It's Art All Night this weekend! Friday is focused on events in the smaller neighborhoods, and Saturday is the larger activations. I'll be updating this list of my picks for Art All Night
MLK Library Block Party is one of the bigger events. Last year there was a long line for the entrance (on 9th Street). There were two lines: one going south, closer to the metro, and one going north. The north side line was much shorter than the south side, so check out the length of both lines before posting up.
Michelin's Green Star designation for sustainability is being retired. Oyster Oyster was the only restaurant in DC who had earned it if I remember correctly.
Last week, we asked: Would you fly out of Washington Manassas Airport? You responded:
No (82.1%)
Yes (17.9%)
Tried & True features your favorite go-to restaurants that have been around for a while and serve you consistently good food.
This Week's Feature: Hanks Oyster Bar
"When I first moved to Alexandria, oysters every Friday at Hanks. The best!" Kyle
Location: 1624 Q Street NW in DC; 701 Wharf Street SW in DC; and 818 N. St. Asaph Street in Alexandria, VA Website
😋 What is your favorite tried and true restaurant?
Where do you find yourself going back time and time again? Reply and let me know who should be featured and why, and share the love for a local DC restaurant.
✨ Premium subscribers: Access the events map & calendar!
See all events on a map or calendar, and filter events by category, date, and my top recommendations. Choose between a monthly or weekly view.
🎈 The DC Comedy Festivalis a four-day stand-up festival spread across clubs, theaters, and venues throughout DC, Maryland, and Virginia, featuring emerging comics alongside nationally touring headliners. Wednesday 9/9-9/12. Free.
🕺 The DC Punk Archive Rooftop Concert Seriescloses out its 12th summer run on the fifth floor of MLK Library with local punk bands Truth or Dare, Loose Leash, and Mac N’ Toss. Wednesday 9/9. Free.
🎭 I Live in Fear is a 1955 Kurosawa film about an elderly businessman trying to relocate his family to South America to escape nuclear annihilation — his most direct reckoning with the Atomic Age, screening on 35mm. Wednesday 9/9. Free.
🕺 R&B in the Basementis a speakeasy R&B night at STFU Navy Yard with DJs spinning classics and a live saxophonist. Singer Melan (one of my fave finds from recent Petworth PorchFests) is the featured guest. Tuesday 9/9. $13.
🕺Robyn brings The Sexistential Tour to The Anthem, supporting her first album since 2018’s Honey, a return to the punchy electropop of her Body Talk era. Nourished by Time opens. Wednesday 9/9. $92. *
🕺 The Ocean Knows: A Melodic Narrative is a live performance at the National Academy of Sciences blending music and storytelling to trace four billion years of ocean history, created by performing artist Fred Johnson in collaboration with a marine biologist. No science background needed. Thursday 9/10. Free.
🍲 The All Natural Extravaganza at Benning Library is a tasting event focused on organic foods, oils, and spices with a lens on their medicinal uses. Thursday 9/10. Free.
🖌️ Autumn Cookie Decorating: Buttercream Techniques is a hands-on class at Other Half Brewing where Chef Yolanda walks you through piping borders, rosettes, and leaves onto pre-baked autumn sugar cookies using buttercream and metal tips. Thursday 9/10. $69. *
🖼️ The Chamber of Wonders opens at MLK Library with Danish creators Nadja Pass and Jan Rasmussen guiding you through an exhibit and card deck built to spark slower conversations about being human. Thursday 9/10. Free.
🤓 This month’s DCMC Genre Circletackles surveillance on film, pairing The Conversation (1974) with Enemy of the State (1998). Watch both beforehand, then sit down with a small group at Little Penn to dig into paranoia, conspiracy, and what it means to watch a movie about being watched. Thursday 9/10. $7.
📖 Taiwanese Comics Showcase at MLK Library brings five Taiwanese cartoonists to DC for a panel talk on Taiwan’s comics scene, covering a range of genres and art styles. Comics by all five artists will be available for purchase and signing. Thursday 9/10. Free.
📖 Spend an afternoon with Francis Fukuyama at the West End Library, where the political economist behind The End of History and the Last Man will discuss his new memoir in a salon-style conversation with Damir Marusic. Friday 9/11. Free.
