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 of anti-data center events around DC...and now there is a pro-data center party being planned. Details TBD. h/t Taylor Lorenz.
• I'm a judge at the DC State Fair this year! I am judging in the this weekend, and the full state fair is September 6.
• ​My app was approved by Google and is now in the Google Play Store! Currently it is an extension of the newsletter with upcoming events, but I have some really fun things planned. Apple is pending review currently but stay tuned!

Valerie

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

Last week, we asked: Which would you rather do to get a burger? You responded:

• No wait at McDonald's (80.8%)
• Wait in line 3 hours at Eebee's (19.2%)

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: Agora DC

"Agora DC on 17th. Been there for years. Consistently good food and service." Eli

Location: 1527 17th St NW in DC; 7911 Westpark Dr in VA; and One Bethesda Metro Center, 7400 Wisconsin Ave in MD
​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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• 🐾 National Dog Day at The Capital Wheel lets your dog ride the Ferris wheel for free, followed by a Yappy Hour with drinks and dog treats at Club 1776. Wednesday 8/26. Free.
• 🐾 Dog Day on the Hill is an evening at Congressional Cemetery with dog contests, a pet portrait station, and treat stands. Wednesday 8/26. Free.
• 🍾 I Will Always Love You: Dolly Parton Karaoke at DC9 is a night of singing, crying, and honoring the Honkytonk Angel, hosted by a resident Dolly superfan. Wednesday 8/26. Free.
• 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Creative Kickback is a recurring gathering for DMV creatives that turns a third space into a hands-on creative playground, with games, activities, and open time to work on your own project. This one’s at Living Room in Mount Pleasant, with access to collage, watercolor, and drawing supplies included in the ticket. Wednesday 8/26. $15.
• 🎭 DC Public Library’s Ciné International Film Series screens Christian Petzold’s Transit (Germany, 2018), a Berlin Film Festival selection about a refugee who assumes a dead man’s identity and falls for the man’s wife. Wednesday 8/26. Free.
• 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Here & Now is a phone-free social night at a Logan Circle cocktail bar where you check your phone at the door, get paired with strangers for structured ten-minute conversations, then let the rest of the evening unfold. Wednesday 8/26. $25.

• 🕺 Kehlani's Official World Tour After Party is a live performance at Karma DC following her world tour stop, with the R&B singer performing into the early morning. Thursday 8/27. $25+.
• 🌲 The US Botanic Garden stays open until 8PM for golden hour among summer flowers, the “America’s State Flowers” exhibit, and live soul-jazz-bossa nova from Breonna Sharde’. Lemonade, mocktails, and ice cream are available for purchase. Thursday 8/27. Free.
• 🎭 Ever wanted to spill your problems to a guy in green face paint who might actually have good advice? Therapy Gecko is bringing his interactive comedy show where you can share your weirdest thoughts with the internet’s favorite unlicensed therapist. Thursday 8/27. $40+.
• 🏞️ Capitol Hill Tree Tours is a guided walking tour around the Capitol grounds covering trees that range from 140-year-old oaks to species with natural histories stretching back 200 million years. Thursday 8/27. $20.
• 📖 Live! At The Library opens the Library of Congress’s Thomas Jefferson Building on Thursday evenings for happy hour drinks, rotating performances and exhibits, and rare public access to the Main Reading Room. Thursday 8/27. Free.
• 🖌️ Make Your Own Disco Keychain at Shop Made in DC in Georgetown is a self-guided beading workshop where you’ll make two keychains using pony beads, disco balls, and other materials. Thursday 8/27. $12.

• 🧑‍🍳 Chilled Reds: A Wine Tasting and Class at Planet Wine in Alexandria covers which red wines actually benefit from a chill and why, with six wines and cheese included. Friday 8/28. $53.
• 🎭 Outdoor Movie Night: Coco at the National Arboretum is a free screening of the Pixar film paired with a community papel picado art station and desserts from local makers. Bring a blanket. Friday 8/28. Free.
• 🎈The Salsa Garden Party at the U.S. National Arboretum closes out the summer with a beginner salsa dance lesson, live salsa music, and fresh salsa made from the garden’s own tomatoes. Friday 8/28. Free.
• 🎈The Baltimore Summer Food Festival is a three-day outdoor food festival on the Inner Harbor waterfront with local restaurants, food trucks, live cooking demos, and Maryland seafood. Friday 8/28. Free.
• 🤓 Gryphon Games D&D One Shot at Continues Arcade is a self-contained tabletop RPG session run by an experienced Dungeon Master in a private room, with a meal and drink included. No prior D&D experience needed. Friday 8/28-8/29. $60.
• 🤓 Pop-up Trivia on the Farm is hosted trivia at Edgewood Community Farm, with hand-written rounds covering general knowledge, music, and mash-ups. Show up solo or with a team. Friday 8/28. Free.
• 🕺 Members of the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra perform an evening of Dvořák chamber music on the Millennium Stage, including the “American” String Quartet. No tickets or registration needed. Friday 8/28. Free.
• 🕺 Head to Transit Pier for free live music featuring Secret Society bringing the go-go and jazz vibes starting at 7pm. Grab a beer, snag some food, and spend your Friday night with good sounds. Friday 8/28. Free.

