THURSDAY, AUGUST 6
FILM: Sample Italian film and food at Bella Notte! A Taste of Italy, hosted by the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Italian Cultural Institute, and the Embassy of Italy. The event features the 2008 comedy Pranzo di Ferragosto (Mid-August Lunch). In the film, a middle-aged man is forced to stay with his mother and her three elderly roommates during the most important holiday of the summer. Stick around for a cannoli tasting after the show. Free admission, 6 PM.
FILM: Practice your best Blue Steel: City Paper‘s Summer Cinema is screening Zoolander at the Park at CityCenter. It won’t cost you anything to see the movie, but be sure to BYOOMF–bring your own orange mocha Frappuccino. Begins at dusk.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 7
EAT: It’s been an incredibly hot summer, so go ahead and treat yourself. The good people of Good Humor are bringing relief to the masses with free ice cream throughout the city this week. Between 11 AM and 6 PM, they’ll be making the rounds in Dupont Circle, Penn Quarter, and Chinatown. You can catch them by following their Twitter account–that is, if you can find them.
THEATER: The Synetic Theater performs Shakespeare’s famed comedy, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, in a completely wordless production combining dance, miming, and acrobats. The show completes its run on August 9, so catch it this weekend while you still can. $20 to $95, 8 PM.
BOOKS: The 17-mile-long particle accelerator Large Hadron Collider may change the way we think about the universe, but its origins can be traced to something significantly smaller–a 60-inch cyclotron developed by the 1939 Noble Prize-winning physicist Ernest Lawrence. Journalist Michael Hiltzik tells the physicist’s untold story in his book, Big Science: Ernest Lawrence and the Invention that Launched the Military-Industrial Complex. Catch him at Politics and Prose. Free, 7 PM.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 8
BURLESQUE: One of the staunchest cultural rivalries of all time has involved the Star Trek and Star Wars fandoms–either you lived long and prospered, or hunkered down in a galaxy far, far away. Swami YoMahm brings the ultimate nerd showdown to the Black Cat in the form of burlesque. Dress up as your favorite character and vote for your favorite burlesqueteers as they present Star Wars and Star Trek-themed acts. $12 to $15, 9 PM.
MUSIC: Harry Potter, Jurassic Park, Star Wars, Indiana Jones. If you’ve ever hummed the scores to these films, then you’ve got John Williams to thank. The National Symphony Orchestra performs tunes by the famed composer and conductor, also known as the most Oscar-nominated person alive, at Wolf Trap. $20 to $75, 8:15 PM.
SUNDAY, AUGUST 9
DRINK: The 7th Annual DC Beer Week kicks off on Sunday with Brewers on the Block, a massive party bringing together 20 of the region’s buzziest breweries. DC Beer Week also hopes to teach beer lovers a thing or two about drinking, so be on the lookout for seminars throughout the week. $35 to $60, 1 to 5 PM.
MUSIC: The Rock & Roll Hotel celebrates nine years of bringing music to H Street with a slew of anniversary shows, starting with a solo performance by Radiohead’s Philip Selway. His most recent album, Weatherhouse, is reminiscent of the moody, electro-pop vibe that Radiohead is known and loved for. Fun fact: Selway appeared in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire as part of Hogwarts’ favorite fictional band, the Weird Sisters. $20, 7 PM.
