wolf trap

Children’s performances at Wolf Trap

May 3, 2022

Wolf Trap isn’t just for adults, there are great family shows too! If you do go sans Bambinos, remember to bring a picnic, drinks and blanket and make an entire evening out of it. For the Children’s Theatre-in-the-Woods performances, you can’t have your picnic at the show but once it is finished you can enjoy it in the big grassy field or at one of the tables.

Family Sing-A-Longs-
Sound of Music: July 16
Disney and Pixar’s Toy Story in Concert: July 30
Encanto: The Sing Along Film Concert: August 11

Children’s Theatre-in-the-Woods–
Josh Lovelace- Young Folk: June 21
The Fourth Wall- Fruit Flies Like a Banana: June 22
Xuejuan Dance Ensemble- The Land of Mulan: June 23
Madcap Puppets- Jack & the Gentle Giant: June 24 & 25
Marsha & the Positrons- Fun Songs About Science!: June 28
Native Pride Dancers- Dancing Through Life: June 29
David Gonzalez with Daniel Kelly- Cuentos: Tales from the Latinx World: June 30
Up In Arms- Pirate Song: July 1 & 2
Kalanidhi Dance- Dancing Stories: July 5
Uncle Devin- In the Pocket Go-Go Show: July 6
The Bright Siders: July 7
GreatWorks Theatre Company- Lyle the Crocodile: July 8 & 9
Fyütch- Dance Party with Fyütch: July 12
Freddy Fossil’s DINO Show!: July 13 & 14
Furia Flamenca Dance Company- A Trip to Spain: July 15
Rissi Palmer- Best Day Ever: July 16
Wendy and DB- Into the Little Blue House: July 19
Soul in Motion- Drum Call: July 20
Flor Bromley- Fiesta Global: July 21
Vital Theatre Company-Owen and Mzee The Musical: July 22 & 23
Aaron Nigel Smith & Red Yarn- Smith & Yarn: July 26
Megan Schoenbohm: July 27
The Culkin School of Traditional Irish Dance- Stepping in the Woods: Celebrating Irish Dance: July 28
Maryland Youth Ballet- Hansel & Gretel: July 29 & 30
Broken Box Mime Theater- Destination Everywhere: August 2
123 Andrés- Actívate: August 3
Bee Parks and the Hornets: August 4
The Amazing Max- Magic Shoe: August 5 & 6

SEE MORE, FOR LESS! Buy tickets now to 3 or more Children’s Theatre-in-the-Woods shows and get $2 off every ticket! BUY PACKAGE HERE

2022 POLICIES & INFO: By purchasing a ticket to Wolf Trap, you agree to comply with all health and safety protocols that are in place at the time of the performance. Wolf Trap’s COVID-19 protocols are subject to change based on the CDC, Virginia, and National Park Service policies. Please check the policies and guidelines prior to your performance for the most up-to-date information.

LOCATION: 1551 Trap Road Vienna, VA 22182

Weekend Picks in and around Washington, DC

August 24, 2018

Maryland Renaissance Festival takes place on weekends from August 26-October21, 2018. The Rent Fest will be full of jousting while serving up lots of turkey legs! Take a time machine back to medieval times where you’ll see wizards, knights and wenches. With plenty of entertainment, including music, jousting, mazes, puppetry, pony rides, a huge pirate playground and so much more. Your children will see people dressed up in 16th century outfits and will be begging to participate while staring in awe. Dress like a knight and come participate or just watch! This weekend is the only time they offer kids entry as FREE.

August 23-26 Comcast Outdoor Film Festival returns to Strathmore this summer! Join us on the lawn for FOUR nights of free family favorite flicks benefiting the NIH Children’s Charities. August 24: Black Panther, August 25: The Lion King, August 26: Wonder Woman. Concessions begin at 7:30pm. Movie will begin at dusk (approximately 8:30pm). Event is FREE!

