It’s October and it’s SPOOKY SEASON! Are you decorating your home? Please fill out this form so you can be included in this year’s SPOOKY HILL IS HOME MAP! If you send us your address by October 15, your house may be part of the route in the October Hill Family Biking ride!
It’s the Second Saturday of the month: that means Capitol Hill Books is having their wine and cheese and discounts event! From 5 pm to 7:30 pm, enjoy treats in the backyard, and a 10% discount through 8 pm. From CHB:
“Our Book Club will be reading poetry at 5:30 upstairs in the main fiction room, and anyone is welcome to join. The book for next month will be Pet Sematary by Stephen King, and we should have copies in stock by Saturday. If not, email us and we’ll reserve one for you.”
If you can’t get enough of books (who can?) the Northeast and Southeast Library Friends will be having a Used Book Sale at the Northeast Library this Saturday, October 12 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Barrel on Pennsylvania Avenue is celebrating the democratic process in the best way possible: “All the Presidents’ Bars” is a series of themed Presidential bars rocking tradition in the basement. The fun will go on 6 p.m. to close, Thursday to Saturday, starting October 3 through November 2. From a sax-y bar celebrating Bill Clinton to an ice-cream flavored boozy delight in honor of President Biden, every weekend in October pays homage to a Commander-in-Chief. Follow Barrel on Instagram and plan your visit around your favorite prez.
By the way, the Commanders are 4-1 and they play at home on Sunday at 1 p.m.! If you want to watch the game with like-minded fans, may we suggest Walter’s in Navy Yard, Union Pub near Stanton Park, Duffy’s in Hill East or The Brighton at the Wharf? All have lots of TVs and great pub fare for you to root and enjoy! Also, make sure you check out the local specials at Duffy’s– they could help brighten your Monday!
Our friends at Hill Family Biking have two rides coming up this month:
- The monuments at night are truly stunning—and what better way to see them than under a full moon? Parents welcome, but not required. This 9.5-mile Hill Family Biking ride is for adventurous t(w)eens, 6th grade and up. Meet us at the triangle park at 1300 NC Ave at 7pm on October 18th. (Why isn’t it called MOONuments, guys?!)
- It’s time for the annual Hill Family Biking Halloween ride! On Saturday, October 26th at 4pm, we’ll be starting at Lincoln Park by the Lincoln Statue, but the route will be a mystery until the day of the ride! We’ll be using the Spooky Hill is Home map to build a route along the scariest blocks on the Hill. The ride will end at Eastern Market Metro Plaza for some spooky fun including live music from the Knox Engler Band and a costume contest with awesome prizes and celebrity judges.
Reminder: Lincoln Park will be closed through the end of November. From NPS: “Starting October 9, the north playground in Lincoln Park will be closed for maintenance. The National Park Service will replace the retaining wall, replace the gate latches, and complete other minor repairs such as power washing the playground equipment and touching up paint.” Updates can be found on NPS’s website.
OUTDOOR MOVIE SEASON
Outdoor movie season happens as long as you’re willing to stand outside and it’s not just a spring and summer activity anymore. Here are a few (list is constantly updated). Please make sure to check on the day of screening as movies may be postponed due to rain:
16NoMa’s CiNoMaTic (October 16– Love and Basketball)
OFF-HILL
Exhibiting Failure is an art installation at Rhizome in Takoma, DC. What can we learn from failing, especially in a culture that excludes and excises in favor of monetizing? Enjoy performance art and more at the opening reception, or attend the closing show on October 28. For more info, click here.
Oktoberfest AND a Taylor Swift Dance Party? This can only mean one thing: You need to drop by Wunder Garten in NoMa and partake of the fun, going through October 13. More info and RSVP here.
The National Building Museum has an exhibit called Capital Brutalism. Take a loving look at some of our most polarizing, beloved architecture. (#teamBrutalism). Click here for more information and click here for tickets to the Building Museum.
PLAN AHEAD
The Capitol Hill Community Foundation’s Literary Feast wants YOU to sign up for one of their intriguing, enticing dinners, happening October 19. Click here for more info.
Want to celebrate spooky szn at the Library of Congress? Has it been a dream of yours to show up with the whole fam, becostumed and ready to make cute crafts? Then sign up for their Halloween Family Day on October 19 here!
Or you can go to the National Building Museum for The Big Build on October 19! How is the world that surrounds us built? Learn all about it during this wonderful STEM fair! You can even pet a truck! For more info and tickets, click here.
And if a panel discussion on the memefication of politics is more your speed, then visit the Royal Sonesta Capitol Hill to listen to Election Reflection: The Memefication of Politics. For event speakers and more info, and to RSVP, click here.
On October 23, join Little District Books and as you are in welcoming author Gerardo Sámano Córdova for a discussion on his book, Monstrílio. RSVP here.
Need some frights for spooky season? How about some local séances and other haunting Hill happenings? Join Profs and Pints at the Hill Center on Thursday, October 24 for Washington’s Spookiest Days. Click here for more info and tickets.
Hilloween is coming again to Eastern Market on Friday, October 25 from 5-7:30 p.m. Enjoy entertainment, photo booths, face painting and other fun and kid-appropriate fun. For more info and updates, you can check out the main Hilloween website or Hilloween’s Facebook page (although as of Friday, October 4, the FB page was still displaying last year’s information.)
And on October 26, the Capitol Hill Restoration Society’s Expo takes over the Eastern Market North Hall. Whether you’re a bona fide weekend warrior or you’re just starting to tackle a project or two in your historic home, the expo is sure to have something for you. More info here.
There are not just one but TWO Halloween pet contests Halloween weekend, and yours truly will be judging both of them! Relume will be holding a pet costume maker bar and a contest starting at noon. Then, walk on over to Lincoln Park and participate in Howl to the Chief’s as they will be holding their annual Howloween at 1 pm at Lincoln Park. Stay tuned for more details!
On October 29, show up for a time-honored District tradition: the High Heel Race down 17th Street in Dupont Circle. Is it worth getting out of the Hill for? Hill YAS! More info here.
A play about a werewolf in the middle of Congressional Cemetery?! YES PLEASE!!! Lykos Anthropos starts October 31 and you can get tickets here.
On November 2, sign up to walk or volunteer for the American Heart Association’s Heart Walk. Raise awareness of heart conditions or learn about cardiovascular disease, which will affect almost one-half of Americans in some form or other. Click here to sign up!
And don’t forget: NOVEMBERFEST at Eastern Market is coming November 9-10! More info soon!
Get wined and dined for a good cause! The MedStar Health and Four Seasons DC Wine and Dine Event is a tasty and star-studded showcase and benefit. Friday’s dinner is sold out, but get tickets for Thursday, November 14th’s passed hors d’oeuvres event. More info and tickets here.
Psst… do you love the holidays? Then make plans to enjoy them at the Hillwood Estate, starting November 26. More info here.