Thursday, September 20
HAPPY HOUR: The guys over at
Listen Local First have put together a killer lineup for the next couple weeks at ThursdayTrysts at
the Phillips Collection: Tonight, singer-songwriter
Flo Anito plays her blend of poppy jazz. As usual, craft beers will be on tap, but now you can
work on your screenplay when you’re not drinking. (That’s what people do at Tryst,
right?) 5 PM.
THIS GUY ONCE RAN FOR PRESIDENT OF HAITI: Wyclef Jean, everyone’s favorite former Haitian presidential candidate who also happens to be
a Fugees member, is doing all sorts of things at Sixth & I Historic Synagogue tonight.
He’ll be discussing and signing
Purpose: An Immigrant’s Story, his new autobiography; he’ll play an acoustic set of music; and
Michael Martin of NPR’s
Tell Me More will spend some time interviewing the star. Tickets ($35) are available online and
include a copy of the book. 6:30 PM.
INDOOR MOVIE: AFI Silver’s
Latin-American film festival starts tonight with a screening of
Filly Brown, about a young hip-hop artist who has to decide whether to sell out for fame. Filmmakers
Youssef Delara and
Michael Olmos and actor
Lou Diamond Phillips, who plays Filly’s father, will be in the house to discuss the movie afterwards.
Tickets ($15) are available online. 7:30 PM.
Friday, September 21
OUTDOOR MOVIE: Jackets are a thing for a reason, and part of that reason is to keep you warm while
doing typically indoor activities in the great outdoors. The folks at
Mount Pleasant Main Street are sick of outdoor movies being confined to summer, so they’re showing
The Princess Bride in Lamont Park. Bring a blanket, MAYBE EVEN TWO. Free. 7:30 PM.
DANCE/CELEBRATE/GO NUTS: Phasefest, an annual GLBT celebration of art and music, happens this weekend at Phase 1 near
Eastern Market. Every year, you get a mishmash of queer art, music, performance art,
and comedy. Tickets ($20 for Friday’s lineup) are available at the door. 8 PM. The
festival runs through Saturday, September 22.
SHINY NEW PLACES: The beautiful new
Angelika Film Center Mosaic opens to the public Friday night in Fairfax. The eight-screen theater will screen
mainly independent and foreign films, and features stadium seating, fancy fusion cuisine
(as well as traditional concessions), and craft beer and wine. For more details and photos of the Angelika, see Sophie Gilbert’s writeup.
Saturday, September 22
BOOKS: The Smithsonian’s
National Book Festival always has a ridiculous lineup, and this year is no exception: Saturday’s authors
range include
R.L. Stine,
Jewel,
Mike Lupica, the
Washington Post’s
Donna Britt,
Walter Isaacson, and dozens more. Sunday you get the big guns, including
Mario Vargas Llosa and
Bob Woodward. Free. 10 to 6.
TRUCKS + BEER: The new Union Market hasn’t taken long to have an impact. Saturday’s
Trucktoberfest is exactly what it sounds like: 49 percent food truck extravaganza (with more than
40 trucks), 49 percent Oktoberfest beer, 2 percent live music you may or may not pay
attention to, and the almost-not-worth-mentioning-and-vague “games, demos, sweepstakes,
and more.” Free to get in. 11 to 7.
VEG OUT: If you’ve said so long to meat or just really like veggies, check out
VegFest at Yards Park, featuring everything you’d expect a vegan/vegetarian festival to:
meat substitutes, cooking demos, food samples, and a series of speakers riling up
the crowd over you know what. Free. 11 to 6.
OKTOBERFEST: Bethesda Row is also hosting an
Oktoberfest celebration, featuring 15 breweries; food from Mon Ami Gabi, Luke’s Lobster, Mussel
Bar, Redwood, and more; live music all day; a pie eating contest; and more. Proceeds
benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Wear lederhosen, or don’t, but make sure you
wear at least some clothing. Tickets ($22 regular, $88 VIP) are available through
LivingSocial. 1 PM.
STAY OUT LATE: If all this daytime nonsense doesn’t appeal to you, get your move on at Black Cat’s
Depeche Mode Dance Party, which is apparently the largest (and I’d guess only) Depeche Mode dance party on
the East Coast. Tickets ($10) are available online. 9:30 PM.
Sunday, September 23
ROLLER DERBY: Women who do roller derby are badasses and everyone knows it, but in case you’d like
some visual evidence, head over to the Temple Hills Skate Palace, where the DC Rollergirls are screening
Derby, Baby!, a new documentary from
Robin Bond and
Dave Wruck that details the sport’s history and popularity worldwide. This ain’t just any film
screening, though: You’ll get to watch a short roller derby bout (battle? derby? deathmatch?)
afterward, and then get to skate yourself. I encourage as much shoving as humanly
possible, but that’s just me. $10. 1 PM.
GIVE YOUR DOG BEER: Finally, someone has listened to our cries and is throwing a beer festival for dogs.
Pups and Pilsners, in Crystal City, will feature beer from nine appropriately named breweries, including
Laughing Dog, Flying Dog, and Baying Hound Aleworks—sadly, no Dogfish Head. Bring
your pooch and he or she can drink Bowser Beer, a nonalcoholic beer for dogs, which
apparently is a thing. Tickets ($15 online, $20 at the door) include three tastings
and one full beer. 2 PM.
Know of something cool going on around town? E-mail Jason Koebler at jasontpkoebler@gmail.com,
or find him on Twitter @jason_koebler.
