DC Plant Week. Celebrate the first-ever DC Plant Week with a series of plant-themed events in and around the city. Kick off the week at their launch party and warehouse sale (Wed, free, Eckington).
- Have a drink. Bring a plant and trade it for a new one at the Botanical Happy Hour and Plant Swap with Aslin Beer Company (Sun, $6, Logan Circle) or make a terrarium at the DC Plant Week Airplant Terrarium Building Workshop with Cocktails (Wed, $60, NOMA).
- Learn about plants. Make a piece of art to take home at the Pressed Floral Frame Class with Wildry (Thurs, $5, Dupont Circle) or take a Propagation Greenhouse Tour (Fri, $5, Silver Spring). If you want to learn more about your plants, attend the Plant Parenthood & Rare Plants Class (Sat, $25, Silver Spring), Beneficial Bug Class (Sun, $25, Dupont Circle), or Plant Propagation 101 (Sun, $20, Takoma).
- Go shopping. Take a stroll through the DC Plant Week Sidewalk Market (Sat, free, Dupont Circle) or Maryland Plant Community Shindig (Sun, free, Silver Spring), and bring a new plant home.
Happy Birthday, Alexandria! Celebrate 273 years of all things Alexandria at the First Thursday Street Festival (Thurs, free, Alexandria) or the Alexandria Birthday Celebration (Sat, free, Alexandria). But make sure you quiz yourself before you go at an Alexandria-themed trivia night (Fri, $8+, Alexandria) and explore the city you’re celebrating at the 9th Annual Old Town Pub Crawl (Sat, free, Alexandria).
In with the new. Attend the opening of “A Journey Not Soon Forgotten” as well as other summer exhibits at the Arlington Arts Center with a reception (Sat, free, Arlington). Other new exhibits opening across the city this month include the H2 Oh! gallery (Opens Fri, free, Georgetown), Robert Novel paintings (opens Sat, free, Mount Vernon Triangle), or “We Are Made of Stories: Self-Taught Artists in the Robson Family Collection” (free, Penn Quarter).
- Last chance. Still haven’t seen the Smithsonian’s “FUTURES” exhibit? Check out its closing party (Wed, free, the National Mall), which will include bands, performances, and a dance party.
- Do it yourself. If you’re looking for a more hands-on experience, attend a tiny home art class (Wed, free, virtual) or Paper-cutting Storytime at the National Building Museum’s Playhouse exhibit (Sat & Sun, free, Penn Quarter).
Attention, bookworms. For a week of good reads, head to the Carpe Librum used-book sale (Sat, free, Capitol Riverfront) or “The Quanders” book talk (Sat, $8, Alexandria). You can also hear book talks by authors such as Rachel Gross (Fri, free, Adams Morgan), Kristian Williams (Thurs, free, Adams Morgan), Lidia Yuknavitch (Thurs, free, NOMA), Jason Kander (Thurs, free, Friendship Heights), April White (Fri, free, Friendship Heights), or David Hoffman (Sat, free, Friendship Heights).
New fun for July. Lots of new activities are opening this month including Let’s Skate DC (Sat & Sun, free, The Wharf), Swing Dancing Night (Fri, free, The Wharf), yoga at Chinatown Park (Sat, free, Chinatown), and the July Fessenden Park Clean Up (Sat, free, Tenleytown). And you only have two weeks left to catch the yoga at Flow on the Lawn series (Tues, free, Columbia).
Get fancy. Dine and drink in style at a Calabrian wine-tasting dinner (Sun, $95, Vienna), the Tipsy Titanic Drag Brunch at Trummer’s (Sun, $38, Clifton), or a dinner event at the office of the African Union (Fri, $59, Georgetown).
Go on a scavenger hunt. Search the city with a limousine scavenger hunt (Sat, $69, Rosslyn) or try out the Capital Clues app at its launch event (Sun, free, the National Mall).
Catch a flick. This week’s outdoor movies include Top Gun (Thurs, free, the National Mall), Cantina Bambina (Thurs, free, The Wharf), Ratatouille (Sun, free, the National Harbor), Julie & Julia (Thurs, free, National Harbor), and Clifford the Big Red Dog (Thurs, free, Mosaic District). If you can’t take the heat, watch Ferris Bueller’s Day Off from the comfort of your own car at Union Market (Friday, $20 per car, NOMA) or see The Princess Bride with a live score (Sat, $40+, The Wharf). (Kramers is giving out free tickets to the show!)
Summer music. Head to Tunes at the Triangle to hear Juliet Lloyd’s new album (Wed, free, Mount Vernon Triangle) or see more free outdoor music at Glen Echo Park’s summer concert series (Thurs, free, Glen Echo), NaLa Fridays at the Park (Fri, free, Arlington), Fridays at Fort Totten (Fri, free, Brightwood Park), Concerts on the Plaza (Sat, free, Arlington), and the See You at the Circle concert series (Sat, free, Dupont Circle).
Random fun. Find more festivities at the Tsimshian Celebration (Sat & Sun, free, the National Mall), After Hours at the National Museum of Asian Art (Fri, free, the National Mall), the Atlas Brew Can Release Cookout (Sat, $30, Capitol Riverfront), or the unveiling of the new neighborhood City Ridge (Sat, free, Tenleytown).
