Leisure Time Activities

Whether you're in Arlington for business or for pleasure (or a little of both!) you'll find hundreds of reasons why Arlington is the best place to relax. Stroll through any of Arlington's five urban villages, each connected by our top-notch Metro system, and you)ll discover trendy restaurants, avant-garde theater, and clubs serving up nearly every type of cuisine and entertainment seven nights a week.

For a listing of this week's events, visit arlingtonarts.com,  washingtonpost.com or The Washington City Paper.

Looking for something to do tonight? TICKETplace - www.ticketplace.com located at 407 Seventh Street NW (between D and E Streets), is the Washington area's only authorized half-price ticket outlet for theatres, concert halls, and other cultural venues. TICKETplace is a service of the Cultural Alliance of Greater Washington .

• Theater in Arlington and throughout the DC area
• Dinner Theater
• Classical Music and Dance Concert Venues
  in Arlington and throughout the DC area
• Popular Music Venues
• Movie Theaters in Arlington
• Sports- Spectator
• Active Recreation Areas
• Evening Tours
  
  

Evening Tours

• Lantern Light Ghost Tour (Doorways to Old Virginia, 703-548-0100) Creep through the dark night in Old Town Alexandria as a Colonial guide tells you bizarre and ghoulish tales of one of the most haunted cities in the world. The walking tour is one hour long and is not recommended for small children. Available April through September at 9 PM on Friday and Saturday night - weather permitting. October tour schedule is greatly expanded; call for information.
• Washington After Dark (Gray Line, 202-289-1995)
• Washington After Hours (Old Line Trolley, 202-832-9800) Join their professional tour guides on motorcoach for entertaining anecdotes, historical information and a sprinkling of tales of the spirits who haunt the Nation's Capital. The tour is approximately 2 1/2 hours long. Available nightly beginning 7:30 PM; November through February tours begins at 6:30 PM).

Theaters

Arlington is home to many nationally known professional theatre companies, offering productions ranging from the classics to the latest off-Broadway musical including:

• American Century Theatre presents classic American plays from the first half of the 20th century (703-553-8782)
• Signature Theatre presents today's major plays and musicals (703-243-6366)
• Teatro De La Luna presents contemporary and classic Hispanic plays in their original language with English translation available (703-548-3092)
• Washington Shakespeare Theatre presents the greatest of world drama (703-418-4808)

For more information about the thriving arts community in Arlington, click here or call (703) 228-1850.

The National Capital Area also offers more theatre performances than any city in the United States, outside New York City. Find touring Broadway productions of musicals and plays, and homegrown productions from our regional theater companies. Our thriving community of actors, writers, directors, and designers provide you with the opportunity to see productions from the conservative to the newest in "fringe" theater, plus world premieres each season. Following is a listing of many of the area's finest.

• Arena Stage: 6th St. and Maine Ave., SW, Washington, DC; (202) 488-3300; Group Contact: (202) 488-4380.
• Folger Shakespeare Library Theatre: 201 E. Capitol Street, SE, Washington, D.C.; (202) 544-7077
• Fords Theatre: 511 10th Street, NW, Washington, DC; (202) 347-4833; Contact: Jill Reeves (202) 638-2367 or (800) 899-2367
• John F. Kennedy Center For The Performing Arts: 2700 F St., NW, Washington, DC; (202) 467-4600; Group Office: (202) 416-8400
• National Theatre: 2321 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC; (202) 628-6161; Group Contact: (202) 783-3370.
• Olney Theatre: 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney, MD; (301) 924-4485; Group Contact: (301) 808-6900
• Roundhouse Theatre: 12210 Bushey Drive, Silver Spring, MD; (301) 933-9530; Group Contact: (301) 933-1644
• Shakespeare Theatre: 450 7th. St., NW, Washington, DC; (202) 393-2700; Group Contact: (202) 547-3230.
• Studio Theatre: 1333 P Street, NW, Washington, DC; (202) 332-3300
• Woolly Mammoth Theatre: 917 M Street, NW, Washington, DC; (202) 289-2443

Dinner Theater

• Murder Upon Request: A live participatory mystery theatre event featuring murder, theft, extortion and nearly every other vice, including dinner! Schedules vary, regular performances are held at Dan and Brad's Restaurant, 901 North Stuart Street. For a schedule, contact (703) 685-7177.

