This weekend: astronauts, rebellions, and depression and pancakes.

Friday

• Jazz in the Sculpture Garden @ The National Gallery of Art. 5-8:30 p.m. Jazz saxophonist Marty Nau has performed with the National Symphony and backed up Dizzy Gillespie and Rosemary Clooney.
• Back to the Future @ Gateway Park. Dusk. Part of the 2009 Rosslyn Outdoor Film Festival‘s “I Love the ’80s” theme.
• Epic Dance Party w/ DJ Doc Rok @ the Rock and Roll Hotel. 9:30 p.m.-2:30 a.m. +21. Rok’s stated goal is “to leave you in a breathless, sweaty mess” after an endless blitz of hipster-approved electronica, indie rock, and hip hop.

Saturday

• Salute to Apollo: The Kennedy Legacy @ the Kennedy Center Concert Hall. 8 p.m. A musical tribute to spaceships = kinda lame, but not when Chaka Khan and Buzz Aldrin are involved. Aldrin and Scott Altman host the NSO perfromance, with guests Denyce Graves, Jamia Nash, the U.S. Army Chorus, and… CHAKA KHAN. Although the performance is free, tickets are required and will be distributed from 10 a.m.-noon in the Hall of Nations. Two tix per person, first come, first served.
• Broadway Across America presents Space Panorama @ the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater. 2 p.m. & 7:30 p.m. Creator Andrew Dawson uses just his hands and expressive visage to recreate the events of the Apollo 11 lunar landing, set to Dmitri Shostakovich’s 10th Symphony. A discussion follows the performance. Tickets are required and may be reserved ahead of time via the box office or by phone (202-467-4600). Tickets are not available online.
• Lawrence of Arabia @ The National Archives Experience, William G. McGowan Theater. Noon. The 1962 film was nominated for 10 Oscars, and won seven. It’s Bedouins vs. The Turks! Peter O’Toole vs. Omar Sharif! And, a break from space-related celebrations.

Sunday

• This Land Is Me: Alcatraz Is Not An Island @ National Museum of the American Indian, Rasmuson Theater. 12:30 p.m. & 3:30 p.m. The documentary chronicles the prison/island’s occupation by the group Indians of All Tribes from 1969-1971, until the government forcibly put an end to the “Red Power” demonstration. Director James M. Fortier‘s film captures the uprising’s immediacy through interviews and footage taken by the occupants.

Photo of Apollo 11 mission insignia by dbking, Creative Commons Attribution License.