/////////WHAT SHOULD I DO???

/////////here's what's happening here, this week and beyond

/////////updated weekly

Wednesday, July 18

Learn about China

China is the second largest economy in the world, and only getting bigger. Find out more about what’s really going on with China, not just what’s in the headlines. (3:45pm)

Become a better bystander

Active bystander training focuses on how you can identify a potentially escalating situation, and help facilitate a peaceful resolution. Practice making peace, and get skills that might come in handy. (1pm)

Also || How to score a winning career, Virginia Commonwealth Games, The Chinese Dream, GW alumni mixer, jewelry of Burning Man, disaster preparedness kickoff, perfect liars club, Morgan Bassichis, Art Nights at HITS, emotional labor union: male feminism, Mexican heritage corn, reclaiming the American Dream

Thursday, July 19

Music in the meadow

Catch La Chica tu Madre, a local psychedelic cumbia band, at the National Arboretum as part of the Summer Evenings program with eight free nights of music at the park. Leave the pups and alcohol behind. (7pm)

Take action on fake reproductive health centers

Sign up to get more details on how you can get involved with the fight against fake women’s health centers around the DMV with Reproaction, an org fighting for access to abortion clinics, health resources, and reproductive justice. (6:30pm)

Punk in the park

Get up to Fort Reno for a DC punk summer classic, the summer concert series and the Night of 1000 Cakes. Plus DCPL will be there talking DC’s punk history. (7pm)

Also || rally for streets that don’t kill people, Pheromone Party, learn the tango, the color of surveillance, Spinal Tap + NSO

, Take Five!, PR Summit, Great Streets Conference, FuckUp Nights, democracy training for interns, Take Action on Fake Clinics in the DMV with Reproaction, comedy wars, greener mind picnic

Friday, July 20

Unwind, unplugged

• Luce Unplugged, the recurring music performances hosted in the awesome SAAM Portrait Gallery space, is on again with local bands Park Snakes and Blacklodge + em.g. (6pm)
• DC post-punk staple Two Inch Astronaut is playing a farewell show at the Black Cat. (9pm)

So many ways to laugh

• One of many comedy options tonight: Shaw’s Tavern’s got a lineup of local comedians so you can “catch them before they’re famous”. (8pm)
• Shell out a bit more to see the licks of Phoebe frickin’ Robinson and Sasheer Zamata in a women-centered show at the Kennedy Center. (8pm)
• Punkhouse Comedy at Songbyrd brings you four stand up comics and a band to close out the night. (9pm)
• Get your late-night carb fix with a bagel-themed one-woman show “bonanza” at Dojo Comedy. Bagel included. (11pm)

Also || On Deck: Podcast recording at Kennedy Center, free catch and release fishing, civil rights & comedy: Dick Gregory film, Mars day, wellRED comedy tour

coffee cocktails, emoji art show, Sprindrift @ Slash Run, shabbat potluck, Food Truck Fridays, Charity Blackwell, Plain Language Summit

Saturday,  July 21

Stop and smell the lotus blossoms

Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens will be looking its best this weekend for the annual Lotus and Water Lily Festival, including arts, crafts and performances. Pro tip: come early before the blossoms close up in the heat. (Saturday, Sunday 10am)

The zine scene

Come say hi to us at DC Zinefest and peep all the other self-published zine-makers and artists from around town. Plus artist panels, boxes of old punk mags to cut up for your own zines, and air conditioning for the first year ever. Something for everyone! (11am-5pm)

Also || make your own jorts / pajamas,  America the Game Show, Rhizome music gear & record sale, DC house music party @ U Hall, comedy show to kill medical debt, black-owned market

Poor People’s Campaign documentary screening, dismantling patriarchy in psychedelia, youth climate march, Meet the animal legal defense fund, Snake Telegram by Heart Stuck Bernie, Belgian beer day, American Experience: Alexander Hamilton, NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia & Reproaction Positive Presence, Palestinian self-representation, cornhole for a cause, book club but for music

