By Eliza Berkon, Winn Duvall, Stefanie Gans, Beth Kellmurray and Lynn Norusis
This week, Northern Virginia Magazine editors are looking forward to a Super Smash Bros. expo in Chantilly, celebrating Virginia Farmers Market Week and seeing Judy Collins and Stephen Stills at the Birchmere, plus what we’re reading and watching right now.
Old-time gaming
Aug. 10-13
Just like many children, my two boys are always playing some video game. The games of my youth were nowhere near as lifelike as the ones they play so I thought it would be fun to indulge them in a day that is all about their interests with a nod to my past. This weekend at the Dulles Expo Center you can take a walk back with Super Smash Con where Super Smash Bros. is in the spotlight. It’s the Comic Con of Nintendo’s famous game. –LN // Dulles Expo Center: 4320 Chantilly Shopping Center, Chantilly
Seeing The Glass Castle
In theaters Aug. 11
When I read Jeannette Walls’ memoir in high school, I fell in love with her writing style and the unwavering honesty with which she wrote about her upbringing. We featured Jeannette Walls in October 2015, when the film was still in the works, and I’ve been looking forward to it ever since, so this weekend, I’ll be heading to the theater to see her story brought to life on screen. –WD
Yet another cover that beats the original
Aug. 11 & 12
The Beatles’ version of “In My Life” is pretty ho-hum. So OK they wrote it, and it has a killer bridge (which George Harrison apparently recorded on the piano at half-tempo and then sped up, resulting in the harpsichord-like timbre). But the song was not fully realized until a year later by folk master Judy Collins. By dramatically slowing the track down, trading electric guitar for acoustic and adding her hauntingly honest vocals, she allowed room for the listener to climb into the lyric space and take a look around. It’s one of the most poignant recordings of the 20th century, and this Friday, I hope to hear it live as she performs at the Birchmere with Stephen Stills. Plus, it was featured in a Wonder Years montage. I mean, it just doesn’t get better than that. –EB // The Birchmere: 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria
Celebrating Farmers Market Week and making gazpacho
Through Aug. 12
In Governor McAuliffe’s proclamation that August 6-12 is Virginia Farmers Market Week, he notes the number of markets in the state rose from 88 in 2006 to 250 in 2017. To celebrate, the state also put together a flickr page (I guess flickr is still a thing?) to show off market pics. The way I’ll celebrate is by making gazpacho, a clean, classic drinkable version that I try to keep in my fridge all summer long. This is my favorite recipe. –SG
Reading Eve Babitz
Next up on my reading list, I’ll jump into the writing of Eve Babitz. I’m starting with her 1979 novel Sex and Rage, which was reissued last month and is receiving a reinvigorated flood of recommendations as a result. The novel follows a 28-year-old girl who lives a carefree life in L.A. that revolves around a tunnel-vision pursuit of pleasure but who ultimately uproots to New York City. The character is written close to home, as Babitz herself has been a longtime fixture and voice of L.A. –BK
