Washington, D.C
34 Things to Do in the DC Area This Week and Weekend
The Annual Lunar New Year Parade. Courtesy of the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association.
Happy Monday, DC!
Take a pause from your new year diet plan to indulge in Winter Restaurant Week specials. Also, there’s a ton of Lunar New Year celebrations happening around town, and a new LEGO exhibition all ages can enjoy.
Best Things to Do This Week and Weekend
January 27–February 2
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- Metropolitan Washington Winter Restaurant Week. Here’s a good way to add some variety to this week’s meal plan: Winter Restaurant Week is back. Dine at more than 350 local eateries, restaurants, and bars for lunch, brunch, and dinner at a discount price. Some new participating restaurants to check out include Adams Morgan’s Tail Up Goat, American restaurant A. Kitchen + Bar, and Arrels inside the recently opened Arlo Washington DC hotel (Mon-Sun, prices vary, multiple DC-area locations).
- DC Chinese Lunar New Year Parade. The Year of the Snake festivities continue around town this week with one of DC’s biggest seasonal events. The Chinese Lunar New Year Parade will strut through Chinatown to spotlight cultural and community performers, treats from local eateries, and a finale firecracker show in the heart of H Street (Sun, free, Downtown).
- “The Art of the Brick” exhibit. View colorful and intricate LEGO sculptures at The Art of the Brick Washington DC. The traveling exhibition at the Rhode Island Center showcases 130 LEGO-crafted creations that reimagine masterpieces like Michelangelo’s “David,” Van Gogh’s “Starry Night,” and Da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa.” For families, there’s a creation zone where youngsters can build their own piece (opens January 30, $25, Brentwood).
- Job play. Signature Theatre presents the DC premiere of Max Wolf Friedlich’s psychological thriller Job. The shocking play follows a woman’s downward spiral with a therapist after her workplace meltdown goes viral (Tues through March 16, $40+, Arlington).
- Lunar New Year Family Celebration. The Smithsonian American Art Museum is throwing a Lunar New Year jamboree featuring six live performances and traditional Chinese and Korean art demonstrations. The entire family can see musical and dance productions from groups like Washington CYC Lion Dance Team, K-Pop dance clubs from American University and George Washington University, and a Simba Dojang martial arts demo (Sat, free, registration encouraged).
- Song of the North at Strathmore. Multimedia artist Hamid Rahmanian creates a moving stage adaptation of an 11th-century Persian epic poem. The ancient tale of a knight who falls in love with an enemy princess comes to life with a cast that includes nine performers and nearly 500 puppets (Fri, $28+, Bethesda).
Want More Things to Do?
Arts and culture:
- Cozy up with hot cocoa and marshmallows, and then join a guided paint session at Palette 22 (Mon, $65, Arlington).
- Model and actress Brooke Shields dives into her new memoir with Dr. Sharon Malone at Sixth & I (Mon, $12+ for virtual, $50 for ticket and book, Penn Quarter, virtual).
- Award-winning author Ruth Franklin discusses her new innovative biography about the The Many Lives of Anne Frank (Wed, free, Northwest DC).
- Filmmaker Kristen Lovell and photographer Samantha Box discuss the combination of photography and advocacy at the National Museum of Women in the Arts (Wed, $25, Downtown).
- Browse new cars at The Washington, DC Auto Show (Fri through February 9, $15+, Walter E. Washington Convention Center).
- Coauthors Tre’vell Anderson and Jarrett Hill of the book Historically Black Phrases host a hilarious game show at MLK Memorial Library (Sat, free with registration, MLK Library).
Community and heritage:
- Feast on fortune cookies while watching a performance from Hung Ci Lion Dance Troupe (Tues, free, Rosslyn).
- There’s family fun, food, and dance at Eden Center’s Tet celebration (Wed, free, Falls Church).
- Watch a fashion and an array of traditional Asian dance performances at Tysons Corner Center (Sat, free, Tysons).
- Take a free yoga class, and then munch on Lunar New Year happy hour specials at Upside on Moore (Sat, free, Rosslyn).
- Walk in the footsteps of the father of Black history Carter G. Woodson through Logan Circle and Shaw with actor Darius Wallace (Sat, free, registration required, Logan Circle).
Theater and shows:
- National Ballet of China presents a two-act dance performance to Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker score (Wed-Sun, $30+, Kennedy Center).
- Sit in on Shakespeare-themed staged readings, panel discussions, and workshops at The Reading Room Festival (Thurs-Sun, $150 for pass, Capitol Hill).
- Rising star comic Jack Tucker does standup at the Kennedy Center (Thurs, $20+, Kennedy Center).
