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

Good day, DC!

There’s a ton of fun and positive things to do this week to help you try to unplug from the bad news. Snallygaster returns Downtown with endless beer and cider tastings, music superstar Chris Brown is still in town, and a free go-kart experience invites neighbors to Race the District.

Best Things to Do This Week and Weekend

October 6–October 12

1. 1. Snallygaster. Our favorite beast is back in town this weekend. Snallygaster—named after a folkloric monster—hosts hundreds of brew, cider, and food vendors for a day of toasts and dancing. Along Pennsylvania Avenue between Third and Seventh streets, Northwest, festival-goers can catch live beats by local artists such as DJ Analyze and Trouble Funk on two music stages, and children can enjoy games and crafts in the Kids Zone. In addition to the endless drink samples, there will be pizza, ice cream, and fried chicken for sale (Sat, $75+, Downtown).
   2. Chris Brown in concert. Breezy Bowl XX continues this week at Nationals Park. Be sure to wear comfortable dancing shoes: The superstar has been performing for more than three hours each night on his anniversary tour. His high-energy set list includes hits such as breakout track “Gimme That” and Brown’s latest TikTok dance craze, “It Depends” (Wed-Thurs, $151+, Nationals Park).
   3. Race the District. Go-kart through Union Market at Race the District; there’s a block party with electronic duo Louis the Child, kid-friendly driving activities, and a coffee and motorsport meetup (Thurs-Sun, free, Union Market).
   4. Nikki Glaser comedy show. Pop culture podcaster and movie actor Nikki Glaser does stand-up three nights in a row at DAR Constitution Hall ahead of her comedy special release on Hulu (Thurs-Sat, $53+, DAR Constitution Hall).
   5. Fremont Ave. play at Arena Stage. This world premiere at Arena Stage, inspired by playwright Reggie D. White’s own family, uncovers the love, legacy, and dreams between three generations of Black men during an intense game of cards (Wed through November 23, $59+, Southwest DC).
   6. Because They’re Funny Comedy Festival. The Because They’re Funny Comedy Festival spotlights BIPOC performers. The showcase returns for another multi-day lineup of conversations, a film screening at Arena Stage, and stand-up performances at The Anthem with celebrity acts such as Sommore (Fri-Sun, free+, Wharf).
   7. Self-Care Summit at Balian Springs. Take a break from the negativity this weekend and refresh in a soak or sauna session at Self-Care Summit. Visitors can spend the day unwinding at one—or all—of Balian Springs’s refreshing pop-ups including puppy yoga, a mocktail class, a silent disco sound bath, DIY candles, bracelet making, and lots more (Sun, $235+, Alexandria).

Want More Things to Do?

Arts and culture:

• See 14 paintings from the Boydell Shakespeare Gallery in London at Folger Shakespeare Library (through August 2, 2026, free with a recommended timed-entry pass, Capitol Hill).
• Journalist Cory Doctorow—who coined the term Enshittification—is at Politics and Prose to discuss his new book of the same name (Wed, free, Wharf).
• Ahead of the DC Premiere of Mosaic Theatre’s  Young John Lewis, Eaton DC is hosting a panel conversation with the creative team and community leaders (Thurs, free, Downtown).
• Check out a beer garden, see live bands, and browse hundreds of arts-and-crafts booths at Fairfax City’s Fall Festival (Sat, free, Fairfax).

Community and heritage:

• Discover the history of Queer Black Broadway on a walking tour with Off The Mall Tours to support Rainbow History Project (Fri, October 24, $30, U Street Corridor).

Theater and shows:

• Encore! Theatre Week has been extended, with another week of discounted tickets to see plays and musicals around town (through Sun, $25+, various participating locations).
• Rorschach Theatre troupe presents a rock production about the creation of Frankenstein at The Stacks in Buzzard Point (Mon, pay-what-you-can, Southwest DC).
• Catch Ford’s Theatre’s The American Five play—about five civil rights pioneers planning the 1963 March on Washington—before it closes (closes Sun, $26+, Downtown).
• It’s the last chance to see The Great Privation—a new dark comedy about burials, history, and community—at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company (closes Sun, free for standing room, $41+ for seats, Penn Quarter).
• Influencer and comic Druski brings his parody Instagram live show Coulda Been Records to DC (Thurs, $44+, Capital One Arena).
• Watch shorts, documentaries, and narrative flicks at Washington West Film Festival (Thurs through October 13, 21, $20+ for single passes, Reston).
• Noir City DC is a festival for fans of classic Hollywood crime and detective dramas (Fri through October 23, $200 pass, Silver Spring).

Music and concerts:

• Actor and vocalist Reneé Rapp performs at Merriweather Post Pavilion (Mon, $35+, Columbia).
• Singer-songwriter Alex G is live in concert at the Anthem (Tues, $58+, Wharf).
• Catch the season opener of Chamber Music at the Barns at Wolf Trap with mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter and pianist Kristian Bezuidenhout (Thurs, $55.50+, Vienna).
• Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Potomac star Ashley Darby is live in concert at Mr. Henry’s (Fri, $50, Southeast DC).

Bites and beverages:

• The MD State BBQ Bash has activities that most food festivals don’t: ax-throwing, a rage-room trailer, and a martial-arts dojo for kids (Fri-Sat, free, Bel Air).
• Mount Vernon Fall Wine Festival serves unlimited sips from Virginia vineyards on the grounds of George Washington’s estate (Fri-Sun, $50+, Mount Vernon).
• There’s a new Mediterranean-inspired brunch party with champagne and live performances at Barbouzard (Sun, $75, Downtown).

Get involved:

• Head to Don Juan for a fun bike ride and Pupusa Party; event proceeds will help raise funds for education in El Salvador (Sat, $20, Mount Pleasant).
• Have dinner and drinks for a good cause at Hen Quarter Prime’s The Velvet Rose Affair. In honor of breast cancer survivors, a portion of the dinner proceeds will support the Thelma D. Jones Breast Cancer Fund (Tues, $28+, Southwest DC).

Plan ahead:

• The first round of tickets for Soul Strolls through the historic Congressional Cemetery are sold out, but there’s another ticket drop this Friday (October 17-18, 24-25, 31, November 1, adult price TBA, $15 for ages 5-12, free for ages younger than 4, Capitol Hill).
• Top directors, film creators, and actors will gather for narrative and documentary showings, Q&A sessions, awards ceremonies, and more at the Middleburg Film Festival (October 16-19, $20 single passes, Middleburg).

Things to do with kids:

• There are kid-friendly carnival rides and a petting zoo at the Stafford County Fair (Thurs-Sun, free, Fredericksburg).
• Characters from Moana, Inside Out, and Toy Story will sing and glide in front of live audiences at Disney on Ice (Thurs- October 13, 16-19, $26+, Fairfax, Baltimore).
• Cherry Hill Park transforms into a children’s wonderland, with a petting farm, pumpkin and birdhouse painting, apple fishing, and pony rides at Farm Day (Sat, free, Falls Church).

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.