens and pathways. There's a cafe and at some point a full service restaurant. Everywhere you turn will inspire creativity and connection. It's a beautiful space truly for the people.

I really liked this show, but stopped short of loving it. Despite rave reviews from almost all…read morecritics I could find, I did not love the lead. She was great-- I think this is one of the most difficult roles to play-- but just didn't quite capture the nuances of the part or something (sorry, that sounds super douchey, but that is the whole point of this show, after all!) Still, she was on, and she sang the HELL out of "Don't Cry For Me Argentina." I thought the choreography/dancing was great, and the set, though simple, was beautiful. The costumes were perfect. Evita is not one of my favorite scripts because I think it simplifies what is a fascinating story, but the music can't be beat and they did it justice!