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Fifty years after the March on Washington, D.C.’s museums have mounted several notable exhibits that look back on a critical period of the Civil Rights movement. Now, the Newseum throws its hat into the ring with an exhibit dedicated to the student activists who launched some of the most significant demonstrations of the 1960s. Visitors to “Make Some Noise: Students and the Civil Rights Movement” can see a section of the lunch counter where the Greensboro sit-ins began, touch a bronze cast of the Birmingham jail-cell door behind which Dr. King wrote his famous letter, and read up on the movement’s youngest leaders who remain active today. Read more >>> The exhibit is on view daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Newseum, 555 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. $12.95–$21.95. (202) 292-6100. newseum.org. (Sarah Kaplan)
EAT THIS
Sorbet lovers should head to Blue Duck Tavern this weekend. Beginning today, anyone who dines at the restaurant, located at the Park Hyatt Washington, will receive a free mini sorbet cone upon arrival. There are three rotating flavors: lime, virgin mojito, and peach (in honor of August being National Peach Month). The treat is available every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night in August. Blue Duck Tavern, 1201 24th St NW. (202) 419-6755. blueducktavern.com. (Ally Mutnick)
OH AND ALSO
Tonight: “Dance music is so interchangeable. There’s not a lot of face to it. It’s a bunch of Dutch DJs with the same haircut. You go see a dance stage at a fucking dance festival and I’m bored out of my fucking mind,” Mad Decent label head Diplo told the Huffington Post during this year’s Coachella Festival. Keep that quote in mind, dear consumer, if you buy a ticket to this year’s Mad Decent Block Party, which is, yeah, a dance-music festival. Read more in our Summer Entertainment Guide. The Mad Decent Block Party begins today 2 p.m. at Merriweather Post Pavilion, 10475 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia. $30–$75. (Joe Warminsky)
Tonight: D.C. Music Download presents an evening of local rock at Rock & Roll Hotel. Head to the club for performances by Brett, Ra Ra Rasputin, The Silver Liners, and Honest Haloway. 8 p.m. at 1353 H St. NE. $12.
Tonight: The Washington Project for the Arts opens its new exhibit, “The Art of the Superhero—Revisted,” at the Capitol Skyline Lounge. Stop by tonight for a reception and check out superhero-inspired paintings by Carla Goldberg, Simon Monk, and others. 6 p.m. at 10 I St. SW. Free.
Tonight and Saturday: Experimental music label Sonic Circuits features dozens of artists and performers at its Dog Daze Fest at Union Arts DC. 8 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday at 411 New York Ave. NE. $5–$15.
Saturday: The D.C. area boasts a rich and diverse crowd of writers, including many who identify as LGBT, and today an impressive slate of authors will read and discuss their work at the OutWrite Book Fair. Keynote author Manil Suri, who teaches math at UMBC, pretty much shocked the literary world with his debut fever dream of a novel about love and Hinduism,The Death of Vishnu. At 7:30 p.m., he takes the podium in part to read from his third novel, City of Devi. Read more >>> The festival takes place from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the DC Center for the LGBT Community, 1318 U St. NW. Free. (202) 682-2245. dccenter.org. (Rebecca J. Ritzel)
Saturday: Local alt-pop group America Hearts plays a headlining show at the Black Cat’s mainstage. 9 p.m. at 1811 14th St. NW. $12.
Saturday: The CD Cellar’s Arlington location hosts Nice Breeze, Harness Flux, and Kitchen Noise for an intimate in-store performance. 9 p.m. at 2607 Wilson Blvd., Arlington. Free.
Sunday: A guy with Lebanese and Polish roots and a penchant for folk music doesn’t seem the likeliest person to pioneer surf rock. But that’s exactly what Dick Dale did when he moved to Southern California in 1954. No idea who Dale is, or just need a refresher? Listen to “Miserlou,” his 1962 adaptation of a belly-dance standard that popped up decades later in Pulp Fiction. Read more >>> Dick Dale performs at 7:30 p.m. at the Birchmere, 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria. $29.50. (703) 549-7500. birchmere.com. (Steve Kiviat)
Sunday: Guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela perform Mexican folk songs, hard rock, and a little bit of everything else at the Music Center at Strathmore. 7 p.m. at 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda. $55–$78.
Sunday: End the weekend with a little more local rock: Southern Problems plays with Scarecrow Sonic Boombox and Tideland at the Velvet Lounge. 9 p.m. at 915 U St. NW. $8–$10.
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