THURSDAY, JUNE 29
DISCUSSION In conjunction with the American Art Museum’s Down These Mean Streets: Community and Place in Urban Photography exhibit, the SAAM is hosting photographer Camilo José Vergara, whose work is featured in the exhibit. Vergara documented poor and segregated American communities, returning to the same sites over and over to show the passage of time in these neighborhoods. Free, 5:30 PM.
PHOTOGRAPHY Local DC photographer Marie Emerson is opening an exhibit called “After Hours” at the Femme Fatale (FFDC) H St NE Pop-Up Store from Thursday through July 2. The exhibit shows the lives we live after our 9-5 jobs conclude, and is comprised of portraits of 10 local DC women of different ethnicities. Free, 7 PM-10 PM (opening night); hours vary throughout the weekend.
FRIDAY, JUNE 30
MUSEUMS The National Portrait Gallery’s exhibit One Life: Sylvia Plath opens on Friday and runs through May 20 of next year. The exhibit, showcasing Plath’s personal letters, artwork, and family photographs, highlights her struggle to understand herself and cope with the pressures placed on women in her era. This is the first exploration of Plath’s life in an art and history museum, and it brings together collections from the Plath archives at Smith College and Indiana University’s Lilly Library. Free, 11:30 AM.
CONFERENCE The world of geeks is blossoming, but many conventions don’t proportionally acknowledge minorities, from POCs to women to the LGBTQ community. This weekend’s blerDCon at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City (at Reagan National Airport) seeks to rectify that, embracing and celebrating minority nerds of all backgrounds with panels, workshops, special guests, tournaments, and cosplay contests. $45 (weekend pass) or $15 to $30 (daily passes); Friday/Saturday: 10 AM – 7 PM, Sunday: 10 AM – 3 PM.
BOOKS Mexican fiction writer Yuri Herrera’s English debut was Signs Preceding the End of the World, which won the 2016 Best Translated Book Award. His newest novel, Kingdom Cons, dwells on the struggle between a drug lord and an artist bent on helping others resist. Herrera will be in conversation with author/translator Roy Kesey at Politics & Prose on Friday night. Free, 7 PM.
SKATE Skate of the Union is an all-skating weekend for skaters of all kinds—inline, roller, longboard, and skateboard—at venues across the city. In addition to free learn-to-skate sessions for beginners, there are races and social skates all weekend long for more advanced skaters. Prices and times vary.
SATURDAY, JULY 1
MUSEUMS The Renwick Gallery follows up its highly Instagrammed WONDER exhibit with the new Parallax Gap, which opens Saturday and runs through February 11. The immersive installation transforms the Gallery’s Grand Salon into a visual puzzle, with a ceiling-suspended structure that blends drawings of nine iconic American buildings. Using skewed vantage points, optical illusions create a sense of architectural volume, merging layers of recognizable and abstract images, all of which change as visitors walk underneath. Free, 10 AM.
FILM Alexandria is hosting an outdoor film festival kicking off on Saturday and running on the first Saturday of every month from July to October. The “Saturday Cinema at Carlyle” series will run at John Carlyle Square Park in Alexandria, and the film this Saturday will be Top Gun. In addition, Alexandria’s Nice Cream will be on site selling handcrafted ice cream, and Popped! Republic will be selling its gourmet popcorn. Free, sundown (~8:37 PM).
SUNDAY, JULY 2
MUSIC Seattle rock band Big Business had to cancel its fall 2016 tour, including an October show at DC9, due to medical issues. The band is now on the mend and back on the road with a show on Sunday at DC9 with local openers Caustic Casanova and Teen Mortgage. The show is likely to be heavy on material from the band’s excellent 2016 album Command Your Weather, which finds the band returning to its original 2-man lineup, Jared Warren (Karp) and Coady Willis (Murder City Devils). $12 (advance) or $14 (day of show), 8:30 PM.
FOOD & DRINK The Ugly Mug is celebrating Fourth of July weekend with all-you-can-eat bushels of crabs and corn on Sunday afternoon. The bar will feature Port City’s Optimal Wit and will have a-la-carte options for pulled pork sliders and fish tacos. $35, 5 PM.
