May is a peacock of a month, unfurling with praise and celebration. Spread your feathers this weekend at an outdoor comedy performance, an AAPI Heritage Month cabaret show, D.C.-based house music sets, and a chance to honor Malcom X’s life and legacy.
THURSDAY, MAY 14
Relax and laugh at an outdoor comedy show Thursday. (Courtesy of Edgewood Community Farm)
Lost City Books Spring Reading Series 📍 The Festival Center (1640 Columbia Rd. NW) ⏰ 7 - 9 p.m. 💸 $6.24 Lost City Bookshosts a quarterly gathering featuring talented writers of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry — from the region and beyond. Chat with fellow local readers and writers, enjoy the refreshments, and listen as Sylvia Jones, Nancy Lemann, Arden Levine, and Caren Beilin read aloud from their work. More on the featured authors here.
Honoring Women in the Arts 📍 Lamond-Riggs / Lillian J. Huff Neighborhood Library (5401 South Dakota Ave. NE) ⏰ 6 - 7:30 p.m. 💸 FREE “Art is dangerous,” Toni Morrison once said, “because dictators and people who want to control and deceive know exactly the people who will disturb their plan.” Let that soak into your spirit as you join renowned art historian and curator Dr. Adrienne L. Childs for an evening focused on the stories of women — particularly Black women — in the arts.
Funny Farm: Pop-Up Comedy 📍 Edgewood Community Farm (2304 2nd St. NE) ⏰ 7:30 - 9 p.m. 💸 $10 A pop-up comedy show … at a farm? In D.C.? This event offers a one-of-a-kind opportunity to relax in nature and hear from six of your funniest neighbors. Seating is available, but you can also bring blankets, drinks, and snacks for a picnic-style experience.
FRIDAY, MAY 15
You could spend your Friday learning about how trees grow. (Courtesy of Tauheed Rahim II)
No Scrubs: ‘90s Dance Party EARLY EDITION 📍 9:30 Club (815 V St. NW) ⏰ 5:30 - 9 p.m. 💸 $28.50 Put on your best pastels, blue jeans, and Starter jackets then imagine that you’re Kid ’n Play in the original House Party. That’s the perfect energy to bring for the 9:30 Club’s nostalgic DJ night — perfectly timed for the ‘80s & ‘90s babies who lived it the first time. (We’ve got to get home at a reasonable hour these days!)
AAPI Anthologies: Folklore 📍 Pubkey DC (410 7th St. NW) ⏰ 9 - 11 p.m. 💸 $33.85 (21+ only) Celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month with a distinctive, open-minded exploration of folklore and culture. In this “nerd-friendly” cabaret show, Bun Haus productions and the International Nerdlesque Festival will bring together performers “across the gender and cultural diaspora" to honor the “vast and diverse” range of cultural practices among our country’s AAPI communities.
How Can You Forget Me: Filipino American Stories 📍 National Museum of American History (1300 Constitution Ave. NW) ⏰ 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. 💸 FREE Did you know that Stockton, California, once had the largest Filipino population outside of the Philippines? Dive deeper into overlooked Asian American history at this exhibit, which chronicles the city’s thriving “Little Manila” community where, from the 1910s through 1970s, new arrivals built “families, labor unions, and mutual aid societies.”
Watch Them Grow: Understanding our Forests for a Greener Future 📍 National Museum of Natural History (10th St. & Constitution Ave. NW) ⏰ 1 - 3 p.m. 💸 FREE If you’ve ever wondered how trees grow, this hands-on scientific event is for you. What environmental conditions do trees need to thrive? How have they adapted to and influenced climate change? How, precisely, do they store carbon and produce oxygen? Join Dr. Eugenie Mas, a forest ecologist for the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, for a primer on our tallest neighbors.
SATURDAY, MAY 16
Unwind at the Kreeger Museum with a Saturday afternoon jazz show. (Mark Andre / Flickr)
Community Block Party 📍 4th St. & Neal Pl. NE ⏰ 1 - 3:30 p.m. 💸 FREE Union Market District is kicking off the outdoor live music season! On Saturday afternoon, Café Unido and Elegancia are serving up drinks and closing down a street for live performances from local rock band HUE (1 p.m.) and go-go advocate Yaddiya and the Honest Politix (2 p.m.).
