Friday, June 22, 2007; WE03
Just Folks
The 41st annual Smithsonian Folklife
Festival, America's national celebration of folk culture around the world, opens Wednesday on the Mall. Music, talks, crafts demonstrations, exhibits and sales by
specialty food vendors continue daily
(except July 2-3) through July 8. Admission is free. This year's major themes are
"Mekong River: Connecting Cultures," "Northern Ireland at the Smithsonian" and "Roots of Virginia Culture." A highlight is the Ralph Rinzler Memorial Concert on June 29 at 6, honoring the late festival director and featuring Liz Carroll & John Doyle, John Cephas & Phil Wiggins, David & Michael Doucet, Mitchell Reed and Nancy Sweezy.
SMITHSONIAN FOLKLIFE FESTIVAL Wednesday through July 1 and July 4-8 from 11 to 5:30, and concerts most evenings from 5:30 to 8, on the Mall
between Seventh and 14th streets (Metro: Smithsonian). 202-633-1000 (TDD: 202-633-5285) orhttp://www.folklife.si.edu.
Opera at Wolf Trap
The Wolf Trap Opera Company sings at Wolf Trap National Park's Filene Center and the intimate Barns this week:
The company is restaging its hit 2004 world premiere production of "Volpone," John Musto and Mark Campbell's adaptation "unfaithfully" based on the Ben
Jonson comedy, opening Friday at the Barns. Volpone is an elderly man who tricks his greedy friends into giving him expensive gifts in hopes of being mentioned in his will. Tickets cost $58.
"VOLPONE" Friday and June 29 at 8 and Sunday and July 1 at 2 at the Barns at Wolf Trap, 1635 Trap Rd., Vienna. For tickets, 877-965-3872, for information, 703-255-1868 orhttp://www.wolftrap.org.
Star mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves sings the title role in a one-night-only concert production of Bizet's "Carmen" Thursday at the Filene Center. She'll be joined by tenor Simon O'Neill, the National Symphony Orchestra and the World Children's Choir in the tale of the passionate Gypsy and the men she leads astray. Tickets cost $42 to $65 in-house, $20 on the lawn.
"CARMEN" Thursday at 8:15 at the Filene Center at Wolf Trap National Park, 1551 Trap Rd., Vienna. For tickets, 877-965-3872, for information,
703-255-1868 orhttp://www.wolftrap.org.
Chefs Face Off
About 40 cooking teams from across the country will compete in the 15th annual National Capital Barbecue Battle Saturday and Sunday on Pennsylvania Avenue NW. There will also be all-day jazz, rock and blues entertainment on three stages by Chopteeth, Chuck Brown, Slim Man, Third World and other stars, demonstrations by celebrity chefs, educational exhibits, a children's stage and food vendors. The event is a benefit for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington. Admission is $10, ages 6 to 12 $5, younger free.
NATIONAL CAPITAL BARBECUE BATTLE Saturday from 11 to 9 and Sunday from 11 to 7:30 along Pennsylvania Avenue NW between Ninth and 14th streets (Metro: Metro Center, Federal Triangle). 202-828-3099 orhttp://www.bbqdc.com.
Dancing to the Islands
The 15th annual D.C. Caribbean Carnival kicks off Saturday with a parade along Georgia Avenue NW. Thousands of colorfully costumed masqueraders, dancers and bands will travel to Banneker Park, where a festival with entertainment, a crafts
marketplace and food vendors continues through Sunday. Parade-watching is free; festival admission is $10, ages 11 and younger free.
D.C. CARIBBEAN CARNIVAL Parade Saturday at 11 along Georgia Avenue NW from Missouri Avenue to Barry Place NW; festival Saturday and Sunday from noon to 7 at Banneker Park, Georgia Avenue and Barry Place NW. 202-726-2204 or
http://www.dccaribbeancarnival.com.
From Children's Hands
A 41-by-60-foot mural map of the United States will be built from Lego blocks during the 2007 World Children's Festival Saturday through Monday on the Mall. The International Child Art Foundation, which promotes children's creativity and imagination, is organizing the event. There will also be performances by children's troupes from around the world, educational workshops, displays of children's artwork and demonstrations by young artists. Admission is free.
WORLD CHILDREN'S FESTIVAL Saturday through Monday from 10:30 to 5 on the Mall between Fourth and Seventh streets (Metro: Smithsonian).
202-530-1000 orhttp://www.icaf.org/worldfestival.
Finding Refuge
To commemorate the seventh annual World Refugee Day as designated by the United Nations, the National Geographic Society is hosting an afternoon of international music and dance outdoors Saturday at its downtown headquarters. The lineup includes Havana Select, Memory of African Culture, and Abonesh; Hmong rapper Tou Ger Xiong is the emcee. There will also be demonstrations by the Fugees soccer team, children's activities, exhibits, a crafts market, ethnic foods and a screening at 4 of "God Grew Tired of Us," a documentary about the "lost boys" of Sudan. World Refugee Day is commemorated by events in more than 100 countries. Admission is free.
WORLD REFUGEE DAY FESTIVAL Saturday from noon to 4 at National Geographic, 17th and M streets NW (Metro: Farragut North). 202 857-7700 or
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/nglive.
Weekend Throws a Party
The staff of the publication you hold in your ink-smudged hands celebrates Weekend's 30th anniversary Friday at "Birthday Blues Night," the second of three free Weekend's Weekends concerts sponsored by The Washington Post, at Carter Barron Amphitheatre. Local legends the Nighthawks, the Tom Principato Band and the Kelly Bell Band will share the stage, and Weekend's staff will be on hand to meet readers and answer questions about the section. Free tickets (up to four per person) will be released Friday starting at 8:30 a.m. at The Post building, 1150 15th St. NW, and at noon at Carter Barron. The final Weekend's Weekends show is "Latin Night" on June 29, with Verny Varela y su Orquesta, Pablo Antonio y la Firma and Visions of Jazz.
"BIRTHDAY BLUES NIGHT" Friday at 7:30 at Carter Barron Amphitheatre, near 16th Street and
Colorado Avenue NW in Rock Creek Park.
202-334-6808 orhttp://www.nps.gov/rocr.
'Phantom' Reappears
Andrew Lloyd Webber's "The Phantom of the Opera," the longest-running show in Broadway history, has settled in at the Kennedy Center Opera House for the summer. The story of the mysterious, half-masked figure who lurks in the shadows and stalks a pretty young singer last visited Washington in 1997. Tickets cost $37 to $95.
"THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA" Through Aug. 12 at the Kennedy Center Opera House, 2700 F St. NW (Metro: Foggy Bottom-GWU, with free shuttles). 202-467-4600 (TDD: 202-416-8524) or
http://www.kennedy-center.org.
-- Compiled by Barry Barriere
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