National Oyster Day. Head to some oyster happy hours at The Grill, with half-shell oysters for $2 each (Fri, The Wharf), Fog Point at Assembly (Fri, Arlington), or Succotash, where fried Oysters are only $13 (Fri, Penn Quarter). You can also celebrate with fresh seafood at Cranes (Fri, Chinatown), Michele’s (Fri, Downtown), or Ruse at the Wildset Hotel (Fri, St. Michael’s).
- More food events. Sample burgers from your favorite restaurants, drink beer, and give back to a good cause at the DC Burger Battle (Thurs, $45*, the Wharf). You can also try traditional Palestinian food and drinks at the Palestinian food pop-up (Sun, $55, Adams Morgan). [An earlier version of this post incorrectly said that the Burger Battle was free.]
- Have a drink. Celebrate National Spritz Day with $5 Aperol Spritz and Seasonal Strawberry Spritz at Puro Gusto (Mon, Downtown) or try your luck at Happy Hour Bingo (Tues, free, Tysons).
Sidewalk sales. Support local businesses around Logan Circle and U Street by heading to the MidCity Dog Day sidewalk festival (Sat-Sun, free, Logan Circle) where you can buy food, art, jewelry, and more. You can do some shopping at Middleburg’s 16th Annual Summer Sidewalk Sale (Fri-Sun, free, Middleburg).
Exhibits and events. Travel to all 50 states through pictures and paintings at the opening of the People From Away exhibition (Sun, free, Georgetown). You can also watch mind-blowing tricks at this magic show with Ran’D Shine (Sat, $5, Anacostia), see a solar phenomenon at Dark Star Park Day (Mon, free, Rosslyn), or watch the final tennis matches at Citi Open (Mon-Sun, $30+, Rock Creek Park).
Break a sweat. Start your morning off right with outdoor yoga at the Sundeck Salutation Series (Tues, free, Navy Yard) or paddle for six miles on the Wye Island kayak tour (Sun, $140+, Greenbelt). If you love to dance, you can bust some moves on a rooftop at Endorphin Hour with The LINE DC (Tues, free but RSVP required, Adams Morgan) or learn to salsa at Baila Thursdays Summer Salsa Social (Thurs, $7+, Union Market).
Have a laugh. Find the fun in the architecture of the National Cathedral at the Humor and Whimsy tour at the National Cathedral (Thurs, $30, Cleveland Park). You can also enjoy a laugh at the The Friday Funnies Showcase (Fri, free, Cardozo) or the Public Laughs stand-up comedy show (Tues, $10+, Dupont Circle).
Learn a new skill. Design and create your own accessories at this Intro to jewelry design class (Sat, $65, Georgetown), dive into some Shakespeare at a poetry workshop (Fri, $45, Capitol Hill), work on your creative writing at DC Writes! Workshop (Wed, free, Petworth), or learn how to be a successful storyteller at the Hip Hop Shakespeare workshop (Fri – Sun, $10, Penn Quarter).
- Cooking classes. You can also learn how to cook some delicious dishes at this live three-course cooking demo (Sat, $110+, Ivy City), a pasta class (Sat, $125, Capitol Riverfront), or the Seasonal Summer Eats cooking demonstration (Fri, free but registration required, virtual).
Jam out. There are lots of free concerts around DC this week. Listen to psychedelic funk at the Dock Days of Summer show (Sun, free, Woodbridge), or lots of jazz at the first concert of the AdMo Vibe concert series (Wed, free, Adams Morgan) or The In Cider Jazz Jam (Sun, free, Petworth). You can also be part of a live studio audience at the Homeboy Sandman & Deca show (Sat, $16, College Park).
Make a difference. Head to Busboys & Poets to listen to peace-seeking professionals at the 77 Years Later: Eliminate Nukes, Not Life on Earth panel (Fri, free, Cardozo) or learn about women and gender politics at the Hear Her Roar protests and marches tour (Sat, $0+, the National Mall).
Kids corner. Children can enjoy a book being read to them at Family book reading (Sat, free, Capitol Riverfront) or Storytime at the National Gallery of Art (Mon, free, the National Mall). They can also enjoy more fun activities and live music at Music & Stamps Family Day with Guest Artist Rafael Lopez (Sat, free, Downtown), learn how to properly plant seeds at Growing gardeners (Sat, $16.75, Georgetown), see the Production of Comedy of Errors (Wed, free, Tysons), or enjoy a Family Fun Skate (Sat, $15+, Park View).
Movies. Check out free outdoor films this week such as Enter the Dragon (Tues, free, Franklin Park), Mahogany (Thurs, free, Penn Quarter), The Goonies (Tues, free, Georgetown), Newsies (Sun, free, National Harbor), Yesterday (Thurs, free, National Harbor), The Parent Trap (Wed, free, Rockville), Spiderman: No Way Home (Thurs, free, Mosaic District), or Wall-E (Thurs, free, the National Mall).