Thursday, August 23
FILM: Say what you want about the cable and Internet service (unreliable, evil, terrible),
but Comcast is doing some good this weekend with its
outdoor film festival at Mid-Pike Plaza in Rockville, which is somehow both free and a benefit for NIH’s
children’s charities. Screening tonight is
All the President’s Men, about Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward’s reporting during the Watergate scandal.
Things start off with local bands and food at 5:30; the movie starts at 8:30. Free.
UMM . . . : Here’s something for the adventurous—Red Palace is hosting a night of
Alice in Wonderland-themed burlesque, featuring live music and erotic poems read by the “Queen of Hearts.” Maybe avoid
if the Mad Hatter was a big part of your childhood. Tickets ($10) are available at
the door. 8:30 PM.
Friday, August 24
COFFEE:
MadCap Coffee is partnering with Canvas to teach you java addicts how to correctly mix alcohol
and coffee to make delicious cocktails. You’ll get to sample some paired with the
best of Buzz Bakery’s sweets. $5 through Eventstir. 5:30 PM.
ART: Genesis, an art show at the Fridge, features 25 artists retelling Latin America’s most interesting
creation myths. Artists were allowed to reimagine the stories however they wanted,
meaning you’ll find paintings, film, spoken word, and performance art pieces at this
one-night-only event. Free. 7 PM.
Saturday, August 25
FOOD TRUCKS: Forget Farragut Fridays—the place to check out food trucks has quickly become the
Fairgrounds outside of Nats Park. Saturday’s
DC
Funky Fresh Foodie Fest features ten trucks, including Fojol Bros., Curbside Cupcakes, and BBQ Bus; fresh
margaritas; karaoke; four live bands; and the announcement of the DC Trucky Awards,
which we can only assume are like the Grammys for food trucks, but with better music.
Pay $15 to get in the door and take in the festivities, or $60 for samples from all
ten trucks, three beers or margaritas, and other perks. Tickets ($15 to $75) are available
through the festival’s website. 1 to 9 PM.
POOL: Capitol Skyline’s
Mother Trucker party features five bars, five deejays, lots of rafts to lay around on, food trucks—oh,
and a pool. And if you didn’t hit the bars too hard on Friday, show up before 12:30
for free admission. After that, it’s $15.
FOOD: The backyard barbecue season is, unfortunately, fast approaching its end. Gear up
for Labor Day with
Twisted Vines’ party Saturday, which starts at 4 and runs till well after the sun goes down. Taste
18 wines (or stick to beer), play cornhole, and fill up on generous helpings of barbecue.
Tickets ($40) are available through Eventbrite.
SQUARE DANCE: Unless you’ve been spending a lot of time in Texas lately, chances are you haven’t
done a do-si-do in quite some time. The
Folklore Society of Greater Washington is trying to bring back the art of the square dance, but they’re gonna need your
help. They’ll teach you how to twist your partner round and round and then set you
loose to do it yourself while listening to an honest-to-goodness square-dance band,
the Capital City Possum Chasers. Costumes aren’t required, but I highly encourage
them because no one wants to square dance with someone who looks like they just came
from a Congressional hearing. $5. 8:30 PM.
MUSIC: The students are back in town, which means they’re going to beat you to every downtown
happy hour ever. But it also means fun, cheap events at DC’s universities. Saturday’s
Foggy Bottom Music Festival features Maps & Atlases, Paperhaus, Drop Electric, and more than a dozen other local
bands, all for $15 at the door. It’s going down at GW’s University Yard. 11 to 10.
Sunday, August 25
DANCE: If you’re not partied out by Sunday, you should call me because we’d probably be good
friends, but you should also check out
Guti at 18th Street Lounge. His brand of house music is influenced by Latin rhythms and
jazz, not by Jersey Shore idiots. Plus he’s playing in Ibiza (the island, not the
DC club) in like a week, and they seem to know their dance music. $10 (free with RSVP).
5 PM.
REVENGE: Busboys and Poets’
story contest moves out to Shirlington Sunday for what has to be one of their best themes so far:
revenge. Come tell your story for the chance to win $100, or just listen to other
people’s stories to figure out if the one you were kinda thinking about telling makes
you a psychopath or not. Tickets ($10) are available through Brown Paper Tickets.
7 PM.
Know of something cool going on around town? E-mail Jason Koebler at jasontpkoebler@gmail.com,
or find him on Twitter @jason_koebler.
