Things I'm Talking About

• ​Rebecca Black announced a show at 9:30 Club on October 15, and presale starts today with the general public sale starting Friday. Her last show at 9:30 Club was one of the most fun shows I've seen in the past few years, definitely recommend going is you like pop music. Presale code is HOTWET.*
• Rosedale outdoor pool is re-opening on Thursday.
• DC Archives have added 3,000 digitized photos to their collections to celebrate DC's 236th birthday.
• Sushi Taro is celebrating its 40th anniversary with a 40%-off-sushi happy hour. It's available at the bar only, and the bar is small, so be prepared.
• Nonviolent direct action zines were used by government prosecutors as evidence of terrorism. Short version, longer version.
• I had some of the best scallops of my life at Estuary this past weekend. They were a little crispy on the outside in a way I hadn't had before while still being tender and perfectly cooked on the inside.
• This is a really cool...plant? fungus? from the Shenandoah.
• I'm trying to figure out how people plan their free time so that I can better meet you where makes sense. I'd be so grateful it if you could fill out this quick survey on how you spend your free time!
• Congrats to D.P. for winning a $50 gift card to SYN Dupont, a new lounge and bar serving familiar plates with an elevated flavor! Premium members get access to exclusive giveaways.

Valerie

Give your opinion, and check back next week for the results.

Last week, we asked: How many more 100+ degree days do you think we'll have this year? You responded:

• 6+ (60.4%)
• 3-5 (27.1%)
• 1-2 (12.5%)

Still paying rent because buying feels impossible?

Between rising prices, interest rates, and nonstop headlines, it's easy to assume homeownership is out of reach.

But many first-time buyers are surprised to learn they don't need 20% down, everything is negotiable, and there are opportunities in today's market if you know where to look.

At this free Homebuying 101 workshop, local experts will separate fact from fiction, answer your biggest questions, and walk you through the entire process from financing to finding the right neighborhood so that you can make your next move with confidence.

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: Spices Asian Restaurant & Sushi Bar

"Spices in Cleveland Park. Been going since college in the 00s. Never disappoints!" prezdave999

Location: 3333 Connecticut Ave NW
​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.

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Your next get-together is already planned.

Whether you're planning after-work drinks, date night, or weekend brunch, SYN Dupont has you covered.

🍸 Every Hour is Happy Hour: On July 29th & the last Wednesday of every month, get $7 martinis & Old Fashioneds, $10 wines, and $6 draft beers.

🥩 Steak Nights: Every Friday & Saturday featuring steak frites for $27 and craft cocktails.

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• 🍲 Spend your evening tasting exquisite chocolates and truffles paired with Spanish wines at The Chocolate House. You'll sample 10 different artisanal chocolates plus three world-class truffles, learn how to taste chocolate like a pro, and discover which Spanish wines pair perfectly with each bite, all guided by a professional sommelier. Wednesday 7/22. $64.
• 🎭 The Wailing (곡성) is a 2016 Korean psychological horror film from director Na Hong-jin, screened at the Korean Cultural Center with complimentary snacks and English subtitles. Wednesday 7/22. Free.
• 🎭 May There Always Be Words Between Us is the world premiere documentary about It’s Your Mug, the legendary DC open mic that launched poets like Ta-Nehisi Coates and Toni Blackman out of Black-owned spaces in the city. The evening includes a live poetry reading with artists from the film and a talk-back with filmmakers afterward. Wednesday 7/22. Free.
• 🖌️ Bring literally anything you want to customize and screenprint it with a DC Statehood message while sipping local craft beer in the Heurich House Museum’s biergarten. Artist Joseph Orzal will help you turn your stuff into political art. Wednesday 7/22. Free.
• 🎈 Catch the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington performing Potomac Fever at Woolly Mammoth’s month-long celebration of DC’s diversity. There’s a pop-up market, free drinks, a photo booth, and giveaways to make it a full evening out. Wednesday 7/22. Free.
• 🎭 Macbeth is Shakespeare’s tragedy of ambition and conscience, performed by the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s MFA class with puppet work bringing the witches and ghosts to life. Wednesday 7/22. $25.

• 🕺 Blue Note Burlesque at Sid Gold's Request Room is a burlesque revue from DMVariety featuring a Ringling Bros. alum and award-winning performers doing vintage tease and variety acts in a piano bar. The show flows straight into Sid Gold's piano karaoke, so the night has a natural second act. Thursday 7/23. $25.
• 🖌️ Craft Rave is part dance party, part art night, with live DJs, a glitter table, and hands-on crafts running at the same time. Thursday 7/23. Free.
• 📖 Nat Geo Nights transforms the Museum of Exploration into a 21+ after-hours experience celebrating National Parks with live music, storytelling from National Geographic Explorers, artist activations, and themed cocktails. You’ll get three hours of after-hours museum access to explore exhibitions and discover something new around every corner. Thursday 7/23. $40.
• 🍲 Paste & Rind’s Fancy Ass Butter Party is a guided tasting of specialty butters from around the world, with bread, crackers, and a drink included. Or, if you're looking for people to go with, there's a meetup outing here. Thursday 7/23. $59.
• 🕺 SqueakyFest is a stand-up showcase featuring five local comedians with disabilities, part of a first-ever multi-city festival built around that community. Thursday 7/23. Donation.