Sunday,  July 22

Takoma’s Garlic Festival

You smelled that right. (here)

Tunes: Sleep, Material Girls, bluegrass and comedy

• Colin Phils formed in South Korea but call Richmond home now; NPR calls Material Girls “Atlanta’s fabulous glam-punks” (2-8 pm)
• The most doom metal power trio of all doom metal power trios, Sleep are actually relatively accessible—especially if a 63-minute album/track with Dune-referencing album art called “Dopesmoker” sounds appealing. (7 pm)
• Romane & Lettuce are “DC’s second-best musical comedy group.” (7:30 pm)
• Feeling rural (or at least suburban)? Bust out the banjo for a bluegrass jam in MoCo’s Sandy Spring. (3-5 pm)

Also || modern brush lettering,, openbarre, Riot Brrrain

Monday, July 23

Live like fine wine

Local artist Alanna Ford hosts a workshop for millennial women on how to embrace aging as an opportunity for rebirth and growth. She’s interviewed dozens of womens in their 50s and 60s about aging and what it means to live a good life. (7pm)

Damned if you do

Upright Citizens Brigade, the improv troupe that launched the careers of famous comedians like Amy Poehler, Kate McKinnon performs at Wooly Mammoth. (8pm)

Also || mamma mia

Tuesday, July 24

Witty anecdotes and a new take on the classics

• Kennedy Center welcomes Arun Ramamurthy Trio for a modern approach to age-old South Indian classical music. (6pm)
• Australian indie rock darling Courtney Barnett plays The Anthem with two fantastic openers, Julien Baker and Vagabond. (6:30pm)
• https://www.facebook.com/events/2097384400474691/

Put your name on the ballot

Looking for a way to get involved in your neighborhood? Demystify what ANC leadership is like and take advantage of Greater Greater Washington's workshop to determine if running for commissioner is the right opportunity for you. (7pm)

Also || storytelling @ Georgetown, volunteer info session 826DC, 202creates coworking day, Liv Constantine, local Latinx leaders

Harvard Business Review: Women’s Discussion, Celebrate Invention 2018, ending slavery in Sahel, As You Sow: Tales from the Boardroom

Looking Ahead

7/25: Goldlink @ U Hall, Grosso’s education town hall, Smithsonian & crafting, new play workshopping, free kidney screening, singalong: nighttime, intern queen party, Potomac Paddle (alternative happy hour), young professionals in foreign policy, learn about public banking advocacy, pineapple presents: high vibrational beauty, No Pulp Comedy Show, Glossary of Broken Dreams

7/26: Grace Vonderkuhn at DWELL, Jaws, Cursor @ Hirshhorn, SUMMER SWIM SHOWROOM popup

7/27: Moon night gathering, Goldlink @ U Hall, Boot Pruitt (action outside EPA), Yacht Party Cruise, full moon monument walk, rooftop party at Decades

7/28: DC Fray Field Day, Goldlink @ U Hall, donate clothes to dress for success, board game night, pie making 101,  Sing for your life workshop, boat cruise, National Dance Day at KenCen, Greatest Int’l Scavenger Hunt, field day @ RFK, rose all day, build a synth, Citi Open, awkward sex--and the city

7/29: History Bites: Ice Cream, National Wildlife Refuge tour, sonic infusion w Amy Loko, hack4good, 11 places in DC you must not miss, global food experience

7/30: Sketch jam

7/31: Bouquets & Bubbles, urban rhythms, Free WiFi comedy show

8/1: Baked Lit, Norton’s job fair, pet loss grief support group

8/2: Six Degree Singers auditions, DMV Pun-Off, OG Lullabies, accelerated grad admissions day @ marymount, David Cross, Cheick Hamala Diabate, friend speed dating for men

8/3: Aces @ Mystics, First Friday at Forklift, open bar rooftop pool party, OutWrite, shabbat potluck, Tiny Cat darkwave fest @ Black Cat

