Things to Do

Best Things to Do in the DC Area 5/23-5/29: Black Pride, “The Princess Bride,” and Concerts

Plus an erotic film festival!

Photograph by Elvert Barnes/Flickr.

Stay Dry!

Hello, neighbor.

Itโ€™s going to rain most of this weekโ€“bring an umbrella!ย 

ย 

So What Should You Do May 23-29?

For your convenience, this newsletter includes emojis to help you during these unprecedented times:ย 

  • The ๐Ÿ›‹ indicates an event is happening in person inside.
  • The ๐ŸŒฒ indicates an event is happening in person outside.ย 
  • The ๐Ÿ’ป indicates an event is happening virtually.ย 
  • And lastly, the ๐Ÿ†“ indicates an event is free.

 

Top 5 Picks of the Week

  1. DC Black Pride. ๐ŸŒˆ May 27 to May 30, party and celebrate Black Pride (starts Fri, $, ๐Ÿ›‹, various events)! Or watch the documentary Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart (Fri, ๐Ÿ†“, ๐Ÿ›‹, Mount Pleasant).ย 
  2. Wrapping up Asian American and Pacific Island Heritage Month. ๐Ÿ’–ย Shop from more than 17 artists and makers, as well as sample a variety of Asian-owned restaurants, at the Sari-Sari Pop-Up Market (Sun, ๐Ÿ†“, ๐Ÿ›‹/๐ŸŒฒ, Edgewood). Or check out a South Asian Pop-Up (Sat, $, ๐Ÿ›‹, 14th St.). There are also a few film screenings, such as Flee (Thurs, ๐Ÿ†“, ๐Ÿ›‹, Kennedy Center), After the Month (Wed, ๐Ÿ†“, ๐Ÿ›‹ , Southwest), and Journey to the East (Thurs, ๐Ÿ†“, ๐Ÿ›‹, Takoma). Itโ€™s your last week to check out โ€œHung Liu: Portraits of Promised Lands, 1968-2020โ€ at the National Portrait Gallery.ย 
  3. Memorial Day events. ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธย Besides the parade, you may be interested in an โ€œHonoring Memorial Dayโ€ (Thurs, ๐Ÿ†“, ๐Ÿ›‹ , National Mall) concert. There are also events recognizing women in the military, including an Arlington National Cemetery tour that highlights women on the front (Sat, $35, ๐ŸŒฒ, Arlington) plus a lecture about Black women during World War II (Sun, ๐Ÿ†“, ๐Ÿ›‹, Benning). The National Museum of Army will host a variety of events all weekend, such as paper-poppy crafting as well as films. Attend a LGBTQ+ Veteran’s Social (Tues, ๐Ÿ†“, ๐Ÿ›‹, Capitol Hill)!ย 
  4. Outdoor movies. ๐ŸŽžย Fingers crossed that it doesnโ€™t rain too much this week! Some classic outdoor movies are being shown, such asย The Princess Bride (Tues, ๐Ÿ†“, ๐ŸŒฒ, Adams Morgan),ย The Lion King (Sun, ๐Ÿ†“, ๐ŸŒฒ, National Harbor) andย The Sandlot (Wed, ๐Ÿ†“, ๐ŸŒฒ, NoMa).ย 
  5. Other ways to get outside. ๐ŸŽธ Try various climbing and fitness ground games (Sat, ๐Ÿ†“, ๐Ÿ›‹, National Landing). Attend the last of the Spring Jazz concert series with the DMV Percussion Academy (Wed, ๐Ÿ†“, ๐ŸŒฒ, Waterfront). Move your feet at the 7th Annual Dance and Music Festival (Sun, ๐Ÿ†“, ๐ŸŒฒ, Silver Spring).ย 

 

ย Everything Else This Week

  • Embassy Events. ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡นย The House of Sweden is hosting an outdoor screening about Sami artist Britta Marakatt-Labba (Wed, ๐Ÿ†“, ๐ŸŒฒ, Georgetown). The Korean Cultural Center debuts an immersive art exhibit, โ€œKorea: Cubically Imagineโ€ (starts Fri, ๐Ÿ†“ but timed passes required, ๐Ÿ›‹, Kalorama) Tip: If you like Artechouse or the Van Gough exhibit, youโ€™ll like that! The Embassy of Guatemala (Wed, $59, ๐Ÿ›‹, Kalorama) will be open after hours for an evening of food, film, and art.ย 
  • Concerts for reflection. ๐ŸŽถ Listen to Damien Geterโ€™s An African American Requiem (Mon, $15+, ๐Ÿ›‹, Kennedy Center), which incorporates traditional Latin requiem with declarations relating to racial violence against African Americans. Attend a benefit concert for Ukraine (Thurs, $35, ๐Ÿ›‹ /๐ŸŒฒ, Van Ness) at the Hillwood Museumโ€”beforehand, you may want to check out its porcelain exhibit, closing soon.ย 
  • Other events for reflection. ๐Ÿค Attend a discussion with the mother of Trayvon Martin (Tues, ๐Ÿ†“, ๐Ÿ›‹, National Mall). Discover the growing threat of voter suppression (Wed, ๐Ÿ†“, ๐Ÿ›‹, Downtown). Uncover how language controls (Thurs, ๐Ÿ†“, โšก๏ธ) women and other marginalized genders. Delve into the ways refugees and immigrants reinvent and revive their cultural identity (Thurs, ๐Ÿ†“, ๐Ÿ›‹, 16th St.).
  • Rediscover your neighborhood.ย ๐Ÿป Join a walking tour with a transportation engineer to understand street design (Wed, ๐Ÿ†“, ๐ŸŒฒ, Rosslyn). Meet your neighbors with a buds-and-suds tree walk (Thurs, ๐Ÿ†“, ๐ŸŒฒ, Brookland).
  • A film festival for all kinks. ๐ŸŽž Watch short erotic films curated by sex-advice columnist Dan Savage (Fri-Sat, $25, ๐Ÿ›‹, 14th St.).
  • Travel the world . . .๐Ÿท through rosรฉ (Fri, $45, ๐Ÿ›‹, Capitol Hill).ย 
  • Bring your dog to the bar.ย ๐Ÿฆฎ Thereโ€™s a yappy hour (Thurs, ๐Ÿ†“, ๐ŸŒฒ, Edgewood) and a Dogs Day Out! (Sun, $5, ๐Ÿ›‹, Park View).ย 

 

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.