Thursday, May 31
BENEFIT: Madam’s Organ is hosting a charity happy hour to support
Thrive DC, which works to end homelessness in the city. Five bucks gets you a raffle ticket, admission, and drink specials—the bar
will be giving out prizes all night. Tickets ($5) are available online. 5 PM.
LEFT-LEANING KARAOKE: No matter what your political leanings are, live band karaoke is the hope and change I think we can all agree on.
Public Bar is hosting a
Barack Obama “Let’s Stay Together” benefit. Local karaoke band Northeast Corridor will help the crowd through more than 100 songs as you help another’s presidential
hopes. Admission is $25. 7 PM.
NERD PARTY: Bier Baron Tavern hosts
Thirst, a night for all you social media mavens and other nerdy folks to catch up on stuff that’s important to you.
Simon Owens will give a talk about why introverts are more extroverted than you think (probably because they’re all Twitter loudmouths),
Kate Warren teaches you how to dress, and
Matthew Francis espouses on the universe. Oh yeah, and there will be beer. Tickets ($20) are available online. 7 PM.
Friday, June 1
JAZZ: After a super-long hiatus that randomly coincided with winter,
Jazz in the Garden is back, which is good news for people interested in free-yet-classy date spots. Friday, the Sculpture Garden hosts the Deanna
Bogart Band, a local R&B, jazz, and blues band. Free. 5 PM.
ART: The National Center for Children & Families is hosting a
youth art fair and a charity auction Friday
night. The fair, in Downtown Silver Spring, will show off some of the
finest works from up-and-coming young artists.
The Art & Soul Charity Auction will feature artwork and
other donated items, a cash bar, hors d’oeuvres, and live music.
Proceeds
benefit the NCCF.
Youth Art Fair: Free, 5 PM.
Auction: $50, 7 PM.
LOTS MORE JAZZ: In case you missed out at the Sculpture Garden (and it can fill up fast), the
DC Jazz Fest starts today. Until June 10, you
can see live jazz at essentially any hour anywhere in the city. On
Friday, no fewer than
20 jazz bands play throughout the city—notable night spots
include Black Fox Lounge, the Hamilton, the Dunes, Eighteenth
Street Lounge, and more. Check the website for more
information.
Saturday, June 2
We know you had too much fun last weekend, but it’s time to ramp it back up because Saturday is jam-packed with events all
day.
POOL PARTY: Brightest Young Things is throwing
its first big pool party of the year, and it always has the best. The
theme for this first one is simple—hipster—so
you should be in your element. Capitol Skyline Hotel’s pool
will host all sorts of deejays, pool games, drinks, rafts, and
all the better-than-thou stares you can handle. $15. 11 AM to 7
PM.
FOOD: The best restaurants in the neighborhood come together for
Taste of Georgetown, where you can sample all
sorts of food, wine, and “ale,” which is what they call beer in
Georgetown. More than 30 restaurants
will be on hand, including Bodega, Sequoia, Clyde’s, Paolo’s,
and, yes, Georgetown Cupcake. $20 for five tastes and $10 for
three wine or ale tastes. 11 AM to 4 PM.
$20 gets you five tastes, $10 gets 3 wine or ale tastes.
GAMES: Hope you like games and supporting good
causes, because there’re a lot this weekend. The National Multiple
Sclerosis Society
is hosting a beer pong tournament at RFD, with the winner
taking home $300 cash and some mild liver damage. Mackey’s, meanwhile,
is hosting a Taboo tournament at 5:30 and a flip cup tournament
immediately after.
Beer Pong: 4 PM, $40
Taboo: 5:30 PM, $12
Flip Cup: 9 PM, $12
SOUNDS: DC Listening Lounge is normally held
at an undisclosed location every month, but once a year they pull out
all the stops for Sound Scene, an
interactive audio event (this time at the Goethe-Institut)
where you get to hear the terrible cacophony of sounds from your
workday commute on the weekend. Just kidding, sort of—you’ll
also get to hear birds chirping, live music, and other artfully
arranged sounds. Tickets ($7) are available online. 7 PM.
MASHUPS: The Smithsonian’s Freer and Sackler Galleries are hosting
Asia After Dark: Afro-Asiatic Mash-Up, which
really just means an awesome party involving dancing, hip-hop music,
traditional and nontraditional Japanese and African
dancing, fusion food, specialty cocktails, and a little bit of
various African and Asian art, dance, and culture. Suggested
attire is “Japanese fashion meets hip-hop vogue,” so hope
you’ve got the perfect piece in your wardrobe. Tickets ($25) include
one drink and are available online. 8 PM.
Sunday, June 3
FOOD: After all those games last night, you’re probably exhausted. Recharge at the National Gallery of Art, where
José Andrés has created
Garden Cafe Catalonia, where he’ll be serving up traditional Catalan fare. Brunch starts at noon; see you there. $20.25 for buffet. Noon to 4 PM.
TRASH2TREASURE: Scrap DC is a nonprofit
organization that tries to repurpose trash and scraps into something
useful, and to inspire others to do the
same. Like the name suggests, it’s a scrappy org and is trying
to make rent, so it’s holding a benefit event Sunday afternoon.
You’ll hit up three locations in Bloomingdale, where you’ll
learn to make cool arts and crafts and eat dinner made from reused
food (just kidding). Tickets ($30) are available online. 5 PM.
Know of something cool to do around town? E-mail Jason Koebler at jasontpkoebler@gmail.com or tweet him at @jason_koebler.
