CITY GUIDE
Washington, D.C.
A Capitol
Fourth
D.C. celebrates a birthday
like no other
Join an annual fireworks
and musical extravaganza, as only the nation’s
capital can do it, at the
Capitol Fourth. Celebrate America’s birthday
with the National Symphony Orchestra under
the direction of top pops
conductor Erich Kunzel,
and enjoy performances
by the Grammy award–
winning rock band Huey
Lewis & The News,
American Idol-winner
Taylor Hicks, classical superstars Hayley
Westenra and Vittorio
Grigolo, and many more
musicians and singers. The event culminates
in fireworks over the towering Washington
Monument and concludes with the annual
ave
Date
the
NATIONAL MALL
The
Fantastical
World of
Max Ernst
Through Sept. 6
Drawn from the National Gallery of Art’s rare
book collection, “Max
Ernst: Illustrated Books”
features the species-bending creatures invented by surrealist
Max Ernst. nga.gov
DUPONT CIRCLE
Brett Weston
and Richard
Diebenkorn
Through Sept. 7
“Diebenkorn in New
Mexico” examines
Richard Diebenkorn’s
paintings from his time
in Albuquerque, and
“Brett Weston: Out of
the Shadow” explores
Weston’s photography.
phillipscollection.org
the Madagascar
s tar orchid, which
p roducesnectar at
the bottom of its
n arrow, foot-long
spur (throat), he
predicted the existence of a moth
with a proboscis (snout) long
enough to reach
that nectar? This
moth was actually discovered
decades later and
has an 8-inch-long
tongue to drink nectar from the orchid.
Located in the
National Museum
of Natural History
(on the National
Mall), the pavilion accommodates up to 35
visitors at a time.
202-6 33-4629;
butterfl ies.si.edu.
rendition of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overtu re,
complete with live cannon fire provide d by
the United States Army Presidential Sa lute
Battery. West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol .
Butterfly, Butterfly,
Fluttering By!
Visit one of the terfly Pavilion. It
biggest new attrac- also features an
tions in town—the emergence cham-Smithsonian Na- ber where visitors
tional Museum of can see the final
Natural History’s stages of meta-newest, most morphosis and
interactive, most a butterfly’s first
entertaining and flight. The Exhibit
most educational Hall focuses on
exhibit, “Butterflies the evolution of
+ Plants: Partners in butterflies from
Evolution.” The ex- the Jurassic period
hibit offers visitors to today.
a chance to walk And there’s a
among hundreds lot to learn, too.
of live butterflies For instance, did
( 30 species from you know that
five continents) when Charles
in the Live But- Darwin first saw
THE DISTRICT
Capital Fringe
Festival
July 10– 27
Entering its third year,
this festival features
more than 500 inven-
tive performances of
theatre, dance, music,
poetry and puppetry,
performed by more
than 120 artists at over
30 unique venues.
capfringe.org
ANACOSTIA PARK
Water Lily
Festival and
Founders Day
July 26
Enjoy more than
75 varieties of blooming lilies and lotuses,
tour the greenhouses,
and participate in a
photography contest
at Kenilworth Park and
Aquatic Gardens.
nps.gov/keaq
CITYWIDE
Restaurant
Week
Aug. 11 - 17
Check with Restaurant
Association Metropoli-
tan Washington on July
21 for a list of participat-
ing chefs and restau-
rants. ramw.org
