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 at 51st.news/submit-events.
Find even more events in our Civics Roundup, which focuses on ways to get more involved locally.
Summer may be over, but the fun doesn’t have to end. Hit the streets around the city at Art All Night, get a taste of Peruvian culture and cuisine, and take in a show by an all-women Afro-Brazilian drum band.
If you’re looking for quieter plans, slow down with a relaxing birdhouse painting workshop, attend a local author panel at Busboys and Poets, or soft-launch your spoken word era at a beginner-friendly poetry open mic.
Share your poems on the mic for the first time at a friendly Silver Spring open mic. (ErnestDuffoo/Flickr)
THURSDAY, SEPT. 10
Ward 5 Listening Session with Janeese Lewis George 📍 RSVP for address ⏰ 5:30 - 8:30 p.m. 💸 FREE Represent your ward and make your voice heard at Democratic mayoral nominee Janeese Lewis George’s listening session. As part of her citywide tour, community members from every ward will have the opportunity to share their thoughts, ask questions, and give feedback on how they can improve their local neighborhoods. Bring the family to grab a bite and help shape your local policies. Not in Ward 5? Check out the full list of listening sessions. Want to find more opportunities to get involved around the city? Don’t miss our Civics Roundup.
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SPONSORED: Somewhere Over the Border at Mosaic Theater 📍 Atlas Performing Arts Center (1333 H Street NE) ⏰ September 10 - October 18 💸 $42-70 Dorothy becomes Reina in this fresh take on The Wizard of Oz from Brian Quijada, the creator and star of Mexodus. Inspired by the true story of his mother’s immigration in the 1970s, Somewhere over the Border takes audiences on a musical journey from El Salvador to America featuring cumbia, Mexican mariachi boleros, rock, hip hop, and more!
Opening Reception: DC Art Now 📍 Eye Street Gallery (200 I St. SE) ⏰ 6 - 8 p.m. 💸 FREE Did you know there’s an art gallery in the lobby of a D.C. government building? This Thursday, the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities commemorates the 40th anniversary of the District’s Art Bank Program. The annual initiative that showcases D.C. visual artists has built a permanent collection of nearly 3,000 artworks reflecting our culture. In a first for the program, attendees (like you?) can sign up for a guided tour of the Art Bank Vault. Those tours will be first come, first serve, and run every 15 minutes from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Because the gallery opening also kicks off the Art All Night weekend, visitors can also meet artists participating in this year’s events!
Pure Poetry Live: Back to Basics Open Mic 📍 Citizens and Culture (8113 Georgia Ave.; Silver Spring, Maryland) ⏰ 6:30 - 10 p.m. 💸 $12.51 At this friendly poetry event, you can try your hand at spoken word — or watch other local artists perform original work in an evening full of community, art, and connection. The Back to Basics event is especially beginner-friendly, giving newcomers an intimate platform for a first endeavor or returners a chance to try new material. Grab a drink and take in the longstanding creative celebration.
FRIDAY, SEPT. 11
Art All Night 📍 Wards 1-8 ⏰ 7 p.m. - 3 a.m. (continues Saturday) 💸 FREE D.C.’s late-night arts festival is back, and it’s an “overnight scenario!” Spanning Friday and Saturday evenings, those who come out can encounter more than 100 local artists, and explore businesses and restaurants across all eight wards. This 10-plus-year tradition celebrating the District’s creative community is organized by the Mayor’s office, the D.C. Small and Local Business Development, and other local institutions. This Friday, you can check out a literature-themed pet fashion show in Cleveland Park or jam to a Caribbean carnival band in Petworth. The festival continues Saturday, with notable events like the MLK Library Block Party from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. Wander the festival streets block by block, or download the Art All Night app to find each night’s distinct events and performances.
Opening weekend: “Submerge Project" 📍 ARTECHOUSE DC (1238 Maryland Ave. SW) ⏰ 10 a.m. - 10 p.m. 💸 $24-27 adults, $17 ages 4 to 15, FREE for kids younger than 3 After over a year of renovations, the floor-to-ceiling digital art gallery reopens this weekend with 14 new works and an additional 18 interactive digital installations. Just a few minutes walk from Smithsonian and L’Enfant Plaza Metro stops, visitors can view a 45-minute show, and tour the futuristic and immersive galleries.
