Next weekend, enjoy over 30 FREE music, dance and artistic performances at Washington, DC’s premiere center for the arts, The Kennedy Center and their annual Open House.

The range of entertainment of as varied as the number of performers.

Here’s just a sampling of the many free performances:

• The Kennedy Center’s own Suzanne Farrell Ballet. Suzanne Ferrell  who was one of one of George Balanchine’s most celebrated ballerinas.
• Washington’s own, National Symphony Orchestra
• Children’s Musical Album Grammy winners – Dan Zanes and Friends
• Dance under the stars outside on the patio with the Godfather of Go-Go – Chuck Brown
• Folk singer Lila Downs, will perform her Academy Award nominated song "Burn it Blue" form the film Frida.

And if you bring the children, take them to the hands-on NSO Instrument "Petting Zoo", where they can all learn all about the instruments of the symphony orchestra.

Plus, you can wander the center and enjoy it’s great architecture and stunning views of the Potomac River, Georgetown, the Watergate complex  and the National Mall.

Click here for the most updated schedule of performers and performances.

The Kennedy Center 24th Annual Open House
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
2700 F Street, NW
Washington DC. 20566 (map it)

Date and Time – Saturday, September 13, 2008.  Noon – 11:00 p.m.

Tickets – FREE, no tickets required.

Nearest Metro Subway Station – Foggy Bottom/George Washington University station (23rd and I St.) – Blue and Orange lines, then a 3-block walk.

Take Metro and use the free Kennedy Center shuttle on Saturday. It runs 10:00 a.m. – Midnight.

Parking - limited parking is available at the Kennedy Center for $15.00, but expect it to be full early.

 Images – from personal collection; ©2008, Jon Rochetti

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Post from: The DC Traveler

For two evenings in September, the NSO will perform music from some of the greatest films of all time. 

The first evening, Classical Hollywood, includes selections from movies that use classical music as parts of their score, including Disney’s Sleeping Beauty, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Alien, The Godfather, and Raging Bull.

The second evening, entitled The Golden Age of Film Music, features musical scores written specifically for movies, including Lawrence of Arabia, Gone with the Wind, Spartacus, the Wizard of Oz, and The Magnificent Seven.

Here are two of my favorite soundtracks, the overture and now synonymous theme music from Lawrence of Arabia, and Richard Strauss’s Also sprach Zarathustra from Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.

The National Symphony Orchestra
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Concert Hall
700 F Street, NW
Washington DC. 20566 (map it)

Date and Time – Thursday and Friday, September 11-12, 2008, 8:00 p.m. 

Tickets - $20.00 – $65.00 and are available online. 

Nearest Metro Subway Station – Foggy Bottom/George Washington University station (23rd and I St.) – Blue and Orange lines, then a 3-block walk.

The free Kennedy Center shuttle also runs every 15 minutes form the Metro (Mon.-Fri., 9:45 a.m.- Midnight, Sat. 10:00 a.m.-Midnight, and Sun. Noon-Midnight.

Parking - Limited parking is available at the Kennedy Center for $16.00.

Image – NSO and Oz

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Post from: The DC Traveler

National Symphony Orchestra Labor Day concert
West lawn of the US Capitol Building
E. Capitol and First Streets, NW 
Washington, DC   (map it)

Dates and Times – Sunday, August 31, 2008, 8:00 p.m. Gates open at 3:20 p.m.

Tickets – FREE , no tickets required, but all attendees are subject to a security search

Nearest Metro Subway Station – Capitol South – Blue and Orange lines, or Federal Center SW – Blue and Orange lines, then a 4-5 block walk from either station or use the DC Circulator.

Parking – Parking will be difficult in the area, so try to take Metro.

Image – NSO

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Post from: The DC Traveler