It’s June! Summerlike warm is here to stay. Why not grab dinner at an outdoor patio one of these nights? We have plenty of outdoor seating around the area– from perennial favorite Tunnicliff’s to The Brig on 8th and L SE, there is a patio sure to brighten your evening. Are you looking to try a new rooftop, perhaps? We recently sampled the new menu at Perch SW Rooftop Lounge, at the Cambria Hotel. Chef Malcolm Mitchell’s jerk wings will spice up your life (and the views are amazing). Check out the menu here.
By the way, if you love jerk everything, cultural event space Sandlot Southeast is hosting Street Jerk as their food residency partner for June, every Thursday through Sunday. Sandlot is at 71 Potomac Avenue SE. More info here.
The Corpse Flower just opened at the Botanic Garden and they’ll be open until 8 p.m. so you can take a whiff. Enjoy? More info here.
Starting June 3, come prepared to mow down some pawns and take some queens at Market Metro Plaza. Free Play Fridays is happening every Friday from 1-4 p.m.
And on June 4, bring the kids to the plaza for a free chess tournament, sponsored by the U.S. Chess Center. For more info on the tournament and to register your player, click here.
The Live, on the Hill concert series is on! This and every Friday, head on down to Eastern Market Metro Plaza and listen to the smooth sounds of a mystery band, from 5-6:30 p.m. More information here.
Love beer? Shelter at The Roost is holding a Long Live Beerworks DC release party today, starting at 4 p.m. More details about the beer here.
Who doesn’t love comedy? Mark your calendar for these two free recurring events:
- Starting Saturday, June 4 and every other Saturday, catch the Catfish Comedy Presents The Pregame Show at Union Pub. Click here for tickets and more info.
- Starting Sunday, June 5, and every first Sunday after that, catch comedy at the Trusty’s bus. Click here for tickets and more info.
St. Mark’s Episcopal Church at 3rd and A SE is holding a vigil this Saturday, June 4, starting at 6 p.m, to remember the victims of the Buffalo, NY, and Uvalde, TX, massacres. The whole community is invited. If you have lost someone, you’re encouraged to bring a photo of them and share their name. Please be advised that St. Mark’s requires masks in indoor spaces. For more information, email seniorwarden@stmarks.net or call 202-849-2252.
June is Pride Month and The Wharf is kicking off the season with a Queer Beer Festival, June 3-4, from 5:30 to 10 pm. Enjoy craft beer samples, music and food— and community! More info and tickets here.
Miner Elementary wants to welcome new and established families to their school. On Saturday, June 4, join them for a playdate with new Miner Bears from 10-noon. The Green Team will also hold a garden party from 11 to noon. And starting at noon, the Miner Equity team will hold their monthly community table in collaboration with Serve Your City. For more info, click here.
Want to put on the show instead of listening to it? How about some karaoke? Here are a couple of options:
- Hatoba in Navy Yard is doing Hatoba Nights, karaoke every Friday night from 9-midnight! Sip a Polynesian cocktail while you delight (or torture) your fellow patrons with your best NO DIGGITYYYYY. Bag it up: Reservations here.
- Sticky Rice on H Street NE is also doing karaoke again! Every Thursday night, there will be karaoke at the bar — and the private rooms will be back **soon**. Reservations here.
Looking for a way to smarten up your weekdays? Biergarten Haus has trivia every Tuesday at 7 p.m. Bring yourself and your team, consisting of no more than six peppy trivia players and compete for a $50 gift certificate to Biergarten Haus! For more info and for possible clues, check out quizmistresses Jean and Ana on Instagram.
Movies on the Pitch, a series of free outdoor movies at Audi Field, will be THE place to watch a movie and get eaten by mosquitoes this summer. But seriously, the lineup looks great and the fun starts Thursday, June 2. Click here for more information and tickets.
Over at The Wharf, several fun things are happening this week:
- Starting May 31 and going through August 30, do outdoor yoga at the Wharf, Tuesdays at 6 p.m.and Sundays at 9 a.m. Info and RSVP here.
