It’s a “whole new scene” at the Olney Theatre this weekend, when the performing arts center will host a series of free performances and classes — and a not-so-free show with a major Broadway star — as it unveils its multiyear, multimillion-dollar renovations to the public.
Ahead of the theater center’s 2026-27 season opening next month, audiences can get sneak peeks of songs from upcoming shows, including “Les Miserablés,” “Some Like It Hot,” “Crowns,” “Kimberly Akimbo” and “Million Dollar Quartet.”
Visitors on Sunday can also snag behind-the-scenes tours of the newly renovated Bernard Family Theatre, the Jim and Carol Trawick Education Center and the Gana L. Dunlop Makers’ Center.
The layout of the new Bernard Theatre will allow audience members to physically immerse themselves in shows in ways the performance center couldn’t do before.
“[We’re] making the audience feel very connected to the action onstage and the story,” Olney Theatre Executive Director Debbie Ellinghaus previously told The Banner. “It’s going to feel a lot more intimate.”
The Center will also offer classes for kids and teens on acting, dancing, play writing, sound design, crafting and Dungeons and Dragons. It encourages registering online, but walk-ins are welcome.
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Later in the evening, Tony Award winner Sutton Foster will give a special performance after pulling out of Olney Theatre’s June gala due to illness. Tickets, which range from $107-$175, are sold out, but more may become available.
Other offerings include community performance groups, food trucks and vendors, ticket giveaways and membership specials, and sessions with Artistic Director Jason Loewith, Maestro Chris Youstra and cast members of the theater’s current musical, “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder.”
Here are more happenings around Montgomery and Prince George’s counties.
Build your own ‘spirit doll’
Friday from 1-4 p.m.
Psychotherapist Lois Sumser is teaching Riverworks Art Center visitors how to make their own “spirit woman dolls.” The Poolesville artist says the experience allows creators to harness their “feminine energy” — but men are welcome too.
Entry is $20.
The ‘ultimate’ R&B festival
Saturday from 3-10 p.m.
The fifth annual Wine and Slow Jams R&B festival returns to Oxon Hill’s Rosecroft Raceway for a day of live music, DJs, food and drinks. The party will go on rain or shine, and organizers recommend guests BYO blanket or lawn chair.
Tickets range from $83-$94 per person.
Big Bloom Festival
Saturday from 5-8 p.m.
The Big Bloom Festival returns to Silver Spring. It’s a partnership between Strathmore and the Good Hope Neighborhood Recreation Center that brings live music, including the D.C.-based Crush Funk Brass Band and Strathmore Artist in Residence Kanysha, food trucks, a moon bounce and other activities to the rec center.
Entry is free. RSVP is requested.
A glowing water lantern festival
Saturday and Sunday from 5:30-9:30 p.m.
National Harbor is about to light up with thousands of floating lanterns. Entry to the traveling Water Lantern Festival opens at 5:30 p.m., with performers taking the stage at 7 p.m. and lantern activities beginning at 8 p.m. Organizers suggest bringing blankets, chairs and food (more than two dozen local food trucks are scheduled to be on-site).
Tickets are $37 online, $65 in person.
Sunflower fields forever
Saturday through Aug. 16, times vary
Two football fields’ worth of sunflowers are returning to Butler’s Orchard in Germantown, where guests can stroll through the flowers for Instagrammable photo ops. Tickets also get you access to the Farm Park, playground and picking fields (flowers, raspberries, tomatoes, peppers and potatoes are expected to be ready for picking on the weekends).
Tickets are $5 online and $7 in person on Tuesdays through Thursdays, $12 online and $15 in person Fridays through Sundays, and free for children under 24 months. Open hours are 8:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m. on Saturdays and 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Sundays and Tuesday-Fridays.
Spend Sunday with a snake
Sunday, 1:45 p.m.
Bring the whole family to channel your inner Irwins at the Clearwater Nature Center in Clinton, where guests can meet reptiles, amphibians and birds of prey up close. Experts will share insights on animals’ habitats, how critters survive in the wild and how humans can help protect those environments.
Tickets are $4 for Prince George’s County residents, $6 for others.
Banner intern Erin Pacious contributed to this report.
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