Things I'm Talking About

• Dulles Airport (IAD) has been ranked as one of the country's top airports for deals.
  • Going (fka Scott's Cheap Flights) ranked US airports based on deal volume, average Going deal price, and savings off the average normal price
  • Dulles ranked #8 in the country for international flights, #8 for points and miles deals (with a strong showing for European points deals), and #4 in member's choice for flight deals
  • For domestic flights, Denver, New Orleans, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Los Angeles, Charleston, Raleigh-Durham, Tampa, Portland, and Las Vegas offered the best deals--something to consider for your next trip.
  • Congratulations to M.G. for winning a year of the Going Elite membership as a part of our premium members giveaway!
• A company wants to do underwater mining off the coast of Virginia, with the area under consideration being about the size of Delaware. People are concerned about the impact of fishing up and down the eastern seaboard and the effects on the Chesapeake Bay, with lots of local opposition. The public comment period is through August 22.
• Arepa Zone is experiencing financial difficulties and is asking for customer support. I had seen some posts months ago from the owner in a local foodie Facebook group just talking about the current challenges restaurants are facing, but it seems like now they are being more public about it and hoping that their loyal fanbase can help get them through this.
• The National Zoo's Front Royal campus welcomed 3 red panda cubs. Red pandas are the cutest! And no, the infamous Randy is not their dad.
• "Seneca Creek State Park closed after beaver attacks 10-year-old, beaver still missing" was my favorite headline of the week. There have been 3 beaver attacks recently.
• An investigation was done into an increase in rare book sales, and found that they are, indeed, being sent to AI facilities where Amazon scans and destroys books.
• Savannah Bananas, the Harlem Globetrotters of baseball, are doing their first ever Banana Bowl at Nats Park. You can enter the lottery to purchase tickets through Sunday.
• A big of a trip, but Joey Chestnut has announced that he will be at the World Pancake Eating Championship at the Williamsburg Pancake Festival.
  • If you do go, check out the Virginia Musical Museum while you're there. Highly underrated museum, even as someone who doesn't play any instruments.

Valerie

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

Last week, we asked: Have you seen a meteor shower before? You responded:

• No (52.6%)
• Yes (47.4%)

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: Ethiopic Restaurant

"Ethiopic on H St used to be our anniversary spot for a few years in the early to mid-2010s, and they’re still kicking. Consistently good food, and they resisted raising their prices for a long time, even though pandemic. Even with a slight increase, still very affordable, good portion sizes, great taste. Always busy tho, so get your reservations!" Craig

Location: 401 H St NE
​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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• 🍾 Bravo Night at Oriole Park is an Orioles game with a Real Housewives twist, including appearances from Lisa Barlow and Maryland's own Gizelle Bryant. Wednesday 8/19. Price not stated.
• 🎭 Improvapalooza is WIT’s annual marathon of experimental improv at Studio Theatre on 14th St, with over 200 shows across five nights, each one completely different from the last. Wednesday 8/19. $27.
• 📜 House of the Temple is the 1915 John Russell Pope–designed headquarters of Scottish Rite Freemasonry, and this 90-minute tour covers the ceremonial rooms, Masonic artifacts, and a library with over 200,000 volumes that was DC’s first public library. Wednesday 8/19. $20.
• 🍲 Bold Fork Books’ Vintage American Cookbook Club has you picking a vintage American cookbook from their archive (think mid-century church potlucks, regional community spiral-bounds, decades-old regional classics) and cooking a recipe from it to share with the group. Wednesday 8/19. $21.
• 🌲 DC Rat Walks are guided dusk tours through DC alleyways led by an anthrozoologist and a rodentologist, where you’ll learn to spot signs of rodent activity and understand how rat colonies form. This walk will be in Ward 4. Wednesday 8/19. Free.
• 🧠 Hands-On Honey Processing is a workshop at Filbert Street Garden in Baltimore that walks you through extracting honey from hive to jar, covering de-capping frames, centrifuge use, and proper storage. Wednesday 8/19. $20.

