It’s Humid Out There.
Hello Neighbor,
Hope you had a great weekend, and hope you have a wonderful week!
So, What Should You Do May 16-23?
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 🆓.
Top 5 Picks of the Week
- Central Asia. 🌏 Explore the Silk Road Festival (Sun, 🆓, 🛋, Foggy Bottom), which will showcase arts and crafts, live entertainment, traditional food and drink, and film screenings. Related to the festivities: the debut of a wearable-art exhibit, “News from Central Asia,” (starts Mon, 🆓—donations encouraged, 🛋, Foggy Bottom). You could also enjoy Mongolian cuisine at an evening at the Embassy of Mongolia (Wed, $55, 🛋, Georgetown).
- Dinosaurs and dragons. 🦖🦕🐉 See over 50 animatronic dinosaurs as part of a walk-through of the Jurassic Encounter (starts Fri, $24+, 🌲, Centerville). There will be digging for bones, a dino village–and pets are allowed! Head to the Georgetown waterfront to watch the ornate dragon boats race (Sat, 🆓, 🌲, Georgetown).
- Nighttime parties. 🌙🕺 Celebrate 90 years with Dumbarton House at Dusk (Thurs, donation, 🛋, Georgetown) with cake, music, lawn games, and a self-guided tour of the museum. Dive into the world of pop-art at this year’s Hirshhorn Ball (Sat, $500+, 🛋, National Mall)– an evening of dancing, open bars, light bites, and a fashion contest under the stars.
- Bike to Work Day. 🚴♀️ Change up your commute this week and stop at one of the 100 pit stops in the area for a free T-shirt (Fri, 🆓, 🌲, various).
- A springtime festival anyone? 🌷🎪 The Bourbon and Bluegrass Festival (Sat-Sun, $80, 🌲, Armed Forces Retirement Home) is upon us: kick back with bourbon cocktails, beer tastings, and music while enjoying an exterior tour of Lincoln’s Cottage. The Village of Shirlington will be having a Spring Fling (Sat, 🆓, 🌲, Arlington) with over 40 local makers and artisans, craft stations, live music, and pet adoptions. Take a trip to Strawberry Village (Sun, $, 🌲, Sandy Spring), filled with strawberry baking contests, strawberry art, strawberry crafts, and strawberry pastries. See dozens of rare and exotic cars up close at The Old Town Festival of Speed & Style (Sun, 🆓, 🌲, Old Town Alexandria) while shopping at over 40 local merchants.
Everything Else This Week
- Call it fashion. 🧵 There’s an AAPI fashion show (Thurs, $35, 🛋, Logan Circle) as well as workshops to learn how to read patterns (Mon, 🆓, 💻), wax and dye Indonesian batik (Sat, 🆓, 🛋, National Mall), and eco-print fabric with flowers (Fri, 🆓, 💻).
- In case you missed the embassy open houses. 🇪🇸🇭🇹🇨🇷🇫🇷 Enjoy film screenings of “Malgré-Nous” (Tues, $10+, 🛋, Glover Park) at the Embassy of France and “La última primavera” (Wed, 🆓, 🛋, Columbia Heights) at the former residence of the Ambassador of Spain. In terms of celebrations, you can spend an evening at the Embassy of Costa Rica (Thu, $64, 🛋, Kalorama) and celebrate Flag Day (Wed, 🆓, 🛋, Dupont Circle) at the Embassy of Haiti.
- Ukraine. 🇺🇦 There are a few fundraisers featuring Ukrainian artists including a “Taking Back Z” rooftop concert (Tues, donation, 🌲, Logan Circle) and a Concert to Benefit Ukraine (Sun, $45, 🛋, Capitol Hill). If you’re still looking to understand the war, you may be interested in attending this lecture (Sun, $13, 🛋, Dupont Circle).
- A week of cookbooks. 👨🍳👩🍳 There’s Peter Serpico’s “Learning Korean” (Mon, 🆓, 🛋, Dupont Circle), Kwame Onwuachi’s “My America: Recipes from a Young Black Chef” (Tues, $18, 🛋, Chinatown), and Tamika Scott’s “Table Set: A Taste of the South” (Fri, 🆓, 🛋, Downtown).
- The DC Arab Literature Festival. 📚 Uncover the growing literary landscape of Arab literature (Tues-Wed, 🆓, 💻).
- A hodgepodge of fun. 🧩 Head to an outdoor screening of “Cool Runnings” (Wed, 🆓, 🌲, NoMa). See azalea bonsais (starts, Sat, 🆓, 🌲, Arboretum) in bloom. Attend a dance fitness party (Sun, 🆓, 🌲, Georgetown). Taste some natural wines (Wed-Thu, $10, 🛋/ 🌲, Park View). Enjoy music from the Golden Age of film (Tues, $18, 🛋, 16th St).
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.
