See a guide to the top events going on this weekend in the Washington, DC area, including Maryland and Northern Virginia.

• Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Events - The national holiday is Monday, January 17, 2011. Some events take place throughout the weekend at a variety of sites in Washington, DC. Martin Luther King Jr's Birthday is a day of honor for the civil rights leader and a day dedicated to community service.
  
  
• International Motorcycle Show - January 14-16, 2011. Washington Convention Center. The family-friendly event includes a display of the latest street bikes, dirt bikes, cruisers, ATVs, personal watercraft and motorcycle apparel.
  
  
• NBC4's Health and Fitness Expo - January 15-16, 2011, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Washington DC Convention Center. The annual event offers fun activities to motivate you to take charge of your health. Try a new sport such as golf, skiing or snowboarding with the virtual simulators. Check your body mass index, take a heart risk test, learn about ergonomics and much more.
  
  
• Washington Bridal Showcase - Various dates in January. See everything you need to plan an extraordinary wedding. The bridal show includes exhibits of bridal fashions, invitations, photographers, ceremony sites, music, wedding cakes, decorations, honeymoon travel and much more. Many exhibitors will offer demonstrations, samples and money-saving show specials.
  
  
• Phillips Collection 90th Anniversary - January 15 -16, 2011. The Phillips Collection, 1600 21st Street, NW Washington, DC. The art museum celebrates its 90th anniversary and launches the countdown to its centennial, beginning with a free weekend featuring a debut of stunning new acquisitions in contemporary art.
  
  
• Gross National Product Comedy Revue "The Sound of Palin" - January 14 - February 19, 2011. Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H Street NE Washington, DC. A spoof on Rodgers and Hammersteins' classic musical which follows the political witt-less-cisms of Palin from Mayor to Reality Star and Beyond.
  
  
• Let Me Down Easy at Arena Stage - Through February 13, 2011. The one-woman production features an engaging collection of testimonials that explores the fragility of the body and the resilience of the spirit. Anna Deavere Smith (Nurse Jackie, Fires in the Mirror) conceived, wrote and performs in this amazing show which was named one of Entertainment Weekly's Top 10 of 2009.
  
  
• Creative Cauldron presents "Passport to the World - January 14 - March 6, 2011. ArtSpace Falls Church, 410 South Maple Avenue, Falls Church A Festival of Music, Dance, Art and Story. Audiences will be invited to take a cross-cultural journey and experience the musical and artistic traditions of Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America.
  
  
• Washington, DC Restaurant Week - January 17-23, 2011. More than 200 of Washington, DC's finest restaurants offer 3-course lunches for $20.11 and 3-course dinners for $35.11. Washington, DC Restaurant Week is a great opportunity to experience Washington, DC's best restaurants at affordable prices.

More Upcoming Washington, DC Events

January Festivals and Events in the DC Area

Washington Auto Show

Presidents Day in Washington DC

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In 2011, the Phillips Collection celebrates its 90th anniversary and launches the countdown to its centennial, beginning with a free weekend on January 15-16, 2011. The event features the grand reopening of the newly renovated Phillips house, birthday cake designs by some of Washington DC's finest pastry chefs, complimentary champagne, and more. Special installations and programs throughout the year debut new acquisitions in contemporary art, engage artists in conversation with the collection, and tell the story of artistic innovation at the heart of the museum since Duncan Phillips opened its doors in 1921. Free tours throughout the weekend provide insight into art on view. Fast-paced "relay tours" spotlight 90 works of art in back-to-back talks, ten minutes each--visitors can take in one or all, depending on their art appreciation stamina.

The Phillips Collection is located in the heart of Washington DC's historic Dupont Circle neighborhood and is one of the world's most distinguished collections of impressionist and modern American and European art. Read more about the Phillips Collection.

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Restaurant weeks offer you a great opportunity to try out some new restaurants at affordable prices. They have gotten so popular that many communities around the region are hosting them. Please call individual restaurants for restrictions, menu options and reservations.

• Washington, DC Restaurant Week - January 17-23, 2011. Experience Washington, DC's best restaurants at affordable prices. More than 200 of Washington, DC's finest restaurants will be offering 3-course lunches for $20.11 and 3-course dinners for $35.11 for this gourmet event.
  
  
• Alexandria Restaurant Week - January 21-30, 2011. More than 60 restaurants will be offering special menus and pricing to entice visitors to dine in Alexandria, Virginia, just five miles south of Washington, DC. The restaurants are offering either a three-course pre-fixe dinner or dinner for two, both priced at $35.
  
  
• Bethesda-Chevy-Chase Restaurant Week - January 24-30, 2011. Enjoy a prix fixe lunch for $12-15 and three-course dinner menus for $30 at dozens of Bethesda area restaurants.
  
  
• National Harbor Restaurant Week - February 15-27, 2010. National Harbor Restaurant Week offers prix fixe lunch for $20 and three-course dinner menus for $35. Cuisines include American, Chinese, Mexican, Seafood, and more.

Photo © Ivan Hunter/Getty Images

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Do you like to take photos? Don't miss this great new contest! FotoDC and the National Cherry Blossom Festival are sponsoring the first annual National Cherry Blossom Photo Contest focused on cherry blossoms and Washington DC's celebration of spring. The contest will run from February 11 - April 9, 2011 and will include entries in three categories: Landscape, People, and Festivities, taken during this year's festival or within the previous two years. Winners of each category will receive $500 in prize money, exposure on the FotoDC and National Cherry Blossom Festival websites, and recognition through a special winners' celebration. In addition, winners and the top 100 images will be exhibited in print or projection form during FotoWeek DC's annual festival in November 2011. Details regarding the photo contest will be available on February 10, 2011, with submissions beginning on February 11. Check back, as I will announce the details at that time.

Photo © Rachel Cooper, licensed to About.com, Inc.

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