Happy Thursday, everyone!
The long-awaited Renaissance weekend is finally here. Dress to impress and sing-along with Beyoncé at FedEx Field, or skip out on the Beyhive party and take the entire family to a neighborhood back-to-school jam.
Best Things to Do This Weekend
August 3-August 6
- Beyoncé. Queen Bey will grace FedEx Field with her divine diva presence for two days this weekend. The much-anticipated Renaissance World Tour features anthems from her 2022 Grammy-winning album. The tickets were tough to secure earlier in the year, but there are still seats available on a variety of third-party websites. If you are able to grab tickets we recommend not missing this chance to see the record-breaking entertainer live (Fri-Sat, $220+, FedEx Field).
- “Cyrano de Bergerac” at Synetic Theater. There’s an entertaining combination of clowns, comedy, and love letters in Synetic Theater’s Cyrano de Bergerac. The colorful production follows the lead character, Cyrano, as he ghostwrites poems to help another suitor win over the woman he himself loves, Roxanne (through August 13, $35+, Arlington).
- Back-to-school Tomato Jam. Common Good City Farm is throwing a back-to-school tomato-themed jamboree for all ages. The tomato party will feature an inflatable school bus photo booth, a bouncy house for kids, arts and crafts activities, outdoor games, and a variety of nutritious tomato dishes; there’s a school supply drop-off, too (Thurs, free, LeDroit Park).
- ArtWalk Dupont. The monthly neighborhood gallery stroll ArtWalk Dupont returns this weekend with self-guided art tours and live performances. Visitors can discover three new works at the Chinese American Museum DC, view textiles and pastels at the Embassy of Argentina’s “Own Thinking” exhibition, explore a new video and painting duo exhibition at Korean Cultural Center, and much more (Fri, free, Dupont).
Want More Things to Do?
Budget-friendly: Professionals in the City hosts a speed dating meet up at Hard Rock Cafe (Thurs, $30, Penn Quarter). Shop artisan goods at Heurich House Museum’s Mini Markt (Fri, free, Dupont).
Arts and culture: Build a rocket and launch it at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (Sun, free, Greenbelt). Watch a sunset screening of A Dog’s Purpose outdoors (Thurs, free, Wharf), or see the comedy 50 First Dates at Stars on the Avenue (Sat, free, Bethesda). View more than 80 installations by street artist Banksy (Fri-Sun, $29+, National Harbor). Linguistics professor Cynthia Gordon from Georgetown University chats about fandom language at Planet Word (Thurs, free, virtual). Attend the opening reception of Washington Printmakers Gallery’s “This Land” to observe prints and photographs that reflect American beauty (Sat, free, Georgetown). Join the Folger Book Club in a community reading of Wolf Hall (Thurs, free, virtual). Watch a screening of Hong Kong-based thriller Internal Affairs (Fri, free, Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art).
Community and history: Attend Mount Vernon’s National Purple Heart Day Commemoration Ceremony, and see a performance by the Colonial Singers of Williamsburg (Sat, $26, free for Purple Heart recipients, Mount Vernon). Take a guided walking tour with A Tour Of Her Own to discover the history of first ladies (Sat, $40, Downtown). Take a trip to Montpelier Station to attend panel discussions and tour cultural exhibits at We the People, a Summer Celebration in honor of enslaved African Americans (Sat, free, Montpelier Station). Shop more than 100 vendors, browse a classic car show, and dance to live music at Manassas African American Heritage Festival (Sat, free, Manassas).
Theater and shows: See three live plays in one day at Tysons Corner Center Plaza (Thurs, free, $15 for rain tickets if the production moves indoors, Tysons). There’s still time to experience the music of Donna Summer, Gloria Gaynor, and Diana Ross in Signature Theatre’s Disco Fever (through August 13, $45, Arlington). Watch a murder mystery and sip cocktails at Linville Manor (Thurs-Sat, $42, Upper Marlboro).
Music and concerts: Local music group Flashback is Rockin’ At the Ridge (Fri, free, Northwest DC). Superstar singer Sam Smith is in concert at Capital One Arena (Fri, $35+, Capital One Arena). Bring your lunch to Wilson Plaza for an afternoon R&B performance by Groove Spot (Fri, free, Downtown). Go-go group Junkyard Band headlines a community concert on the MLK Library rooftop (Sun, free, MLK Library). Singer and pianist Regina Spektor performs at Wolf Trap (Thurs, $35+, Vienna). Listen to the classical tunes of Brahms played by Hilary Hahn and the National Symphony Orchestra (Fri, $25+, Vienna). Dance the night away to K-pop hits at Union Stage (Sat, $25, Wharf).
Sports: Watch the Mubadala Citi DC Open at the Ridge Club rooftop (Sun, free, but registration required, Northwest DC).
Bites and beverages: Taste jollof rice and move to Afrobeats at the Jollof Festival (Sun, $38+, Navy Yard). While Moulin Rouge is showing at the Kennedy Center you can dine at Kingbird Restaurant for a themed pre fixe pre-show meal (Sat, $75, Northwest DC). Create-your-own beer flight for International Beer Day at Whino, and then hang around for nighttime Afrobeats (Fri, $10 for flights, free entry, Arlington). Dress up in your best Barbie outfit for Bar Chinois’ Barbie Drag Brunch (Sun, $35, Northwest DC).
Game night: Play spades with friends at the library (Thurs, free, Southwest DC). Compete in a Stranger Things-themed trivia night at Atlas Brew Works (Thurs, free, Ivy City).
Things to do with kids: Children can participate in dance classes at Color Burst Park (Sat, free, Columbia). Kids are welcome to create wizard-based projects in celebration of Harry Potter’s birthday (Thurs, free, Chevy Chase). This science activity for youth is all about poop (Thurs, free, Southeast DC). Nate the Great takes youngsters on a fun musical mystery journey at Imagination Stage (through August 11, $25+, Bethesda). The entire family is welcome to have a picnic at Fort Slocum Mini Oasis (Thurs, free, Rock Creek Park).
Get involved: Stuff a Fairfax County Police Department cruiser with back-to-school supplies in support of children supported by victim services (Sat, donations welcome, Tysons).
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.
