Hello Neighbor,
I am really excited about this week’s events, but also the possibility of snow, maybe consider hitting the slopes. Here’s a Washingtonian roundup of nearby options.
So, what should you do Dec. 6 – Dec 12?
For your convenience, this newsletter includes emojis to help you during these unprecedented times:
- The 🛋 indicates an event is happening in-person inside.
- The 🌲 indicates an event is happening in-person outside.
- The 💻 indicates an event is happening virtually.
- And lastly, the 🆓 indicates an event is free.
top picks of the week
- A 150,000lb Ice Maze! 🧊🧊🧊 The Park at City Center will have an Ice Maze this upcoming weekend (Fri-Sun, 🆓 entry, donations encouraged, 🌲, City Center). The colorful maze is collecting donations for the Children’s National Hospital Foundation.
- Hot Cider, Spiked Hot Chocolate, & S’mores. 🍫🍎 The Victura Park Holiday Market (Fri-Sun, 🆓 entry, 🌲, Kennedy Center) returns! Located at the REACH, see some of the best views of the Potomac and the Kennedy Center. Additionally, consider visiting the National Arboretum for their Procrastinator’s Holiday Market featuring family-friendly arts and crafts and holiday train rides. (Sat, 🆓 entry, 🌲, Arboretum)
- Go-Go, Gentrification, and Racial Justice. 🎧 Watch a documentary film screening of the award-winning “Go-Go City: Displacement & Protest in Washington, DC.” Afterwards, join a panel discussion by the Director Samuel George and members of the Go-Go community. (Wed, 🆓, 🛋, 14th St)
- When You Give a Washingtonian a Cookie. 🍪 Get together with family and friends and reserve a table for Holiday Cookie Decorating (Fri, $20 per table, 🛋, Union Market). Volunteer to help the first Georgetown Cookie Tour (Sat, 🛋 /🌲, Georgetown). Create gingerbread houses at the Locals Holiday Party . (Thurs, 🆓, 🛋, Penn Quarter)
- What Happens when a Bird Collides into a Building? 🏗🐦🌱 Collecting seeds from the bellies of birds after building strikes, Artist Andrew S. Yang grows makeshift gardens. His work poses questions about the clash between nature and culture, urban planning, and conservation. (Wed, 🆓, 💻)
- A Round-Up of Embassy Events. 🇫🇷🇲🇽🇦🇷 The French Embassy will be screening the pilot episode of the award-winning show Un Village Française (Mon, 🆓, 🛋, Glover Park). The Mexican Cultural Institute will be hosting a symposium on ‘The Shared Language of Poetry: Mexico and the United States.’ Join Friday night for a panel discussion about how contemporary Indigenous writers creatively engage with and respond to the legacies of European colonization (Fri, 🆓, 🛋, Columbia Heights). The Embassy of Argentina is hosting a reception for a new exhibit entitled ‘1000 Hues, Abstracting Argentine Landscapes.’ (Thurs, 🆓, 🛋, Dupont)
- Left Unfinished: Recent Afghan Cinema. 🇦🇫 The Asian Art Museum is hosting a virtual Afghan film festival which highlights recent developments in Afghan Cinema, in light of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. (starts Fri, 🆓, 💻)
everything else this week
- The Last Lightings. 🕎🎄 Join for the last night of the lighting of the Wharf Menorah (Mon, 🆓, 🌲, The Wharf) the holiday tree lighting ceremony at Canal Park Ice Rink (Wed, 🆓, 🌲, Navy Yard), or the Rosslyn’s tree lighting. (Thurs, 🆓, 🌲, Arlington)
- For the DC Foodies. 🥖🧀 Oyamel Head Chef Omar Rodriguez will be hosting an intimate dinner celebrating the people and food of Guerrero, Mexico (Wed, $100, 🛋, Chinatown). Get ready for the holidays with a workshop on Party Cheese (Thurs, $50, 💻). Bring your homemade granola, sourdough mother, kombucha starter, or garlic to a Holiday Food and Starter Swap (Sat, 🆓, 🛋, Cleveland Park). Join Carla Lalli Music (Thurs, $75, 🛋, Georgetown) and Washingtonian Food Editor Jessica Sidman, for an evening of drinks and bites celebrating the release of her new cookbook ‘That Sounds So Good.’
