Take your antihistamine and head out to Adams Morgan Porchfest, a sound art installation at the Hirshhorn, or DPW’s Truck Touch, where your toddler can climb inside a street sweeper. The best weeks of the year, weather-wise, are on their way — go meet your neighbors outside!
THURSDAY, APRIL 30
Deborah Bond performs Thursday at a Pie Shop benefit show. (Jefry Andres Wright / courtesy of Volare)
Black Light: A Howard Short Film Showcase 📍 The Miracle Theatre (535 8th St. SE) ⏰ 6 - 10 p.m. (continues Friday, same hours) 💸 Starts at $24.57 for students This two-night short film festival brings together work from current students and MFA alums in the city’s oldest operating cinema. The goal is to connect Howard grads’ work to the greater legacy of Black American filmmakers, while also building a contemporary film community. Be sure to check the date when you buy a ticket!
Benefit show: “We Deserve to Party” 📍 Pie Shop (1339 H St. NE) ⏰ 7:30 p.m. doors, 8 p.m. show 💸 $32.27-42.58 (sliding scale) This concert is a fundraiser for the nonprofit Volare, which is asking attendees to imagine a world without sexual violence (on the last day of Sexual Assault Awareness Month). Featuring local musicians Deborah Bond, Griefcat, and RenRiot, organizers promise a safe space to let loose and support your community!
FRIDAY, MAY 1
A festival this Friday and Saturday benefits the National Cathedral's gardens. (Katie Yaeger / Flickr)
Flower Mart 📍 Washington National Cathedral Gardens ⏰ 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. (continues Saturday 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.) 💸 FREE This annual fundraiser to keep up the cathedral grounds features more than flowers — though there will be plenty, from fresh-cut stems for your living room to perennials for your garden. There will also be an antique carousel, a book sale, puppeteers, festival food, and a chance to climb the Cathedral Tower for what might be the city’s best view. (Looking for a flower fundraiser that’s a bit more … grassroots? Don’t miss this week’s Civics Roundup.)
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SPONSORED: The largest annual gathering for history and humanities-minded Washingtonians 📍 Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library (901 G St. NW) ⏰ May 1 and 2; 9:45 a.m. - 5:15 p.m. both days 💸 FREE The DC History Conference welcomes you to meet neighbors, students, educators, artists, storytellers, and cultural heritage workers this Friday and Saturday. The community conference prioritizes local D.C. but includes the federal city and metro region. See the full schedule online — and don’t miss happy hour at Heurich House on Friday from 5:30 - 8 p.m.!
First Friday Poetry Open Mic 📍 Busboys and Poets Anacostia (2004 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE) ⏰ 7:30 p.m. doors + signup, 8 - 10 p.m. show 💸 FREE Celebrate the denouement of National Poetry Month by listening to local writers on the mic, and maybe even signing up yourself. This month’s edition is hosted by DJ Art.Is and features poet Say Astrostar. (Looking for more recurring events? Check out our recent guide!)
Queering Sound Fundraiser Show 📍 Rhizome DC (6950 Maple St. NW) ⏰ 7 p.m. 💸 $15-20 To raise money for a local festival in June featuring queer artists, five DMV acts are playing one of D.C.’s premiere DIY spaces. Catch JA$$IE, charlee scythe, Bushmeat Sound System, and more — and put the festival dates on your calendar for this summer.
SATURDAY, MAY 2
That could be your kid (or you!) inside a snowplow, fire engine, or piece of construction equipment tomorrow. (Courtesy of District of Columbia Department of Public Works)
Truck Touch 📍 RFK Stadium, Lot 8 (2400 East Capitol St. SE) ⏰ 8 a.m. - 2 p.m. 💸 FREE Is your child into heavy equipment? You’re about to make their entire lives: One day per year, D.C.’s Department of Public Works parks dozens of vehicles for regular people to climb inside. They’ve got all the greatest hits: Street sweeper, dump truck, fire engine, snowplow … not to mention the bounce houses in the video from last year. Free food for kids, no nap battle — seems like everyone wins.
Sound Scene Festival 📍 Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (Independence Ave. SW and 7th St. SW) ⏰ 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (continues Sunday, same hours) 💸 FREE This annual festival brings sound art installations to the Smithsonian’s modern art museum for just one weekend — watch an endurance performance featuring harmonicas, build your own sound sculpture, or explore an art history cabinet with motion-activated sound. (Disclosure: I’ve worked on and volunteered for the festival in the past!)
