Thursday
Story District’s “Top Shelf” at the Lincoln Theatre
1215 U St. NW, 8 p.m., $45
No rail drinks are allowed at “Top Shelf,” a showcase featuring some of the best performances from recent Story District events. In the spirit of The Moth and other like-minded organizations, Story District helps everyday Washingtonians craft first-person narratives eventually performed onstage, from memory. The results are never pure comedy but always cathartic, for performer and audience.
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The March On! Festival screens “Declarations”
NCTA, 25 Massachusetts Ave. NW, 6 to 8 p.m., free, donations requested
Day Three of the eight-day film festival focusing on civil rights and the African diaspora includes a screening of the new Virginia Public Media documentary “Declarations: Black Americans and the Revolutionary War,”followed by a discussion with historians, policymakers and director Stacey L. Holman.
More to explore: The Submerge Project digital art exhibition is open at Artechouse.
Friday
SHAPE in Motion: Art Benefit at the French Embassy
4101 Reservoir Road NW, 6 to 9 p.m., $18-25
Got a high-brow sk8er boi? Or mademoiselle? Bring them to La Maison Française on Friday, where the embassy grounds will be transformed into an art market and skate park in honor of the upcoming Youth Olympic Games in Senegal. Entertainment includes live DJs, a West African fashion show featuring Howard University students and a demonstration by Zambian pro skater Mukuka Chande.
The National Symphony Orchestra at Strathmore
5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, 8 p.m., $22 to $119
The NSO opens its peripatetic season with concerts at George Mason University (Thursday) and Strathmore’s Music Center (Friday). Music director Gianandrea Noseda will conduct three early 20th century classics: Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Scheherazade,” Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition” and Ravel’s “Boléro.” Pro tip: The NSO set up its own website independent from the Kennedy Center. Use it to keep track of where they are playing and when.
More to explore: “Horkus Forkus” First Friday at Community Forklift in Edmonston
Saturday
Jeff Goldblum and the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra
At George Mason University’s Center for the Arts, 4373 Mason Pond Dr., Fairfax, 8:30 p.m., $75 to $145
The wizard will see you now, if you love jazz and drive to Fairfax. Jeff Goldblum, a star of “Wicked,” “Jurassic Park” and many more, is also a lauded jazz pianist. He brings the swing to the annual ARTS by George! gala concert, which raises scholarship funds for George Mason University students pursuing careers in the performing arts.
Mount Vernon Avenue, Alexandria, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
It’s one of the largest juried art fairs in the region, and definitely the only one with a pie-baking contest in front of the local custard shop. Art on the Avenue brings more than 350 potters, jewelers, fiber artists, candlemakers and more to the Del Ray neighborhood of Alexandria. Music stages and food options also punctuate Mount Vernon Avenue. Free trolley shuttles run from the Potomac Yard and Braddock Road Metro stations.
More to explore: Festival Latinoamericano at Arlington Mill Community Center.
Sunday
“Counterpoint: Rhapsody in Blue” by Conrad Tao and Caleb Teicher
At the University of Maryland’s Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center,
8270 Alumni Drive, College Park, 3 p.m, $15 to $50
Tap dancer Caleb Teicher and pianist Conrad Tao devise a one-of-a-kind talent show featuring their two-hands/two-feet arrangement of George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue.” As seen (and heard) on NPR’s Tiny Desk.
“Venus” closes at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
641 D Street NW, 2 p.m, $20 to $105
The “cosmic dark comedy” stars longtime local favorite actress Kimberly Gilbert as a woman replaying the highlights of her dream relationship, until one night while stargazing, someone ends up in a shallow grave. Steve Yockey (HBO thriller “The Flight Attendant”) wrote the play, and new artistic director Reggie D. White directs.
More to explore: Indigo Girls at The Anthem
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