Friday

5:30pm-8:30pm: Jazz in the Sculpture Garden
The Jazz in the Garden Series begins its 18th season in May. The free concert series features jazz artists performing a wide variety of styles—Traditional New Orleans jazz, blues, swing, Ska, Funk, Pan-Caribbean salsa, boogaloo, Go-go, and more—every Friday evenings in the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden. You can purchase food and adult beverages or bring your own picnic (but no adult bevs are allowed in).

6:00pm-9:00pm: Parents Night Out at My Gym Bethesda:Mr. Nick’s Birthday Celebration
Drop your kids off for three hours of nonstop action at My Gym including fitness games, active play, pizza and fun! Kids have their own party here at My Gym while grown-ups enjoy 3 hours to themselves. My Gym is the best babysitting around! Space is limited-Reserve your spot here! Reservations required. Potty independent please. $40 Members, $45 Non-members, Sibling Discount

6:00pm-9:00pm: Friday Night Live Concert Series
Kick off your weekend with live entertainment, great company, and fantastic food, wine and beer from the restaurants at Rockville Town Square  on The Square in Rockville Town Square. Music ranges from 80’s and 90’s cover bands, funk and soul, roots rock blues and southern rock.

6:00pm-9:00pm: Parents Night Out at Busy Bees Falls Church
So you want to have some uninterrupted conversations over dinner, or go to the movies, or just bee, but don’t have a sitter? Now you have our A-Team! We are not a sit down and watch a video kinda place! Rest assured: Your little one will be Active and walk away feeling Funtastic after moving, spinning, running and jumping with our A-Team! Pssst… a solid night sleep? Yes please! Reservations are required and spots are limited! $35 first child and $30 siblings. Pizza meals will be provided for the kids. Consider bringing them in their PJs, and they’ll be ready for bed when you come and get them!

7:00pm-9:00pm: The Yards Park Friday Night Concert Series
The free Capitol Riverfront Friday Night Concert Series is back for its 8th Season. Every Friday night this summer, come to Yards Park to relax and enjoy the river view, fantastic bands, food and beverage, and a large variety of great restaurants within a few minutes walk from the park. Family-friendly lyrics and grassy open space make this an enjoyable event for adults and kids alike.

Saturday

11:30am-3:00pm: Summer in the City Family Day at Smithsonian American Art Museum
Escape the heat and still play in the sun! Come and enjoy all your favorite summertime games, a museum scavenger hunt, and crafts. If you are looking for something more low-key, put on a lei and listen to relaxing island music. Enjoy refreshing summer treats from the Courtyard Café.

12:00pm-6:00pm: 17th Street Festival
The festival includes a wide variety of street vendors, including artists, makers, entrepreneurs, nonprofits, kids’ activities and entertainment – rain or shine. The festival will include more than 60 artists and makers selling everything from oil paintings to pottery, jewelry to cigars, and every creative item in between. Other vendors include area nonprofit organizations, local entrepreneurs, and the Kids Zone will have an inflatable slide and vendors. Unique to the 17th Street Festival will be an all day “traveling” entertainment on the street, including a funk band, flamenco dancers with guitar, mariachi band, a Chinese lion dancer, and a New Orleans jazz band. Taking place in the 1500-1600 blocks of 17th Street, NW.

12:00pm-6:00pm: Community Day at Arena Stage
Celebrate Arena’s 2018/19 season with a great day full of activities including live music, face painting, dance performances, storytelling, delicious cuisine from Southwest restaurants and much, much more! Enjoy a pony ride with Ponies Unlimited. Meet, adopt and go home with your new best friend! The Humane Rescue Alliance’s mobile adoption vehicle will be onsite with adoptable cats and dogs. This event is completely FREE to the public and great for all ages!

10:00am-12:00pm: Red Panda Art: Slime and other concoctions
Workshops will include open art exploration, sensory stations, a related story, and a guided project. Each workshop is $30/child.

6:00pm: KIDZ BOP Live at Wolf Trap
KIDZ BOP Live 2018 is the ultimate family concert experience, “sung by kids for kids.” The KIDZ BOP Kids headline this new show, performing some of today’s biggest hit songs that have also kept them at the top of the US Kids charts for over 15 years.

