Thursday, October 18
BRAIIINSS: Test-drive your Halloween-makeup-applying skills and take an impromptu trip out to
H Street on a non-weekend for Brightest Young Things’
Zombie Takeover bar crawl. Nearly a dozen bars and restaurants will be offering specials to people
who dress like zombies. Your $5 (or $11 at the door) ticket gets you up to four free
shots of Bulleit Bourbon and deals on zombie punch, Dangerously Delicious pies, and
more.
TWINE: Wine and tweeting don’t seem to go together—one is classy(ish), and the other is
for Justin Bieber fanatics and self-important DC types (guilty). But hey, nothing
could go wrong with alcohol and social media, right? And if you combine “tweet” and
“wine” you get “twine,” which kinda works. Hang with other new media-savvy people
and get your first drink on the house at
Veritas Wine Bar. Tickets ($10) are available through Eventbrite. 6:30 PM.
STORYTELLING:
Mad Men has made being an ad man a glamorous position—see if that translates to real life
with
Mad Memoirs, a night of storytelling from people in the marketing industry, at Busboys & Poets.
$15 at the door. 6:30 PM.
HALLOWEEN: Finally, someone’s throwing a Halloween party for those of us who kinda like getting
dressed up but don’t get irrationally excited for pumpkin-flavored drinks and confections.
The only rule at the
Half-Assed Halloween party is to make sure you don’t try too hard. That means don’t spend any money on
your costume and put it together as you’re running out the door. So expect lots of
congressmen, lawyer, and hipster “costumes.” The whole thing benefits the National
MS Society, and there’s a two-hour open bar. Tickets are $30 online or $40 at the
door. 8 PM.
STARS: Long before NASA started looking for aliens on Mars, mankind was making up stories
about what’s going on way out there.
Cocktails Under African Skies at the National Museum of African Art is exactly what it sounds like. Christine Mullen
Kreamer will lead a discussion about the role the cosmos play in African culture and
the mythology behind different constellations as you sit back and watch and sip specialty
drinks. $55 at the door. 6:30 PM.
Friday, October 19
MUSEUM: The
Hirshhorn is keeping its doors open late Friday with “The World,” a live show written and performed
by Peter Glanz, a filmmaker who’s worked with Wilco, Andrew W.K., and MTV. $25. 8 PM.
MUSIC: Yardfest, the legendary Howard homecoming concert, has hosted Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Young Jeezy,
and pretty much every other important rapper of the past decade or so. This year’s
edition has up and comers 2 Chainz and Meek Mill and rap mainstays Beenie Man and
Naughty By Nature. Take a long lunch and head over there around noon. Free.
MYSTICISM:
Rumi helped develop Sufism, Islam’s mystical dimension. Tonight with National Geographic,
experts on the Persian mystic will read from his work, and Hossein Omoumi will perform
music. Tickets ($25) are available online. 7:30 PM.
Saturday, October 20
ART: At the
Corcoran’s community day, try out pottery-making, printmaking, and book-binding and check out the museum for
free. 10 AM.
HORSE RACING: The
International Gold Cup, Virginia’s answer to the Kentucky Derby, is your chance to get all dolled up and
drink mint juleps or whiskey or whatever. That means wear your Southern belle hat,
sport coat, and whatever other “old money” thing you can think of. The horse races
are secondary to the pageantry of it all, but those will be happening if you’re into
them. Tickets are available at most Harris Teeter stores around town; check the Gold
Cup’s website for details. $55 to $550. 10 AM.
FASHION:
DC Flea has taken over Montserrat House and turned the whole thing into a pop-up shop. Though
the store has been open all month, the shop is hosting fashion shows all day Saturday,
so you can get jealous about how the clothes you’re about to buy look on someone else.
Noon.
COMEDY: The DC Arts Center shows off the best DC has to offer with its
Capital City Showcase, featuring music by singer songwriter Justin Trawick, hip-hop by Laelo, and comedy
by Randy Syphax and troupe Homegrown Hilarity. Tickets ($10) are available through
Eventbrite. 10 PM.
Sunday, October 21
RUNNING (sorta): I’m usually not one to suggest running to anyone, but if you’re going to do it, might
as well get paint sloshed all over you. The
Color Run is sold out, but if you head over to National Harbor you can probably throw some
paint all over some poor exercising fool. Free. 9 AM.
CULTURE: Indique Heights is throwing its annual
Diwali Mela—that means food stalls, dancing, henna, karaoke, and much more. Admission includes
all-you-can-eat food. Tickets ($22) are available online. Noon.
Know of something cool going on around town? E-mail Jason Koebler at jasontpkoebler@gmail.com,
or find him on Twitter @jason_koebler.
