Things to Do

Things to Do in DC This Weekend (July 19-22): A Pop-Up Arcade, a Puppy World Cup, and an Environmental Documentary

The documentary “The Devil We Know,” about West Virginians who stood up to a corporation dumping chemicals into the water supply, will screen at Landmark’s E Street Cinema on Thursday. Photo courtesy Atlas Films.

THURSDAY, JULY 19

FILM The Environmental Film Festival and Environmental Working Group are co-presenting the DC premiere of the 2018 documentary The Devil We Know at Landmark’s E Street Cinema. The film follows a group of West Virginia residents who find that a large corporation has been dumping a toxic chemical into the water supply. After the screening, there will be a discussion with co-director Jeremy SeifertSue Bailey, who investigated the chemicals that she and her unborn son were exposed to, and Andrew Rosenberg, Director of the Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists. $10, 7 PM.

PERFORMANCE Composer/performer Morgan Bassichis will perform a new solo work for piano and voice, Me But Also Everybody (Part IV), in the Hirshhorn’s Lerner Room. This cabaret-style performance will explore Bassichis’s perspectives on life through stories and song. This performance is part of the Hirshhorn’s live performance exhibition, “Does the body rule the mind, or does the mind rule the body?” $20, 6:30 PM and 9 PM.

BEER The National Zoo’s annual beer festival, Brew at the Zoo, features unlimited tastings from nearly 60 breweries (plus an extra 10 more for VIP guests). Enjoy fun animal encounters plus access to the animal houses, all to benefit the Zoo’s mission to save species. $65 ($110 VIP), 6 PM.

COMEDY The Kennedy Center is hosting the District of Comedy festival this weekend, with performances ranging from improv to stand-up to impersonations. In addition to performers like Patton Oswalt, Harry Shearer of This Is Spinal Tap, and Neil Hamburger, the festival will feature the writing trio responsible for the book Liberal Redneck Manifesto: Draggin Dixie Outta the Dark and an all-female lineup including 2 Dope QueensPhoebe Robinson as well as SNL performers Melissa Villaseñor and Sasheer Zamata Through July 21. Prices vary from free to $69.

DANCE Learn the tango at VIDA Fitness at Gallery Place. Two University of Maryland alums, David and Liz Chorvinsky, will give a beginner’s guide to Argentine Tango. Free (with registration), 6 PM & 7 PM.

FRIDAY, JULY 20

MUSEUMS The National Air and Space Museum is hosting its annual “Mars Day!” on Friday, the anniversary of the 1976 landing of Viking 1 on the red planet. Scientists from the museum’s Center for Earth and Planetary Studies will bring their work to the museum and tell visitors about their research and work on NASA missions. See a real meteorite that came from Mars, try to maneuver a robotic rover, and view the surface of Mars in 3D. Free, 10 AM – 3 PM.

MUSEUMS The National Museum of Women in the Arts is opening its new exhibit, “Bound to Amaze: Inside a Book-Collecting Career,”  which celebrates curator emerita Krystyna Wasserman, who collected over a thousand artists’ books over her thirty-year career. This collection shows Wasserman’s love of the unusual and shows books with a breadth of inventive techniques. Through November 25.

SATURDAY, JULY 21

PUPPIES The World Cup is over, but that’s not stopping DC’s Department of Parks and Recreation from putting together a pick-up game—for puppies. This DC Puppy World Cup will be held at the Columbia Heights Recreation Center. Puppy competitors must be under 20 weeks of age and be current on all of their shots. Free (with RSVP), 2 PM.

GAME SHOW Head to the Gala Hispanic Theatre to compete in kooky, faux-patriotic games inspired by old-time TV game shows at the “America the Game Show F*ck Yeah!” Take in “Naked Drunk History” with “Drunkle Sam,” who will help remind you historical tales you’ve forgotten, while the rest of the show will be filled with trivia and ample amounts of satire. $22, 9 PM.

BEER / BENEFIT Old Ox Brewery is hosting a benefit for the Capital Beltway Warriors Ice Hockey Inc., which provides opportunities for veterans to learn and play hockey. In addition to Old Ox’s beer, there will be a silent auction of sports memorabilia, a Top Shot Hockey shoot-out competition, and street hockey. Free to attend (donations are welcome), noon.

THEATRE If you loved diving into the music of Jesus Christ Superstar during this spring’s televised version starring John Legend, Sara Bareilles, and Alice Cooper, then head over to the Little Theatre of Alexandria for a staged community theatre production of the Andrew Lloyd Webber rock opera. Through August 11. $29-$34.

SUNDAY, JULY 22

MUSEUMS The annual arcade at the Smithsonian American Art Museum takes place on Sunday, with a theme of “Game Spaces.” A group of independent developers will feature games that make interesting use of space or transform a real-world space. In addition to these new games, SAAM Arcade will feature vintage consoles and arcade cabinets from MAGFest and Arcades4Home. Free, 11:30 AM-7PM.

BOOKS Stewart Udall served as Secretary of the Interior under presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. During his time in office, he played a key role in environmental laws such as the Wilderness Act and the Endangered Species Preservation Act. Environmental historian Scott Raymond Einberger tells the story of Udall’s formative years, his time in office, and his political activism after his career in his new book, With Distance in His Eyes: The Environmental Life and Legacy of Stewart Udall. Einberger will discuss his research on Sunday at Politics & Prose. Free, 1 PM.