Festivals and Special Events

COMING UP

Dance Is the Answer

• Dancers are not just sold on their profession’s ability to keep them healthy, fit, tuned in to life and socially engaged; they want to spread the joy. The result is the second year of Dance Is the Answer, an 11-day program of free dance classes, performances and more by 30 metro-area dance companies, studios, presenters and venues. The “answer” runs from April 25 to May 4, in sync with National Dance Week. For selected performances, see listings in Dance. For full details, see www.dancemetrodc.org

Historic Garden Week in Virginia

• Every spring the Garden Club of Virginia arranges for hundreds of gardens, homes and historic landmarks to open their doors so the public can drop in and see spring at its finest. This year the Garden Week program marks its 75th anniversary from April 19 to 27 with walk-throughs of more than 250 properties from the Atlantic to the Alleghenies. Locally, tours are offered by garden clubs in Alexandria (April 19), Fauquier and Loudoun counties and Leesburg (April 20 and 21) and Fairfax and Great Falls (April 22). See listings in Nature. For complete information see vagardenweek.org.

The Papal visit

• Pope John Paul II took Washington by storm in October 1979, so when Pope Benedict XVI arrives April 15 for a two-day visit in the capital before moving on to New York, the occasion will be the first in a generation. Don’t look for up-close-and-personal: Tickets to the Pope’s most public event, the Mass in Nationals Park at 10 a.m. April 17, were distributed long ago through Catholic parishes. But there’s always the Popemobile, which Benedict will use three times, giving ordinary folks the chance to line the streets. Here are the routes:

• Noon April 16: Popemobile from the White House to the apostolic nunciature at 3339 Massachusetts Ave. NW.

• 5 p.m. April 16: Car and then Popemobile from the apostolic nunciature to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, 400 Michigan Ave. NE.

• 6:15 p.m. April 17: Popemobile from the Edward J. Pryzbyla University Center at the Catholic University of America, 620 Michigan Ave. NE, the short distance to the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center, 3900 Harewood Road NE.

For selected music programs associated with the visit, see Classical Music. For full details, see www.adw.org, www.nationalshrine.com and www.jp2cc.org.

CONTINUING

The Brubeck Festival: Celebrating the “real” ambassadors

• Fifty years ago, jazz pianist Dave Brubeck and three other jazz musicians began a new chapter in diplomacy: Sponsored by the U.S. State Department, they took their music to Eastern Europe, Asia and the Middle East in an effort to bridge a cultural divide. They were not the first — Dizzy Gillespie had toured the Middle East in 1956 with the same goal — but they were so successful that they set the pattern for years to come. Celebrating the anniversary through April 13, in cooperation with the University of the Pacific’s Brubeck Institute, are some top-tier Washington cultural institutions: the Kennedy Center, the Smithsonian Associates, the Library of Congress, George Washington University, the Meridian International Center and the National Endowment for the Arts, most of them with public programs. See Pop Music, Galleries and Lectures/Readings/Films. For full details, see www.brubeckfestival.com.

Arthur Miller Festival

• Arena Stage and Theater J’s tribute to a giant of American dramatic literature is at its peak, with Theater J’s “The Price” on the boards now through April 18 and Arena’s repertory twins, “Death of a Salesman” and “A View From the Bridge,” running through May 18. Rounding out the celebration are film screenings, discussions and readings, most of them free or pay-what-you-can, at a range of venues through May 19. On April 13, look for post-matinee readings at Theater J of five original, newly written five-minute plays reflecting on “The Price.” For the plays, see the Theater listings; for the rest, see Lectures/Readings/Films.

Baltimore Festival of Maps

• “You are here, hon.” That’s Charm City’s way of welcoming visitors to the three-month-long Baltimore Festival of Maps, a joint effort of the Baltimore Cultural Development Council and 34 Baltimore area cultural organizations. They want you to know about the many ways we can chart our lives. Centerpiece and admitted inspiration is the Walters Art Museum’s ambitious “Maps: Finding Our Place in the World” exhibit, which opened March 16 and runs through June 8. Other collaborators — among them the Maryland Science Center, the Contemporary Museum and the Maryland Historical Society — offer map-related exhibits and community mapping events through June 8. For the Walters and other museums, see the Museums listings; for the full schedule, see baltimorefestivalofmaps.com.

“China: An Incomparable Journey”

• The Smithsonian Associates showcase Chinese culture, history, arts, politics and August’s Beijing Olympics through a three-month-long program of 20 presentations, workshops and events that opened March 26 and will run through late June. See Dance, Festivals and Lectures/Readings/Films. For complete information, see www.smithsonianassociates.org.

