25 Things to Do in the DC Area This Week and Weekend

Good day, DC!

We have an extended weekend ahead. You can spend Labor Day weekend at the DC Jazz Festival, or go to Level 99, a new amusement center in Virginia where adults can play games and solve puzzles.

Best Things to Do This Week and Weekend

August 25–September 1

1. 1. DC Jazz Festival. See musical talents such as Lalah Hathaway and Joshua Bayer live at the DC Jazz Festival this Labor Day weekend. There will be daytime performances and after-hours soirées across town at the Anthem, Kennedy Center, Arena Stage, the Phillips Collection, and several other community hubs (Wed-Sun, prices vary, various DC locations).
   2. Level 99 grand opening. There’s a new adult gaming center in town. Level 99 opens this week at Tysons Corner Center, debuting more than 50 mind-bending games, obstacle courses, art installations, arena duels, bites and drinks from Victory Brewing, and more single-player or group fun. Grownups can challenge their agility and put their puzzle-solving skills to the test across this 40,000-square foot venue (opens Mon, $30+, Tysons).
   3. Afro Plus Fest. Nigerian Afropop and hip-hop star Asake is one of the international headliners at Afro Plus Fest. The music festival features an energetic lineup of African diaspora and Caribbean sounds from artists such as rapper Gunna, Trinidadian singer Machel Montano, and more (Sun, $115+, RFK Festival Grounds).
   4. DC Plant Week. Local plant store REWILD has organized another bloom-packed DC Plant Week. Floral-enthusiasts can celebrate plant life and green living at happenings such as Botanologica’s happy hour and plant swap, Black Hoof Brewery’s plant bingo, and bouquet-making and other gardening workshops at participating shops and markets around town (Mon-Sun, free+, various participating locations).
   5. Metropolitan Restaurant Week. If you didn’t get enough Restaurant Week bites last week, don’t fret. The deals have been extended through Sunday at more than 150 participating eateries during Summer Restaurant Week. You can choose from a variety of specially priced prix-fixe menus for brunch, lunch, and dinner (through Sun, $25+, various participating locations). (Here, our food editor rounds up what some of DC’s top restaurants are offering.)

Want More Things to Do?

Arts and culture:

• Sing-along to dreamy musical La La Land at the Wharf’s final summer movie screening (Thurs, free, Wharf).
• Bring blankets and lawn chairs to a screening of retro comedy Ferris Bueller’s Day Off  (Fri, free, Union Market).
• Watch a screening of the classic flick Cabaret at the library (Fri, free, Chevy Chase).
• Young adult and youth authors Roseanne A. Brown and Namina Forna bring The Reading Lounge to DC (Sun, $5+, Downtown).
• The 9:30 Club is throwing a 45th birthday bash where longtime fans can get backstage access to The Atlantis, and view a concert photography exhibition (Sun, free, Shaw).

Theater and shows:

• Bring a picnic basket and a sense of humor to Edgewood Community Farm’s comedy night (Wed, $10, Edgewood).
• The Inheritance—a two-part play about a group of young gay men in New York—opens at Round House Theatre (Wed through October 19, pay-what-you-can+, Bethesda).
• Magicians Eric Jones, Lucy Darling, and other performers arrive in town for another DC Festival of Magic (Sat-Mon, $17+, Downtown).
• Experience the excitement and art of drag at RuPaul’s Drag Race “Werq The World” tour (Sat, $68+, Wharf).

Music and concerts:

• Rising country-pop artist Jessie Murph sets out on a global tour to promote her upcoming project Worldwide Hysteria (Wed, $62, Wharf).
• Funk-soul group Pink PaLish plays the finale Rock the Dock summer concert (Wed, free, Wharf).
• Jazzy trio No Trick Pony is live in concert at Rhizome (Fri, $15+, Takoma).
• Slutbomb headlines the 10th anniversary concert for hardcore and metal music promoters Domestic Terror (Sat, $15+, Union Market).
• Don’t miss local R&B singer Raheem DeVaughn perform live at the Birchmere Music Hall (Sat show sold out, Sun tickets available, $85, Alexandria).

Get involved:

• Volunteer to help organize the DC Punk Archive inventories (Wed, free, MLK Library).

Exercise and wellness:

• Burn calories and break a sweat at a Bash Boxing rooftop workout session (Wed, free, Fairfax).
• Happy hour mocktails is a refreshing perk to joining yoga at Carlyle House Historic Park (Thurs, $23, Alexandria).

Bites and beverages:

• Celebrate Black cuisine and music at the Farm to Freedom Dinner Party (Fri, $23+, Fort Stanton).

Things to do with kids:

• Pedal through Southeast with the family, and then attend Hill Family Biking’s back-to-school block party (Sat, free, Southeast DC).

Plan ahead:

• Washington’s exclusive all-white picnic party Dîner en Blanc is back in October with a pop of color. Join their mailing list to learn how you can snag tickets this week (October 4, $60, TBA).

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 Thomas

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.