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Every Thursday, we share weekend events happening around the city. Are you planning an event you’d like us to consider for this roundup? Send it to our team using this form. Find more events in our Civics Roundup, which focuses on ways to get more involved locally.
Like magic, last week’s spooky events have vanished — replaced by all things cozy and crafty, coaxing us to START HOLIDAY SHOPPING, ALREADY. Even still, there’s plenty of between-season art, theater, music, and comedy to enjoy. Unwrap the last of your Halloween candy stash and read on for this weekend’s best local events.
What would D.C. sound like as a song? Head to the Anacostia Library this week to decide for yourself. (Pierre Goiffon/Unsplash)
THURSDAY, NOV. 6
Imagine Our City’s Next 250 Years 📍 Anacostia Neighborhood Library ⏰ 6 - 7:30 p.m. 💸 FREE Ahead of next year’s celebrations of our nation’s first 250 years, the D.C. Public Library is asking: What do we want the next 250 years to look like? In this community songwriting program, teens and adults will work with musicians to write and record an original song about their vision for D.C.’s future. Each quadrant will get its own song, to be recorded on a mixtape in time for the America 250 celebration next year. This edition focuses on Southeast D.C.
Some Kind of Famous, Ava Wilder 📍 East City Bookshop or Zoom ⏰ 7 - 8 p.m. 💸 FREE My calendar says it’s “cozy up with your next favorite book” season, so head to East City Bookshop this week to catch a talk from Northern Virginia-based author Ava Wilder. In her new romance novel, Some Kind of Famous, a former singer-songwriter decamps to a small ski town in Colorado, where she finds a house that needs fixing up and a cute local handyman, to boot.
Comedians will joke for a good cause at All Souls Church this weekend. (Robinson Recalde/Unsplash)
FRIDAY, NOV. 7
Over the Garden Wall 📍 Dandelion Collective ⏰ 7 p.m. 💸 $10 or pay-what-you-can Cartoon Network’s fantastical 2014 miniseries may have been short-lived, but its cult following has endured, inspiring tattoos, baked goods, and, especially, autumnal re-watches. If you haven’t seen it yet — whether ever or just this year — local scholar Lena Barkin, aka The Fanthropologist, is here for you.Head to Columbia Heights queer space Dandelion Collective to watch with your fellow animation lovers and enjoy a lively Q&A with Barkin.
Furlough’s Paradise 📍 Theater Alliance ⏰ 7:30 p.m. 💸 $45 In Theater Alliance’s latest production, a woman returns home on a short furlough from a lengthy prison sentence, crashing on the couch of her high-achieving cousin. This two-hander exploring family trauma, grief, and forgiveness runs through Nov. 23.
Comedy Show For Lives USAID Still Can't Save: Bigger, Funnier, Sadder 📍 All Souls Church, Unitarian ⏰ Happy hour starts at 6:30 p.m, show runs 8 - 9:30 p.m. 💸 $33.85 There’s nothing particularly funny about the Trump Administration dismantling the United States Agency for International Development, but that won’t stop the comedians performing at All Souls Church on Friday. Talent includes local stand-ups, USAID employees-turned-comedians, and a surprise superstar headliner. Ticket sales benefit A Crisis in Care, which supports HIV organizations working across Africa that were formerly funded by USAID. Furloughed or fired feds get a 50% ticket discount.
Shoppers at the spring edition of That’s So Vintage. (Mariah Miranda)
SATURDAY, NOV. 8
Family Fishing at Kingman Island 📍 Kingman and Heritage Islands Park ⏰ 9 - 11 a.m. 💸 FREE Plenty of T-shirts and country songs have claimed that fishing is only for husbands who hate their wives, but you can prove them wrong. Bring the whole family to this weekend’s community fishing day on Kingman Lake. Anacostia Riverkeeper will provide bait, tackle, rods, and fishing know-how; all you need is warm and rainproof clothing (just in case!) and to fill out a waiver before you arrive.
Music in the Circle 📍 Dupont Circle ⏰ 12 - 3 p.m. 💸 FREE Did you know Dupont Circle hosts a free weekly concert? Headlining this time: The Fruit Flies, a local sextet specializing in pop-rock hits — yes, they’ve been known to cover “Mr. Brightside.” Come on out of your cage, bring a blanket or lawn chair, and maybe stop by Dupont Coffee Collective or Emissary for a treat on the way.
That’s So Vintage market 📍 Dock 5 at Union Market ⏰ Saturday and Sunday; early access 10 a.m., general admission 12 p.m. - 5 p.m. 💸$6-24, FREE for kids under 12 Make the people shriek “I LOVE that where did you GET IT” when they see your latest finds from this biannual pop-up at Union Market. Over two days, dozens of vendors will stock their stalls with decor, clothes, knickknacks, and other chic items older than the average TikToker. Grab your timed-entry tickets in advance — and for the serious thrifters, an early-access pass will get you in the doors two hours before the masses.
Ben Sollee 📍 Kennedy Center Millennium Stage ⏰6 p.m. 💸 FREE Kentucky singer-songwriter Ben Sollee travels up north to the Kennedy Center this week. Known for his work composing sweeping film scores, Sollee’s solo releases lean more twangy, suited for fans of Punch Brothers, Alabama Shakes, and Béla Fleck.
Take home some unique art from budding ceramicists at this weekend’s Eastern Market Pottery sale. (Earl Wilcox/Unsplash)
SUNDAY, NOV. 9
Trinidad History & Future Fest 2025 📍 Trinidad Farmers Market ⏰ 9:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. 💸 FREE This Sunday, the weekly Trinidad Farmers Market won’t just offer veggies, baked goods, and cheese: It’ll host a neighborhood celebration with DJs spinning family-friendly music, presentations about Trinidad’s history and future, and giveaways.
Eastern Market Pottery Fall Student Sale 📍 Eastern Market Pottery ⏰ 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. 💸 FREE “Oh that? It’s a piece from a cool up-and-coming artist” is the kind of thing rich art collectors say. But after this weekend, you can, too, when you show off your haul from Eastern Market Pottery. The studio’s students will be selling work they’ve been developing all season, just in time for holiday shopping. You can even catch a live clay throwing demonstration to better understand the process.
Crochet 101 📍 Rhizome DC ⏰ 11 a.m. 💸 Pay-what-you-can, $15 suggested Gussy up your wardrobe with some colorful patches made with your own two hands. Local maker Rose O’Connell will lead this beginner class to create fabric appliques, which you can use to make pockets, patch over holes, or simply add some flair.
Commanders Watch Tailgate 📍 Kenilworth Track ⏰ 4 p.m. 💸 FREE After their fourth consecutive loss, the Washington Commanders could use some rallying. Raise hail with fellow fans on Sunday as we face the Detroit Lions, when the D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation throws a parking-lot tailgate complete with kids’ activities, light food, and a big screen to watch the action.
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Lori McCue is a Chicago-based freelance editor of fiction and journalism. She is a former editor for The Washington Post, DCist, WAMU 88.5, and the Washington Post Express.
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