Sunday

10:00am-11:00am: Nous Bloombars
The Alliance Francaise is very proud to continue its partnership with BloomBars, bringing back a weekly music program for children. Nous Bloomons is a celebration of French language and culture through song and dance, led by Achille Ango. Achille grew up in Cameroon (Central West Africa). After graduating from High School, he went to France where he lived for seven years studying and playing music. He has taught French to children, and played music with various bands in the Washington area for more than 20 years. He now teaches French in an immersion school using music as a vehicle. If you want to have fun, dance, jump and sing “à tue-tête”, join us at BloomBars! $7 suggested donation per child. $3 per adult.

6:00pm: Movies on the Potomac at National Harbor
Nothing says summer like an evening under the stars—and there’s no better way to enjoy the season than Movies on the Potomac at National Harbor. Pack your picnic blankets, grab food to go from one of our delicious dining establishments, and meet us at the Plaza’s big screen for a FREE evening of fun for all ages! Movie: Annie 2014

Ongoing activities:
Fun House at National Building Museum
Wings of Fancy at Brookside Gardens
Tinkerbell at Adventure Theatre

Guest Post: Red Yarn at Wolf Trap + CD Giveaway!

June 12, 2017

Written by children’s music blogger Carolyn Ross. View her monthly live music and arts calendar for families across the Washington, D.C. metro area at Family Music n’ Arts.

Portland’s acclaimed family folksinger and puppeteer, Red Yarn, celebrates the release of the Parent’s Choice Award-winning album Born in the Deep Woods with a tour of the east coast, with a stop at Wolf Trap!

Coming to Wolf Trap’s Children’s Theatre-in-The-Woods, Tuesday, June 27, Andy Furgeson performs as Red Yarn, spinning tales and turning traditional rhythms into a more sophisticated, banjo-strumming, harmonica-hopping, contemporary nostalgia. Kids and families will enjoy the front-porch-swinging bluegrass and folk-rock rhythms, as they unwind for a while with Red Yarn, and meet his puppet family of “critters,” hailing from what he calls the Deep Woods.

Recently, Red Yarn answered a few questions from Family Music n’ Arts about the origins of his music, and why he finds it important to share with families.

What led you to The Deep Woods project, an almost anthropologic study of folk music about animals?

About eight years ago I decided to build on my interest in folk or revival music, collecting old records and teaching myself folksongs from old songbooks. I was particularly fascinated by the animal songs. They were ostensibly children’s songs, but were also dark and a little weird. I was just getting into puppetry and performing for children, so I started building puppets of the songs’ animal characters. Soon, the Deep Woods and my Red Yarn persona were born.

How have the places you have lived influence your music?

Growing up in Austin, Texas, I was exposed to a lot of old country, blues, and bluegrass music, as well as great rock’n’roll and a vibrant live music scene. I played in a punk band all through high school, so got used to high-energy performance at a young age. In College in California I played in a rowdy bluegrass band, the moved to Portland. I was drawn here because of the music – artists like Elliott Smith and the Decemberists and a thriving indie circuit. Plus, the natural world here has been a huge influence on the woodland critter world I’ve created.

You have two children. Tell me about them and the influence they have on your music. What have you found is an important message to share with your kids and other families?

I started performing for kids well before I had kids, but now that I have two of my own, I feel like I’m much better at making music that parents and kids can enjoy together. Lots of my songs start “in the nursery,” singing old folk tunes or original rhymes for my little ones. My newest album, Born in the Deep Woods, is all about birth and rebirth, full of stories and feelings from my own experience as a parent. I hope I give my kids, and all the kids who hear my music, a deeper sense of American music history and what it can tell us about American history. I also hope to inspire in them a freedom to explore, create, and express themselves.

Is puppetry still a big part of your shows? Do you make the puppets?

Yes! Puppetry is and will likely always be an important part of my show. I always travel with a suitcase full of “Critters” who do little routines in between songs. I’ve about half of my repertory cast of 20 critters, and commissioned talented friends to help with the other half.

What is a typical Saturday morning for your family?