- Bring a little cheer to your humpday with Wednesday at the Wharf concerts, starting June 1 at 7 p.m. This Wednesday, catch Collective Delusion. For the full line-up, click here.
Looking for at-home inspiration? Spend some time reading these lovely haikus from the DC Public Library‘s competition earlier this year, and try your hand at your own short poem. Haikus are generally arranged in a 5-7-5 syllable configuration, but if you’re a syllable short or long and it sounds beautiful, it’s art.
OFF-HILL
Over at the beautiful Epiphany Episcopal Church in Downtown DC (you know, the one that chimes every hour with dreamy tunes?), you can catch Congressional Chorus ‘s newest show, called Mixtape. The show will be a travel through decades of music, culminating in a new commission. Mixtape is happening on June 3 and 4. More info and tickets over at CongressionalChorus.org.
Chandon is debuting a new spritz and they are doing tastings at a secret garden in Georgetown. Want to taste and perhaps even make a special fragrance that echoes the orange-forward drink you will experience? Sign up here! (You have to be 21+ to attend.)
How about learning to ride a bike, or riding with new friends? WABA DC has several events around town such as learning to ride bikes at Anacostia Park. For more information, click here.
The Lincoln Memorial recently celebrated 100 years, but did you know that the original monument to Lincoln is just a short walk from the Hill? Why not take a quick stroll down to Judiciary Square and look at the older, more accurate statue of Mr. Lincoln? Read more over at the Post.
Looking for more Pride celebrations? National Landing is Rocking the Lot with Pride this coming Thursday, June 9. Celebrate with music, dancing and, oh boy– FREE TEQUILA!
On a personal note, I’m proud to say that one of my photos is part of this year’s Exposed DC photo contest. The contest, in its 16th year, highlights photography from around the area, and as part of the annual Focus on the Story photo festival, you can see the winning photos at Eaton DC on Saturday, June 4. For that event, click here. For more festival happenings, click here.
PLAN AHEAD
Looking for summer fun with music and food truck? National Landing has NaLa Fridays at the park. We will not judge the abbrevs “NaLa,” but instead we will point out that this event series starts June 10 and sounds very fun. More info here.
On June 12, celebrate 50 years of the Arboretum’s Washington Youth Garden with a party and benefit! More information and details here.
On Wednesday, June 15, the Hill Center will be holding a special conversation with Chief Robert Contee and historian Derek Musgrove. Learn more about our current MPD chief and how the District has changed over the past 50 years. For more information and tickets, click here.
On Saturday, June 18, the Northeast Library will have a really cool-sounding discussion about the enduring influence of the Wu-Tang Clan. This event is in partnership with East City Books. More information here.
Want to get into home brewing? Then the Hill Center has an event just for you. On June 18, you can listen to DC Brau “fermentation guru” Dr. James Shellhammer. More information and tickets here.
Pharrell Williams is headlining in Something in the Water, a HUGE festival taking place *somewhere* along Independence Avenue SW (TBD), on Juneteenth weekend, June 17-19, 2022. The festival has its origins in Virginia Beach, but this year they are moving up farther north. The line-up is big and you can buy passes for the whole week starting Saturday, April 30. Click here to check out the lineup and to get your tickets (or bookmark it to get your tickets on 4/30).
The National Building Museum— one of my favorite museums in the city– always done something magical for their Summer Block Party series, and this year is no different. Together with the Folger Theater, this year they will bring an ACTUAL SHAKESPEAREAN PLAYHOUSE to the Grand Hall! The Playhouse will be open during the day for visiting, behind-the-scenes peeks and education. At night, it’ll transform into Titania and Oberon’s lair of love and mischief as the Folger Theater brings “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” to the stage starting July 12. For info on The Playhouse and the National Building Museum, click here. For play tickets, click here.
And it’s a ways off, but start getting excited for the DC Jazz Fest, August 31 to September 4 this year. Check out the line-up here.