#FlyWashington Magazine Summer 2018 | Page 74

Virginia Gold Cup Credit: Donnie Weatherhead (Flickr Commons) WASHINGTON NATIONALS BASEBALL The Major League Baseball National League 2017 East Division Champs play 81 home games each season at Nationals Park. Enjoy a fun-filled day cheering on D.C.’s baseball team. April 13 - September 30 Nats Opening Day PASSPORT DC VIRGINIA GOLD CUP Passport DC is a month-long festival in May that pays tribute to Washington, D.C.’s thriving international culture. As part of the festival, the first two Saturdays in May are devoted to embassy open houses. Consider this your chance to stroll Embassy Row — a stretch of Massachusetts Avenue NW that runs through Dupont Circle and Upper Northwest — and visit some of the more than 170 embassies based in the nation’s capital. May 1 - 31 The Virginia Gold Cup is one of the nation’s largest steeplechase races featuring some of the finest horses in the world competing over hurdles, timber and on the flat. The event is held every year on the first Saturday in May (the same day as the Kentucky Derby) and enjoys a spectacular setting in the heart of Virginia horse country with the Blue Ridge Mountains serving as the backdrop. The Virginia Gold Cup has been held in Fauquier County since 1922 and is attended by national celebrities, local VIPs, Washington, D.C. politicians as well as visitors from around the world. May 5, 2018 NATIONAL CATHEDRAL FLOWER MART The National Cathedral Flower Mart is Washington, D.C.’s spring festival for garden enthusiasts and families that features annuals, perennials, landscape exhibits, Olmsted Woods and Garden tours, musical entertainment, gourmet food, a book sale, and children’s activities such as a rock wall, moon bounce, a mini-Ferris wheel, and a century-old restored carousel. May 4, 2018 FLYWASHINGTON.COM 72 SUMMER 2018 5TH ANNUAL FUNK PARADE Funk Parade is a one-of-a-kind day fair, parade and music festival, celebrating Washington D.C.’s vibrant music and arts, the U Street neighborhood, and the Spirit of Funk that brings us all together. May 12, 2018