Happy Monday, DC!
H Street Festival and HFStival return to DC this weekend. In addition to the major music showcases, you can celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month at a museum event for Celia Cruz, or sit in on conversations with some of the country’s top leaders and writers at The Atlantic Festival.
Best Things to Do This Week and Weekend
September 16–September 22
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- H Street Festival. This neighborhood-wide festival—spanning 11 blocks—fills the street with food from area eateries; showcases local vendors and fashions; and offers kids’ activities, contests, line dancing, and multiple stages for music and other programming (Sat, free, H Street Corridor).
- HFStival. After more than a 10-year hiatus, the alt-rock-driven HFStival returns to DC with a booming band lineup, and festival activations such as flash tattoos and a cupcake-eating contest. Bands including The Postal Service, Death Cab For Cutie, Incubus, Bush, and more will play live at Nationals Park (Sat, $99+, Nationals Park).
- Celia Cruz celebration at Smithsonian. This night of music at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History spotlights the late salsa queen Celia Cruz. Attendees can listen to a panel discussion with Cruz’s family, take a dance class, tour the museum’s exhibits, and end the evening with live rhythms from Lulada Club (Fri, free, but registration encouraged, Smithsonian National Museum of American History).
- “Sublime Light: Tapestry Art of DY Begay.” Check out fiber art at “Sublime Light: Tapestry Art of DY Begay.” Museum-goers can view 48 works and tapestries from her contemporary art collection, which brings a non-Western style to the modern art world (opens Fri, free, Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian).
- The Atlantic Festival. House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries, actor/writer Anna Deavere Smith, Nancy Pelosi, and other high-profile speakers and panelists gather at The Atlantic Festival (Thurs-Fri, $225+ for in-person, free for virtual, the Wharf).
Want More Things to Do?
Arts and culture:
- NMWA Nights returns this week for late-night art, fun, and spoken word poetry (Wed, $25, Northwest DC).
- Journalist Connie Chung is in Conversation with Maury Povich at Sixth & I (Wed, $12+virtual, $25+ for in-person, Downtown).
- Music and art come together at Jazz at SAAM with Stephen Arnold and Sea Change (Thurs, free, but registration encouraged, Smithsonian American Art Museum).
- AFI Latin American Film Festival is screening award-winning and new movies such as the restaurant-kitchen drama La Cocina and the Spanish rock film The Blue Star (Thurs through October 10, $15 for general admission, $200 for festival pass, Silver Spring).
- Browse colorful pieces in a new multi-artist exhibit “POP!” at Cabada Contemporary (opens Thurs, free, Georgetown).
- Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson discusses her book Lovely One with MahoganyBooks (Thurs, free, MLK Library).
- DC’s first solo exhibition of artist Suchitra Mattai opens at the National Museum of Women in the Arts (Fri through January 12, 2025, $16 for adults, free for ages 21 and under, Downtown).
- Gamers can play arcade games, browse gaming vendors, and compete in console games at George Mason University’s gaming convention (Fri-Sat, $19, Fairfax).
- See live art activations and enjoy musical performances at NoMa in Color (Fri, free, NoMa).
- There’s basket weaving, painting, origami, and bracelet-making stations at Craft Your Power at the Folger Shakespeare Library (Fri, free, but registration required, Capitol Hill).
- Meet jewelry designers and shop wedding jewels at SHELTER while sipping drinks from Jane Jane (Fri-Sun, free, Union Market).
- Explore the “James Baldwin and the Voices of Queer Resistance” exhibit on an ASL-friendly tour (Sat, free, Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery).
- Dance the night away in your best costume at the Hirshhorn Ball (Sat, $250+, Smithsonian Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden).
Community and heritage:
- Dive into Korean Thanksgiving celebrations at the Chuseok Family Festival featuring music, crafts, and food (Sat, free, Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art).
- Have a ’90s-themed night at Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum (Thurs, free, Anacostia).
- Race go-karts and jam to local bands at Race the District (Thurs-Sun, free, Union Market).
Theater and shows:
- Hannah Gadsby brings their world tour Woof! to Capital One Hall (Mon-Tues, $39+, Tysons).
- Sojourners at Round House Theatre explores the Nigerian-American experience (through October 6, $50+, Bethesda).
- Figure out whodunnit in Clue (Tues through October 6, $29+ Kennedy Center).
- Ford’s Theatre presents the one-man show Mister Lincoln (Fri through October 13, $31+, Penn Quarter).
- Oscar- and Emmy-nominated comedian Kumail Nanjiani is Doing This Again (Fri, $39+, sold out, but tickets available via third-party sellers).
- Theatre Washington returns to the The Wharf for a concert full of songs from theater musicals (Sun, free, Wharf).
Music and concerts:
- Guitarist Selwyn Birchwood performs with DC blues artist Carly Harvey at Capital One Hall (Wed, $30, Tysons).
- Ingolffson Stoupel Duo —an ensemble from Berlin—perform a recital at the Hopkins Bloomberg Center (Wed, free, Downtown).
- Enjoy a night of DJ sets and electronic beats in celebration of Hast du Feuer’s second anniversary (Fri, $30+, Chinatown).
- Dance to top-charting songs from the ’60s to present day at Songbyrd’s Hot Singles Showcase (Sat, $20+, Union Market).
- Celebrate Black Cat’s anniversary with live DJ sets (Sat, $5+, Shaw).
- Country star Shaboozey sold out both of his shows at the 9:30 Club. Fans can find tickets at third-party sellers (Sat, $114+, Shaw).
Plan ahead:
- An immersive White House experience is coming to DC next week. You can reserve passes now to tour a tech version of the Executive Mansion and its history (opens September 23, free, but donations welcome, Downtown).
Bites and beverages:
- Attend Oktoberfest at Vanish Beer Garden in The Comus Inn (Fri-Sun, $12+, Dickerson).
- Oompah band music and beer specials are on the Oktoberfest lineup at Atlas Brew Works (Thurs-Sat, free, Navy Yard, Ivy City).
- Dine on crepes, fresh baguettes, and ham at the Embassy of France’s evening Garden Party (Fri, $105+, Georgetown).
Things to do with kids:
- Young children can see Winnie the Pooh live at Imagination Stage (Wed through October 27, $12+, Bethesda).
- Festival del Rio Anacostia offers boat rides along the Anacostia River, hands-on activities for all ages, fishing demos, food, and crafts (Sat, free, Anacostia).
- Kids can play lawn games, get glitter tattoos, build a Lego wall, and more fun at Amazon Community Day (Sat, free, Met Park).
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.