• 🤝 Spend a night listening for frogs and toads at FrogWatch, a community science program on Kingman + Heritage Islands where you'll help collect data on local amphibians. It's a peaceful two-hour walk after sunset with neighbors and DOEE volunteers, perfect if you're curious about what's calling in DC's wetlands. Thursday 8/20. Free.
• 🍲 Local Cheese & Beer Tasting at Henceforth pairs four Virginia cheeses from George’s Mill Farm with four Henceforth beers, guided by a cheesemonger. Thursday 8/20. $55.
• 🎭 Adela Has Not Had Supper Yet is a 1978 Czech cult comedy screened outdoors on the Embassy of Czechia’s grounds, where a detective mystery about a carnivorous plant unfolds with slapstick, steampunk, and surrealist special effects by Jan Švankmajer. Bring a blanket. Thursday 8/20. Free.
• 🖌️ The Smithsonian National Postal Museum’s Wine & Design is a happy hour built around folding origami and envelopes to celebrate a new International Peace Stamp, with drinks, light snacks, and after-hours gallery access included. Thursday 8/20. $25.
• 🛍️ Capital Book Fest is a monthly outdoor pop-up at Woodrow Wilson Plaza where thousands of used books, CDs, DVDs, and vinyl are priced at $7 or less. Thursday 8/20. Free.
• 🕺 Downtown Tumbao plays Latin jazz at Kalorama Park as part of the AdMo Vibe Summer Concert Series. Pack a blanket and grab takeout from one of the neighborhood restaurants nearby. Thursday 8/20. Free.

• 📖 Open Heart Surgery: Live and in-Person is exactly what it sounds like: you'll stand feet from an operating table and watch a real open-heart surgery, with a nurse narrating each step as the surgical team works. This is for people 70+. Friday 8/21. Free.
• 🍾 Sapphic Dance Party at The Atlantis is an all-women electronic music night with a local DMV DJ lineup headlined by Baby Weight, plus a guest set from DC lesbian drag queen Sapphica Star. A portion of every ticket goes to The Trevor Project. Friday 8/21. $33. *
• 📜 The Shrine of the Sacred Heart is a 1922 Northern Italian Romanesque Revival church that just received DC’s newest interior landmark designation, protecting its concrete mosaics and murals by architectural sculptor John J. Earley. This guided tour walks you through the sanctuary and the story behind the designation. Friday 8/21. $20.
• 🕺 Up N’ Smoke is an underground hip-hop showcase at The Fridge DC with performances from Boofboy Kel, Fromhoodie, L.E.A.N., Rapsvmm, and others. Friday 8/21. $5.
• 🏰 Wright at Twilight is an evening at the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Pope-Leighey House in Alexandria, with wine, snacks, yard games, and a self-guided tour as the light shifts across the architecture. Friday 8/21. $40.
• 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Fast Car: Tracy Chapman One-Day Choir is a no-audition, one-night choir where a room of strangers learns and sings a choral arrangement of Tracy Chapman’s folk-rock classic together. No experience needed, and sheet music is sent ahead so the night stays focused on actually singing. Friday 8/21. Donation.
• 🖌️ Community Weaving with Valencia Wilson at the Anacostia Community Museum is a hands-on basket weaving workshop where all materials are provided and no experience is required. Friday 8/21. Free.
• 🍾 Mr. Brightside at DC9 is a late-night dance party built around 2000s indie rock and alt-pop, with DJs spinning music videos from The Killers, Gorillaz, LCD Soundsystem, Franz Ferdinand, Daft Punk, and that whole era. Friday 8/21. Free (first 50).
• 🕺 Open Mic Nights at The Theatre Lab is a free drop-in series where you can perform (a song, a monologue, original material) or show up to watch and grab a drink. Friday 8/21. Free.
• 🤓 Pop Culture Trivia: Sitcom Edition is an outdoor trivia night in the Lee-Fendall House garden in Alexandria, covering sitcoms across every decade. Solo or with a team, ticket includes snacks and two drink vouchers. Friday 8/21. $15.

