GET OUT: BuddhaFest

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Festival: BuddhaFest

Like many spiritual leaders, Buddha occasionally gave contradictory pieces of advice. “Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule,” he once said. On another occasion he said, “He who loves 50 people has 50 woes; he who loves no one has no woes.” To an outsider, that may sound confusing. Should you love or not love? You may very well find the answer at this year’s BuddhaFest. The weekend-long event features movies, music, musing and meditation. More specifically: On Friday, Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio will speak about his book, “A Mindful Nation: How a Simple Practice Can Help Us Reduce Stress, Improve Performance and Recapture the American Spirit.” On Sunday, members of the World Wildlife Fund will deliver a similarly themed speech: “Sacred Earth: Healing Ourselves, Healing Our Planet.” Movies will be shown throughout. If three days of Buddhist immersion doesn’t completely clarify your worldview, fear not. In his sci-fi epic “The Forever War,” Joe Haldeman writes, “All reality becomes illusory and observer-oriented when you study general relativity. Or Buddhism.”

Through Sunday at the Spectrum Theatre at Artisphere, 1611 N. Kent St., Arlington, Va.

Web: www.buddhafest.org

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Become a Pilot Day at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center will let ... more >

For kids: Become a Pilot Day

At some point in every child’s life, generally before he experiences his first double layover while flying commercial, he wants to be a pilot. Become a Pilot Day at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center won’t make children into pilots, but it will let them experience some of what the job entails. They can sit in cockpit and fiddle with gadgets, learn the various uses of amateur satellite equipment, talk to fighter and chopper pilots and build model airplanes. There are, of course, brainier courses for adults, including a lecture about Vietnam by Marine photographer Dave Hugel and one on the development of the U-2 Spy Plane, by Gary Powers Jr.

Saturday at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, 14390 Air and Space Museum Parkway, Chantilly, Va.

Phone: 703/572-4118

Web: becomeapilot.si.edu

Exhibit: ‘Hoecakes & Hospitality: Cooking with Martha Washington’

Contrary to what her columns suggest, Sally Quinn was not the first woman in Washington to throw a dinner party. That honor goes to the first first lady, Martha Washington. According to the Mount Vernon Estate, Martha and George entertained “thousands of guests” at their home. But unlike contemporary doyennes, Martha Washington didn’t outsource the hard work of putting together a dinner party. She chose the recipes and ran the kitchen. Visitors to Martha’s kitchen will get to see her collection of pots and pans, hear about her favorite dishes and peruse her cookbooks while scents of cinnamon, coffee and bread court their olfactory senses.

Through Aug. 11 at the Mount Vernon Estate, 3200 Mount Vernon Memorial Highway, south of Alexandria, Va.

Phone: 800/429-1520

Web: www.mountvernon.org

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