THURSDAY, JANUARY 2
CONVENTION Get your nerd on at Super Magfest at the Gaylord National at National Harbor. The convention (which stands for Music and Gaming Fest) celebrates video games and their music at this four-day event with a stacked lineup of guests (many of whom have created or contributed voices/music to games). The schedule also includes panel discussions about creating your own RPG or understanding the music behind the game. Through January 5. Weekend passes are $95 on Thursday; the price drops with each subsequent day.
BOOKS Since it is now officially an election year, ponder improvements to our current system with author Lee Drutman at Politics & Prose. Drutman’s new book, Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop: The Case for Multiparty Democracy in America, argues that the partisanship of our current two-party system is what causes political stalemates. Free, 7 PM.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 3
PERFORMANCE Celebrate Elvis Presley’s birthday with the 10th annual Elvis’ Birthday Fight Club at the GALA Hispanic Theatre. Hosted by “The King” himself (plus femcee Kittie Glitter), the event features faux celebrity fisticuffs, burlesque, and other comic lowbrow theater. The impersonators are always a secret until the performance, but expect topical celebrities, silly puns, and absurd match-ups. Through January 4. $28-$38, 7:30 PM and 10 PM.
BASKETBALL If The Rise of Skywalker has made you nostalgic for earlier Star Wars films, then head to Capital One Arena for the Wizards’ Star Wars Night. The Wizards will take on Damian Lillard, Carmelo Anthony, and the Portland Trail Blazers; fans can scope out Star Wars characters throughout the concourse and watch Star Wars: A New Hope (plus an episode of Star Wars Resistance) on the LED boards after the game. $29, 7 PM.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 4
DANCE BENT, the 9:30 Club’s LGBTQ dance party, is celebrating its second year with events highlighting different decades—this weekend spotlights the ’20s (look for the ‘70s and ‘80s later this year). The night will feature drag persona Summer Camp (aka Shea Van Horn of Mixtape fame), DJ L Stackz, Baronhawk Poitier, and more. $20, 10 PM.
FILM The 1984 fictional biography Amadeus shows the life of composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and won an Academy Award for Best Picture, along with a whole slew of other awards. The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra will perform many of Mozart’s famous works at Strathmore alongside a screening of the film. $55-$80, 8 PM.
SUNDAY, JANUARY 5
WORKOUT The Kennedy Center’s daily Millennium Stage performances are not all music and theater: get a workout in with a free Zumba class on Sunday. Instructions will allow for various ability levels, but all participants will be encouraged to move and have fun. Free, 6 PM.
MUSIC Embrace new age tunes and sensations at the DJ night GLIDE at the U Street Music Hall. Bring your own yoga mat or pillow, stretch out on the dance floor, and watch a light installation while listening to ambient recordings spun by DJ Chris Richards. This will be GLIDE’s final night after ten years. 21+ only. Free, 9 PM.
LAST CALL: Here’s what’s closing this weekend
“By the Light of the Silvery Moon: A Century of Lunar Photographs to Apollo 11” closes 1/5 at the National Gallery of Art.
“Ginny Ruffner: Reforestation of the Imagination” closes 1/5 at the Renwick Gallery.
“Michael Sherrill Retrospective” closes 1/5 at the Renwick Gallery.
“Ornament: Fragments of Byzantine Fashion” closes 1/5 at Dumbarton Oaks.
“Votes for Women: A Portrait of Persistence” closes 1/5 at the National Portrait Gallery.
“Women Artists of the Dutch Golden Age” closes 1/5 at the National Museum of Women in the Arts.
