Things to Do

What to Do This Weekend: July 17 to 20

A 25-hour party at DC Arts Center, DC Scoop, and a hip-hop bar crawl along U Street.

DC Scoop goes down on Saturday, giving you the chance to try some of the best locally made ice cream. Image via Shutterstock.

Thursday, July 17

BEER: The brewers of Devils Backbone will be at the Heurich House discussing the history of beer and showing off the home of Christian Heurich, one of the first and most important brewmasters in Washington DC. Your ticket gets you three beers from the Roseland, Virginia, brewery. Tickets ($30) are available online. 6:30 PM.

VARIETY: The Encyclopedia Show DC is back after the Dunes closing temporarily made things a bit hectic. This time, it’s at Busboys and Poets on Fifth and K streets, Northwest. The topic this week is “corruption,” and the show features a former 60 Minutes producer, a hypnotist, a burlesque dancer, and a musician. $8. 8:30 PM.

Friday, July 18

JAZZ: Jazz in the Garden continues with jazz trumpeter Tom Williams, a Baltimore native who spent eight years playing in various US Army bands and has performed at the Kennedy Center. As always, the Sculpture Garden will probably fill up, so get there as early as you can, especially if you plan on eating. Even if it’s packed, you should be able to score some sangria or beer. Free. 5 PM.

FILM: Union Market’s drive-in movie series is back for the next four weeks. This week, the market will be screening Judd Apatow’s Forgetting Sarah Marshall, which is much like most of his films in that it’s pretty vulgar and very hilarious. The film will be projected on the three-story wall of the market, all your favorite food will be there, and you don’t actually have to drive up—if you walk or bike, it’s free. $10 per car. Food and games at 6 PM, film at 8. 

MOONSHINE: The Tennessee State Society is hosting an event called When the Sun Sets, the Moonshines, which is exactly what you expect it to be—there will be unlimited George Dickel whiskey cocktails most of the night, lots of Southern food, and raffle prizes. Tickets ($25) are available online. 8 PM.

ALICE IN WONDERLAND: The Smithsonian Castle’s Alice in Wonderland-themed party (inspired by our Best Of party this year?) is sold out, but there are supposed to be plenty of tickets available at the door, as long as it’s not raining). Dress up as your favorite character from the book, drink craft cocktails designed for the event, and dance the night away. Tickets ($20) are available online. 8 PM.

Saturday, July 19

ART: A quarter century ago, DC Arts Center opened with a 24-hour party. To celebrate its 25th anniversary, it’s upping the ante with a 25-hour party starting at 7 PM and running through Saturday evening (so really, do this Friday or Saturday—what a sweet bonus!). Any artist will be able to display their work at the center, and it’ll be for sale until that artist leaves. The whole thing culminates with a big party Saturday night, complete with a deejay, booze, videos, and more. $10. 7 PM.

ICE CREAM: Union Market hosts DC Scoop 2014, the biggest ice cream party of the year. You’ll get to sample ice cream from 12 local and national purveyors, along with pizza and Luke’s Lobster rolls, there’ll be an ice cream eating contest and raffles, and one scoop will be named king of the cream. Free. 1 to 4 PM.

BURGERS: Speaking of food contests, the space at 945 Florida Avenue is hosting the DC BRGR Bash (not to be confused with BGR, of course). It’s a grill-off between some of Washington’s best chefs, and for every slider sold, 50 cents will be donated to the Children’s Inn. There’ll also be a beer garden featuring DC Brau and Atlas Brew Works, lawn games, and live music. Tickets ($22) are available online. 1 to 6 PM.

Sunday, July 20

YELP: Yelp celebrates ten years of doing its whole crowdsourced reviews thing with a party at the Anacostia Arts Center, featuring doughnuts, steak, tacos, oysters, cake (yeah, it’s an eclectic mix of restaurants), fancy drinks, live-painting stands, candy, massages, a photo booth, a “flower bar,” music, dancing, and “more free stuff than you can imagine.” It’s probably going to be a good time. $10. 4 PM.

CRAWL: Spend your Sunday doing the Hip “Hop,” an every-once-in-a-while bar crawl near U Street that travels both between bars like Solly’s, Lounge of 3, Newtown, Pure, and Duffy’s. Each bar will play a different era of hip-hop and will have different drink specials. Make sure to pour one out at Solly’s, where the theme is emcees who have died. Tickets ($10) are available online. 2 PM. 

Know of something cool going on around town? E-mail Jason Koebler at jasontpkoebler@gmail.com, or find him on Twitter