D.C.-area nightlife, events and dining

High art or your standard iPhone photograph? Find out at “Diverging Mediums.” (Photo by Hans Borghorst) We’ve pulled together a list of some of our favorite things going on in the D.C. area this weekend, including a free air show, a festival for lovers of all things Greek and an exhibit that compares high art photography and pictures taken on our iPhones.

For fans of aviation or aspiring aviators, there’s no better place to be than the Joint Service Open House at Andrews Air Force Base. On the ground, World War II bombers and some of the most high-tech aircraft will be on display. The real show is, of course, in the skies, where the U.S. Navy Blue Angels and the U.S. Army Golden Knights parachute team will put on aerial displays as part of an air show.

By now, the white borders and faux-faded filters of Instagram have become ubiquitous with photography. For most of us, our iPhones are our primary cameras. So is there a difference between high-minded photographic art and the pictures we snap on our phones? A new exhibit at the Torpedo Factory, “Diverging Mediums: Photography vs. iPhoneography,” looks at just that.

Spring is here, and that means it’s time to gnosh on delicious Greek food at St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral. Imagine eating roasted lamb with orzo and the fried doughy deliciousness of loukoumades, and then washing it down with the Greek lager, Fix. The annual Spring Festival also features traditional dances and musc.

The Birchmere’s new Flex Stage has a capacity of 1,000 and will host acts better suited for the dance floor than a seated venue. (Photo by Joshua Cogan) On June 1, Dr. John brings his unique blend jazz, funk, R&B and rock to the Birchmere. It’s music to dance to, which might make the seated venue an odd choice. But there will be plenty of room to move, as the concert will be one of the first in the Birchmere’s new Flex Stage. It’s a beefed-up version of the standing-room Bandstand area, now with a new stage, new soundsystem and a capacity of 1,000.

The performance area, which officially debuted with a May 10 show by the Carolina Chocolate Drops, will allow the Birchmere to diversify its offerings. The club’s booking agent, Michael Jaworek, said that he is “looking to increase the number of artists appropriate for the space.”

The Flex Stage schedule so far includes acts such as Chris Robinson Brotherhood (of the Black Crowes), a D.C. funk double bill of Red Baraat and the Funk Ark and alt-country rollickers Blitzen Trapper.

The new space, which Jaworek says has been in the planning stages for “quite some time,” is a welcome addition the Alexandria club as the area has suddenly become crowded with mid-sized music venues with the opening of the Fillmore, the Hamilton and the Howard Theatre in the past year.

A trip to the beach without having to drive? Sounds like a vacation — maybe to Rehoboth, pictured above — to us. (Judy G. Rolfe for The Washington Post)Today’s gorgeous weather was the perfect reminder that the beginning of Memorial Day weekend is only eight or nine days away, and it’s time to start planning that first trip to the Starboard, the Dogfish Head brewpub or the Purple Parrot.

The biggest obstacle about getting to the beach has always been transportation,which is only compounded if, like me, you don’t a car. Renting is cost prohibitive, especially if you don’t use it much once you’re there.

If you can’t catch a ride with a friend, the easiest solution is the beach bus run by DC2NY, which is more often found shuttling travelers up and down I-95.

Starting Memorial Day weekend, the company will ferry beachgoers from Dupont Circle and Union Station to stops at Rehoboth and Dewey Beach. You can leave Friday at 5:30 p.m. or Saturday at 7:30 a.m., and head back at 7:30 on Saturday or Sunday nights — and 7:30 on Mondays of long holiday weekends (May 28, July 9, Sept. 3). The cost is $39 each way, which includes water, wi-fi and the all-important electrical outlet.

And for more ideas about what to do when you actually get to the beach, check out next Friday’s Weekend section.

Nicki Minaj performs at DAR Constitution Hall this summer. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images) Rap firebrand Nicki Minaj, she of the voice-bending verses, bright neon colors and outsized persona, is hitting the road this summer in support of “Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded,” with a stop scheduled for DAR Constitution Hall on July 21. Tickets go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. through Ticketmaster and cost $43.75-$77.75.

15: Restaurants reviewed by Tom Sietsema in the 2012 Spring Dining Guide.

1.9: Average star rating awarded by Sietsema in the guide. (Restaurants receiving two stars are considered “Good,” with “generally appealing cooking, service and settings; they tend to be worth driving across town for.”)

10: Restaurants given two or more stars.(Five restaurants received a rating of 1.5 stars or lower)

1: Biggest jump in star rating since last appearing in the Dining Guide — Pizzeria Orso, from one star in 2011 to two stars in 2012.

1.5: Biggest drop in star rating since last appearing in the Dining Guide — O’Leary’s Seafood Restaurant, from two stars in 2004 to 1/2 star in 2012.

5: Restaurants with new chefs since their last review: Blue Duck Tavern, Cork Wine Bar, Eventide, New Heights and Pizzeria Orso.

16: Number of years since Bethesda’s Le Vieux Logis was last reviewed in the Washington Post (by Phyllis Richman in 1996).