Correction Appended
Though most of your friends may be home for the summer, there is no better time than when school's out to take advantage of all the District has to offer. The Scene has compiled a calendar of events to make sure our readers don't miss out on all the exciting opportunities our nation's capital has to offer. With our list of hand-picked events, you'll be certain to entertain - whether it be friends, family members or just yourself - through music, art, comedy or anything else D.C. is serving up for its loyal, year-round student residents.
JUNE 21 The National Gallery of Art is preparing to celebrate 400 years of a classic artist. Beginning on June 21, the paintings of Judith Leyster will adorn the gallery's walls to celebrate her life. Leyster, who lived from 1609 to 1660, is renowned for her portraits and still lifes, among other things. The artwork of the Dutch painter will be on display in the Dutch Cabinet Galleries of the West Building, along with nearly 20 works of Leyster's contemporaries, including Frans Hals, the man believed to be Leyster's teacher, and Jan Miense Molenaer, her husband. All three artists were members of the Guild of St. Luke, a group which Leyster was only the second female allowed in. Even with such achievements, Leyster was not always as well-known as she is today. Her current level of popularity was only garnered after Louvre curators purchased what they thought was a Hals work and later on realized it was the work of Leyster. The exhibit will be on display in the National Gallery of Art until this fall when the exhibit ends on Nov. 21.
JUNE 22 Source Festival Performances (a number of plays and dates until July 12) It seems the local theater scene has taken the cue of the summer weather, heating up quickly. The District's 2009 Source Festival will be sure to entertain any attendee, boasting 300 local and regional talents bringing life to never-before-seen plays and productions.
Sponsored by D.C.'s Cultural Development Corporation, the festival's theme focuses on the more uninhibited, experimental side of the performing arts.
"The festival is about finding the most exciting new writing talent from across the nation, then taking that talent and working with amazing local artists to give D.C. audiences a daring finished product," said festival producer Jeremy Skidmore.
Performances vary from 10-minute plays to one-act plays and full-length play readings.
The Source Festival runs June 20 through July 12, debuting with five consecutive days of 10-minute plays starting June 22.
Described as "18 potent bursts of creative genius" in its press release, the 10-minute plays portray a range of scenarios, from a serious encounter with a school shooter to a more off beat and unlikely Boston train ride.
All performances take place at Source's performing arts space in the arts district: 1835 14th Street, N.W.
Tickets for all shows in the festival are on sale for $18, except for opening night, which costs $125. Tickets can be purchased online or by calling (866) 811-4111.
For the entire listing of performances and show times, visit www.sourcedc.org/sourcefestival.
-OLIVIA STITILIS
JUNE 27 Uptown vs. Downtown Party Equal parts family pizza joint, hipster bar, hole-in-the-wall music venue and ping pong player's paradise, Comet Pizza and Ping Pong is the ideal nighttime location for the AU student who wants it all. Comet is on the rebound after having their music scene shut down for three months earlier last year and has recently launched its own Web site. The site proudly displays the venue's musical lineup, which includes a diverse range of punk, indie, electronic and experimental bands as well as DJs, alongside their menu items.
Philadelphia-founded but New York-based indie band Enon will be gracing the Comet stage (stage meaning basement-like, Christmas-light-illuminated back room) on June 27 for Comet's Uptown vs. Downtown Party. Comprised of John Schmersal and Toko Yasuda, who share lead vocals in their bass-heavy, swaggering jams, Enon's diverse catalog of songs reflects the prolificacy of its writers, who managed to produce seven albums in nine years. Enon will also be playing with S PR CSS. The Uptown Downtown Party is an all-ages 9 p.m. show with tickets available at the door.
-KATRINA CASINO
JUNE 29 Ganymede Arts presents "Some Men" for free, a production to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots (LGBT play reading) The recently renamed Ganymede Arts, previously known as the Actors' Theatre of Washington, is putting on a series of play readings aimed toward the LGBT community throughout June. The plays will commemorate the 40-year anniversary of the Stonewall riots, one of the earliest incidents fighting for the equal rights of gays. The riots are often deemed as the beginning of the gay rights movement, as it was one of the first times gays and lesbians fought against homophobic and intolerant policies from the government.
The five plays the Ganymede cast will perform each represent a different decade since the birth of the gay rights movement on June 28, 1969 - the date of the riots. "Some Men," directed by Lee Mikesha Gardner and released in 2006, represents the 2000s among the various decades.
Written by Terrence McNally, "Some Men" will wrap up the series of commemorative plays Monday, June 29 with a 7 p.m. curtain at the Human Rights Campaign Headquarters. You can catch other plays in the LGBT series, such as "Torch Song Trilogy" on Monday, June 22 at 7 p.m. in Miss Pixies Backroom Palace or the famous "Angels in America" on Sunday, June 28 at 6 p.m. at the Universalist National Memorial Church. Attendance is free for all.
-CAITLIN E. MOORE
JULY 28 5 Bands 5 Bucks-Every Tuesday of the Summer Touted as an opportunity to view up-and-coming bands for an accessible price, as well as giving new bands more exposure, "5 Bands 5 Bucks" is just what it sounds like. The event is held every Tuesday night at 7:00 PM at The 8x10 Club in Baltimore, and lineups are not announced in advance.
The "5 Bands, 5 Bucks" concept is nothing new, but it's a fantastic and timeless idea; fans of experimental or noise music will especially find lots to love at The 8x10's variant. In addition to giving exposure to emerging artists, "5 Bands 5 Bucks" also seeks to develop a community of local musicians who support each other.
If you are a member of or know a band that would like to perform, the club is constantly looking for new artists through the event's MySpace page, located at www.myspace.com/5for5atthe8x10. Performers of all genres and numbers are welcome; bands are only asked to be confident they can sell at least 30 tickets. Lineups are scheduled about 6 weeks in advance and the club requests a demo tape and press kit.
