Monday, December 3: Like wine? How about half-price wine? Start the week right by checking out our guide to discounted restaurant wine throughout the week. On Mondays, try Famoso in Chevy Chase, Chef Geoff’s, or Indique Heights—to name just a few. See the full list here.
Tuesday, December 4: Cowboys present a romantic archetype: brooding loners who hold an enduring place in history. National Geographic writer Robb Kendrick spent time with modern-day cowboys in the American West and Mexico for an article. In the process, he created a stunning portfolio of tintype images of those he interviewed. To hear his cowboy stories and see his pictures, head to the National Geographic Society’s Grosvenor Auditorium (1600 M Street, NW). 7:30 pm; $18.
Head to Equinox (818 Connecticut Avenue, NW; 202-331-8118) for its last hard-cider happy hour. Chef Todd Gray prepares fresh, hot spiced cider and complimentary seasonal snacks (pumpkin dumplings, anybody?). The cider is spiked, of course, with a tasty apple brandy. The special runs from 5 to 7 pm and is free. If you miss this one, though, don’t despair—we hear Equinox may be starting an eggnog happy hour next.
Wednesday, December 5: Who doesn’t want to celebrate the day Prohibition was repealed? Not us! That’s why we’ll be going to the Onion’s Repeal Day Celebration at the Reef (2446 18th St., NW; 202-518-3800). There will be lots of scotch-whiskey specials, free appetizers, and door prizes. To attend, RSVP to dcpromo@theonion.com with the subject line “Meeting 616.”
Thursday, December 6: Shopping during the holidays is nice—but it’s even nicer when you know that proceeds from your purchases are going toward a good cause. That’s why you should check out the U Street Fundraising & Shopping Social this evening. From 6 to 10, many of U Street’s most fashionable boutiques (Nana, Simply Home, Caramel, and more) will offer discounts, gift certificates, and prizes. Ten percent of the evening’s proceeds will go to the Patricia M. Sitar Center for the Arts, a DC youth arts organization.
Always wanted to break out that inner cowboy (or cowgirl)? Head to McFadden’s (2401 Pennsylvania Ave., NW; 202-223-2338) for a one-night-only mechanical-bull-riding contest. The competition runs from 9 pm to 1 am, and whoever can hang on the longest wins prizes. (It’s unclear exactly what—boasting rights, perhaps?) There’ll be drink specials as well. Yeehaw!