Other venues throughout the National Capital Area

• The Capitol Steps: Chelsea's, 1055 Thomas Jefferson St, NW, Washington, DC; (202) 298-8222 or (703) 683-8330
• Lazy Susan Dinner Theater: Woodbridge, VA 22194; (703) 550-7384

Classical Music and Dance Concert venues

Arlington is home to many excellent, innovative music and dance companies that perform at reasonable rates around the County. These include:

• Arlington Symphony
• Bowen Mccauley Dance Company
• Center Dance Company
• Jane Franklin Dance Company
• Opera Theatre Of Northern Virginia

The Gunston Arts Center, the Rosslyn Spectrum and the Thomas Jefferson Theatre are home to a variety of arts from ballet to children's theater, opera to performance art. Arlington is also host to the biennial Innovator's Festival in the fall as well as to hundreds of free performances throughout the summer.

For more information about the thriving arts community in Arlington, click here or call (703)228-1850.

Other performing venues throughout the DC area follow:

• John F. Kennedy Center For The Performing Arts: 2700 F St., NW, Washington, DC (202) 467-4600; Group Office: (202) 416-8400
• Dance Place: 3225 8th Street, NE, Washington, DC; (202) 269-1600
• George Mason Centre For The Arts: George Mason University, Fairfax, VA; (703) 993-8888.
• National Symphony: Music Director, Leonard Slatkin. Contact The John F. Kennedy Center Group Sales Office at (202) 416-8340
• Warner Theater: 1299 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC; (202) 783-4000.
• Washington Performing Arts Society: Performances at various locations including the Kennedy Center, George Mason Center, Warner Theatre and more. (202) 833-9800.
• Washington Opera: Artistic Director, Placido Domingo. John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (202) 295-2400. Group Contact (202) 416-7851
• Wolf Trap Park For The Performing Arts 1624 Trap Rd., Vienna, VA; (703) 218-6500. Group Contact: (703) 255-1824

Popular Music Concert Venues

• The Birchmere: 3701 Mount Vernon Avenue, Alexandria, VA; (703) 549-5919. Rock/pop/blues daily
• Nissan Pavilion At Stone Ridge: 7800 Cellar Door Drive, Route 66 west of Manassas, VA; (703) 754-6400
• Warner Theater: 1299 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC; (202) 783-4000
• Wolf Trap Park For The Performing Arts: 1624 Trap Rd., Vienna, VA; (703) 218-6500. Group Contact: (703) 255-1824

Sports - Spectator

• Basketball, Men's: Washington Wizards play October through April at MCI Arena, Washington, DC. Group Ticket Information: (301) 773-2255
• Basketball, Women's: Washington Mystics play June through September at MCI arena. Group Ticket Information: (301) 499-3000
• Football: Washington Redskins play August through January at FedEx Field, MD. Group Information: (703) 478-8900
• Ice Hockey: Washington Capitals play October through April at the MCI Arena, Washington, DC. Group Ticket Information: (301) 386-7000
• Soccer: DC United play March through September at RFK Stadium, Washington, DC. Group Information: (703) 397-5459

Active Recreation Areas

• Upton Hill Regional Park: At the intersection of Wilson Boulevard and Patrick Henry Drive. This 26 acre park, featuring the world's longest miniature golf hole, is open daily, dawn to dusk. The park also features multiple swimming pools (in season), batting cages with baseballs and softballs, a nature trail, shuffleboard, horseshoe pits, snack bars and picnic area. For more information, call (703) 534-3437.
• Six Flags America: All-in-one theme and water park with over 100 rides, attractions, shows, shops and games including the new Typhoon Sea Coaster with the world's tallest backwards descent. 2 miles east of US Air Arena. Landover, MD (301) 249-1500
• Splashdown Waterpark: Five water recreation areas over 11 acres. Open Memorial Day to Labor Day. Located 3 miles off Route 66 in Manassas, VA; (703) 361-4451

Movie Theaters in Arlington
For listing of current shows, visit washingtonpost.com.

• Arlington Cinema 'N' Drafthouse: 2903 Columbia Pike; recent films served with food, beer and wine. (703) 486-2345
• AMC Courthouse 8: 2150 Clarendon Boulevard; first run films. Phone: (703) 998-4AMC
• Cineplex Odeon Shirlington 7: 2772 South Randolph Road; first run films. Phone: (703) 333-FILM
• Regal Cinemas Ballston Common 12: in the Ballston Common Shopping Mall; first run films, stadium seating. Phone: (703) 527-9466