16

SATURDAY

Pound-cake contest, school pep squad, resilient rap dinosaur: In the eyes of the Arlington County Cultural Affairs Division, all of those things are like the others. The county’s “Feel the Heritage” festival will include—among bake-offs and baton twirls—a scheduled 20-minute throwdown by old-school hiphop ambassador Kurtis Blow and his body-rock posse, the New York City Breakers. As the first rapper to sign to a major label (Mercury in 1979), Blow made huge hits (“The Breaks,” “Basketball”) before naughty words became the verbal currency of hiphop, so it’s no wonder he’s still clockin’ dollars on the municipal-show circuit. But the Breakers will be a sweet bonus, especially for the kids who practice their flares, windmills, and headspins at night in the basketball gym of Arlington’s T.J. Community Center. For a little context, the county also has booked a steel band, African dancers, and a Latin-jazz ensemble. Blow hits the stage at 2:10 p.m. at Gunston Community Center, 2700 S. Lang St., Arlington. Free. (703) 228-6980. (Joe Warminsky)