Get out your summer calendar! Avalon clients have a variety of fun and family-friendly events planned to get you through the heat and humidity, right up through September.First up, let's party! National Geographic Society and Brightest Young Things present the special after-hours Explorers Festival, BYT & Nat Geo's Excellent Adventure on June 16 from 8 pm to midnight-an exciting event for people 21 and older at the National Geographic campus in Washington, DC. There will be terrific music, bars, exclusive Museum access, lasers, explorer talks and experiences, and more. Last year's event sold out quickly, so visit National Geographic Society's website now for more information and tickets.On June 25, Farm Sanctuary hosts its much-anticipated annual PIGnic-their version of a picnic, but for animal lovers. Join FS at its Acton, California, Sanctuary for a day of celebrating pigs and other farm animals, showing them some love, and, as FS puts it, "leaving them off our plates." Visit FS's website for more information and to register for this fun day of delicious vegan food, demonstrations, farm animals, caricature drawings, and more.National Geographic Society's Nat Geo Nights will start June 15 and run on the third Thursday of every month for the next eight months. This happy hour features live stories from National Geographic explorers, fun interactive activities, music, food, cash bar, plus admission to the National Geographic Museum. Visit National Geographic Society's website for more information and the full schedule of events.In the summer, the Golden Triangle-the bustling, vibrant area in the center of downtown Washington, DC-holds terrific events on Friday afternoons. Wolf Trap Center for the Performing Arts makes an appearance in the Golden Triangle again this summer at Farragut Fridays in Farragut Park on June 30, beginning at noon (see photo to the right of our staff checking out the WT booth back in May). Stop by to learn more about Wolf Trap's 2017 summer season, enjoy music by local folk artist Teddy Chipouras, and enter to win tickets to an upcoming show! It's all free, so check out Wolf Trap's website for more information and directions.Here's an easy equation: Drinking beer = saving wildlife. Join Friends of the National Zoo on July 20 for Brew at the Zoo, an adults-only event featuring unlimited beer tastings from more than 70 breweries, live music and entertainment, a variety of gourmet food trucks, plus exotic animals. It all adds up to one fabulous night out. Visit FONZ's website for more information and to learn how FONZ members enjoy special pricing.And let's not forget Friends of the National Zoo's Monkey Business Gala-a non-traditional gala on September 28 to benefit the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. Visit FONZ's website for tickets or more information. Some levels have already sold out, so act fast!The highly anticipated Wolf Trap Ball is back on September 23-an elegant, black-tie evening of celebration, dinner, and dancing on the magnificent Filene Center stage at the Wolf Trap Center for the Performing Arts in Vienna, Virginia. This is one of the largest stages in America. Visit Wolf Trap's website for more information on how you can take center stage at this spectacular event.And finally, if you have some spare time this summer and live in the DC area, consider volunteering for Bread for the City. Volunteer opportunities include everything from gardening and crocheting, to preparing and delivering meals, to working at a food pantry-and much more. No wonder BFC's motto is simply Helping People. Visit BFC's website to learn how you can help by volunteering just an hour or two.MORE exciting events: High Museum Summer Kick-Off Party & More; FONZJune Member Celebration, Enrichment Day; NASMUdvar-Hazy Center Summer Concert Series, Independence Day concert; Kennedy CenterA Capital Fourth 2017
