Kennedy Center, Washington D.C.

Be sure to go on the Kennedy Center webpage and be on the lookout for free things to do here. Just today the 20th of March I attended a free Concert by Punjabi MC an Indian DJ who combine hip hop with his native Indian rhythms. This was part of an 2 day explore India event. Also every September the Kennedy Center has a Open House with many free events and concerts taking place. And finally on Thursday there is a free show at the Millennium Stage. Go to http://www.kennedy-center.org/ and look on the right hand sight for the next free show.

This center was named after President John F. Kennedy and opened in 1971. Personally, I found this as the quintessential cultural center, because you can find anything great to see any given day. Everyday you can enjoy concerts, theater plays, opera, ballet, or book presentations. Some of them are free, and some of them require the payment of an entrance, but none of them are to be missed. The center aims also to promote the culture of other sides in the world, so despite the classical program, you can also find music, dances and recitals from anywhere in the world. Their universal purpose in promoting culture is also demonstrated in its design. The Kennedy Center has two large halls, the Hall of States (with the flags of all of US States) and the Hall of Nations (with the flags of all States in the world). Finally, the Center has guided touristic visits for all those who wants to know more about its history and the gifts received from all over the world since its foundation.

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The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts opened in 1971 and is located on the Potomac River right beside the Watergate complex. The building is a huge, white, rectangular block building standing 100 feet tall, 300 feet wide, and 630 feet long. The main entrance leads to a stunning grand foyer that runs the entire 630 foot length of the building overlooking the Potomac. Inside are three main performance venues: the Eisenhower Theater, the concert hall, and the opera house, separated by the Hall of States and the Hall of Nations. Combined seating capacity in the three theaters is about 5,600 people. There are also five smaller venues, each holding less than 500 spectators, including the Family Theater, the Terrace Theater, and the Millennium Stages.

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We took a tour which included a visit to the Kennedy Centre For Performing Arts which is a magnificent building housing facilities for the performing arts.

As we entered the building we walked through the Hall Of Honour into the International Flag Room which just looked fabulous with national flags from countries throughout this world. The colour from the multitude of flags was brilliant.

If you love the performing arts, a visit to the Kennedy Center is a must. We - my two pre-teen nephews and I - were looking for something fun, affordable and cultural to do in the evening and found it in SHEAR MADNESS, the comedy whodunit that has been playing at Kennedy Center for 20 years now. And, there's good reason for this longevity - the show's very silly humor seems to be updated almost to the minute with current events and local references that I appreciated, but the boys loved the crazy characters and the chance to get in on solving the crime. We had a great evening - and great laughs together. Take your kids, take your grandparents, take your friends - whoever you are travelling with - you're guaranteed a terrific time.

in 1958 president eisenhower signed an act to fund a national cultural center that would attract the world's best orchestras and dance companies to washington. this huge building has three theaters, the opera house, the eisenhower threater, and the concert hall. the building was designed by edward durrell stone and opened in 1971. open to the public, check their website for a schedule of events.

Kennedy Center - FREE CONCERTS

The Kennedy Center offers FREE DAILY CONCERTS at 6pm in the atrium of the Kennedy Center. If you arrive at 5:30 you will be able to get a comfortable chair. http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/millennium/ This is open to the public. Attire is casual. They sell pop and snacks and the view is wonderful. Take the elevator to the roof and see Georgetown.

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The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is really a multi-functional site. It is a national presidential memorial befitting President Kennedy?s interest in and patronage of the arts. It is also a national performing arts center with over 3,000 performances a year and performance arts education resource providing cultural education in dance, music and theater.

We were not able to attend a performance, but had a tour of the facility. It is really a magnificent center. There are 6 or 7 performance spaces, the most famous of which is the Opera House where the annually televised ?Kennedy Center Honors? takes place. The public spaces alone are worth a visit. The Grand foyer is said to be one of the world?s largest rooms, measuring 630 feet long (longer than the Washington Monument is tall), 40 feet wide and 60 feet high and features a wonderful bust of JFK and 18 one ton chandeliers. The Hall of States and the Hall of Nations display flags of all the states and nations. It was raining the day we were there, but you can get great views of many of the great sights in Washington from the plaza and roof terraces.

As part of its effort to involve the community in theater and the arts, the Kennedy Center has a free performance every day at 6pm. My wife and I would randomly meet after work at the center to appreciate its grand halls and its outdoor terrace. It's more fun if you have no idea what to expect, the range of performers and performances is amazing.

More common to the theater district is The Washington Ballet, the National Symphony Orchestra, various military and big bands, and the occasional awards show, TV program, or visiting performers.

Make sure to go early enough to wander around the building, and take a photo with Kennedy's head. Well, okay, it's a large statue of Kennedy's head. You can't miss it.

A great example of clean modernism, the building is beautiful despite the almost constant construction that surrounds it.

For daily tickets to various cultural events in D.C., I recommend ticketplace, at 407 Seventh Street, NW (http://www.cultural-alliance.org/tickets/today.html)

The Kennedy Centre is Washington, DC's premier spot for the performing arts for more than 30 years. The Kennedy Center, located on the banks of the Potomac River near the Lincoln Memorial. However, the idea for a National Cultural Center pre-dates John F. Kennedy's national fame. His predecessor Dwight Eisenhower signed legislation to create such a centre in the late 1950s. After Kennedy's assassination in 1963, Congress named the centre for him. It opened in 1971 and Eisenhower's vision for such a facility was honoured by naming one of its theatres for him.