🎈 DC Art All Night is a free overnight arts festival running until 3AM across all eight DC wards, with painting, sculpture, dance, film, theater, and more popping up in local businesses, restaurants, and outdoor spaces. Friday 9/11-9/12. Free.
🍲 At Fig Fest with ReDelicious, you’ll harvest figs from the on-site orchard at The Well at Oxon Run and taste sweet and savory fig snacks from the ReDelicious chefs. Friday 9/11. Free.
🏞️ Slow down and reconnect with nature on a guided forest bathing walk through Hillwood’s gardens, where you’ll engage all your senses on a peaceful stroll inspired by the Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku. Your certified guide will lead you through spring gardens at an easy pace with gentle activities designed to help you tune into the sounds, smells, textures, and sights around you. Friday 9/11. $35.
🕺 Melanie C’s World Tour brings the Spice Girl turned solo pop artist to the 9:30 Club. Friday 9/11. $45+. *
🍲 Taste of Uptown hands out free tasting tickets during Art All Night, good for bites at 5 of 9 spots along 14th Street including Casa Mia, Catrachitos, and Athena Grill. Friday 9/11. Free.
🖼️ Cosmic Mirrors: Reflecting the Infinite opens with a reception for Dany Green’s solo show at The Silva, a collection exploring how interconnectedness moves beyond the material world. Drinks and snacks while you look. Friday 9/11. Free.
🕺 Techno in the Park brings CYB3RT0NIN to the decks at Wangari Gardens for a set of deep bass, trap, and jungle, after two weather-related delays. Friday 9/11. Price not stated.
🎭 Brian Cox in The Score is a new play directed by Trevor Nunn, with Cox playing Bach navigating a dangerous musical challenge at the court of Frederick II. It’s the production’s only American engagement. Friday 9/11-10/18. Price not stated yet.
🤓 Celebrity Traitors / Mafia is a live mafia game hosted by Survivor’s Carolyn Wiger, Sandra Diaz-Twine, and Jonny Fairplay at Starr Hill Brewery in Richmond, with two rounds of gameplay, prizes, and a Q&A. Friday 9/11. $35.
🐾 Doggie Day Swim DC is an annual end-of-season event where dogs get the run of four DC public pools for an afternoon of swimming and aquatic games. Dogs need a valid DC Department of Health dog license to enter. Saturday 9/12. Free.
🕺 Opera Outside brings Washington Concert Opera’s rising artists to Union Market’s outdoor stage for a free set of operatic and musical theater favorites. No tickets, no dress code, come as you are and stay as long as you like. Saturday 9/12. Free.
🍲 Planet’s Mediterranean Wine Fest is a seated tasting of 30 wines from Mediterranean regions, poured by the staff at Planet Wine in Alexandria. Sparkling, white, rosé, and red are all on the table, with discounted bottle pricing available the day of. Saturday 9/12. $55.
🌲 The Anacostia River Bioblitz is a community species census at Lake Artemesia, where you’ll help document the wildlife living in the Anacostia Watershed. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the event, which traces back to the very first bioblitz ever held, right here in the watershed at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens. Saturday 9/12. Free.
🕺 Boiler Room is bringing the heat back to DC with a massive lineup featuring Skin On Skin, DJ Gigola, COBRAH and more. Last year’s event sold out, soggy your tickets early. Saturday 9/12. Price not stated.
🐾 At Doggy Dive-In, the Glenn Dale Splash Park hands the pool over to the dogs for a morning of paddling around while their humans watch from the deck. Bring up to two dogs (proof of vaccinations required). Saturday 9/12. $5.
🎭 Singin’ in the Rain screens outdoors on the Kennedy Center’s REACH Video Wall at dusk, free and no tickets required. Saturday 9/12. Free.
🧠 Bring a broken toaster, busted headphones, or a torn shirt to the Fix-It DC Clinic at Shepherd Park Library, where you’ll learn to disassemble and troubleshoot your item alongside volunteers with tools and know-how. Saturday 9/12. Free.
