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Falls Church and the surrounding region are heading into a crowded stretch of Juneteenth events, Pride activities, Father’s Day dining, outdoor concerts, theater and art exhibitions.
Juneteenth and Pride in Falls Church
The Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation will hold a free Juneteenth celebration from noon to 5 p.m. Thursday, June 19, at 106 Tinner Hill Road. Built around the themes of freedom, community and unity, the gathering will feature music, history, storytelling, games and food.
Juneteenth also marks the return of Falls Church’s Concerts in the Park series. The Falls Church Concert Band will perform at 7 p.m. June 19 at Cherry Hill Park, including “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” The Tinner Hill Music Concert follows June 26 with Bushmaster featuring Gary Brown and a mix of blues, funk and jazz.
After rainy weather forced another delay, Falls Church Forward rescheduled its Eden Center rainbow-crosswalk painting for 7 a.m. Saturday, June 14, weather permitting. Volunteers will also refresh the rainbow crosswalks at the City Hall campus beginning at 8 a.m. Sunday, June 15.
Only adults are being asked to participate at Eden Center because the work will take place beside Wilson Boulevard/Saigon Boulevard. Prospective volunteers can contact fallschurchforward@gmail.com.
Father’s Day dining
Ireland’s Four Provinces, 105 W. Broad St., will serve a Father’s Day brunch buffet from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, June 15. The restaurant is also offering weekend specials including filet of beef, ribeye, surf and turf, lamb chops, barbecue ribs and shrimp, rockfish and chocolate cake. Reservations and details are available at 703-534-8999.
Cafe Kindred, 450 N. Washington St., plans its own Father’s Day menu June 15, featuring burger specials, chili dogs and beer on tap.
Falls Church has also welcomed Little Falls Cafe at 106 Little Falls St. The vintage-style creperie serves crepes, coffee and other drinks in a refurbished Alpine-inspired building. It is open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday and closed Mondays.
Free summer music returns
Falls Church’s Concerts in the Park series is back for its 33rd year at Cherry Hill Park, 312 Park Ave. The Village Preservation and Improvement Society and the Recreation and Parks Department host the free Thursday performances, which begin at 7 p.m. and generally last 60 to 90 minutes. No advance registration is required, and visitors may bring chairs, blankets and picnic dinners.
The 2025 schedule includes:
- June 19: Falls Church Concert Band
- June 26: Bushmaster featuring Gary Brown
- July 3: Dede & the Do-Right’s
- July 10: Richard Walton Group
- July 17: Kiti Gartner and the Drifting Valentines
- July 24: The Bob Gibson Big Band
- July 31: Big Tow
The Columbia Pike Blues Festival returns for its 28th year with performances by Rick Franklin at 1 p.m., Little Red & the Renegades at 2:10 p.m., Anthony “Swamp Dog” Clark at 3:30 p.m., Sol Roots at 5 p.m. and Everyday Everybody at 6:30 p.m.
More than 60 vendors are expected, along with food, beer, wine, children’s activities and an Arlington Art Truck workshop led by Zofie King from 1 to 5 p.m. Participants can use organic materials to make cyanotype sun prints.
Glen Echo Park’s free Thursday concert series continues at the Bumper Car Pavilion, 7300 MacArthur Blvd. in Glen Echo, Maryland. Gina DeSimone and the Moaners perform from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. June 12 in a Pride-themed program. The all-ages concerts continue Thursdays through Aug. 21, rain or shine. Seating is limited, but guests may bring folding chairs.
At The Wharf in Washington, Rock the Dock brings free music to Transit Pier at 7 p.m. Wednesdays through Labor Day. The remaining lineup includes Too Much Talent Band on June 18, Pebble to Pearl on June 25, Shane Gamble & The Pawnshop Hearts on July 2, Hot Cactus on July 9, Secret Society on July 16, The HariKaraoke Band on July 23 and So Fetch on July 30.
