Good day, DC!
Take a day trip to Middleburg for the town’s star-studded film festival. Or, check out two new local art exhibis at The Phillips Collection and National Museum of Women in the Arts.
Best Things to Do This Week and Weekend
October 13–October 19
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- Middleburg Film Festival. Although the advance festival passes to this high-profile event are sold out, you can snag an individual ticket this week. Top directors, film creators, and actors will gather for narrative and documentary showings, Q&A sessions, awards ceremonies, and more. The opening film is Netflix’s Jay Kelly starring George Clooney and Adam Sandler (Thurs-Sun, $20 single passes, Middleburg).
- “Tawny Chatmon” exhibit at the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Montgomery County’s Tawny Chatmon uses photography as a starting point for her mixed-media creations. The new “Tawny Chatmon: Sanctuaries of Truth, Dissolution of Lies” exhibit premieres works of embroidery, film, and audio narration on Black and African heritage (Wed through March 8, 2026, $16, free for ages 21 and younger, Downtown).
- “Artist Descending a Staircase” reading. American University professor and Washington theater mainstay Aaron Posner directs a sold-out staged reading of Tom Stoppard’s play from the ’70s about three artists in a love triangle, at The Phillips Collection (Thurs, $12, sold out but standby tickets available, Dupont Circle).
- Turkish Festival. Watch folk dance and folk rock performances from more than 15 artists along Pennsylvania Avenue between bites of Turkish cuisine at the outdoor Turkish Festival (Sun, free, Downtown).
- DC Wine Fest. Wine enthusiasts can sip libations from at least 40 vendors, and shop jewelry and coffee as part of the fall edition of DC Wine Fest at Dock 5; there will be crab cakes for sale, too (Sat, $44+, Union Market).
Want More Things to Do?
Arts and culture:
- A haunted house, multiple escape rooms, and a ton of scary attractions are now open at Laurel’s House of Horror (select dates through November 1, $30+, Laurel).
- Have a cocktail and play a game of chess with a chess master at The Darcy Hotel’s Gerrard Street Kitchen (Thurs, free, Downtown).
- The former Motel 6 in Union Market District is the location for an artsy interior design pop-up displaying works from several local creatives (Thurs-Sun, free, Union Market).
- Cruise the Potomac with Sandy Yawn and Hannah Ferrier from Below Deck Mediterranean (Sun, $99+, Wharf).
- Shop the Luckett’s Fall Market for autumnal vintage finds (Fri-Sun, $23, Berryville).
Community and heritage:
- Listen to spooky stories on a guided DC by Foot walking tour about the Ghosts of Georgetown (ongoing, $39 for adults, $25 for ages 4-16, Georgetown).
Theater and shows:
- Noir City DC film festival continues this week for fans of classic Hollywood crime and detective dramas (through October 23, $200 pass, Silver Spring).
- Mother of All Comedy Shows brings a lineup of women comics to Denizens Brewing Co. (Wed, $23, Riverdale).
- The Wild Duck play by Henrik Ibsen is a tragic study of a family torn apart by dark secrets (Sat through November 16, $43+, Downtown).
- Greenbelt’s Utopia Film Festival screens documentary shorts, animations, independent features, and locally produced films (Sat-Mon, $25 pass, Greenbelt).
- Ballet Theatre of Maryland dances a timeless ballet from the Parisian romantic-era, Giselle (Fri-Sun, virtual, $64 for in person, $39 for virtual, Annapolis).
- Watch shorts, documentaries, and narrative flicks at Washington West Film Festival (Mon, October 21, $20+ for single passes, Reston).
- 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:
- R&B vocalist Ravyn Lenae croons three live shows at 9:30 Club (Tues-Wed, $56, Shaw).
- Composers and musicians Saul Williams and Carlos Niño bring a poetic multi-genre showcase to Black Cat (Thurs, $29, Shaw).
- Baltimore’s improvisational trio Pneumwrights performs at Rhizome (Thurs, $15+, Takoma).
- Local band Hue performs a blend of go-go, rock, and trap music at The Pocket (Thurs, $15+, Truxton Circle).
- Hardcore punk group Doubt plays live tunes at the Pie Shop (Sat, $15, H Street Corridor).
- Dance to the rhythms of Brnda at Songbyrd (Sun, $19, Union Market).
Bites and beverages:
- Dogs and humans can try Halloween-themed treats and drinks at The Howl-O-Ween Bark Crawl (Wed, free, Navy Yard).
- Twist a gumball machine for pours of whiskey at King and Rye Restaurant during their Flight of Fate dinner experience (ongoing, $35+, 25 percent discount for government employees during the shutdown, Alexandria).
Sports:
- Catch the final Washington Spirit home soccer match of the regular season against the Orlando Pride (Sat, $21+, Audi Field).
- Root on the Commanders against the Dallas Cowboys this weekend at one of Tap Sports Bar’s spirited rallies. There will be a live DJ, giveaways, appearances from football players, cheerleaders, and more DMV fun (Sun, free entry, National Harbor).
Things to do with kids:
- Characters from Moana, Inside Out, and Toy Story will sing and glide in front of live audiences at Disney on Ice (Mon, Thurs-Sun, $26+, Fairfax, Baltimore).
- Children can visit a “haunted lab” to catch ghostly bubbles, and more fun at the Children’s Science Center (Sat, $15, free for ages 2 and younger, Fair Oaks).
- Youngsters can spend a weekend riding a Halloween-themed miniature train and carousel at Cabin John Regional Park or Wheaton Regional Park (Fri-Sat, October 25-26, $6, Bethesda, Wheaton).
- Kiddos and adults can spot zoo animals and go trick-or-treating at Boo at the Zoo after hours (Fri-Sun, $35, event is contingent upon government shutdown, National Zoo).
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.
