MONDAY, JULY 16
LECTURE Thanks to Colin Kaepernick and other NFL players, there’s been quite a spotlight on the Star-Spangled Banner of late. In the next edition of the Profs & Pints series, Marc Ferris, author of Star-Spangled Banner: The Unlikely Story of America’s National Anthem. At the Bier Baron, Ferris will delve into the song’s origins and the century(!) it took for Congress to declare it our national anthem—plus, he’ll bring a guitar to share other songs that were in the running. $10 in advance or $12 at the door, 6 PM.
FOOD The Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington (RAMW) presents its second Metropolitan Washington BBQ & Grilling Week, featuring select restaurants offering fixed price menus of grilled foods. Check out the ribs at America Eats Tavern and Roofers Union, a brisket sandwich at Rocklands BBQ, or smoked salmon tlayuda at Espita Mezcaleria, among many other participating restaurants. Through July 22. Meals are $11, $22, or $33.
COMPETITION As we mentioned in our MLB All-Star Week roundup, you can watch Bryce Harper and other stars crush some home runs at Monday’s Home Run Derby at Nationals Park. The field’s other competitors are Jesús Aguilar (Brewers), Rhys Hoskins (Phillies), Freddie Freeman (Braves), Max Muncy (Dodgers), Alex Bregman (Astros), Javier Baez (Cubs), and Kyle Schwarber (Cubs). The Home Run Derby’s bracket is set up as a head-to-head competition, with Harper facing Freeman in the first round. Harper’s dad is scheduled to throw to him in the competition. $240-$485, 8 PM.
TUESDAY, JULY 17
MUSIC Thanks to Pitch Perfect and the TV show The Sing-Off, a cappella has seen a recent rise in popularity. The all-male group Straight No Chaser was ahead of the curve—it was formed in the ’90s at Indiana University—but benefited from the recent buzz when the group got signed in 2008 after its “12 Days of Christmas” video went viral. Hear these feel-good pop covers at Wolf Trap’s Filene Center. $30-$65, 8 PM.
RECEPTION/LECTURE The Urban Squash Citizenship Tour sends 22 high school and college squash players on a roadtrip from New York City to DC to meet with leaders in government, journalism, and education, in the hopes of inspiring students to be more civically engaged. At the group’s reception at Squash on Fire, hear from New Yorker staff writer Evan Osnos and mingle with these promising squash players. $75, 5:30 PM.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 18
FILM In conjunction with the March on Washington Film Festival, the US Holocaust Memorial Museum will screen the 2000 documentary From Swastika to Jim Crow, which shows the similarities between Nazism in Germany and racism in the American south. Many Jewish scholars who escaped Nazi Germany in the 1930s ended up finding jobs at schools in the South, where they could relate to the struggles of African-American students. The film will be followed by a panel discussion including sociologist Dr. Joyce Ladner and journalist Hank Klibanoff, co-authors of the book The Race Beat: The Press, the Civil Rights Struggle, and the Awakening of a Nation. Free, 7 PM.
ART Cartoonist Rob Rogers was fired from his 25-year career at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette last month, which he claims was because of his anti-Trump drawings. The Corcoran School of the Arts & Design will show 18 political cartoons or sketches that the paper refused to publish from March to June. The exhibit, “Spiked: The Unpublished Political Cartoons of Rob Rogers,” will launch a series of conversations at the Corcoran about censorship and freedom of the press. Through October 14.