🧑🤝🧑 At Flow State, the room builds a 10-song playlist together in real time, with everyone submitting artists, taking turns shaping the mix, and defending their picks. Come ready to participate. Saturday 9/12.
📜 Friends of Peirce Mill Children’s Day brings Rock Creek Park’s 19th-century grist mill to life for kids, with hands-on corn grinding, traditional games, toy-making at the barn, and a bilingual Spanish-English puppet theater performance of a Little Red Hen retelling. Saturday 9/12. Free.
🎈 Adams Morgan Day is DC's longest-running neighborhood festival, now in its 48th year, with 18th Street closed off for music, global food vendors, and artisan tables. Sunday 9/13. Free.
🛍️ Clayfest DC brings together 25+ potters selling their work in Brookland, with food from Right Proper and live music on the side. Sunday 9/13. Free.
🌐 Taste of Peru DCis a full-day food festival at UDC with Peruvian restaurants, live cooking demos, music, and dance. Sunday 9/13. $23.
🤸 The NoMa Beer Run covers 5 miles along the Metropolitan Branch Trail with stops at four breweries (Wunder Garten, Right Proper, Lost Generation, Crooked Run) before ending at Andy’s Pizza NoMa. Ticket price covers a beer at each stop plus unlimited pizza at the finish. Sunday 9/13. $65.
📜 Congressional Unleashed: Pets Guided Tour covers notable residents tied to the cemetery’s K9 Corps, the off-leash program that helped save the grounds from disrepair. Bring your own dog if you’re a K9 Corps member or grab a day pass. Sunday 9/13. $11.
🖌️ The Labs at DC Public Library is giving away free embroidery starter kits at the MLK Central Library, each one including patterns, needles, thread, fabric, and a mini hoop 3D-printed in-house. Sunday 9/13. Free.
🎭 Paddington Palooza at Hook Hall is a double feature of both Paddington films, with a marmalade-themed cocktail and a patch-making tutorial from Pathworks Studio included in your ticket. Come for one film or both, and feel free to bring your own knitting or embroidery. Sunday 9/13. $20.
🧑🤝🧑 Death Over Draftsat Solid State Books is a discussion group for people who want to talk openly about death, aging, and what actually matters, drinks in hand. No expertise or prior grief required, just curiosity. Sunday 9/13. Free.
🖌️ Vinyl DJ Lesson at Words Beats & Life is a two-session, hands-on intro to mixing on actual vinyl, taught by a veteran DMV DJ with a library of hip-hop, R&B, and rock records spanning the ’60s through 2000s. Sunday 9/13. $90.
Know of something cool happening? Submit an event for consideration!
* Items marked with an asterisks contain affiliate links (for which I earn a small commission at no additional cost to you) or sponsored. Events are featured based on if I find them interesting and think others will too, regardless if they are affiliate or sponsored.
Forwarded this email? Sign up to get things to do, eat, and know in your inbox every Wednesday. I'm excited! 👏 For the past year, I've been working on the systems that I use to build this newsletter. I won't bore you with the details, but I will share this win: I now have the Not Bored app in the App Store and Play Store! Right now, you can find even more events this week as well as curated lists. Premium members can see the full event list, map view, calendar view, and can search & filter....
Forwarded this email? Sign up to get things to do, eat, and know in your inbox every Wednesday. RSVP to the Petworth Pretty Kitties Cat Crawl! We've hit minimum cat density, and the cat crawl is a GO! RSVP to the cat crawl now! On October, join fellow cat lovers as we look at cats (like Anastasia in the picture) around the Petworth neighborhood, and the Humane Rescue cat adoption van). You'll go on a tour around Petworth, stopping at homes where you'll see different cats and learn about what...
Forwarded this email? Sign up to get things to do, eat, and know in your inbox every Wednesday. Things I'm Talking About Dolly Parton passed away, and the nation seems to be in mourning. Construction has started at the new Bouldering Project in Columbia Heights in DCUSA. Enchant, the giant holiday lights show at Nats Park, is back this year. Presale starts on September 4. Smithsonian's Night of the Living Zoo tickets are on sale starting tomorrow for the general public. There have been a lot...
