Find some family fun this last weekend of summer. The Washington, DC area has some great outdoor events going on this Labor Day Weekend. Here are some suggestions:
Labor Day Concert at the U.S. Capitol
Sunday, September 1, 2013, 8 p.m. East Capitol and First Streets, Washington, DC (202) 225-6827. Enjoy a free concert by the National Symphony Orchestra.
Kennedy Center Page-to-Stage Festival
August 31-Sept. 2, 2013. The Kennedy Center hosts more than 25 local theater companies in a series of free readings and open rehearsals of plays and musicals. This three-day event gives audiences a look at new works being prepared for Washington premieres in the upcoming theater season.
DC Blues Festival
August 31, 2013, 1-7 p.m. Carter Barron Amphitheater. Washington, DC. This free annual festival features live blues by outstanding local and national acts.
Lake Ann Jazz and Blues Festival
August 31, 2013, 1-8 p.m. Reston, VA. The free, family friendly event will showcase a variety of talented local emerging artists and national jazz performers.
Maryland Renaissance Festival
Weekends August 24 through October 21, 2013. Crownsville, MD. The whole family will marvel over the 16th century English village with crafts, food, live performances, games and lots more.
Glen Echo Park Art Show and Irish Festivities
August 31-September 2, 2013. MacArthur Boulevard, Glen Echo, MD. (301) 634-2222. Visit the Labor Day Art Show in the Spanish Ballroom 12 – 6 p. m. Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Artwork for sale representing more than 150 regional artists including sculpture, paintings, ceramics, glass and jewelry. The event will include a wide variety of Irish musicians and dancers performing toe-tapping Irish dancing to beautiful Irish folk songs in Glen Echo Park’s Bumper Car Pavilion.
Olde Towne Gaithersburg Labor Day Parade
Monday, September 2, 2013, 1 p.m. Summit and Diamond Avenues, Gaithersburg, MD (301) 258-6350. Join in the fun at Gaithersburg’s Annual Labor Day Parade. Watch fire engines, high school marching bands, clowns, horses and giant balloons fill the streets of Olde Town Gaithersburg.
Greenbelt Labor Day Festival
August 30–September 2, 2013. Greenbelt Community Center, 15 Crescent Rd., Greenbelt, MD (301) 397-2208. Bring the kids to a festival with carnival rides, games, a petting zoo, art exhibits, athletic tournaments, the Miss Greenbelt pageant and live entertainment. The carnival hours will be from 6 to 11 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, noon to 11 p.m. Sunday and noon to 7 p.m. Monday.
Kensington Labor Day Parade
Monday, September 2, 2013. (301)942-9254. Celebrate Labor Day with a Parade and Festival. Kensington, MD. Parade begins at St. Paul’s St and Plyers Mill. Festival located along Howard and Armory Avenues. Enjoy a day of family entertainment with a parade, live music, arts and crafts, food and kids activities.
Herndon Labor Day Festival
Monday, September 2, 2013, 12-6 p.m. Town Green, 777 Lynn Street Herndon, Virginia. Enjoy wine tastings and musical entertainment by regional and national jazz performers.
Virginia Scottish Games
August 31-September 1, 2013. Celebrate Alexandria’s Scottish Heritage and enjoy piping & drumming, highland dancing, and fiddling competitions sheep-herding demonstrations, an antique car show, children’s activities, and much more.
Epicurience Virginia: A Wine & Food Festival
August 30-September 2, 2013. The event highlights the region’s culinary offerings showcased in scenic and historic settings stretching from stylish equestrian farms to the misty Blue Ridge Mountains. Attendees taste the finest in Virginia wines, meet top tastemakers and master winemakers, and sample cuisine prepared by celebrated chefs from around the country.
National Hard Crab Derby
August 29-September 1, 2013. Crisfield, Maryland. This unique event attracts a crowd from the across the region to the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Enjoy crab races and contests, carnival rides, crafts, live entertainment, beauty pageants, parade, and fireworks.
Hoop it Up Nationals & 3×3 World Festival
August 31-Sept. 1, 2013. Gaylord National Resort, National Harbor, MD. This will be the first qualifier for the 2014 USA Basketball National Tournament. Winners of the Men’s and Women’s Top Gun divisions as well as U18 Boys and Girls divisions will qualify to go to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Drum Corps World Championship Competition
August 29-Sept. 1, 2013. Navy Marine Corps Stadium, 550 Taylor Ave. Annapolis, Maryland. Thirty drum corps from throughout North America will compete in Drum Corps Associates’ 49th annual World Championship competition.
National African Dance and Drum Conference
August 30-Sept. 1, 2013. Washington Plaza Hotel, 10 Thomas Circle, NW, Washington, DC. The annual event has been deemed by participants as the largest family reunion for African dancers and drummers and dance enthusiasts in the U.S. The event features dance and drum workshops by 20-plus nationally and internationally renowned artists. The KanKouran’s annual concert production will take place on Saturday, August 31, at 8 p.m. at George Washington University’s Lisner Auditorium, 730 21st Street, NW, Washington, DC.