Francophonie Festival 2008

• “La Journee internationale de la Francophonie” fell on 20 mars — March 20 to Yanks — around the world, but in Washington, where the Smithsonian Associates have joined with the Francophonie Committee to celebrate the French-speaking world, the festival runs for a month. Art exhibits, music, film and, of course, conferences and discussions in French, run through April 18. Highlights include the “zoblazo” rhythms of Meiway, the breakthrough singer from Cote d’Ivoire, at the Lincoln Theatre on April 18. See Pop Music listings; for a full festival schedule, see www.francophoniedc.org.

Kander & Ebb Celebration

• Signature Theatre continues its four-month salute to the Broadway songwriting partners John Kander and Fred Ebb. “Kiss of the Spider Woman” runs through April 20, “The Happy Time” is up and running through June 1, and in the Mead Theatre lobby at Signature, an exhibit called “Colored Lights” spotlights materials and artifacts of the duo’s writing partnership through June 22. Coming up: The free film series “Kander & Ebb at the Movies” offers a screening of “Funny Lady” on April 14, with other films to follow. Then look for “The Visit,” more song, dance, screening and conversation, all of it at the theater in Arlington. See listings for Theater, Stage, Galleries and Lectures/Readings/Films and check back for more events through June.

National Cherry Blossom Festival

• The annual celebration of the Tidal Basin cherry trees presented to the United States by Japan in 1912. First held in 1935, today it offers more than two weeks’ worth (March 29-April 13) of events focused on Japan and the beginning of spring. The gala opened with the 42nd annual Smithsonian Kite Festival on March 29, went razzle-dazzle with fireworks on April 5 and will climax with the Cherry Blossom Festival Parade on April 12. Only the highlights are included here; for a fully detailed, interactive schedule call 877/44BLOOM or see www.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org.

National Cherry Blossom Festival: The Parade

• With Miss America 2008; “Sesame Street” favorites; 11 marching bands, including the District’s Dunbar and Ballou high schools and Silver Spring’s James Herbert Blake High School; dancers and drummers; Cherry Blossom queens; tap dancers; youth choir; balloons, floats, horses, antique cars, clowns, mascots.

• Constitution Avenue between Seventh and 17th streets NW. Start at 10 a.m. April 12. Rain or shine; in case of inclement weather, check with 877/44BLOOM. Metro: Smithsonian (Orange/Blue lines), Federal Triangle (Orange/Blue), Archives/Navy Memorial (Yellow/Green). Metro alternates: Metro Center (Red/Blue/Orange), Gallery Place/Chinatown (Green/Yellow/Red).

• Reserved grandstand bleacher seating on Constitution Avenue between 15th and 16th streets NW $15 through Ticketmaster.com. First-come-first-served spaces on Constitution Avenue between Seventh and 17th streets free. Crowds begin to arrive 9 a.m.

National Cherry Blossom Festival: Other highlights

• Twentieth annual George Washington Invitational Regatta. Some of the nation’s top crews compete in one of the premier regattas on the East Coast. Thompson Boat Center, Washington Harbor, Potomac River. Metro: Foggy Bottom-GWU (Blue/Orange lines). Noon-5 p.m. April 11; 8 a.m.-5 p.m. April 12. Free to spectators.

• Sakura Matsuri — Japanese Street Festival. The nation’s largest one-day exhibition of Japanese culture follows the parade. Food vendors, beer garden; arts and crafts exhibits; Japanese and Asian products; the new J-POP Land highlighting Japan’s popular culture; martial arts demonstrations; live performances of both traditional and popular Japanese culture. Pennsylvania Avenue between 14th and 10th streets NW, and 12th Street between Pennsylvania and Constitution avenues. Metro: Federal Triangle (Blue/Orange lines). 11 a.m.-6 p.m. April 12.

Sweden rediscovered

• The Swedes, homebodies who call their embassy here the House of Sweden and revel in a landscape dotted with rust-red barns and cottages, want you to get to know their country. Their “Discover Sweden” program at the House of Sweden, 2900 K St. NW, features exhibits, cultural events, seminars, activities for children, concerts and workshops — all free and open to the public from noon to 6 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays through June 8. They also promise weekend programs for families throughout the two months. Among the events: a crash course in Swedish, a photo show on the country’s ubiquitous falu red paint, genealogy workshops and more. See Galleries and Lectures/Readings/Films. For complete information, see www.swedenabroad.com/washington.