Thursday, February 20
DANCE: Little Miss Whiskey’s is hosting what it calls a “BYT curated deejay night thing” and what Brightest Young Things calls Super Best Friends Forever, featuring a Turntable FM-style (RIP) dance party. Songs will be selected by our very own Ben Freed, Newdust’s Josh Stewart, Fritz Hahn of the Washington Post, and BYT’s Cale. If you bother them enough, you can play your own songs, too. Free. 7:30 PM.
DRINKS: Artini feature nights head to Oyamel, where Jasmine Chae will be stirring up cocktails inspired by Frederic Remington’s “Off the Range (Coming Through the Rye),” a series of sculptures that show off the Wild West. Sounds like things could get a bit aggressive. Free. 6:30 PM.
BEER: Right Proper’s new beers take one of their first forays out of the recently opened Shaw brewpub. They’ll be featured at History & Hops at the Heurich House Museum, where Duke Ellington once trained to play jazz. Right Proper brewmasters Nathan Zeender and Thor Cheston will be on hand to tell you about their newest offerings and the creation of the brewery. Tickets ($30) are available online. 6:30 PM.
Friday, February 21
OLYMPICS: Sadly, the Olympics are starting to wind down, but you still have one last weekend to cheer for the red, white, and, blue (no, not the French). Head to Mari Vanna, one of DC’s only Russian restaurants, for a free shot of vodka and complimentary tastes from a pirozhki station. Free. 6 PM.
COMEDY: The comedians of the Arguments and Grievances podcast help us settle some of the world’s most important beefs, such as “Hugs vs. Drugs,” “McRib vs. Macbeth,” and many more. The Chicago-based comedians, led by Kevin White, Zach Peterson, Goodrich Gevaar, and Kevin Brody, are on a live taping tour and will be at Bier Baron, where you can help weigh in on what’s sure to be some very heavy stuff. $10 suggested donation. 7 PM.
DANCE: Paradoxically, sometimes the best dance music is also the saddest and whiniest. That’s the case at Cryfest, a party that pits the Cure against the Smiths to see whose life is worse: Morrissey’s or Robert Smith’s. The Black Cat mainstage turns into a depressed ’80s teenager’s dream for the night. Tickets ($10) are available online. 9:30 PM.
Saturday, February 22
COMEDY: Line-for-line, Creed Bratton was easily the funniest guy on The Office. The creepy/insane/potentially homeless quality-assurance director at Dunder Mifflin will perform standup and play a few songs at State Theatre. Before The Office, Bratton was a member of the Grass Roots and is a highly accomplished musician. Tickets ($25) are available online. 7 PM.
PIES: Pie is definitely the new cupcake, which was the new froyo, which was the new ice cream. Explore your pie preferences at the Brixton’s giant Pie Fest, featuring unlimited samples from Satellite Room, Dangerously Delicious, Pie Sisters, Danielle’s Desserts, Teeny Pie, and more. Maybe there’ll be a whipped-cream pie you can throw in someone’s face—that always seems like fun. Tickets ($10) are available online. 2 PM.
FILM: DC Shorts has been going on for ten years (doesn’t it seem like more? it’s become such an institution). Celebrate with a look back at some of the best films that have gone through the festival with 10 Years in 100 Minutes at Atlas Performing Arts Center. The event will screen one film from each year—if you’re feeling particularly bold, you can go to both shows and get double the movies in double the length of time (funny how that math works). Tickets ($15) are available online. 7:30 and 9:30 PM.
TRAVEL: Some of us like travel and adventure, while others enjoy pretending we like travel and adventure. Let’s be real—the Travel & Adventure Show at the Convention Center caters mostly to the second, but there’s nothing wrong with that. And if you’re planning your next trip, it might be worth it to take some impromptu scuba lessons, learn how to ride a Segway so you look (slightly) less silly next time you try it, or listen to presentations from the tourism boards of various countries. There’ll be performances and food from all around the world to try, too. Tickets ($10 to $15) are available online or at the door. 10 to 5 (also Sunday).
Sunday, February 23
LITERATURE: Now that you’ve had a week to decompress after a wonderful/horrible/indifferent Valentine’s Day, it’s time to open old wounds again (at least if you had a horrible one), with Naked Girls Reading. They present Love Bites, a night about supernatural love, vampire valentines, and truly awful breakups—you know, the kind where you get eaten. Tickets ($20) are available online. 7 PM.
BALLET: The Moveius Contemporary Ballet company will perform at the Atlas Intersections festival, which is great if you’re into contemporary, experimental ballet—but even if you’re not, you can head to the company’s after-party at Red Rocks for all-you-can-eat pizza (seems like a weird choice for ballet dancers, but whatever) and two drink tickets good for wine, beer, or a vodka-based punch stirred up specifically for the occasion.
Ballet: $25, 5:30 PM
Party: $30, 7:30 PM
Know of something cool going on around town? E-mail Jason Koebler at jasontpkoebler@gmail.com, or find him on Twitter.
