Happy Monday, everyone!
Eat delicious, healthy bites during DC Veg Restaurant Week, or shop new spring plants in celebration of DC Plant Week. If you’re looking for something to do besides greenery fun, then see Rare Essence vibe out at the National Gallery of Art.
Best Things to Do This Week
- AAPI Heritage Month Celebration. In recognition of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month the Mayor’s Office on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs is hosting a fun cultural celebration at the Lincoln Theatre. Guests will experience Polynesian, Indian, and Vietnamese dance performances, and tunes by U.S. Army vocalist Erik Tue. The evening will also include a community service awards ceremony (Mon, free, Lincoln Theatre).
- DC Veg Restaurant Week. Chow down on plant-based cuisine at area eateries during DC Veg Restaurant Week. The vegan celebration features specialty menus, deals, and giveaways at 35 participating restaurants including carrot ginger cocktails at DC Harvest and a bottomless brunch at Equinox Restaurant (through Sun, prices vary, various locations).
- DC Plant Week. Plant lovers are invited to shop small and green at local greeneries this week in celebration of Little Leaf’s DC Plant Week. The green-thumb lineup includes hands-on events and workshops about plant care, recycling, pest management, and more. Visitors can enjoy flower and drink specials, too (Mon-Sun, prices vary, various locations).
- “Here There Are Blueberries” play. The Tectonic Theater Project teams up with Shakespeare Theatre Company to narrate a story about the Holocaust in the new stage play Here There Are Blueberries (closes May 28, $35+, Penn Quarter).
- National Gallery Nights. The after-hours party at the National Gallery of Art returns this week with Homegrown beats and vibes. Go-go group Rare Essence will play a set on the hour, while guests can enjoy artists pop-up talks from local universities, learn about DC murals, and create Washington Color School-inspired art (Thurs, free, but limited walk-up passes available, National Gallery of Art).
Want More Things to Do?
Budget-friendly. Take a salsa or bachata dance lesson on the Tysons Corner plaza; there’s a kid-friendly music workshop, too (Fri, free, Tysons). Create a collage through mood board making at the Phillips Collection (Wed, free, but registration required, Dupont).
Arts and culture. View photographs of Italy’s detailed interiors in the “Italian Wonder” exhibit at the embassy (Tues, Thurs, free, but appointment required, Northwest DC). Author Leta McCollough Seletzky discusses her book about her father’s time with Martin Luther King Jr. (Wed, free, virtual). Observe “Survive, Glamorously: Images of Drag in the District” before the drag artist photography exhibition closes at Ron David Studio in Union Market (closes Sat, free, Northeast DC). French photographer JR chats about the impact of public art at the museum (Fri, free, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden). Tour Foggy Bottom and explore sculptural works from multiple artists (through October 21, free, Foggy Bottom). View a 3-D printed acrylic bust created by artist Baseera Khan (through July 16, free, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden). Attend a Eurovision Song Contest watch party at Wunder Garten (Tues, Thurs, free, NoMa).
Community and history. Remember the lives of enslaved families at Mount Vernon with a guided history tour and ceremony (Sat, $26, Mount Vernon). Learn the history of Reston’s transportation system (Wed, free, Reston). Celebrate Europe Day with food and music at various embassies participating in the EU Open House (Sat, free, Northwest DC). Bill Nye the science guy gives a behind the scenes look at his TV show The End is Nye (Wed, $25, virtual).
Theater and shows. Watch your favorite 007 movies at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema’s The Best of Bond series (every Mon through May, $11, Arlington, Northeast DC). Or, sing along to the film Mamma Mia on Mother’s Day (Sun, $11, Arlington, Northeast DC). Pro storytellers share their best Farm to Table Tales at Miracle Theatre (Tues, $25, Capitol Hill). ExPats Theatre touches on the themes of gender and war in The Body of a Woman as a Battlefield (closes May 21, $40, H Street Corridor). Enjoy Silver Spring Stage’s playful adaptation of Pride and Prejudice (closes Sun, $22+, Bethesda). See four 0ne-act dance works by ICONS Choreographic Institute (Sun, $30, H Street Corridor). Celebrate Mother’s Day at this one-woman play about historic Black comedian Moms Mabley (Sun, $65+, Howard Theatre). This new stage play is inspired by DC’s gentrification: See Good Bones at Studio Theatre (Wed through June 18, $75 Northwest DC).
Music and concerts. Punk trio Country Westerns plays at the Runaway (Mon, $12+, Northeast DC). Indie pop collective Mr. Twin Sister sings (Wed, $18+, Wharf). You can hear a number of Hans Zimmer’s hits at this candlelight concert (Thurs, $40, Capitol Hill). Citizen Cope performs a solo acoustic show at 9:30 Club (Wed, $56, Cardozo). Country singer-songwriter Sunny Sweeney performs melodies at Pearl Street Warehouse (Mon, $25, Wharf). Live symphony sounds are paired with animations from NASA Goddard at Henry Dehlinger’s Cosmic Cycles concert (Thurs, Sat, $19+, Bethesda, Tysons). Attend the Netherlands Carillon Freedom concert (Wed, free, Rosslyn). The Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra plays Sibelius symphonies (Mon, $30+, Kennedy Center).
Game night. DC Fray is hosting an outdoor game of bingo at Tysons Corner (Thurs, free, Tysons). Sip cocktails and play trivia at Clubhouse (Tues, free, Georgetown). There’s late-night happy hour and game night at Barcode (Wed, free, Northwest DC).
Things to do with kids. Bring your kids to the Mother’s Day Soirée at Le Fantome Food Hall to enjoy music, glitter tattoos, crafts, and free flower bouquets (Sun, free, Riverdale Park). See Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella at a drive-in movie in support of Young Playwrights’ Theater (Fri, $25+, Takoma Park).
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Briana A. Thomas is a local journalist, historian, and tour guide who specializes in the research of D.C. history and culture. She is the author of the Black history book, Black Broadway in Washington, D.C., a story that was first published in Washingtonian in 2016.