If you'd rather attend the performance than take part in it, tickets are only available at the door. The 8x10 is located at 10 East Cross St. in Baltimore.
- CASH NELSON
JULY 18 "Lila: The Love Song of Radha and Krishna" opens at the Capital Fringe Festival (runs through July 25) We've heard the story many times in mythology: He's a god; she's a married woman. He cheats on her; she cheats on him. Watch our own AU alumna,ÿShalini Goel Agarwal, recreate this torrid Hindu myth. Lila, which means "story" in Sanskrit, examines the relationship of Radha and Krishna in four stages, interspersed with narratives to give the audience context and explain the action. The show, which runs an hour, features the Odyssi dance form.
Odyssi originated in Northern India and was nearly lost during the British colonial period, when dancing was considered lewd and dancers were viewed as little more than prostitutes. The form was revived in the 1950s by gurus who codified the system of complex movements and hand gestures based on the few surviving manuscripts and statues from Hindu temples.
"Lila" is one of nearly 120 acts that comprise the Capital Fringe Festival, a collection of performances taking place in the District between July 9 and July 26. Lila can be seen at The Apothecary at the Trading Post, 1013 7th St., N.W., on Saturday, July 18 at 11:30 a.m., Sunday, July 19 at 8:15 p.m., Thursday, July 23 at 8 p.m. or Saturday, July 25 at 4:15 p.m. Tickets are $20, or $15 if you already have a Fringe Festival button, and can be purchased at www.capitalfringe.org.
- WILL KOPER
JULY 15 "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" opens With each new Harry Potter film, audiences are struck by how much darker and scarier the latest installment is compared to its predecessors - and, from the looks of it, the Potter-mania is about to start up again with the release of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince." However, director David Yates is spreading a different kind of message about this film and recently described the tone of the film as "sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll" to MTV News.
Now that the wizarding community is aware of the evil Lord Voldemort's return to power, everyone is on edge and his followers, the Death Eaters, are causing mayhem at every opportunity.
Armed with the knowledge that he is the only one who can defeat Voldemort, Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) joins forces with the beloved Hogwarts Headmaster, Professor Albus Dumbledore (Michael Gambon). The duo begins to learn more about Voldemort's past, searching for clues that they believe may lead to his defeat. Meanwhile, Harry is also discovering he has feelings for Ginny Weasley (Bonnie Wright), the younger sister of his best friend Ron.
The highlights of the film are expected to include its final sequences, involving an attack on Hogwarts by Death Eaters that leads to a tragic death. Viewers will also be pleased by the return of the wizarding sport Quidditch, with Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) joining the Gryffindor team as a novice goalkeeper whose inept skills provide grief for the team but plenty of laughs for the audience. Characters new to the series include Professor Slughorn (Jim Broadbent) as a self-important teacher who holds an important memory of Voldemort's past and Lavendar Brown (Jessie Cave), Ron's clingy new girlfriend who gives Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) some stiff competition.
-STEPHANIE JAAR
JULY 10-12 All Good Festival Summer is music festival season. And since not all of us have the time or money to trek down to Tennessee for Bonnaroo or hop a plane to Chicago for Lollapalooza, the All Good Festival serves as a more manageable opportunity as well as a more relaxing experience for those of us in the Washington, D.C. area. Marketed on their Web site as four days of "music, art, camping, and loving," the All Good Festival is on its 13th year in the mountains of West Virginia. With acts that are primarily categorized as jam and folk, the festival has three stages - the grassroots stage, the small stage, and the main stage, which, as it lies at the bottom of a hill, forms a natural amphitheater.
In recent years, the festival's repertoire has expanded to include acts that represent genres like reggae, hip-hop, funk and rock. Big names on this year's bill include The Flaming Lips, Les Claypool and Ben Harper. Tickets can be purchased online as a four-day package and, though they may be a bit pricey ($139), for those who have the extra pocket cash, the weekend-long, 30-band extravaganza may just be worth it.
-K.C.
JULY 9-26 Capital Fringe Festival Attention theater, dance, music, and puppet lovers! The Capital Fringe Festival has anything and everything that you want to see onstage. Following in the 60-year-old Scottish tradition of fringe theatre, this fourth annual D.C. festival offers a wide variety of performances including comedies, dramas, improv, clowns, jazz and experimental theater spread out among 11 of the District's downtown venues. There are shows geared towards all age groups, ranging from children's theater to adult-only shows.
Fringe Festival tickets are $15 each (with a five-dollar button fee) and can be bought online. They are good for the entire festival, which lasts for half of the month of July. Summer boredom solved! The festival coordinators bringing in the ticket sales support their performers, as well: 70 percent of ticket revenue goes back to the performing arts groups, which travel from all over the country and the world to take part in the events. The 2009 Fringe button will be available on June 22. The entire world's a stage . or at least downtown D.C.
-SARAH TOPOROF
JULY 4 A Capitol Fourth Independence Day is a must-celebrate holiday for anyone who chose to stay in the District for the summer. And for anyone who is looking for an outdoor music festival without the pesky task of, you know, travelling and camping out for days on end, "A Capitol Fourth" is a decent alternative that occurs annually on the west lawn of the Capitol building.
Though it may be a little more mainstream than most indie kids would prefer, "A Capitol Fourth" is a celebration that's worth way more than what you pay for it - it's free. Traditionally featuring a celebrity host (this year it's Jimmy Smits), the National Symphony Orchestra and a bevy of celebrity guests, the celebration concludes with fireworks over the Washington Monument, and what could be a more appropriate way to celebrate the Fourth?
-K.C.
Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Taylor Hicks will perform at "A Capitol Fourth." This version has been corrected.