• 📖 Book lovers, mark your calendars for the 2026 National Book Festival at the Washington Convention Center, where you can meet dozens of authors, get books signed, and enjoy readings and activities for all ages. This year's festival is extra special as part of America's 250th anniversary celebration, with expanded programming covering film, music, and folklife beyond just books. Saturday 8/22. Free.
• 🌐 Chuck Brown Day is an annual outdoor Go-Go festival at Fort Dupont Park marking the legacy of DC’s Godfather of Go-Go, with Junkyard Band, Backyard Band, Experience Unlimited, and more performing live. Bring a blanket or lawn chair. Saturday 8/22. Free.
• 🏞️ DC Vistas Walk is a 9-mile group walk hitting DC’s best viewpoints, including the newly reopened Old Post Office Pavilion, the Kennedy Center roof, and Arlington House. Saturday 8/22. Donation.
• 🌲 Spend your Saturday morning on a guided forest bathing walk at the National Arboretum where you’ll slow down and really notice the trees, plants, and natural sounds around you. A nature therapist will lead you through two hours of gentle wandering and reflection, giving you space to meditate and then share what you noticed with the group. Saturday 8/22. $35.
• 🌐 Asia in a Bite is an outdoor Asian street food festival at Tingey Plaza with curated vendors and a live DJ. Saturday 8/22-8/23. Free.
• 🎈 The Berlin Chili Pepper Festival takes over downtown Berlin, MD with live music, a pepper eating competition, wing eating, and vendors selling hot sauces and fresh roasted corn. Local craft beer from Burley Oak and Berlin Beer Company on tap. Saturday 8/22. Free.
• 🎈 The Freedom 250 Grand Prix is the first-ever INDYCAR race on the National Mall, running a street circuit past the Washington Monument and the U.S. Capitol to mark America’s 250th anniversary. Saturday 8/22-8/23. Free.
• 🍾 Peach Pit is a 90s dance party at DC9 with DJ Matt Bailer spinning classic hits and deep cuts from the decade for this LGBTQ+ dance night. Saturday 8/22. $5+.
• 🎈 The Arts and Industries Building is hosting a full afternoon of live DJs, a democracy exhibition, and hands-on activities like beaded keychain-making alongside food and drinks. Saturday 8/22. Free.
• 🎭 Monumental Theatre’s The Rocky Horror Show is the full cult-classic stage musical, staged with audience participation built in. Saturday 8/22-9/6. Pay what you will or $45.
• 🍾 AdobÃO is a Brazilian-themed day party from the DMV’s multicultural collective Adobo, with DJ sets pulling from Brazilian music across the board. Saturday 8/22. $23.

• 🌲 CTC Urban Garden Open House is a tour of a working urban farm in NE DC, with free soil amendment and seedlings from DC Water's Bloom program, a rain barrel installation demo, and houseplants for sale from Southern Maryland Tropicals. Sunday 8/23. Free.
• 🧠 Grow Your Own Mushrooms is a hands-on workshop at Edgewood Community Farm where you’ll learn the basics of home mushroom cultivation, inoculate a substrate, and leave with a starter kit to keep growing at home. Sunday 8/23. $20.
• 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Petworth Library just finished a renovation and is throwing an open house to mark the reopening, with bilingual story time, Zumba, kids’ crafts, and a teen gaming lounge. Sunday 8/23. Free.
• 🤸 Start your Sunday morning right with Reservoir Recharge Wellness Weekends, a free series of community wellness classes led by local health professionals and small businesses. This session focuses on mobility and movement to get your body feeling good, and it’s open to everyone regardless of fitness level. Sunday 8/23. Free.
• 🐾 Day of the Dog at OneLife Rockville is a yoga class where rescue dogs from Operation Paws for Homes roam the mat with you, followed by a dedicated snuggle session with the pups. A portion of ticket sales goes to the rescue. Sunday 8/23. $49+.
• 🍾 District Beach Club is a rooftop pool party at Hotel Zena with live music and drinks, overlooking the city. Sunday 8/23-8/24. $20.
• 🤓 Games at Sherwood Regional Library is a drop-in board game session in Alexandria where you can bring something from your own collection or sit down and learn whatever’s already on the table. Sunday 8/23. Free.
• 🕺 Hobbstock III is an outdoor summer concert in Silver Spring featuring a lineup of blues, rock, and roots artists including Deanna Bogart, Tommy Lepson, and several others. Bring a beach chair, pack a cooler, and there’s a cookie table. Sunday 8/23. $32.
• 🖌️ Quote on a Tote is a drop-in workshop at MLK Library where you’ll design a quote or graphic in Canva and press it onto a canvas tote using a Cricut and heat press. Supplies are provided. Sunday 8/23. Free.
• 🤓 Scrabble Sunday at Panera in Bethesda is a low-key weekly game where boards and a dictionary are provided and all skill levels show up. Sunday 8/23. 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.