Saturday is the annual H Street Festival-photo by Ted Eytan
Long weekends somehow make the week feel longer. I mean, I usually feel time is moving too quickly. Maybe I should embrace this?
Tonight, wander a bit off the Hill to the National Gallery of Art for his month at Evenings at the Edge party. This month they are celebrating the East Building’s 40th anniversary. I. M. Pei’s iconic design opened in 1978. In keeping with the spirit of the late 70s, there will be disco music from local favorite DJ Kelton Higgins. The gallery will also screen a film inspired by the East Building, and you can catch a pop-up talk featuring works of art from the 1970s. The free event is from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and you can register here.
Friday, help the seniors who lost their homes in the recent fire at the Capper building at a happy hour fundraiser at All Purpose, 79 Potomac Avenue SE. The Fall-Purpose Happy Hour at the Capital Riverfront restaurant will send 25% of the evening’s proceeds to the Capitol Hill Community Foundation’s recovery fund. You can always just cut to the chase and donate here. Or Be Best and do both!
Saturday is a big day, so listen carefully: First up, the rescheduled H Street Festival. DC’s biggest street fair will occupy virtually the entire corridor and be filled with performances, food, local artists and a few random funnel cake vendors. It might be still be fun but I miss the Baltimore Rock Opera: That was peak H Street Fest for me. Anyway, do not drive over here whatever you do. Enjoy yourself within reason. I live right there, people!
Payne Elementary is having a Fall Festival, starting at 10 a.m.! A perfect event if you have littles or a younger family, you can check out all the details here.
The United States Capitol Visitor Center is holding the first annual Capitol Hill Day, starting at 9 a.m. More details here.
The monthly Friends of the Southeast Library Book Sale is Saturday from 10ish to 3ish. They have been swamped with books so you know there will be deals.
Way off the Hill, but the 11th Street Bridge project hosts Taste of the Harvest at THEARC from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. (#All8Wards) Enjoy performances and a dinner made from produce from THEARC Farm. The event is free but reserve a spot now.
Close out the evening back on H Street for some Flamenco at the Atlas Performing Arts Center. Furia Flamenca presents Café Flamenco in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month. The show starts at 8:30 p.m. and tickets are $20-$40. Remember what I said about parking?
Sunday, take a trip across the river to the Anacostia Arts Center for a performance by the Benjie Porecki Ensemble. The performance is part of the East of the River series and will include standards as well as some original compositions. The event is free and begins at 3 p.m.
The Folger Consort celebrates Oktoberfest with a concert featuring the music from German-speaking lands. The early-music program features composers such as 14th-century Tyrolean knight, adventurer, poet, and musician Oswald von Wolkenstein. Tickets are $42. Concerts begin Friday at 8 p.m. and end Sunday at 5 p.m.
Monday evening, Hill neighbor Norman Metzger will share his stories of being a half-Jewish (mischling) child growing up in Frankfurt in the 1930s and 40s. He told fictionalized versions of these tales in a recent book Separating and Remaining. The event is part of the Village Voices Series curated and organized by the Capitol Hill Village and it is free and begins at 7 p.m. in the Northeast Library.