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By Katie Bianco, Holly Gambrell and Stefanie Gans
Will travel for beer
I love DC, but I don’t often go into the city, especially on the weekends when we have so much to do here in Northern Virginia. But I’m making an exception on Saturday for the returning DC Beer Festival at Nationals Park. There’ll be over a dozen food trucks, lawn games, DJs and tons and tons of beer. With an event lineup like that, can you blame me for venturing over the bridge? -HG // Nationals Park: 1500 S. Capitol St. SE, Washington, DC; Noon-8 p.m.; $45-$75
Earth Day, every day
Earth Day, celebrated on April 22, is a great reminder that we can all do more to be environmentally conscious, and I’m starting a week early. I bought bamboo toothbrushes for the whole family, and I’ll be taking all of the glass jars that I’ve been hoarding to the new recycling drop-off centers in Alexandria. The city recently partnered with Fairfax County to start recycling glass again. -SG // Multiple drop-off locations
Park it
My husband loves the national parks. So much so that when we honeymooned in Hawaii, he planned some of our day trips around where he could get NPS passport stamps (yes, really). This means our family will be taking full advantage of National Park Week, which kicks off on April 20. I wish we could go to Hawaii to celebrate this annual event, but instead, we’ll check out all of the family-friendly events in our NoVA backyard. I think our three-year-old will love Junior Ranger Day at Wolf Trap or Prince William Forest Park on Saturday. And she can finally start her own passport stamp collection. -KB // National Park Week, April 20-28