- Opera conductor Gianandrea Noseda brings Samuel Barber’s passionate production Vanessa to life in concert (Thurs, Sat, $15+, Kennedy Center).
- Broadway Center Stage: Schmigadoon! musical follows the story of two doctors on a road trip to save their failing relationship (Fri through February 9, $59+, Kennedy Center).
- The Come From Away musical tells the true story of airplane passengers stranded on Newfoundland after the 9/11 attacks (Fri-Sun, $63+, Tysons).
Music and concerts:
- Baltimore Symphony Orchestra performs the world premiere of Elevators (Tues, $14+, Bethesda).
- The Anderson Brothers play a jazzy concert packed with Duke Ellington hits (Wed, free, tickets available onsite first-come first-serve, Kennedy Center).
- British musical trio Jamie xx plays live at the Anthem (Thurs, $50+, Wharf).
- Tickets are selling fast to see Iranian pop vocalist Marjan Farsad at Miracle Theatre (Thurs, $45, Eastern Market).
- Violinist Paul Huang performs symphonic tunes at Takoma Park SDA Church (Sat, $35+, Takoma Park).
- Commemorate Black History Month at the annual MLK tribute concert Living the Dream … Singing the Dream (Sun, $28+, Kennedy Center).
Bites and beverages:
- Dine on ceviche, chicken dumplings, raw oysters, and other Lunar New Year specials in between glimpses of a ceremonial lion dance at Tiger Fork (Sat, free entry, food extra, Shaw).
Things to do with kids:
- Go ice skating with the family at Water Park’s Winter Wonderland (through February 21, $35, Arlington).
- Kiddos can meet live animals, make Lunar New Year crafts, and hike at Long Branch Nature Center (Sat, $9, Arlington).
- Families can participate in a scavenger hunt, make lanterns, and color zodiac animals at the Smithsonian (Sat, free, registration required, Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art).
- There’s martial arts, crafts, music, and more Year of the Snake fun at Falls Church Communikids (Sat-Sun, free, but rsvp required, Falls Church).
If you enjoyed these events, please don’t forget to share this post with a friend on social media, and sign up for our newsletter for more things to do.
Washington, D.C
12th Honor Flight Tallahassee returns home from successful trip to Washington D.C.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – Seventy-two veterans took a trip Saturday to our nation’s capital to visit memorials honoring their service in the armed forces.
This year marks the 12th trip to Washington, D.C. for Honor Flight Tallahassee.
Early Saturday morning, veterans and their guardians met to take a charter flight up to D.C.
Throughout the day, veterans were taken to the World War II memorial, as well as the Korean and Vietnam War memorials. The veterans also visited Arlington National Cemetery and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
More Tallahassee news:
The day ended with a wonderful welcome home celebration.
Our Jacob Murphey, Julia Miller, Taylor Viles, and Grace Temple accompanied the veterans, capturing moments from throughout the day.
The team will have live coverage from Washington, D.C. on Monday to share more from the day’s events.
We will continue to have coverage throughout the month of May, leading up to our Honor Flight special on Memorial Day.
To keep up with the latest news as it develops, follow WCTV on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Nextdoor and X (Twitter).
Have a news tip or see an error? Write to us here. Please include the article’s headline in your message.
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Copyright 2026 WCTV. All rights reserved.
Washington, D.C
Storm Team4 Forecast: A chilly, gusty Sunday before a cool start to the week
4 things to know about the weather:
- Chances of rain in the morning
- Gusty Sunday
- Chilly Monday
- Temps will rise again through the work week
Download the NBC Washington app on iOS and Android to check the weather radar on the go.
After a nice and warm Saturday, changes arrive for part two of the weekend.
The first half of your Sunday will have a chance for showers. Winds will pick up with our next system and are expected to gust to about 20-30 mph. Cooler air will settle in, and lows Sunday night fall into the 40s.
Highs temps Monday will reach only into the mid to upper 50s.
However, temperatures will rise through the week, so you won’t need your jackets every day.
QuickCast
SUNDAY:
Showers, then partly cloudy
Wind: NW 10-15 mph
Gusts @ 30 mph
HIGH: Lower 60s
MONDAY:
Partly cloudy
Wind: NW 10-15 mph
Gusts @ 25 mph
HIGH: Upper 50s
Stay with Storm Team4 for the latest forecast. Download the NBC Washington app on iOS and Android to get severe weather alerts on your phone.
Washington, D.C
‘It’s a twilight zone’: Iran war casts deep shadows over IMF gathering in Washington
The most severe energy shock since the 1970s, the risk of a global recession and households everywhere stomaching a renewed surge in the cost of living – hitting the most vulnerable hardest.
