So, how’s it going? I hope you’re wearing your masks and washing your hands extra well. Here are a few ideas for trying in vain to pry your attention away from this insane and hypnotic news cycle:
First off, make sure you check your voter registration, check the resources in my Election 2020 page, and then use my hand-dandy early voting map to find the mail bin closest to you. Isn’t it so cute?
Now that you’ve voted early (!!!), let’s see. Oh, I know! Let’s make an appointment so you can spend some time at the DC History Center at the Carnegie Library! Go to this Eventbrite form and claim your timeslot! After you do that, read all about DC as a federal experiment and keep that rage alive and well.
You need more art in your life. Luckily, our friends at Frame of Mine, 545 8th Street SE, have an art show that kicks off on Sunday, October 4 and runs through November 7, 2020. Colors of Quarantine: Creativity in the Time of COVID is a two-woman show by Tara Hamilton and Karen Zens. The artists will donate 50% of the proceeds to Martha’s Table. You can view the show in person– just make sure you contact the store and keep with their safety protocols. You can also click on the names above and see their art via Instagram.
How about doing something super duper ultra on-brand for this time of year? It’s Oktoberfest time! The yearly beer festival is a Bavarian tradition, and you can enjoy merriment, beer and fun at one of our many German or beer-themed restaurants, like Cafe Berlin, where you can enjoy a Reuben for lunch with an Oktoberfest bier in their biergarten; Biergarten Haus where you can shout PROST! during Munich Mondays, with $6 half liters; The Brig, as you enjoy a Tucher Festbier straight from Bavaria; and Wundergarten at NoMa, where you can eat all the authentic German brats with your Oktoberfest brews during their month-long celebration. O’zapft is’, y’all!!!!
The District Wharf is observing Oktoberfest tomorrow, in an all-day festival which you can read about here. Costumes encouraged, especially for those who just happen to have a dirndl lying around and are gonna miss Halloween. The event is free, but reservations are highly encouraged to maintain safety protocols.
If you’d rather celebrate all things fallsy with another central European country, Little Stable, the sister restaurant to the delightful Stable on H Street, is popping up with all the melted cheeses. Cozy up under Swiss army blankets (question: do they have bottle openers at the corners?) and enjoy the Gallery O on H patio with something gooey and something carby. Click here for reservations.
Get your yard ready for leaf collection, which starts November 9. I know, that’s more than a month away, but it’s time to start bagging your stuff in paper bags and getting ready to be angry because most of your leaves will fall after the DPW trucks go by your house. Check the leaf collection schedule here.
Speaking of yards, the United States Botanic Garden has Botanical Brainiacs with District Trivia coming up on Thursday, October 8. Sign up here.
Mark your calendar for next week, when on October 10, Kaleidoscope comes to ParkDC at the RFK parking lots. Kaleidoscope promises to be a local art showcase, with aerialists, drag queens, fire spinners and so much more. Get your tickets and read more here.
By the way, if you’re looking to recycle some of the electronics you’ve successfully Marie Kondo’ed, mark Saturday, October 10th on your calendar. From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., you can recycle all your electronics in front of the Takoma Community Center at 300 Van Buren Street, NW.
Parting earworm: So as it turns out, EDM can have some surprisingly soulful and beautiful tracks, and “Hold Me” by DC native Teddy Beats is such a track. Pop it into your Spotify and listen to it as you take a fallsy walk around town.