Seriously, don’t forget about the Smithsonian’s Folklife Festival starting this Wednesday. If you haven’t passed through this lovely amalgamation of all things folk art, music, culture, and food, now’s the time to make good. Featured this year are the nation of Bhutan, NASA, and Texas. Daytime events run from 11 to 5:30, with evening activities (a lot of Texas/country-style dancing) starting at 6.

The Library of Congress’s Mary Pickford Theater is an unheralded gem for random movie screenings. This week has the five-time Oscar nominee Mary, Queen of Scots on Tuesday at 7 and the Japanese film The Eternal Monument (“the story of a group of female high school students assigned to the [Okinawa] army field hospitals”) on Thursday at 7.

Liberal libations: Whether you’re a demure Democrat or a one-step-away-from-LaRouche libertarian, Drinking Liberally may be the best news you’ve heard since . . . beer in pint glasses. Start the weekend this Thursday at Dupont Circle’s Timberlake’s, where you can meet Drinking Liberally aficionados starting at 6:30.

If you prefer your humanities without alcohol, Grace Church in Georgetown is hosting a night of jazz and poetry (specifically, the work of onetime DC resident Langston Hughes) tonight at 7:30. If you show up a little early, the artists and performers will be available for a Q&A discussion starting at 6:15.

This Friday evening from 5 to 8:30 at the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden, you can listen to Orquestra La Leyenda’s brand of Caribbean jazz. Given the heat, the selection is entirely appropriate.

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