Around the World Embassy Tour 📍 Maps available in Dupont Circle, at the UDC Student Center, and at the Mexican Cultural Institute ⏰ 9:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. 💸 FREE Adams Morgan Porchfest 📍 Around 18th Street NW ⏰ 2 - 6 p.m. 💸 FREE Whether this is a recommendation to go or to stay away depends on who you are: With these two events coinciding, today is not the day to take the Red Line past Dupont Circle if you aren’t into crowds. But if you like live music, experiencing the world, and wandering, you might like a walk through one or both of these events. We recommend visiting smaller embassies, and if you’re watching a set from Frankojazz or Femi and the Foundation, look around for our team! Since both events end in the early evening, Shanklin Hall’s wine and games night should be just regular crowded.
Mame Market 📍 Thip Khao (3462 14th St. NW) ⏰ 12 - 4 p.m. 💸 FREE May is AAPI Heritage Month — and the middle of April also marks Lao and Thai new years. To celebrate, local artist An-Phuong Ly and the team behind Thip Khao are hosting a daytime street market outside the Columbia Heights restaurant featuring food and art “by AAPI moms and makers in D.C.” Start the morning with a walk in Rock Creek Park, then stop by the Columbia Heights or Mount Pleasant farmer’s market on the way over!
Cinco de Mayo Block Party 📍 Bryant Street Market (670 Rhode Island Ave. NE) ⏰ 1 - 10 p.m. 💸 FREE Did you know longtime Columbia Heights favorite Taqueria Habanero has a location in a NE D.C. food hall? It’s a weekend for tacos — along with drink specials from Alegría — at this tequila-sponsored festival, which also features a salsa class, a vendor market, DJ sets, a traditional dance performance, a mariachi band, and even a moonbounce for the kids.
Hill Family Biking: Grown Ups Bridge Ride 📍 Meet at the Maury Elementary Parking Lot on 12th Pl. NE ⏰ 6:30 - 8 p.m. bike ride, 8:30 - 10 p.m. drinks and food 💸 FREE Ever read about Hill Family Biking’s rides for families or tweens and wanted some of the fun for yourself? It’s your lucky Saturday: You can join the group for an adults-only, seven-mile adventure that crosses the Anacostia River three times before landing at the Bridge District Atlas Brew Works for a late-night hang. (They’ll be running a similar, parents-optional ride for tweens on Friday, May 1.)
SUNDAY, MAY 3
Catch Orquesta Manplesa's free Sunday night sets at Diosa. (Courtesy of Orquesta Manplesa)
Words From Birds Hike/Writing Workshop 📍 Peirce Mill (2401 Tilden St. Northwest) ⏰ 5:45 - 8:15 a.m. 💸 FREE, with suggested $5-25 donation On the first Sunday in May, natureheads celebrate Dawn Chorus Day — dedicated to the early-morning moment when birdsong peaks. Mark the occasion with a dawn observational hike in Rock Creek with local writer Foley O'Brien, followed by a low-stakes, generative poetry workshop. This event is a fundraiser for Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid. (Not into mornings? Here’s another Sunday poetry workshop option, though it isn’t free! That early bird again…)
Plant Swap 📍 MLK Library (901 G St. NW) ⏰ 1 - 2:30 p.m. 💸 FREE This event is for those of you who are not only able to keep a plant alive, but can grow enough to share. All plants are welcome, whether they’re common or rare, but make sure they’re pest-free. Registration is not required but they’ll send you an email reminder if you sign up!
Tregaron Meadow Concert 📍 Tregaron Conservancy (3100 Macomb St. NW) ⏰ 3 p.m. 💸 FREE Missed out on Bourbon and Bluegrass tickets? They’re not the only outdoor concert in town this weekend — and this one is free, featuring local jazz musicians KENDALL! and the Leigh Pilzer Trio. Blankets and small folding chairs are allowed, as is picnicking during the show.
Free Salsa Concert: Orquesta Manplesa 📍 Diosa (1610 14th St. NW) ⏰ 5 p.m. 💸 FREE Also for Cinco de Mayo: “The DMV’s youngest salsa band” will be playing two free sets at MXDC Cocina Mexicana on 14th Street NW. It’s just one in a packed season of shows for the band!
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