Thursday, July 31
PUPPIES: City Dogs Rescue is throwing PuppyPalooza, a rescue event at Thomas Foolery—there will be a bunch of dogs at the bar that you can play with and also adopt if you’re a responsible human being. There’ll also be thousands of dollars worth of gift certificates and prizes raffled off, with all proceeds and tips going to City Dogs. Free. 6 PM.
MUSEUM: The National Building Museum is throwing the first of its Summer Block Party Late Night parties. You’ll be able to hang out at the Hill Country barbecue pop-up, explore the museum, and navigate the BIG Maze, perhaps after having a spiked lemonade or two. Free. 5 PM.
Friday, August 1
COMEDY: West Virginian Jared Logan has been featured on Comedy Central, College Humor, and TBS, and at the Chicago Just for Laughs Festival. He’ll be at Black Cat with Max Silvestri (from Gawker, Grantland, Eater, and apparently from standup comedy) and one other comedian. Tickets ($12) are available online. 9 PM.
ART: A brand-new art space is opening up in Northeast, right near the border with Mount Rainier. It’s called ReCreative Spaces, and it’s launching with a big party, featuring early viewings of its first solo show, which explores how Japan’s Edo period still has relevance today. For the party, there’ll be deejays, food and drink, flower arrangements, and dance performances. Free. 7 PM.
MUSIC: The Mad Decent Block Party comes to Merriweather, featuring Dillon Francis, Diplo, Sleigh Bells, Flux Pavilion, and lots more. Doors are in the afternoon, so try to skip out of work early—but even if you can’t, the show runs all night, so you’ll still get to see plenty of the acts. Tickets ($45 to $75) are available online. 2 PM.
FILM: For my money, Finding Nemo is top two or three Pixar movies. But you don’t care about my money, and neither does Union Market—its drive-in movies are free if you walk up or bike, and just ten bucks if you drive. There’s all the food and drink you’ve come to expect from the space, and there’ll be games and activities before the movie gets started at sundown. Free. 8:30 PM.
Saturday, August 2
DANCE: New York City’s DJ Rekha takes the train (or a plane or a car or a bus, I don’t know how she travels) down to DC for a dance night at Black Cat. Rekha is known for starting Basement Bhangra in New York—it’s a mashup of traditional Indian dance music with hip-hop and pop, and it always makes for a good time. Tickets ($12) are available online. 9:30 PM.
DANCE: Beardyman isn’t your typical dance deejay—yeah, he uses the loops and beats you’ve come to know and love from the genre, but he’s also a master beatboxer, so you’ll be hearing a lot of that at his Eat, Sleep, Shave, Repeat tour stop at U Street Music Hall. Tickets ($15) are available online. 11 PM.
MUSIC: It’s a big weekend for festivals at Merriweather. The annual Summer Spirit Festival is happening, featuring Lauryn Hill, Janelle Monae, Raheem DeVaughn, Talib Kweli, and lots of other rap, hip-hop, and R&B acts. Tickets ($46 to $125) are available online. 3 PM.
MARKETS: The DC MeetMarket, a monthly fair at the corners of 15th and P streets in Dupont Circle, features live music, food, arts and crafts, and more than 40 local vendors selling clothes, handiworks, cosmetics, and other things. Its organizers say please bring your dogs—they love markets, too. Free. 11 AM to 5 PM.
Sunday, August 3
COMEDY: Grand Central hosts live comedy every Sunday night. The shows feature local amateurs trying to break into the business and professionals who have performed at the DC Improv and the Arlington Cinema & Drafthouse. Free. 7:30 PM.
FILM: The Made in Hong Kong Film Festival continues at the Freer/Sackler Galleries with The Way We Dance, a film about Hong Kong’s hip-hop street dancing scene. The 2013 movie was a box-office smash overseas, and won several film festival awards, but it rarely gets screened in the United States. Free. 2 PM.
Know of something cool going on around town? E-mail Jason Koebler at jasontpkoebler@gmail.com, or find him on Twitter.