• 🌐 The 24th Annual Washington Chinese Cultural Festival takes over Pennsylvania Avenue NW with traditional performances, food vendors, exhibitions, and a notable turnout of diplomats and embassy staff. Saturday 8/29. Free.
• 📖 American University anthropologists bring Summer Pocket Talks to Georgetown Neighborhood Library for a series of short presentations and discussions on current issues. Saturday 8/29. Free.
• 🍲 Corks & Corridors is an after-hours wine tasting inside the Lee-Fendall House in Old Town Alexandria, with a guided tour of the preserved rooms and a tasting led by Prince Michel Vineyard staff. Groups are capped at 10, so it’s a genuinely small evening. Saturday 8/29. $45.
• 🌲 Paw Paw Hunting is a guided foraging walk through a forest less than 10 miles from DC in search of paw paws, the largest fruit native to North America and nearly impossible to find in grocery stores. You’ll taste the mango-banana flavored fruit and take home whatever you harvest, and have the option to take home a sapling. Saturday 8/29. $30+.
• 🤸 Yogafest is a full-day outdoor festival at Reservoir Park with simultaneous sessions across styles (trap yoga, Kemetic yoga, Kundalini, sound baths, cacao ceremonies, and more), each tied to a different global tradition. Saturday 8/29. Free.
• 🌐 The 13th Annual Halal Food Festival brings 100+ halal food vendors, food trucks, and dessert spots to the Anne Arundel Fairgrounds, with a bazaar, live performances, kids’ rides, and a fireworks finale rounding out the day. Saturday 8/29. $14.
• 🖼️ Come celebrate Black Girl Art Show DC, where you’ll experience work from 150+ Black women artists across powerful displays, immersive installations, and live performances. Saturday 8/29. $55.
• 📖 Coffee & Collections at the Anacostia Community Museum is a conversation about DC’s mural history led by artist and curator Cory Lee Stowers, anchored by newly digitized photographs from a 1990 exhibition on public art in the city. Saturday 8/29. Free.
• 🕺 DC Square Dance Collective is hosting an outdoor square dance at Peirce Mill in Rock Creek Park, with a live caller and live band. No experience or partner needed. Saturday 8/29. Free.

• 🧑‍🍳 A Mini Cake Decorating Workshop with Mr. Bake is a hands-on class led by James Beard–nominated pastry chef Kareem Queeman, where you'll learn to stack, frost, and decorate a 4" cake from scratch. You leave with a finished cake and all the tools are provided. Sunday 8/30. $105.
• 🍲 The DC Cake Picnic at Hains Point brings together home bakers competing for a popular vote award, with guests tasting slices and casting ballots for their favorite. Sunday 8/30. Free.
• 🤸 A mat Pilates class at lululemon Georgetown led by former U.S. Women’s Rugby National Team captain and Olympian Abby Gustaitis. Sunday 8/30. Free.
• 🐾 B’more KittyCon is a cat-lover convention in Baltimore with adoptable cats, local vendors, crafting, contests, and learning labs, all benefiting homeless animals in the city. Sunday 8/30. $20.
• 🧠 Cry n’ Vibe is a guided wellness afternoon at Balcón built around somatic movement, meditation, and the premise that crying is a reasonable response to being alive. Ticket includes a smoothie, adaptogen drink, and a few other small gifts. Sunday 8/30. $65+.
• 🍽️ Music of Friends Concert is a classical chamber music afternoon at the French Embassy, with NSO musicians performing works by Mozart, Mendelssohn, Brahms, and Ravel to benefit Friendship Place, DC’s main housing services organization for people experiencing homelessness. Sunday 8/30. $50.
• 🧑‍🍳 Hill’s Kitchen Cookbook Club is a potluck dinner built around Cheryl Day’s Treasury of Southern Baking, a James Beard-nominated collection of 200+ Southern recipes. You make a dish from the book ahead of time, then gather to eat, compare notes, and talk through it together. Sunday 8/30. $15+.
• 🍾 Offline Sundays is a phone-free rooftop day party at Tigres de la Noche in Union Market, with a rotating DJ lineup spanning house, amapiano, afro house, and disco. Sunday 8/30. Free before 5:30PM; $20+ after.
• 🤓 Game Day @ Anthem Row turns a downtown block into a giant game room with Scrabble, chess, dominoes, mahjong, spades, video games, and Go-Go trivia, plus a DJ and prizes for bragging rights. Sunday 8/30. Free.
• 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Glow Girl Coffee Circle is a women’s social meetup at Tous Les Jours in Union Market, a good excuse to close out August with coffee and new people. Sunday 8/30. Free.

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

• professional bull riding
• giant Tudor-themed festival
• cinema + multi-course dinner
• late skate
• indoor yoga w/ dwarf goats
• planting your own bonsai
• talk about death over tea and cake

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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.