THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19
MARKET: The holidays can be stressful, especially for those who crack under the pressure of buying the perfect gift. Luckily, the Union Kitchen Holiday Market is the perfect remedy. Sip on some cocktails and eat some light appetizers as you survey potential presents from Union Kitchen members and Room & Board. Free, 6:30 PM.
FILM: Max and the Junkmen comes to the AFI Silver Theater and Cultural Center. The 70s French crime—never before been released in American theatres—stars famed French actor Michel Piccoli as a hardened, Parisian detective named Max whose plans for justice are foiled when he falls in love. $12, 9:15 PM.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20
BOOK: You may know Jesse Eisenberg as the guy dishing out rules for surviving a zombie apocalypse in Zombieland or for portraying Mark Zuckerberg in Aaron Sorkin’s The Social Network. But he’s also a great, hilarious writer regularly featured in The New Yorker. Eisenberg will be at Politics & Prose discussing his newly-released short fiction collection, Bream Gives Me Hiccups. Free, 7 PM.
PERFORMANCE: Performance artist Cameryn Moore’s one-woman show Phone Whore comes to Atlas Arts. The content comes directly from actual phone sex experiences, and challenges audience members to consider “sex, taboo, fantasy, and the place of ‘deviant’ desires in society today.” $20, 8 PM (there’s also a showing on Saturday).
ART: Art Soiree’s ManneqART SHOW: Sculptures on Human Form is like an artsy version of Project Runway. Watch models strut down the runway donning wearable art designed from materials that you won’t find at Forever 21—think paper, spray foam and metal. $15-$25, 8 PM.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21
ESTATE SALE: Spend your Saturday morning scouring estate sales for unique finds while also enjoying the best part of brunch: the cocktails. With Estate Sale + Mimosa Outing courtesy of Jess & Allie’s Weekend Adventures, you have the opportunity to do something interesting and productive…and sip your morning bubbly. $38, 9 AM.
DISCUSSION: Gary Ross, the writer and director of Hunger Games and Seabiscuit, will chat with scholars David Blight and Steven Hahn at the National Museum of American History about the true story behind his latest project, the Free State of Jones. Learn more about “Captain” Newton Knight: a yeoman farmer who ended up becoming the leader of a group of Confederate Army deserters during the Civil War. The program will also feature footage from the film. Free, 7 PM.
IMPROV: DC Arts Center’s Seasonal Disorder helps you laugh at the holidays. Tonight, check out Improv Actually, with a premise loosely based on the much-loved British holiday rom-com Love Actually, except it’s based in Washington, D.C. and improv, of course. $12, 7 PM.
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22
SQUARE DANCE: Before indulging in Thanksgiving food next week, break a sweat by do-si-doing to traditional Appalachian music at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage’s Pre-Thanksgiving Square Dance. A band will play the square dancing tunes while a teacher walks you through and calls out the figures. Free, 5 PM.
MUSIC FOR A CAUSE: Bust a move for a very important cause. In light of last week’s horrific attacks across the city of Paris including music venue Bataclan, local DJ’s are banding together at Rock and Roll Hotel for The House That France Built – An Evening of French House. Entry requires a donation to a charity benefitting France. $5-$50, 5 PM.
