High of 75 on Sunday!
Hello Neighbor,
In case you’re looking to use Rock Creek Trail this weekend, portions of Rock Creek Trail are closed between P St. Northwest and Connecticut Ave. Northwest. There is no alternative route. This is due to an archaeological study near the Mount Zion-Female Union Band Black cemetery. The study is to determine if there are any buried persons underneath the Rock Creek Park Trail and to recover historic artifacts dating to the early 20th century using non-penetrative methods. The study will be conducted on March 21, and the trail should reopen to the public on March 28. This will be done in collaboration with the National Park Service and DC Government.
To learn more information about the historic cemetery, which is home to a vault that hid those escaping on the Underground Railroad, click here.
So, What Should You Do?
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.
- The 💉 indicates an event requires proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test.
Your Last-Minute Weekend Plans
1. Get outside this weekend. ☀️
- Enjoy a pilsner at Dacha Shaw this weekend while raising money for Ukraine relief.
- Go on a women’s history walking tour in Georgetown (Sun, $20, 🌲, Georgetown) and, after, stop by the House of Sweden to check out their new “Arctic Highways” exhibit.
- Get your last bit of ice skating in at the National Gallery of Art before the rink closes on Sunday.
- See the #IfThenSheCan sculpture exhibit at the Smithsonian gardens starting Saturday.
2. A weekend film festival. 🎞 Catch a screening at the 16th Annual Capital Irish Film Festival return (Wed-Sun, $, 🛋, Silver Spring) or the 2022 DC Independent Film Forum (Wed-Sun, $, 🛋, Silver Spring/Penn Quarter).
3. DC is an art capital. 🖼 There are a few local art exhibit openings this week you may want to check out including “12 x 12” at Grand Duchess (Thurs-Sun, free entry, 🛋, Adams Morgan), “Jennifer Sakai and Philip Taplin” (ongoing, free entry, 🛋, Glen Echo) at Photoworks, and “Small Scale Site Specific Sculpture Show” (starts Saturday, free entry, 🛋, Truxton Circle) at But, Also. This week is your last chance to see the Torpedo Factory’s ‘Sweet Tooth’ (until Sun, free, 🛋, Alexandria), Artechouse’s “Transient” (until Sun, $24 adult, 🛋, The Wharf), and Renwick’s “New Glass Now” (until Sun, free, 🛋, Downtown).
4. Libraries in prisons. 📚 The National Building Museum will be highlighting the collaboration between the MASS Design Group and Freedom Reads, which designs and places libraries inside prisons. A Freedom Reads Library will be installed in the museum’s “Justice is Beauty” exhibition. A public reception will follow a panel discussion (Thurs, free, 🛋, Penn Quarter).
5. Cocktails 🤝 ice cream. 🍹🍦 To celebrate Women’s History Month, local and female-owned Ice Cream Jubilee is debuting six new flavors such as bottomless mimosa sorbet, mocha rum truffle sorbet, and double stout caramel. A portion of proceeds of an ice cream flight of flavors will raise funds for Regarding Her, a national nonprofit dedicated to supporting women-owned food businesses (ongoing, $14 for a flight, 🛋, various locations).
6. The coming of Iranian New Year. 💐 Catch an Iranian-American pop-up featuring 11 local vendors this weekend. There will be Iranian confections such as bastani sonati (a traditional saffron rose pistachio ice cream), oscars (walnut thumbprint cookies filled with jam), and kolompehs (date-stamped cookies). There will also be a variety of jewelry, plant, and flower vendors (Sat, free entry, 🌲, U St.).
7. Sacred Relics. 🤍 The Ukrainian Catholic National Shrine will present a teaching and exposition of over 150 relics from the Vatican collection. Visitors are encouraged to bring their articles of devotion and pictures of ill friends/family to touch to the reliquaries as means of intercession (Thurs, 🛋, free, Pleasant Hill).
What Is on Our Radar: Volunteer Outside
- Restore, enhance, protect. 💚 Casey Trees is inviting the neighborhood to learn and participate in stewardship at Langdon Park (March 5, 🆓, 🌲, Langdon).
- Spring cleaning. 🌳 Head to the US National Arboretum to pull invasive vines and weeds from the restored Springhouse Run (March 5, 🆓, 🌲, National Arboretum) or to the Kingman and Heritage Islands to remove invasive species (March 26, 🆓, 🌲, Kingman and Heritage Islands).
- Weed lotus ponds. 🌾 Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens is inviting the public for a day of stewardship including activities such as invasive plant removal, litter collection, flower-bed weeding, and trail maintenance. All materials are provided and some activities include working in shallow ponds (March 26, 🆓, 🌲, Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens).
- Plant strawberries. 🍓 Cultivate the City invites the community to plant strawberries at Gallaudet Library. For helping out, each volunteer will be able to take home their own strawberry plant (March 19-20, 🆓, 🌲, Union Market).
- Plant trees. 🌱 Casey Trees is hosting a variety of tree-planting events at Fort Greble Park (March 12, 🆓, 🌲, Bellevue), Savannah Apartments SE (March 19, 🆓, 🌲, Congress Heights), and Fort Stevens Recreation Center (March 26, 🆓, 🌲, Fort Stevens).
- Remove trash. 🗑 Join the Ward 8 Conservancy to restore the Shepherd Parkway by removing trash and invasive species from the 197 acres of forest (March 12, 🆓, 🌲, Congress Heights). Or join District Cleanups for their next cleanup in Petworth (March 20, 🆓, 🌲, Petworth). For other cleanup opportunities, consider following Surfrider’s DC Chapter.
Your Neighbor,
Jade (@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.
