The DC Lineup for this weekend: MLK, gospel music and marches

The next few days in the District include opportunities to commemorate history with Martin Luther King Jr. Day activities and the annual Women’s March. Film screenings, park cleanups, gallery tours and a contemporary art program for the deaf community are also on our list. Local food and beverages are celebrated this three-day weekend, Jan. 17 through 20, with Restaurant Week and a whiskey-tasting event that raises money to keep homes heated throughout the city.

The weather for this weekend will be cold, according to the forecast, with temperatures ranging from 24 to 40 degrees. Expect mostly sunny conditions on Friday and Sunday with a mix of rain and snow on Saturday.

1. History: The annual MLK Holiday DC Peace Walk, Parade & Health Fair takes place this Monday in and around historic Anacostia on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The day’s activities start with a 9 a.m. prayer service at Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue and Good Hope Road SE. The walk — coordinated by the Coalition for Peace — starts at 11 a.m. No registration is needed for the walk. Registration to participate in the parade is now closed, but all are welcome to watch the registered groups march along Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE. Mayor Muriel Bowser plans to march with Martin Luther King Jr. III and his family, marking the first time a member of the King family will be participating in the 39-year-old parade, according to Bowser’s office. The parade begins at Good Hope Road at noon and ends around 2 p.m. on the St. Elizabeths East campus, 2700 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE. A health fair takes place nearby at the R.I.S.E. Center Parking Lot from noon to 3 p.m. Vendors will offer health screenings, nutritional instruction, first-aid trainings and massage services. Martha’s Table is scheduled to teach visitors about healthy food. All of the day’s events are free to attend.

2. Social Activism: The fourth annual Women’s March takes place Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. This year, the march is focusing on three main issues: reproductive health, rights and justice; climate justice; and immigration. Participants meet at 10 a.m. at Freedom Plaza, 1455 Pennsylvania Ave. NW.; the march starts at 11 a.m. The schedule features a moment of silence as well as chants and songs; among the highlights are the song and dance Un violador en tu camino (A Rapist in Your Path) led by the Chilean protest group Lastesis. 

3. Music: The Stellar Award-nominated Howard Gospel Choir of Howard University pays tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. with its annual “Let Freedom Sing” concert on Saturday from 7 to 9:30 p.m. at the Town Hall Education Arts Recreation Campus (THEARC), 1901 Mississippi Ave. SE. The family-friendly program includes music from the civil rights era along with modern gospel music (check the choir’s Let Freedom Sing playlist on Spotify for an idea of what to expect). Tickets range from $13 to $30.

4. Community Celebration: Black Lives Matter DC honors its five-year anniversary with a weeklong program of events in the District that starts this weekend. BLK Joy Party takes place from 10 p.m. Saturday to 1 a.m. Sunday at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, 641 D St. NW. The free, 21-and-over dance party includes complimentary food, drink specials and a live DJ. … The #BlackJoySunday Art Build is another event on the schedule for this weekend to prepare for the annual MLK Holiday Peace Walk on Monday. It is on Sunday from 2 to 4:30 p.m. at the Anacostia Neighborhood Library, 1800 Good Hope Road SE.

5. Food & Drink: Sample local whiskey for a good cause at the third annual Fire & Ice Festival this Saturday at The Wharf, 760 Maine Ave. SW. Proceeds go to Washington Area Fuel Fund, a partnership between Washington Gas and the Salvation Army that provides heat to District families experiencing hardship. Presented by Proper No. 12 Irish Whiskey, the festival takes place from 1 to 4 p.m. and is free to attend, with whiskey-sampling tickets, drinks and s’mores sold on-site. An ice shuffleboard, fire dancers, a live DJ and a screening of the Washington Capitals game on the Capitals Campfire jumbotron are also on the schedule. The Washington Area Fuel Fund Ice House will be open from noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday, as well as Friday until 6 p.m. Activities include a thermal photo booth and appearances by local celebrities.

6. Film: The Cinematters: Social Justice Film Festival aims to foster community dialogue, with three documentary screenings scheduled  this weekend in the District. On Saturday at 6:30 p.m., Thirst for Justice tells the story of citizens demanding clean water. Afterward, filmmaker Lena Hosea will have a conversation with staff members at the Washington Legal Clinic. On Sunday, Always in Season — winner of the 2019 Sundance Film Festival Special Jury Award for Moral Urgency for its exploration of racial violence and the history of lynchings in America — shows at 2 p.m., followed by a discussion with filmmaker Jacqueline Olive. Finally, at 5 p.m. on Sunday We Are the Radical Monarchs highlights female tween activists in the Bay Area, followed by a talk with Ruby Corado, executive director of DC-based, bilingual LGBTQ organization Casa Ruby. The screenings take place in Cafritz Hall at the Edlavitch Jewish Community Center of Washington DC, 1529 16th St. NW. Tickets for each cost $13.

7. Arts: International Arts and Artists is a DC nonprofit that increases cross-cultural understanding through the arts. Its Washington-area initiative IA&A at Hillyer showcases art from local and international artists, with tours scheduled this Saturday. The gallery’s current exhibitions include art with particular resonance to DC. Canada-based artist Neil Forrest’s show The Washingtonian Service is an artistic reimagination of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, now undergoing renovations and slated to reopen later this year. The painting and sculpture work of two local artists is also featured in the space. Noel Kassewitz explores climate change in her exhibit Rococo Remastered, and Tessa Click’s Search Party for Two highlights internal and external conflicts through conceptual art. Tours take place on Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m. at IA&A at Hillyer, 9 Hillyer Court NW. 

8. Service: Rock Creek Conservancy hosts its 10th annual MLK Weekend of Service, inviting volunteers to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s view that “all life is interrelated” by protecting local parkland. Nearly a dozen projects touch on various parts of Rock Creek Park. On Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon, volunteers will help remove invasive plants from trees and the ground along the eastern Melvin Hazen section near Quebec Street NW. Most of the activities take place Monday, with options including a trash cleanup at Carter Barron from 10 a.m. to noon; removal of invasive species at Melvin Hazen West from 10 a.m. to noon; and removal of invasive plants at Normanstone from 1 to 3 p.m. Registration is required.

9. Arts: The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden presents “Eye to Eye: Storytime in ASL,” a children’s program geared toward the deaf community that will look at contemporary art through movement and stories. It takes place Sunday from 10 to 11 a.m. at the museum, Independence Avenue and 7th Street SW. Admission is free, and no registration is required for individuals and groups with less than 10 people. Larger cohorts should call ahead to reserve a spot.

10. Food & Drink: Over 250 dining establishments in the Washington area are offering three-course meals at discounted prices during Metropolitan Washington Restaurant Week Winter 2020, which runs through Sunday. Brunch and lunch, where offered, cost $22; dinner is $35. American Eats Tavern in Georgetown, Bresca on 14th Street NW, Casolare in Glover Park, City Winery in Ivy City, District Winery in Capitol Riverfront and Homestead in Petworth are just a few of the DC participants.