Thursday, May 29: New York City band Forro in the Dark blends forro, a type of music popular in northeastern Brazil, with contemporary sounds. The result is music that evokes Latin American rhythms and yet also sounds uniquely fresh. Forro in the Dark plays at Iota—check out one the band’s tune in our weekly Listen Up! post. $15; 9 PM.
Posh (730 11th St., NW) is throwing a Sex and the City pre-party this evening. From 6 to 10, there will be specialty drinks, DJs, and more. Call 202-393-0975 to RSVP. Want more SATC activities? Check out our guide to the best cocktail spots near movie theaters showing the film this week.
Friday, May 30: Tonight from 5 to 7, Maté (3101 K St., NW) hosts a happy hour with cocktail specials and half-price menu selections to benefit the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. There’ll be $6 cocktails, $7 specialty martinis, and half-price appetizers and sushi; $10 suggested donation at the door.
Tonight at the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden and continuing every Friday through August is the popular series Jazz in the Garden. The concerts take place in front of the Pavilion Café, next to the grand fountain and reflecting pool. The Sculpture Garden is located at Seventh Street and Constitution Avenue, NW. Free. Tonight at 5 is the group the Young Lions.
It’s time for the semiannual Depeche Mode Party at the Black Cat. This evening, starting at 9 on the main stage, $10 will get you in for a night of black-clad dancing to some of Depeche Mode’s best, plus B sides and remixes.
Free-movie time! Get over early to the Arlington Cinema ’n’ Drafthouse, and you can catch a free first-come, first-seated screening of The Graduates, a film by two local Marylanders. The movie, shot in Ocean City, is about that grandest of traditions: senior beach week. Watch a clip here. 9:30 PM.
Saturday, May 31: It’s the return of the popular annual Vintage Virginia Wine Festival. Out at Bull Run Regional Park in Centreville (7700 Bull Run Dr.), more than 50 Virginia wineries will be offer their wares for your tasting pleasure—and unlimited sampling. Plus, there’s crafts, live music, and plenty of gourmet food to nibble on. Purchase tickets ($30; $25 in advance) here.
Sunday, June 1: It’s Israel’s 60th anniversary today, and there’s a huge event on the National Mall to commemorate it. Regina Spektor will play a free concert, and there will be lots of activities, crafts, dance, more live music, and food. Free; noon to 5.
Today is your last chance to catch the Shakespeare Free for All, the outdoor performance of a Shakespeare play (this year, it’s Hamlet) in Carter Barron Amphitheatre (4850 Colorado Ave., NW). 7:30 PM. Click here for more details.
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