August performers are The JoGo Project on Aug. 6, DuPont Brass on Aug. 13, Uncle Jesse on Aug. 20 and Pink PaLiSh on Aug. 27. The concerts welcome families and leashed dogs. Alcohol is restricted to guests 21 and older, and outside drinks are prohibited.
Major concerts and local stages
Erykah Badu performs at 8 p.m. Saturday, June 14, at Wolf Trap’s Filene Center, 1551 Trap Road in Vienna. Gates open at 6:30 p.m., and tickets begin at $71.50 including fees.
Gipsy Kings featuring Tonino Baliardo appear at 8 p.m. June 12 at the Warner Theatre, 513 13th St. NW. Balcony access requires stairs because the theater has no elevators, and bags may not exceed 12 by 6 by 12 inches. Backpacks are prohibited.
Creative Cauldron’s bilingual production of Disney’s “Aladdin” concludes June 15 at 127 E. Broad St. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays, and 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets range from $25 for students to $50 for tier-one seating.
The English-and-Spanish production imagines Agrabah as a kingdom where royalty and residents speak different languages, allowing Jafar to control communication through translation. Matt Conner directs, with music direction by Bharati Soman and choreography by Stefan Sittig.
Nova Nightsky Theatre presents Sarah Baczewski’s modern adaptation of “The Taming of the Shrew” at 225 E. Broad St. The production recasts the Minola family as reality-television stars and uses their public battles to examine gender, marriage, power and authenticity.
Providence Players of Fairfax stages Steven Dietz’s “Shooting Star” at 7:30 p.m. June 12-14 at the James Lee Community Center Theater, 2855 Annandale Road. John Coscia directs the bittersweet comedy about former college lovers unexpectedly reunited while snowed in at an airport.
“The Untitled Unauthorized Hunter S. Thompson Musical” runs through July 13 at Signature Theatre, 4200 Campbell Ave. in Arlington. Directed by Christopher Ashley, the rock musical follows Thompson from the 1940s to 2005 as he develops Gonzo journalism, enters politics and confronts his destructive legacy. The approximately two-hour, 35-minute production is recommended for adults and contains strong language, drug use, violence, strobe lighting, haze and simulated gunshots and explosions.
At 1st Stage, 1524 Spring Hill Road in Tysons, the extended run of August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “The Piano Lesson” continues June 13-15. Danielle A. Drakes directs the story of siblings Berniece and Boy Willie, whose conflict over an heirloom piano exposes the weight of their family’s history. A meet-the-cast event is planned for June 14.
The Arlington Players close their free production of “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” at Lubber Run Amphitheater with 8 p.m. performances June 12-14 and a 2 p.m. show June 15.
Other newly opened productions include “The Play That Goes Wrong” at the Little Theatre of Alexandria and Lindsey Brown’s “A Lovely Day to Kill Your Spouse,” running June 13-21 at Dominion Stage’s Gunston Theatre Two.
Theater across Washington
GALA Hispanic Theatre presents the world-premiere adaptation of “Columbia Heights Bolero Bar” through June 29 at 3333 14th St. NW. Performed in Spanish with English surtitles, the immersive cabaret brings audience members into stories of heartbreak told through famous boleros.
Shows begin at 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. A June 13 press night includes karaoke and an artist reception. During the run, the lobby hosts “The Divine Orishas,” an exhibition by Cuban artist Reina María Valdés exploring Afro-Cuban iconography and Yoruba spirits.
Andrea Stolowitz’s “The Berlin Diaries” continues through June 29 at Theater J, 1529 16th St. NW. Inspired by the playwright’s great-grandfather’s journal, the production follows a search through a family history fractured by war.
Mosaic Theater’s “Andy Warhol in Iran” runs through June 29 at the Atlas Performing Arts Center. Set in 1976, Brent Askari’s play imagines Warhol being taken hostage by a university student while visiting Tehran to create portraits of Iranian royalty.
Signature Theatre’s “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” continues through June 22, with limited tickets remaining. The rock musical follows Hedwig’s journey from Communist East Germany to the United States and contains adult language and descriptions of trauma.