Decorate a mini birdhouse with your family at the Anacostia Community Museum this weekend. (Andrew Ostenberg/Flickr)
SATURDAY, SEPT. 12
Capitol Hill Art Walk 📍 Capitol Hill (map here) ⏰ 12 - 4 p.m. (continues Sunday) 💸 FREE This weekend, tour the colorful, tree-lined streets of Capitol Hill and view (or purchase!) the work of more than 170 D.C, Maryland, and Virginia-based artists from the neighborhood’s porches and front yards. Organized by Capitol Hill Art League, the Hill Rag, and Capitol Hill Restoration Society, visitors can find works from acrylic on canvas to stickers and stationery. If you need a bathroom break, restrooms are available at the Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church.
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SPONSORED: Turtle Island in 1776: The Native World Caught Between Empires 📍 National Museum of the American Indian ⏰ 1 - 4 p.m. 💸 FREE Register now to hear from Native and non-Native scholars for new research on 18th-century American Indian leaders, tribal engagement, and Indigenous perspectives across the continent.
Youth Voices for DC Statehood Showcase 📍 The Festival Center (1640 Columbia Rd. NW) ⏰ 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. 💸 FREE A song for statehood? That’s what you’ll find at this League of Women Voters event, where community leaders and youth from around D.C. will perform creative pieces, including spoken word, songs, painting, and skits, to advocate for D.C. statehood. Food will be provided.
Author Next Door: Where Art and Culture Collide 📍 Busboys and Poets Anacostia (2004 Martin Luther King Jr Ave. SE) ⏰ 5 - 7 p.m. 💸 FREE In celebration of the restaurant’s 21st anniversary, Busboys and Poets is hosting an afternoon panel featuring local authors. Each of the featured books —Februaries by fifth-generation Washingtonian Michele Evans, Native American History of Washington D.C. by Armand P Lione, Love at Second Sight by Ayoka B, and DC Film Collective - Volume 1 by Tobias Shaw and Brett Parsons — is framed as a “love letter” to the author’s community. Order your favorite vegan dinner or a coffee, and grab a seat for the event, which also includes a Q and A and book signing.
Where Home Takes Flight: Painting Mini-Birdhouses 📍 Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum (1901 Fort Pl. SE) ⏰ 12 - 2 p.m. 💸 FREE Inspired by the idea of home and nature as safe spaces, families are invited to paint on mini birdhouses together, creating designs that express their culture, creativity, and unique stories. The hands-on activity is welcome to all ages, offering a Saturday afternoon opportunity to unplug and unwind. Supplies will be provided.
Sample ceviche at a Peruvian food festival this Sunday. (stu_spivack/Flickr)
SUNDAY, SEPT. 13
Taste of Peru D.C. 📍 University of the District of Columbia (3297 Van Ness St. NW) ⏰ 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. 💸 $23.11 Get a “taste” of Peruvian music, culture, and food without ever leaving the District. Bring the family to try fresh, fish-based ceviche and drink sweet, bubbly Inca Kola, while discovering authentic dishes from award-winning, D.C.-based Peruvian chefs and restaurateurs. Please note that tickets cover entry only, and food from the vendors costs extra.
Afro Brazilian Beats: Free Drumming Workshops + Capoeira Demo 📍 Go-Go Museum & Cafe (1920 Martin Luther King Jr Ave. SE) ⏰ 2 - 4 p.m. 💸 FREE Hit it! Come watch a performance and workshop by Batalá, an all-women local drum band. The group’s mix of Brazilian samba and Jamaican reggae creates a dynamic rhythm that pays homage to the afro-Brazilian roots of Bahia. A demonstration of capoeira, an Afro-Brazilian form of martial arts and dance, will also be part of the performance. Can’t make it on Sunday? You can also catch Batalá at Art All Night on Saturday from 9 to 10 p.m. in Shaw.
Stand-up comedy: Jay Pharoah 📍 DC Improv (1140 Connecticut Ave. NW) ⏰ 7 p.m. 💸 $40 Looking for a laugh? You may have seen Jay Pharoah on Saturday Night Live or hosting The Quiz With Balls, but this weekend the stand-up comedian and actor is headlining DC Improv, with shows Thursday through Sunday. The Virginia native is known for his dead-ringer impressions of the likes of Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock, Jay Z, and Barack Obama, among others.
Jenae Barnes is an award-winning journalist and freelance reporter based in Washington, D.C. Her work has appeared in Washingtonian, The Atlantic, The 19th, Capital B and more. Follow Barnes on LinkedIn, Instagram, or X/Twitter.
You don’t have to leave the city to have fun during the upcoming three-day weekend. Here’s where to get out and about, including watching local films, weeding in a historic garden, and competing in a citywide scavenger hunt.
Celebrate the joy of a perfect summer tomato, catch a movie, go back to the time of the dinosaurs, or eat an apple with new friends — there’s something for everybody!
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