Well, Saturdays are often a full workday for me, with two or three shows around town. But I always take at least one weekend day off to be with the family, so on that day we’re up early with the kids and out on a morning adventure. Lots of walks, exploring Portland’s awesome parks, neighborhoods, and woods. If we’re stuck inside, we’re often listening to records, singing songs, or building imaginary worlds with our kiddos.

Enter to win Red Yarn’s newest CD, Born in the Deep Woods by commenting on our Facebook page. Winner will be announced June 19!

See full summer schedule at Wolf Trap Children’s Theatre-in-the-Woods.

After every show – free games and activities! Check out select shows for even more opportunities to learn and explore:
Junior Ranger Days: Enjoy outdoor activities with a National Park Ranger and earn your Junior Ranger Badge!
Workshops: Register for a free, exclusive post-performance experience with the artist.

The Not-Its! come to Wolf Trap

July 12, 2016

Written by children’s music blogger Carolyn Ross. View her monthly live music and arts calendar for families across the Washington, D.C. metro area at Kindiemusicdc.

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“All politics is local.” A saying familiar to those in Washington D.C. and all around the beltway where bambinos and their parents live and work. So what does a kids music band out of Seattle have to say about that? Well, quite a lot actually!

As we look toward the 2016 Presidential elections, The Not-Its! are hoping both kids and adults are listening to their message of speaking up and speaking out. The band’s new album title: Are You Listening? echos this sentiment, as do the lyrics from the single named for our own town, Washington D.C.

A bit like the travelouge, Places to Go With Kids in Washington D.C., “Washington D.C”. by the Not-Its! starts out all about monuments and ruby red slippers at the Smithsonian, but then spirals quickly into a kind of punk activist’s lesson asking what many in the national electorate seem to be saying these days, “D.C. do you hear me, D.C. are you tuned in to me?”

As parents of young children, we often teach them to stop and think about what to say when someone gives you a gift. Or how to apologize for bad behavior. But when was the last time you encouraged your bambinos to tell you what they might have to say to the leaders of our country?

Other Are You Listening? highlights include Kid of the Week a song about basking in the glow of classroom leadership, and Bird on A Wire a kind of introspective song that reminds us to think of our feathered friends when it comes to lunch.

Get tickets for The Not-Its! performance on July 26 & July 27, 2016 at Theatre-in-the-Woods and experience these positive jams in person.

Things to know before you go to a Theatre-in-the-Woods performance;

There is free parking
Plan for about a 5-10 minute walk from the parking lot to the performance area
Bathrooms are located near the parking lot
Only water is allowed in the performance area
Strollers can be brought up to the entrance of the performance area
All performances start at 10:30 a.m. and last about 45 minutes
Seating is not assigned

See a full schedule of performances at Children’s Theatre-in-the-Woods this summer at Wolf Trap.

Lisa Loeb plays at Wolf Trap Children’s Theatre-in-the-Woods

June 15, 2016

Interview with Lisa Loeb written by children’s music blogger Carolyn Ross. View her monthly live music and arts calendar for families across the Washington, D.C. metro area at Kindiemusicdc.

Remember the song about the wayward meatball, On Top of Spaghetti from you summer camp days? Singer-songwriter Lisa Loeb, who opens Wolf Trap’s summertime Theatre- in-the-Woods series June 21, remembers well this example of storytelling in music. Finding herself in a position to write a souped-up version of sorts, she wrote about a pancake. Along with co-collaborators on the nostalgic summer camp songs album, Camp Lisa, she shares a similar message of perseverance through the point of view of a pancake that never quite makes it from the griddle to the plate like everyone expects, but makes a fine breakfast anyway.

[Read more…]

Meet Alphabet Rockers; coming to DC this week

July 19, 2015

This article was written by Carolyn Ross of Kindiemusicdc, promotor of musicians playing in the DC area. Alphabet Rockers will be performing on July 21 and July 22 at Wolf Trap’s Theatre-in-the-Woods and July 23 will be entertaining crowds at Frederick’s SummerFest Family Theatre.

