By Andrea Sachs CITY GUIDE
For additional event, attraction,
restaurant and hotel information,
visit washington.org
SAVE the DATE
ROCK CREEK PARK
WHAT A RACQUET
July 16–24
Tennis balls fly at Citi Open,
the only ATP World Tour 500-
level tournament held in the
States. 202-721-9500;
citiopentennis.com
DOWNTOWN
RAINBOW LI T ROOM
Aug. 5–7
Out Write LGBT Book Festival
celebrates the written word
with book and poetry readings,
workshops, talks and more.
202-682-2245; thedccenter.
org/outwritedc
NATIONAL MALL
TINY GARDENS
Through Aug. 31
“Design for Small Spaces,”
at the S. Dillon Ripley Center,
packs a green punch in decorative planters.
202-633-1000;
si.edu/exhibitions
DOWNTOWN
GRECO TIMES
Through Oct. 9
The National Geographic
Museum digs into ancient
Greece in “The Greeks–
Agamemnon to Alexander the
Great.” 202-857-7588; events.
nationalgeographic.com
ROCK CREEK PARK
RIDING CITY SADDLE
Through October
Giddyup and go on an hourlong
trot—or 15-minute pony
ride—at Rock Creek Park
Horse Center. 202-362-0117;
rockcreekhorsecenter.com
A rendering of the newly renovated Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall.
A New Frontier
Forty years ago, the Smithsonian brought the sky and stars closer to Earth with the opening of the National Air and Space Museum on the Mall. To
celebrate four decades of out-of-this-world exploration, the
museum officially debuts the newly renovated Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall on July 1. The two-story atrium gallery
gained extra square footage that can accommodate an even
wider collection of artifacts, such as the Apollo 11 command
module from the first moon landing and a model of the Star-ship Enterprise, of Star Trek TV show fame. The hall also
received a 21st-century reboot with interactive displays and
mobile features.
The big reveal will coincide with an after-hours birthday
bash with a film festival and costumed pioneers of flight who
will remind guests of how far we’ve flown. 202-633-2214,
airandspace.si.edu
Summer Block Party on Ice
A LARGE-SCALE ART INSTALLATION DOUBLES AS A POLAR PLAYGROUND
THAT DEFIES THE HEAT
AN ICEBERG HAS LITTLE CHANCE OF SURVIVING a scorcher in the city. Unless, of course,
the “frozen” cluster is inside the National Building Museum and is the guest of
honor at the institution’s annual Summer Block Party.
On July 2, the museum unveils “Icebergs,” a polar-inspired installation by
James Corner Field Operations, the landscape design firm behind such high-profile projects as New York’s High Line and Philadelphia’s Race Street Pier.
The exhibit, which runs through Labor Day, turns down the thermometer after
last year’s “The Beach,” which invited visitors to relax on a white artificial turf
strand and swim in an ocean of translucent balls.
“We are going even grander in physical scope,” says Brett Rodgers, the muse-
um’s vice president of marketing and communications. “It will be dramatic and
exciting and a little more intellectual.”
The work will fill a space larger than two basketball courts in the Great Hall.
The artists will mold plastic material into glacial forms that guests can explore
from below, like a school of fish, and from up high, like penguins perched on
the waterline. The tallest peak
will soar nearly 50 feet to the
third-story balcony.
“The exhibit provides a
playful space of respite and
reflection, evoking a cooler
environment in stark contrast
to the hot, humid world of
summer outside,” he said.
On Wednesdays, the
museum will extend its hours
with live music, tours, talks
about design and the envi-
ronment—and the ultimate
summer treat, shaved ice. 202-
272-2448, www.nbm.org
WASHINGTON, D.C.
A rendering of the “Icebergs” grotto.
