Happy Monday, everyone!
There’s a ton of fun things to do around town this week. You can have a family jump session in a giant bounce house, or see Signature Theater’s rendition of Sweeney Todd.
Best Things to Do This Week
- Big Bounce House. Big Bounce America’s touring “world’s biggest bounce house” arrives in Maryland this weekend. Adults and kids can hop around the 16,000-square-foot, 32-foot-tall giant play house featuring slides, obstacle courses, sporting games, and a DJ (Sat through June 11, $22+, Fort Washington).
- MoCo Eats Week. Foodies will find dining specials and deals at almost 90 Montgomery County eateries during the Third Annual MoCo Eats Week. There are lunch deals at Paladar Latin Kitchen and Rum Bar, happy hour at Tommy Joe’s Bar & Grill, buy-one-get-one-half-off pizza at Armand’s Pizzeria and Grille, and more specials throughout the week (through Sat, prices vary, various locations).
- “Sweeney Todd” the musical. Stephen Sondheim’s Victorian melodrama Sweeney Todd takes center stage at Signature Theater. The musical thriller follows the story of a vengeful barber and his partner in crime neighbor as they terrorize London (Mon through July 9, $40+, Arlington).
- Spring Wine Festival and Sunset Tour. Unwind this week with unlimited samples of Virginia wines at Mount Vernon’s Spring Wine Festival and Sunset Tour. This year’s tasting lineup includes 20 wineries, live music by Bruce Ewan and the Solid Senders, and sightseeing of the historic grounds (Fri-Sun, $53+, Mount Vernon).
- Lucketts Spring Market. More than 200 vendors from around the U.S. are setting up shop this week at the Clarke County Fairgrounds for the Lucketts Spring Market. Visitors can browse antique and vintage goods, garden accessories, textiles, clothing, and more unique finds at this huge flea market; there’s a beer garden, live bands, food trucks, and a play area for kids, too (Fri-Sun, $15+, Berryville).
Want More Things to Do?
Budget-friendly. Learn the basics of gardening at The Farm at Halley Rise (Mon, free, Reston). Break a sweat at Milian Park on Wellness Wednesday (Wed, free, Mount Vernon Triangle).
Arts and culture. Artists Vanley Burke and Mark Sealy discuss Black British photography at the National Gallery of Art (Wed, free, virtual). Principle Gallery kicks off Art Night in Old Town with a high-contrast exhibition (Thurs, free, Alexandria). Enjoy a sunset screening of Hook at Alethia Tanner Park (free, NoMa). Learn how to create herbal and mineral bath soaks at this therapeutic workshop (Wed, free, Arlington). Author Lizzie Stark chats about her book Egg at Kramers (Wed, free, Northwest DC). Explore moments from the local environmental-justice movement in the new exhibition “To Live and Breathe” (opens Fri, free Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum).
Community and history. Join your neighbors in cycling to work on Bike to Work Day (Fri, free, various locations). Learn about Thurgood Marshall from a National Park Service ranger on the anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education (Thurs, free, MLK Memorial). Listen to a lecture on Maoist Revolutions (Tues, free, Northwest DC). This Profs and Pints discussion at Little Penn Coffeehouse is about the history of a DC Beer King (Mon, $14, Penn Quarter). Write about Black women birders at the Smithsonian’s Wikipedia Edit-a-thon (Wed, free, Smithsonian Natural History Museum).
Theater and shows. It’s the last chance to see The Body of a Woman as a Battlefield on stage at Atlas Performing Arts Center (Thurs-Sun, $40, H Street Corridor). Improv team Sistine Robot hosts a night of comedy at Crazy Aunt Helen’s (Wed, $10, Capitol Hill). Attend a Round Dance show in honor of local Indigenous communities (Tues, free, Kennedy Center). Broadway’s quest for the Holy Grail begins this week in Monty Python’s Spamalot (Tues-Mon, $69+, Kennedy Center). Ghostly musical Beetlejuice opens at the National Theatre (Tues through May 28, $45+, the National Theatre). Boiler Room Series live play readings close this week at Keegan Theatre (Mon, free, Northwest DC).
Music and concerts. Pop singer Caroline Polachek performs with Ethel Cain at the Anthem (Fri, $55+, Wharf). Flashband is throwing a color-themed music party at Songbyrd (Sat, $20, Penn Quarter). Listen to live bluegrass music and sip chilled drinks at President Lincoln’s Cottage’s Bourbon and Bluegrass (Sat, $86, Northwest DC). There’s barbecue, a mechanical bull, music, and burlesque at Hill Country (Mon, free, Penn Quarter). Renowned ensemble Juilliard String Quartet plays melodies at the Kennedy Center (Wed, $50, Kennedy Center). Elena La Fulana is headlining Founders Row’s outdoor concert (Sat, free, Falls Church).
Game night. Play trivia at Electric Cool-Aid (every Tues, free, Shaw). You can roller skate and play pickleball at the new Kraken Kourts and Skates (daily, prices vary per activity, Edgewood). It’s Bingo Night at Sonny’s Pizza (Mon, $15, Northwest DC).
Bites and beverages. Taste bubbly blind-folded with sommelier Daniel Runnerstrom at Lulu’s Winegarden (Wed, $60, U Street).
Things to do with kids. Watch the movie DC League of Super-Pets at Audi Field (Thurs, free, Audi Field). Local youngsters showcase their work at the Anacostia Youth Media Festival (Fri-Sat, free, Anacostia).
Get involved. The Commentary Social House is celebrating National Dog Rescue Day with a Pup’s on the Patio adoption event (Sat, free, Arlington).
If you enjoyed these events, please don’t forget to share this post with a friend on social media, and sign up for our newsletter for more things to do.
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.