Harvard University graduates can often be found on the short list for U.S. Attorney General, Fulbright scholar, even the Nobel Peace prize. But making independent kids music? With a down to earth intuition about what appeals to kids and the power of music and movement, Kaitlin McGaw is not your typical Harvard grad. Along with co-performers Stefanie Liang and Tommy Shepherd, the founder of the L.A. based Kindie Hip Hop troupe, Alphabet Rockers, McGaw has made quite a name for herself in a field not highly populated by ivy leaguers.

[Read more…]

Weekend Picks: jazz, movies and Nationals players

July 17, 2015

Summer is flying by and we have some of the fun DC has to offer right here. This weekend is sure to keep you busy.

Saturday–

10:00am-11:00am: Washington Nationals players at DC Public Libraries
Players will read to children participating in the DC Public Library Summer Reading Program. Participants in the program who meet their Summer reading goals will be rewarded with two free tickets to a Nationals game! And finally, at the close of the Summer, on September 19th, the Washington Nationals will recognize the DC Public Library in a pre-game, on-field ceremony with kids representing each of the 26 branches.

Drew Storen
Tenley Library- 4450 Wisconsin Ave., NW Washington, DC 20016

Stephen Strasburg
Anacostia Library- 1800 Good Hope Rd., SE Washington, DC 20020

Aaron Barrett
Mount Pleasant Library- 3160 16th St., NW Washington, DC 20010

10:00am-1:00pm: Kidical Mass Family Biking: Swim Center!
(355 Martins Ln, Rockville, MD)
Join us for our second Kidical Mass Rockville ride starting at the Rockville Swim Center! The Kidical Mass rides are designed for families with young children or anyone who supports family biking. We welcome parents with children on their own bikes or coming along for the ride via trailers, bike seats, tag-alongs or any other family biking set-up you have. This is a 1.4 mile ride that is a full circle, starting and ending at the Rockville Swim and Fitness Center. We will be meeting at the indoor entrance and using multi-use trails and quiet residential streets. At the end of the ride, we’ll have popsicles to break the heat a little!

MammothFollies_640 10:30am: Hudson Vagabond Puppets at Wolf Trap Children’s Theatre-in-the Woods
(1645 Trap Rd. Vienna, VA. 22182)
Go on a pre-historic adventure with this award-winning theatre troupe as they presentMammoth Follies. Learn about marvelous creatures from the Jurassic era in an old-fashioned revue of original songs, witty jokes, and earth-smashing dances performed by life-size puppets. $10 tickets

10:30-11:30am: Ice Cream Social with Katie Kraft at Stead Park
(1625 P St NW, Washington, DC 20036)
Katie is the owner of Accelerando Music and a certified childhood music educator. Accelerando Music is home to ʻTots with Tempo,ʼ the 2013 winner of Red Tricycleʼs ʻMost Awesome Music Class for Kidsʼ award, as well as the 2015 winner of Washington Familyʼs ʻBest for Families.ʼ With action-oriented songs and interactive movement, she is sure to have the little ones dancing & singing.

7:00pm: Cinema Del Ray showing of Penguins of Madagascar
(Mount Vernon Rec Center: 2017 Belle View Blvd, Alexandria, VA 22307)
Free open air movie showings sponsored by Jen Walker. Snacks are even available for purchase, bring blankets and cozy up. (No 4 legged friends)

Sunday–

3:00pm-7:00: Family Jazz Day at Glen Echo
(7300 MacArthur Blvd. Glen Echo, MD 20812)
Blues Alley and the Glen Echo Park Partnership are proud to host an afternoon. Family Jazz Day concert featuring the U.S. Army Blues Band, the Blues Alley Youth Ensemble and other youth jazz bands.

6:00pm: Movies on the Potomac at National Harbor showing of Jumanji
(165 Waterfront St National Harbor, MD 20745)
Nothing says summer like an evening under the stars—and there’s no better way to enjoy the season than Movies on the Potomac at National Harbor. The 2015 season will run on Sundays from May 10 through September 27. So pack your picnic blankets, grab food to go from one of our delicious dining establishments, and meet us at the Plaza’s big screen for a FREE evening of fun for all ages! Please note that movies will begin at 6 p.m. and will be shown once, so end times may vary with each movie. A schedule of movies to be shown can be viewed below.