Things to Do

Things to Do in DC This Week (December 5-7): Repeal Day, Pearl Harbor’s Anniversary, and Sleeping Beauty

Sleeping Beauty runs at Synetic Theater December 7 through January 8. Photo by Koko Lanham.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 5

BEER Monday is Repeal Day, the anniversary of the day prohibition was repealed in 1933. Bars are hosting events across town: Jack Rose is serving prohibition-era whiskey and cocktails, and Penn Social is celebrating the release of DC Brau’s Alpha Domina Mellis, Part 4, a DIPA with local wildflower honey from Virginia’s Burnside Farms. Over in Shaw, Right Proper is celebrating its third anniversary with a logo retrospective plus vintage beers. Free, 5 PM.

MUSEUMS “Gateways/Portales”—which explores the experiences of Latino migrants and immigrants in DC, Baltimore, Charlotte, and Raleigh-Durham—opens at the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum. Through August 6. Free, 10 AM.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6

BOOKS Novelist and Pulitzer Prize-winner Michael Chabon discusses his newest book, Moonglow, at Sixth & I. The novel chronicles the deathbead confessions of a grandfather to grandson and was inspired by Chabon’s conversations with his own dying grandfather. $30, 6 PM.

MUSIC North Carolina folk-rock band Delta Rae has done a winter acoustic tour for a few years now; this year’s outing is tonight at the Hamilton. At these holiday celebrations, the group typically mixes its own music with holiday classics and covers. $24.75, 6:30 PM.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7

MEMORIALS To remember the 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor, the Friends of the National World War II Memorial and the National Park Service are co-hosting an event at World War II Memorial. During the ceremony, Pearl Harbor survivors, WWII veterans, and other dignitaries will lay wreaths at the memorial’s Freedom Wall. John McCain will be the keynote speaker, and Elliott (Toby) Roosevelt III, the great-grandson of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, will read President Roosevelt’s “Infamy Speech” from December 8, 1941. This event is the kick-off of the WWII 75th Anniversary Commemoration, which will last through September 2020. Free, 12:53 PM.

THEATER Synetic Theater is taking on a wordless production of Sleeping Beauty, running through January 8. The actors playing Sleeping Beauty and the Prince are alums of Synetic’s Teen Company and currently members of their Mainstage Company. Recommended for visitors aged 7 and up. $35 and up, 7 PM.

BOOKS Journalist and music critic Ben Westhoff follows up his 2011 book on Southern hip-hop with an analysis of rap in late 1980s Los Angeles. He’ll be reading from his latest book, titled Original Gangstas: The Untold Story of Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, Tupac Shakur, and the Birth of West Coast Rap, at East City Bookshop. Free, 6:30 PM.

FILM And Still I Rise is a documentary that delves into the life of Maya Angelou, from an overview of her upbringing in Arkansas to her work as a writer and political activist. The film, showing Wednesday at the Avalon, features interviews with Bill Clinton and Oprah Winfrey, among others. $12.25, 8 PM