• 🍾 Ready to dance all night to your favorite K-pop hits? Kpop Club Night is taking over Strand Club with the crew that knows how to throw a party, so bring your friends and get ready to sing along to every song. Friday 7/24. $27.
• 🕺 Jason Derulo is performing a postgame concert at Nationals Park after the Nationals take on the Diamondbacks. You'll get to hear all those hits like "Talk Dirty" and "Savage Love" right on the field where the magic happens. Friday 7/24. $28+.
• 🎭 Cult classic The Room brings Tommy Wiseau to Fairfax in person for screenings of the film that’s so bad it’s good and that inspired the movie The Disaster Artist. Friday 7/24-7/25. $28.
• 🌲 Friday Night Fishing at Diamond Teague Park is a casual evening on the Anacostia River where bait, tackle, and rods are provided — no experience needed. Friday 7/24. Free.
• 🕺 Kanysha: Strawberry Sessions is a free album release concert at the Kennedy Center’s River Pavilion, where the DC singer-songwriter performs her new record across R&B, funk, and soul. Friday 7/24. Free.
• 🍲 National Tequila Day at Spirits & Spice DC is a tasting event at a Connecticut Ave spirits shop where you can sample tequilas and meet other people who take the category seriously. Friday 7/24. Free.
• 🕺 Catch The Fearless Eras performing a Taylor Swift tribute at Transit Pier’s free summer concert series. Sing along to all your favorite TS tracks. Friday 7/24. Free.
• 🎭 Escape with Washington Improv Theater is a multi-week summer series at Studio Theatre where WIT’s ensembles perform fully unscripted shows built from a single audience suggestion. Friday 7/24. $20.
• 🕺 Jazz in the Garden returns with “American Sounds” featuring everything from Appalachian folk to Creole jazz in the National Gallery’s Sculpture Garden. If you missed the lottery for passes, they also release day-of tickets at 5pm if you want to try your luck. Friday 7/24. Free.​

• 🍲 The Cheesesteak Showdown puts six cheesesteaks from competing vendors in front of you, and your vote decides the winner. Saturday 7/25. $50.
• 📜 Discover DC Boundary Stones Along the Northeast Line is a 6-8 mile hike tracing the original 1791-1792 boundary survey line between DC and Maryland, stopping at the stone markers that are technically the first federal monuments in the country. Saturday 7/25. $2.
• 🎭 The Kennedy Center screens Clue (1985) outdoors on the REACH Lawn at dusk. Tim Curry, Madeline Kahn, Christopher Lloyd, and the rest of that cast doing the board game murder mystery thing. While I am known among my friends to hate this movie, all of my friends love it so it gets marked as a pick from me. Bring a blanket. Saturday 7/25. Free.
• 🍲 Italian Cheese 101 is a tasting class at Ama where you’ll work through five distinct Italian cheeses with a welcome spritz to start. Saturday 7/25. $61.
• 🤸 The Mubadala DC Open (fka Citi Open) brings professional tennis and high profile players to Rock Creek Park for a week-plus tournament featuring top international players competing for a title. You can also see your favorites practicing up close on the practice courts (last year I was feet away from Medvedev practicing). Saturday 7/25-8/2. $61+.
• 🎈 Ringside at Anthem Row turns an outdoor corridor in Downtown DC into an open-air wrestling arena, with Lucha Libre and C3W wrestlers, live music, and food from nearby restaurants. Saturday 7/25. Free.
• 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Bring plants you’ve outgrown to the Free Community Plant Swap at WE MAKE DC in Dupont Circle, and leave with something new. Paint supplies are on hand if you want to customize a pot while you’re there. Saturday 7/25. Free.
• 🤓 Free Smash Bros. Tournament at GameOn on U Street is a free-entry Super Smash Bros. Ultimate bracket with $1,000 on the line, plus a cosplay contest and retro arcade games. Saturday 7/25. Free.
• 🏞️ Hot Girl Walk® DC is a free outdoor walk built around gratitude, goals, and confidence, with a crowd that’s genuinely there to meet people. I’m respecting the trademark by displaying the ® (iykyk). Saturday 7/25. Free.
• 🐾 If you’re a cat person, you need to see GEMS, a major cat show at the Maryland State Fairgrounds with dozens of beautiful breeds on display and judging happening all day. Saturday 7/25-7/26. $20.

• 🕺 The DMV Pole Showcase Competition is a pole artistry showcase and competition at a Fort Washington lounge where tipping the performers is part of the deal. Sunday 7/26. $30.
• 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 The Midnight Sun Serve is a tennis and fitness social in Potomac combining coached court drills, a sculpt workout, mocktails, pastries, and a DJ set. Dress in sunset colors and bring your own mat. Sunday 7/26. $65.
• 🎈 Head to the Tropicana Block Party for an afternoon of live music from Bongo District, food and drinks from El Tamarindo DC, dancing, local vendors, and games. Your ticket supports Guías Youth Collective’s mentorship and leadership programs for young people in El Salvador, and kids and dogs are welcome. Sunday 7/26. Pay what you can.
• 🤓 Ever played a game and thought “this would be better if…”? Come playtest board games from local independent designers at Labyrinth Games & Puzzles and help shape the next great game. Your feedback actually matters and helps turn good ideas into ones people will love. Sunday 7/26. Free.
• 🖌️ Bun ‘N Paint: Brunch Edition is a guided painting session at SOST, a listening bar, where your ticket covers art supplies and a traditional Ethiopian coffee (bun). Brunch is available too. Sunday 7/26. $34.
• 🕺 Jazzy Sundays in Anacostia is an outdoor jazz concert series running Sunday afternoons through the summer in Anacostia, with DCity Smokehouse’s food truck and bar service on site. Sunday 7/26. Free.
• 🛍️ Vintage Pop-Up at Prim’s Cafe turns a Shaw coffee shop into a women’s vintage boutique for an afternoon, with 80s, 90s, and 2000s pieces alongside a seasonal bakery menu. Sunday 7/26. Free.

🤫 Psst! I couldn't fit everything in this issue. See all the events happening over the next week!

• cathedral tower climb
• comedy night
• singles mixer
• family game night
• stand-up in Adams Morgan
• Broadway-bound concert series

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* 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.