Happy Monday, DC!
August is heating up already with outdoor concerts and local fairs. This week, you can take your kids to the 75th Montgomery County Agricultural Fair, or rock out with fellow emo fans at the Sad Summer Festival.
Best Things to Do This Week and Weekend
August 5–August 11
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- Montgomery County Agricultural Fair. Fair season is afoot, and this week one of Maryland’s longtime fairs celebrates a major milestone: The Montgomery County Agricultural Fair turns 75 years old this summer. The entire family can partake in carnival rides, rock concerts, a hypnosis comedy show, circus acts, pig races, and so much more entertainment (Fri through August 17, $12+ for adults, free for ages 11 and under, Gaithersburg).
- Soft Power musical. Ahead of the presidential elections, Signature Theatre is showing the DC premier of an imaginative political musical in which Hillary Clinton falls in love with a Chinese theater producer. In Soft Power the odd couple uses song and dance to debate their political views, a satire conceived by Tony award winners David Henry Hwang and Jeanine Tesori (Tues through September 15, $40+, Arlington).
- Sad Summer Festival. Emo and rock fans can party with rock quintet Mayday Parade, Arizona’s Maine band, and rock group the Wonder Years as they play live at the fifth annual Sad Summer Festival at Merriweather Post Pavilion (Fri, $59+, Columbia).
- Missy Elliott concert. Iconic rapper, singer-songwriter, and music producer Missy Elliott brings her Out of This World Tour to Capital One Arena this week. The tour is the first time Elliott has ever headlined a tour. The star will showcase her hip-hop and pop hits with energetic choreography alongside performances by Ciara, Busta Rhymes, and Timbaland (Thurs, $59+, Capital One Arena).
- Rachel Bloom at Lincoln Theatre. Rachel Bloom’s musical collaborator Adam Schlesinger died of Covid during the pandemic; around the same time, Bloom—the creator and star of TV’s Crazy Ex-Girlfriend—gave birth to her daughter. Her new one-woman show and musical comedy Death, Let Me Do My Show explores what those life-changing experiences were like (Sun, $55+, U Street Corridor).
- Silent Night opera. Silent Night is a Christmastime opera, but Wolf Trap is showing the drama this summer. The Pulitzer-winning work by composer Kevin Puts and librettist Mark Campbell is based on the 2005 film Joyeux Noël, which dramatizes a Christmas truce during World War I. The opera’s multilingual book is sung in two acts (Fri through August 17, $45+, Vienna).
Want More Things to Do?
Arts and culture:
- View the works of local artist Maurice James Jr. at his new exhibition “The New Negro/Manifest Destiny” at Art of Noize (through August 31, free, Petworth).
- Pediatric surgeon Dr. Ala Stanford uncovers America’s racial health gap in her new book Take Care of Them Like My Own (Mon, free, Northwest DC).
- Bookworms can test their literary knowledge at Kramers’ trivia night (Mon, free, Downtown).
- Bread for the City’s Economic Security Summer Film Series is screening Inequality for All (Tues, free, MLK Library).
- Ethiopian novelist Dinaw Mengestu discusses his fourth book, Someone Like Us, at Politics and Prose (Tues, free, Northwest DC).
- All three floors of Planet Word museum are open after hours during Wordplay Wednesday (Wed, free, Downtown).
- Nancy Pelosi discusses her book The Art of Power at Lincoln Theatre (Wed, $55+, U Street Corridor).
- Compete in a team, or by yourself, in a game of video game-themed trivia at Alamo Drafthouse Cinema (Thurs, free, Woodbridge).
- Paint landscape pictures at a plein air art workshop in the Kreeger Sculpture Garden (Sat, $25, Dupont).
- Gamers can listen to music from classic video games played by Good Beats (Sun, free, but donations welcome, Falls Church).
- Hey Cousin Culture Fest takes over Veterans Plaza with food and clothing vendors, live music, local dance teams, and other activities to celebrate African American culture (Sun, free+, Silver Spring).
Community and heritage:
- The Swaliga Foundation is throwing the 8th Annual STEAM the Block Party at DC Entertainment and Sports Arena. Youth and families can participate in S.T.E.A.M. education activities, watch live music performances, play with drones, and more (Sat, free, Congress Heights).
- Dance to beats by DJ Lance Reynolds, and participate in family-friendly games at Fort Slocum (Thurs, free, Rock Creek).
Theater and shows:
- It’s the last chance to see Nine—a musical adaptation of the film 8½ (closes Sun, $59+, Kennedy Center).
- Get tickets to comedian Tony Rock’s DC Improv show before it sells out (Thurs-Sun, $35+, Downtown).
Music and concerts:
- Upbeat hip-hop group Black Eyed Peas is live in concert at The Anthem (Wed, $55+, Wharf).
- Lounge on the Milian Park lawn in a chair, or bring a blanket, to see Sounds of the City in concert (Wed, free, Mount Vernon Triangle).
- Watch the Nats play against the Los Angeles Angels, and stick around for the Teddy Swims post-baseball concert (Fri, $23+, Nationals Park).
- Hip-hop veterans The Lox arrive in DC for a concert at Howard Theatre (Fri, $60, U Street Corridor).
- Moose Jaw Blugrass plays an outdoor show at Water Park (Fri, free, Arlington).
- Pop-rock star Grace Potter and renowned jazz-fusion band Snarky Puppy are the main acts at Maryland’s Hot August Music Festival (Sat, $89+, Cockeysville).
- Local musician Elijah Easton performs with Allyn Johnson, Kris Funn, and Quincy Phillips at Jazz in the Parks (Sat, free, Northwest DC).
- Breakin’ Even Fest is a three-day punk music experience at the Pie Shop (Fri-Sun, $20+, H Street Corridor).
Exercise and wellness:
- You can reduce stress and lose weight while learning new line dances at LDW Studios LLC (every Tues, $12, District Heights).
- Jazz and yoga are paired together in this exercise class that encourages participants to “slow flow” (Tues, $15+, Downtown).
Bites and beverages:
- Seafood lovers can eat their fill at several local eateries during National Oyster Week (Mon-Sun, prices vary, various participating locations).
- Taste Leesburg has breakdancing performances, celebrity impersonators, and, new this year, an arcade (Sat, free, $40+ for taste tickets, Leesburg).
- Experience all the vibes of the Caribbean at Soca Wine Music & Food Festival (Sat, $28+, Crownsville).
Plan ahead:
- Bold Fork Books hosts author Caroline Chambers for a conversation with chef Carla Hall at Lincoln Theatre (August 15, $35+, U Street Corridor).
Things to do with kids:
- There are horse shows, kid attractions, and more fun at the Prince William County Fair (Fri-through August 17, $25 for adults, $15 for children, Manassas).
- Youngsters can ride a ferris wheel at the Clarke County Fair (Sun through August 18, $10 for adults, free+ for children, Berryville).
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.