8/4 Ankara Bazaar, Water Lantern Festival, REI women’s campout, pizza fest

8/5: ROAM on a boat II, submerge pool party, OutWrite

8/7: Intro to Adobe Lightroom, social media 101, doodling, Grease: Gtown summer cinema

8/8: Takoma Park Drum Circle, barre in the park, master pivot tables, Shenandoah Canoe Trip

8/9: NextGen Gov’t, Storm @ Mystics, Wild Rivers, Town Hall with Don Beyer

8/10: PaintNite, East of the River Fall Fest

8/11: Extreme Trees Bike Ride, clothing swap, The Bar Between Worlds, NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia & Reproaction Positive Presence

8/12: Intro to calligraphy, Wings @ Mystics, United to Love rally, pancake breakfast, homemade lotions and potions

8/13: James Shaffer, MBAExplore

8/14: Rum Dinner Series,U St Contested, service and a movie

8/15: Peach Daze Fuzztival, Chris Blue, book packing

8/16: Cricket Crawl, William Clark Green

8/17: Sparks @ Mystics, dragonboat fest

8/18: Virginia Craft Brew Fest, sand volleyball tourney, drop-in soccer, women’s cyclocross camp

8/19: DC beer week, out of the darkness kickoff party, Jewish community day at Nats Park

8/21: Help the honeybees,

8/22: Silver Spring timebank, Women Uncorked

8/23: Meditation workshop, vetiver, DuPont Brass

8/24: Wasted Theory, Boat Burning

8/25: Maryland Renaissance Faire, Wildlife Conservation & Recreation Day, Smartphone Photography 101

8/26: Commonwealth Joe coffee cupping, NAKED YOGA, this is not a show (Ed Schrader)

8/27: Racial Justice reading group

8/28: Jewish Outdoor Escape, TriFit, New Order

8/29: Philadelphia @ DC United

8/31: Silent Disco, 5rhythms

9/1: Nat’l Book Fest, Harvest Moon ShinDig

9/4: sketching and drawing at the Smithsonian

9/6: Self-Managed Abortion: Community Forum, People Uncorked

9/7: Foolosophy tour

9/8: Indigenous Peoples’ Teach-in, teddy bear clinic, glade dance xchange, dog adoption

9/9: Cider Fest

9/11: Sumac

9/12: Takoma Park Drum Circle

9/15: King Street Art Fest, DC Jollof- Off, Rosie Herrera, doggie day swim

9/16: One Day University

9/18: Takoma Park Folk Fest, Prevent cancer 5K, The Inner Loop

9/20: Inferno Pilates Teacher Training, GoT dinner party

9/21: Smartphone photography

9/22: Dance to end sexual violence, step out diabetes, Monarch Butterfly Festival

9/23: DC State Fair, Takoma Park pie contest

9/24: Women Uncorked

9/25: Lights of Hope

9/29: Outessafest, Dardanella: The Great Gatsby Lawn Party, culture shock dc, batizado

10/1: Chefs against domestic violence

10/2: Raise the Roof

10/5: Women of the Wild

10/6: Wildlife Festival, A Bon Coeur

10/7: Building Bridges for Climate Change

10/12: Mug Night

10/13: Hains Point 5k

10/16: Harvard Business Review: Women’s Discussion

10/17: Celebrate Home

10/18: Great Southeast ShakeOut

10/20: Out of the darkness, zombie fun run, light the night

10/21: 5K & FunRun

10/24: African-American Film Festival

10/27: End HIV 5K

10/31: Halloween Skate

11/1: Fight Night, Diversity Job Fair

11/2: Overeater’s Anonymous Convention

11/3: Death Becomes Us True Crime Festival by BYT

11/4: Pumpkin Chunkin’

11/8: The Flying Tigers book launch

11/10: clothing swap

11/17: Holiday hayride

11/15: CLEO Gala

11/22: Trot for Hunger

12/1: MetroCooking Show, bereavement support group

12/5: Yann Tiersen

12/9: Austrian Research & Innovation Talk

12/15: Lay wreaths at Arlington Nat’l cemetery, glade dance xchange