Monday, October 21
FASHION: Get all gussied up to show off at Encompass, a fashion, art, music, film, and hair show being held at Penn Social. Dozens of the area’s best artists will show off and sell their work, and there will be live music, a fashion show, and performance art to keep you entertained. Tickets ($15) are available online. 7 PM.
READING: The new Petworth Citizen is a different kind of bar: It focuses on showcasing the area’s best literature (it even offers a book-sharing program). To get things started, the bar is hosting Barrelhouse, a local literary zine that publishes original poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. Grab a copy of the new issue and listen to four authors read their work. Free. 7 PM.
Tuesday, October 22
VARIETY SHOW: They’ve been on a break since Fringe Fest, but the Encyclopedia Show DC is back to kick off its second series of shows. If you don’t remember, the show features any number of comedians, storytellers, lecturers, artists, and actors covering a single theme from multiple angles. This week’s show switches things up a bit: It will feature some of the best performers from the series’ first few shows as they reprise their roles. Expect it to be just as zany as it’s always been. Tickets ($15) are available online. 7 PM.
Wednesday, October 23
COCKTAILS: Artini has got some competition: Alexandria’s Art League hosts Art on the Rocks, which brings some of the best mixologists from around the area together to compete to see who can make the fanciest drink. The cocktails, which are supposed to be inspired by Art League’s new “Body Language” exhibit, will be stirred up by bartenders from Bastille, Chadwicks, Columbia Firehouse, the Light Horse, and Union Street Public House. Those restaurants (being restaurants) also serve food, which you’ll be able to sample all night. Tickets ($35) are available online. 6 PM.
Thursday, October 24
PUMPKINS: Slathering pumpkin seeds in seasoning and blasting them at 400 degrees in the oven for far too long is a time-tested tradition of Halloween (for me, at least). But where are you gonna get the pumpkin seeds if you don’t carve a pumpkin? Meet up in NoMa at the field at First and Pierce streets, Northeast for a pumpkin-carving party. The key word here is “party,” which means there’ll be food and drink from Union Kitchen, live music, a candy scavenger hunt and a petting zoo for kids, and, of course, a pumpkin beer happy hour. And the pumpkins themselves are free, too. It must all be a gift from the Great Pumpkin. Free. 4:30 to 7:30 PM.
Know of something cool going on around town? E-mail Jason Koebler at jasontpkoebler@gmail.com, or find him on Twitter.