In a sweltering hot Washington DC this week, the message at the International Monetary Fund meetings was chilling: things had been looking up for living standards around the world. But then came the Iran war.
“Some countries are in panic,” said the fund’s managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, addressing the finance ministers and central bank bosses in town for the IMF and World Bank spring meetings. “The sooner it [the Iran war] ends, the better for everybody.”
Such gatherings are not typically used to fight geopolitical battles. “You don’t get people shouting at one another at these things,” one senior figure remarked. But, as a record-breaking April heatwave swept the US capital, no one could ignore the mounting damage from the Iran war.
Those familiar with the mood over breakfast at a meeting of the G20’s representatives on Thursday, which included Donald Trump’s treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, and the outgoing US Federal Reserve chair, Jerome Powell – said the atmosphere in the room was sombre amid an open exchange of serious views.
“It is such a twilight-zone meeting,” said Mohamed El-Erian, a former IMF deputy managing director who is now chief economic adviser at the Allianz insurance group. “There are several shadows hanging over it: one is the shadow that comes from concern about the global economy as a whole.
“The second is that some countries are going to be particularly hard hit, and it’s mostly countries that very few people are talking about. But the third concern is the adding of insult to injury: the fact that the US, which started a war of choice, is going to be hit, but by a lot less than elsewhere in relative terms.”
Before Thursday’s breakfast, Rachel Reeves had started her day with an early-morning jog. Joined by her counterparts from Spain, Australia and New Zealand for a run down the iconic National Mall, she posted an Instagram selfie with a not-so-subtle dig: “Friends that run together – work together.”
A day earlier, the chancellor had told a CNBC conference that she thought “friends are allowed to disagree on things” as she criticised Trump’s Iran war as a “mistake” and a “folly” that had not made the world safer.
Speaking at a venue just steps away from the White House, before a one-on-one meeting with Bessent, she said this “fair message” was needed because UK families and businesses were feeling the pain from higher energy prices triggered by the conflict.
Those close to Reeves insist her meeting remained cordial. Britain and the US have significant shared interests in AI, financial services and trade. The chancellor also said the UK government had little time for the Iranian regime.
But with the IMF having warned on Tuesday that the Iran war could risk a global recession – in which Britain would be the biggest G7 casualty – it was clear Reeves had travelled to Washington ready to pick a fight.
“I’m struck by how vocal she has been and the words she used,” said one global financier. “We know the disagreement between Bessent and [European Central Bank president] Christine Lagarde earlier in the year. But that was in private.”
At a cocktail party held at the British ambassador’s residence for hundreds of diplomats and financiers – including the Bank of England’s governor, Andrew Bailey, the chief executive of Barclays, CS Venkatakrishnan, and dozens of senior figures – this transatlantic tension, weeks before King Charles’s US state visit, was a major topic of conversation.
The other, in the balmy residence gardens, was one of its former occupants, Peter Mandelson, as revelations about the former ambassador’s appointment threatened to further rock the UK government.
Before the war, the agenda for the IMF had been about global cooperation; the adoption of AI, jobs and work to eradicate poverty. Each of those tasks had now been complicated, but not least the task of countries working together.
For many at the meetings, the focus was on forging closer global cooperation without the world’s pre-eminent superpower.
“Everybody is talking about how you hedge against American decisions,” said David Miliband, the former UK foreign secretary, who now runs the International Rescue Committee. “You can’t do without them, because they’re 25% of the global economy. But, in a lot of fora, they’ve pulled out.
“So everyone has to think, how does one structure international cooperation? The old west is not coming back. And so everyone has to figure out how to position themselves for that world.”
For those gathering in Washington, there was irony in the fact that they were meeting in the halls of institutions founded, under US leadership, to promote global cooperation after the second world war. The whole idea of the Bretton Woods institutions was to avoid the dire economic conditions and warfare of the 1930s and 1940s. Yet this year’s meeting was taking place amid these intertwining problems.
In their conversations about the best economic policy response to the shock of conflict, the economists also knew the real power to make a difference lay two blocks across town from the IMF and the World Bank – behind the security cordons and construction equipment blocking the White House from public view. “It is not clear they can do anything about it,” said El-Erian.
Still, with a booming economy driven by AI – including Anthropic’s powerful Mythos model, the topic of much conversation – most countries cannot afford to completely break off US ties.
“People want to find ways to insulate themselves from the mess. But, on the other hand, they admire the US private sector,” El-Erian said. “The best way I’ve heard it put, is: they want to go long the private sector and short the mess. But it’s almost impossible to do.”
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