Jazz at The Kreeger 📍 The Kreeger Museum (2401 Foxhall Rd. NW) ⏰ 3 - 4:30 p.m. 💸 $35 (includes museum admission) If you fancy afternoon dates and are also generally fancy, then this series is one to check out. In this edition, Flavio Silva and D.C.’s Bruce Williams are gearing up for a versatile night of jazz, with influences from Brazil and the Netherlands to NYC and this very city. You’re in for a night of melodic grooves as you explore the galleries and sculpture garden.
Star Power Saturday Movie Matinee 📍 Smithsonian American Art Museum, McEvoy Auditorium (801 F St. NW) ⏰ 2 - 3:45 p.m. 💸 FREE The museum within the National Portrait Gallery offers a Saturday classic movie series. This week, they’re taking viewers back to the FDR era with a screening of the 1938 film The Adventures of Robin Hood. Amid the influence of billionaires and oligarchs, the story of the legendary English knight — who famously stole from the rich to give to the poor — hits harder, especially with the Technicolor remaster.
Author event: Derrick Palmer, Handbook for the Revolution 📍 Politics and Prose at Union Market (1324 4th St. NE) ⏰ 6 p.m. 💸 FREE Derrick Palmer is known for co-founding the historic, self-taught, worker-led Amazon Labor Union. Now, Palmer — who still works at the Staten Island warehouse while also helping others form unions and coalitions — is a published author who has written a guide to what he’s learned along the way. His conversation with fellow activist and organizer Afeni Evans is sure to inspire others who are mapping ways to get free from inequality and oppression. Get there early as seating is limited and first come, first served.
DJ Sets: Bo + Geena Marie 📍 Eighteenth Street Lounge (1230 9th St. NW) ⏰ 10 p.m. - 2:30 a.m. 💸 FREE Go-go is D.C.’s official sonic signature, but house music is a staple for the DMV’s clubgoers. Experiencing a live set from DJ Geena Marie is a spiritual ordeal, in the best way possible. Her mixes and mashups will transport you away from the week’s troubles and worries.
SUNDAY, MAY 17
Enjoy a D.C. sunset like this one at Hi-Lawn on Sunday. (Courtesy of Tauheed Rahim II)
Malcolm X Day Returns to D.C. 📍 Anacostia Park (1500 Anacostia Dr. SE) ⏰ 12 - 5 p.m. 💸 FREE with RSVP This beloved annual event took place in Anacostia from 1972 to 1995. Now, Pan-African Community Action is leading the charge to bring it back. Join with others to celebrate the life and legacy of Malcolm X, whose ideology of Black, working-class unityis a reminder of the continued need for solidarity.The day of festivities includes performances, speakers, food, and plenty of opportunities to learn. Looking for more events this week that will help you get more involved in the community? Check out our Civics Roundup.
Wine & Sun(Sets) Rooftop Picnic 📍Union Market’s Hi-Lawn(1309 5th St. NE) ⏰ 3 - 8 p.m. 💸 $12.51 Music, wine, and a rooftop at sunset? That’s the D.C. night-on-the-town starter kit, and Union Market’s Hi-Lawn bar and event space is ready for you — just bring your friends and a blanket or lawn chairs. There will be food, games, and good vibes amongst others awaiting a magical D.C. sunset. Fingers crossed that the weather holds up!
Spring Refresh with SwapDC 📍 The Stew (925 Emerson St. NW) ⏰ 2 - 5 p.m. 💸 FREEwith RSVP Swap DC lives every day like it’s Earth Day, and shouldn’t we all? In a world of fast fashion and hyper-consumption, the local organizers and curators want us to remember that there are other ways of being. We can upcycle our clothing, share art supplies, and help our belongings find their way to new people, rather than the landfill. In partnership with DIY art space The Stew, they’re hosting an event where you can learn how to live more sustainably — starting with a Temu-free spring wardrobe.
Tauheed Rahim II is a DC-based Grammy-nominated hip hop artist, dramatist, and writer rooted in a Memphis–Mississippi blues legacy. His nonfiction appears in the Oxford American, and his essay “Dear Queen” was a 2025 Best American Essays notable.
Spring is here, and the city is full of festivities, including a tiki vinyl night, a migratory bird celebration, and a Mother’s Day bike ride fundraiser.
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