- For Those with Little Ones. 🧸 Watch The Muppet Christmas Carol (Fri, $20/car, 🌲, Buzzard Point) a Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins Puppet Show (Sun, $10 per family, 🛋, Glen Echo), or The Miraculous Magical Balloon (Sat, 🆓, 🌲, Arlington). Have fun at a Pajama Party viewing of The Polar Express (Sat, $6, 🛋, Capitol Hill). Join a live reading of Christmas with the Moomins and learn about holiday traditions in Finland (Sat, 🆓 if virtual, 💻 /🛋, Federal Triangle). The Grinch will be visiting Tap99 on Saturday (Sat, 🆓 entry, 🛋, Navy Yard). Or maybe consider crafting at a midday Paint with Paper event at the Hirshorn. (Wed, 🆓 entry, 🛋, National Mall)
- It’s time for Annual Holiday Parties! 🍷🍕 Sonny’s is having their annual Abbondanza! A Holiday Natural Wine Party (Sat, $65, 🌲, Parkview) featuring over seven natural wine distributors. Or, be merry at the 6th Annual Del Ray Candy Cane Bar Crawl. (Sat, $15 in advance, 🌲/🛋, Alexandria)
- Dating Across Cultures.💘 Join KAMA DC for a storytelling night about the growing pains, whimsy, chaos, and joy of being a first-generation American dating. (Thurs, 🆓 entry, 🛋, Silver Spring)
- Alma Thomas, Glass, & Other Art. 🚀🎨 Discover how space travel influenced the work of Alma Thomas (Tues, 🆓, 💻 ). Visit the Phillips Collection after-hours for a curator’s talk on Icons of Nature and History (Thurs, 🆓, 🛋, Dupont Circle). Complementing the Renwick’s ‘New Glass Now’ exhibit, there’s a Glassmaking Demonstration (Fri, 🆓, 💻 ). Highlighting 25 local artists, the “Only in D.C.” event will feature an artists’ panel discussion, nine artist activations, and an art vendor market. (Sat, free, 🌲/🛋, Waterfront)
- Disney Lovers & 90s Kids. 👑🧜🏻♀️ There’s a Disney DJ Night (Fri, $15, 🛋, The Wharf), which sounds like the bare necessities after ending a DC work week.
- Plant-Inspired Crafts. 🌿 Come make wreaths while sipping on whiskey (Sun, $50, 🛋, Park View) and make a terrarium ornament. (Sun, $15, 🛋, Trinidad)
- More & More Markets. 🛒 Visit Takoma for a night market (Fri, 🆓 entry, 🌲, Takoma) or Van Ness Main Street for a their 6th annual holiday pop-up (Sat, 🆓 entry, 🌲,Van Ness). There’s also a Star Wars-themed Artists & Artisans Winter Vendor Village, (Sat, $20 entry, 🌲/🛋, Lamond Riggs) and a Holiday Market at The Ven (Sat-Sun, 🆓 entry, 🛋, Dupont). Or bring your dog on Friday to the Rosslyn’s Holiday Market. (Fri-Sat, 🆓 entry, 🛋, Arlington)
- Zine Release Party. 📔 A DC-DIY-music-zine, PaperJam is releasing issue 03 as they continue to document and build the local music community. The event starts with a panel discussion followed by music performances from art punk band BRNDA and queer metal band Spring Silver. (Fri, $10, 🛋, Adams Morgan)
- Run Run Rudolph. 🦌💨 Sign up for a free Jolly Jog 5k . (Sun, 🆓, 🌲, Navy Yard)
- Thought-Provoking Lectures & Discussions. ✨ Uncover how corporate branding impacted hip hop (Wed, 🆓, 💻), the nuances of language and the Jewish Limits on Free Speech (Wed, $18, 🛋, Chinatown), the future of food (Thurs, 🆓, 🛋, National Mall), or the impact of Reconstruction on America’s post-civil war black community. (Wed, 🆓, 💻)
- With Prices Starting at $1. 📚 Consider shopping at the friends of Southeast Library Book Sale. (Sat, 🆓 entry, 🛋, Capitol Hill)
- More & More Markets. Stop by for a drink at the Dacha Holiday Market. (Wed, 🆓 entry, 🌲, free)
Have a great week!
Jade Womack (@clockoutdc)
Jade Womack is an energy economist by day, and an events blogger by night. She started her blog, Clockout DC, when she was moonlighting as a bartender in 2019. She grew up in Arlington, and currently lives in Adams Morgan with her dog.