The Keegan Theatre presents “Falsettos” at 8 p.m. June 12. William Finn and James Lapine’s musical follows Marvin, who leaves his wife and son for his lover Whizzer, against a story involving family, Judaism, baseball and AIDS.
“Twelfth Night,” directed by Mei Ann Teo, continues through June 22 at the Folger Shakespeare Library. Tickets range from $20 to $84. The two-hour, 15-minute production includes mature language and innuendo, simulated alcohol and tobacco use, haze and strobe effects.
Olney Theatre Center’s world-premiere musical “Senior Class” also runs through June 22. The comedy follows students who create their own musical version of “Pygmalion” after budget cuts leave their school unable to afford “My Fair Lady.” Tickets range from $41 to $101.
Arena Stage presents Tarell Alvin McCraney’s queer love story “We Are Gathered” through June 25. The play follows W. Tre and Free as an anniversary forces them to consider their future together. Select performances include opportunities for couples to exchange marriage vows onstage.
At Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Klein Theatre, Emily Burns’ adaptation of “Frankenstein” has been extended through June 29. Written and directed by Burns, the approximately two-hour, 20-minute production reframes Mary Shelley’s story through the inner lives of Victor and Elizabeth Frankenstein.
New and continuing art exhibitions
Falls Church Arts’ 2025 All Member Show is on view at 700-B W. Broad St. through July 6. The first session features artists with last names beginning A through L. Visitors may vote for the People’s Choice award through June 20.
“The Invisible Skate Theory” continues through Aug. 16 at Mason Exhibitions Arlington, 3601 Fairfax Drive. Curated by Gato, the exhibition considers the informal networks that connect skateboarders through meetups, zines, social media and pop-up events. It also examines women’s underrepresentation in skateboarding leadership and the continuing influence of Bolivian women’s collective Imilla Skate’s 2024 visit to Washington.
Olivia Tripp Morrow’s solo exhibition “(Un)tethered” opens with an Art After Hours event from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, June 13, at the Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington, 3550 Wilson Blvd. The exhibition remains on view through Sept. 7.
Morrow uses embroidery, sculpture and fiber installations to explore grief, memory and her connection to her mother, who died in December 2023 after a short battle with cancer. Some works incorporate materials inherited from her mother, who taught Morrow embroidery while the artist recovered from spinal surgery in 2020.
“Star Power: Photographs from Hollywood’s Golden Age by George Hurrell” remains at the National Portrait Gallery through Jan. 4, 2026. The show traces Hurrell’s glamorous studio portraiture for MGM and other Hollywood studios during the 1930s and early 1940s.
“Legendary: An Exhibition of Women Artists” is on view and available for sales through Aug. 30 at the Stacy C. Sherwood Community Center, 3740 Blenheim Blvd. in Fairfax. A women’s workshop roundtable is scheduled from 9 a.m. to noon June 21.
Pamela Huffman’s “In the Absence of Nurture… Nature” closes June 15 at Rare Bird Coffee Roasters.
History, nature and classic film
The traveling exhibition “WWII: Voices of Service” has opened at the Fairfax Museum and Visitor Center, 10209 Main St. Using photographs, letters and oral histories, the show follows the war from Pearl Harbor through the GI Bill while highlighting service members interred in national cemeteries. The museum is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Monday.
Meadowlark Botanical Gardens hosts “Summer Nature Therapy: Embracing the Season’s Shift” from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. June 14 at 9750 Meadowlark Gardens Court in Vienna. Certified nature and forest therapy guide Ilana Rubin will lead adults through mindfulness exercises and a slow walk of no more than about a mile, followed by tea and light snacks.
Registration costs $35 and is required in advance. The program takes place rain or shine unless conditions become hazardous, and participants should arrive 10 to 15 minutes early with water, suitable clothing and outdoor footwear.
The Library of Congress Packard Campus Theater, 19053 Mt. Pony Road in Culpeper, screens the 1956 science-fiction film “Forbidden Planet” from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, June 14. The 98-minute color film follows a starship crew confronting a mysterious threat on a distant planet.