Happy Thursday, everyone!
Let’s keep the July fun going this weekend at a massive sneaker convention, or watch a movie outdoors with your family at the Library of Congress’s summer series opening.
Best Things to Do This Weekend
July 6-July 9
- Alicia Keys. Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Alicia Keys makes a tour stop at Capital One Arena this weekend to promote her seventh and eighth studio albums Alicia and Keys. This is the R&B artist’s first world tour since 2013 (Fri, $49+, Capital One Arena).
- Sneaker Con. Calling all sneaker lovers to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center: Sneaker Con is in town for two days with more than 350 vendors. Footwear enthusiasts can buy, trade, and browse their favorite kicks while meeting sneaker influencers, entering giveaways, and playing the 40 for 40 Game Show (Sat-Sun, $30+, Mount Vernon Square).
- Summer movies on the Library of Congress lawn. The annual summer movie series returns to the Library of Congress this weekend in collaboration with the Live at the Library after-hours happy hour. Visitors can watch a screening of Iron Man on the southeast lawn of the Thomas Jefferson Building, and view a live drumming performance from Batalá Washington pre-screening. The series will continue through August showing films from the library’s National Film Registry (Thurs, free, Library of Congress).
- “Soul Divas Reprise.” It’s the last call for Signature Theatre’s Soul Divas Reprise. The cabaret-style production sold out in 2019, and is back again with a tribute to divas of soul such as Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, and Tina Turner. This year’s show features a new cast of singers and a live band on stage, and is directed by DC artist Mark G. Meadows (through Sun, $38, Arlington).
- “Reconstructing ‘Weatherbreak’” exhibit. The original Weatherbreak was a 25-foot-high geodesic dome erected near Montreal in 1951—the first in North America. Now, a team of local architecture students is building its own version of the structure inside the museum. “Reconstructing ‘Weatherbreak’ in an Age of Extreme Weather” aims to show how these types of domes address current issues related to housing and climate (through July 28, free, Smithsonian National Museum of American History).
Want More Things to Do?
Budget friendly: Watch an outdoor screening of the French film Polina (Thurs, free, Kennedy Center), or the action-packed classic Jaws (Fri, free, Kennedy Center). Equinox is leading an outdoor yoga class (Sat, free, Northwest DC).
Plan ahead: Snag tickets to Washingtonian’s own Best of Washington party at the Anthem to experience an evening of endless entertainment and bites from more than 50 local restaurants (Thurs, $195+, Wharf).
Arts and culture: Learn about the mechanics of cameras at Phillips after 5 (Thurs, $20, Dupont). Watch Forrest Gump while enjoying the sunset (Thurs, free, Wharf). Attend the opening reception of “Re/Envisioning” to explore six narratives on norms, traditions, and belief (Thurs, free, Capitol Hill). View Paris-related works from the photo contestants of “Paris on the Potomac” (Fri, $5+, Dupont). You can give Four Minute Speed Dating a try at Ultrabar (Sat, $20, Penn Quarter). There’s music, poetry, dance, gardening, and cooking demonstrations at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival (Thurs-Sun, free, National Mall).
Community and history: Discover The Spirit of Lion Dancing in Chinatowns with interactive storytelling and crafts at the REACH (Fri, free, Kennedy Center). Experience folk dancing, pottery, and drink tastings at Romanian Weekend at the Wharf (Fri-Sun, free, Wharf). Snap your fingers to Doo-Wop performances, and learn about the genre’s DC roots (Sun, free, MLK Library).
Theater and shows: Washington Improv Theater presents Tumbleweed, an improvised western (Fri through July 29, $15+, Northwest DC). The thrilling musical Sweeney Todd closes at Signature Theatre (Thurs-Sun, $96+, Arlington). Olney Theatre Center and Round House Theatre are teaming up to present the Nigerian musical Fela! (Fri through August 13, $42+, Olney). Musical comedy Jimmy Buffett’s Escape to Margaritaville is showing at Toby’s Dinner and Show (through August 20, $74+, Columbia). Don’t miss the DC premiere of gospel musical Breakthrough at Anacostia Playhouse (through July 30, $35, Anacostia).
Music and concerts: Check out Union Station’s new concert series launching this weekend with DC’s own Heidi Martin (Thurs, free, Union Stage). Country Line Dance with DC Rawhides (Fri, free, Wharf). Music star T-Pain is in concert at the Anthem (Sat, $45, Wharf). Country singer Luke Bryan performs at Merriweather Post Pavilion (Fri, $126+, Columbia). Hear chamber music from the the National Symphony Orchestra Summer Music Institute Orchestra’s young artists (Sun, July 23, free, Kennedy Center). Go-go group Bela Dona Band performs at The Birchmere (Sat, $39, Alexandria). Groove with jazz saxophonist Jackiem Joyner at Blues Alley (Sat-Sun, $35, Georgetown). You can watch Return of the Jedi with a live score played by the National Symphony Orchestra at Wolf Trap (Sat, $49, Vienna). R&B legends Boyz II Men performs at MGM National Harbor (Thurs, $88+, National Harbor).
Bites and beverages: Take a Margarita Cruise on the Potomac River and see views of the nation’s capital (Sat, $35, Georgetown). Learn how to make the perfect cup of pour-over coffee at this PLNTR workshop (Thurs, $60, Adams Morgan).
Things to do with kids: Take your kids to the movie theater to see Trolls World Tour (Fri-Sun, $5, Arlington, Northeast DC). Little historians can practice language and literacy skills at Reston Museum (Fri, free, Reston). Walk through a real-life Narnia at the Museum of the Bible (closes August 6, $8+, Southwest DC). The Nate the Great book series comes to life on Imagination Stage with singing and dancing (through August 11, $25+, Bethesda).
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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.
