D.C.-area nightlife, events and dining

Appy hour

Appy hour

Celebrate our new iPhone app with a happy hour at Eighteenth Street Lounge on Thursday.

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Plan ahead

Our picks for the best events remaining in 2011.

 
 
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Going Out Gurus

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Free and easy: GOG Happy Hour, Gertrude Stein

4:00 PM

Free this week: Join the Going Out Gurus for a happy hour celebrating the launch of the new iPhone app and go see the National Portrait Gallery’s new exhibit on Gertrude Stein.

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Events for Today October

  • Sun 9
  • Mon 10
  • Tues 11
  • Wed 12
  • Thurs 13
  • Fri 14
  • Sat 15

Today's Editors' Picks

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    Ben Tolman: A few more drawings... - Exhibit
    Ink drawings from D.C. artist Ben Tolman, ranging from doodles on napkins to elaborate works.
    The Fridge | Washington, DC
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    Downtown Scene Film Series - Miscellaneous Event
    Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, and the city of New York are at the heart of this documentary series, which takes place over a month at the National Gallery of Art, Phillips Collection and Corcoran Gallery of Art. The films include "Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child" and "Downtown Calling," about New York's downtown scene in the '70s and '80s.
    Various locations | Washington, DC
  • Show/hide event description
    Tales of Beatrix Potter - Performing Arts
    Applause Unlimited presents Beatrix Potter's "Two Bad Mice," "Jeremy Fisher" and "Jemima Puddleduck."
    The Puppet Company Playhouse | Glen Echo, MD
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    Operation Undercover: Secrets of Disguise - Miscellaneous Event
    Could you go deep undercover and create a new personality to successfully complete a spy operation? That's your mission, should you choose to accept it. Kids will need to create a new identity, complete with documents, a disguise, even the silly stuff that you have in your pockets. Will you be able to look {mdash} and act {mdash} like a different person? The Spy Museum will have makeup artists, hair stylists and spy experts to help you pull off your mission to retrieve top-secret materials while undercover.
    International Spy Museum | Washington, DC
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    Deleted Scenes - Music Event
    Tuneful locals play smart, slippery songs and have a knack for finding catharsis in the ordinary. With the Life and Times and Vs. Antelope.
    DC9 | Washington, DC
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    NASA/Art: 50 Years Of Exploration - Exhibit
    Artwork spanning the 50 years of the NASA program features Annie Leibovitz, Nam June Paik, Robert Rauschenberg, Norman Rockwell and Andy Warhol, among others.
    National Air and Space Museum - Smithsonian Institution | Washington, DC
  • Show/hide event description
    Sweet Tea Pumpkin Pie Festival - Music Event
    This ambitious new festival promises more than 100 bands at seven venues over the course of a weekend. All shows are free, at various locations in the U Street area.
    Various locations | Washington, DC
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    Oktoberfest at the Kentlands - Miscellaneous Event
    Performances by the Alte Kameraden German Band and the Alt-Washingtonia Bavarian Dancers and plenty of Bavarian food and beer will transport you to Germany. For kids, there will be wagon rides, pumpkin painting, a puppet show, moon bounce and pony rides.
    Kentlands Mansion | Gaithersburg, MD
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    James Blake - Music Event
    James Blake became one of the most buzzed about acts of the last year thanks to his sweetly subtle recordings on which he managed to make the distant, electronic sounds of post-dubstep sound intensely personal. When he performs live, it's less about the beats and more about his voice. It's soulful, tender and wholly captivating. You could argue that the best moments of his show are when all of the keyboards and samples fade away and his lithe croon is the only thing you hear. With Chairlift.
    9:30 Club | Washington, DC
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    Ay, Carmela! - Performing Arts
    A captured vaudeville comedy duo is forced to perform during the Spanish Civil War.
    Gala Hispanic Theatre at Tivoli Square | Washington, DC

Highlighted Events: Mon, October 10

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    Good Lovelies - Music Event
    This Canadian girl group has performed its three-part harmonies and folksy, witty songs for many of our neighbors to the north. Now, they bring their tunes to the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage.
    Millennium Stage - The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts | Washington, DC
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    Sonny Rollins - Music Event
    This Grammy Award winning jazz saxophonist is a living legend.
    The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts | Washington, DC
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    Big Apple Circus - Performing Arts
    In addition to trapeze artists, acrobats, magicians, horses and jugglers, the show will feature International Clown Hall of Fame inductee Barry Lubin, who plays the circus's comical Grandma, on his farewell tour.
    Dulles Town Center | Dulles, VA
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    Taste of DC - Food Event
    If you're headed to this weekend's Taste of DC, make sure you bring your appetite. Dozens of Washington's poshest restaurants are pulling out their best fare for the three-day festival.
    Pennsylvania Avenue Between Ninth and 14th Streets | Washington, DC
  • Show/hide event description
    Mad Forest - Performing Arts
    A poor family and a wealthy family attempt to continue their friendship before, during and after the Romanian Revolution.
    Round House Theatre - Silver Spring | Silver Spring, MD
  • Show/hide event description
    Material Girls: Contemporary Black Women Artists - Exhibit
    More than 35 pieces from eight artists who use traditional mediums and things such as rubber, rocks and model cars. The materials reflect memories and cultural meanings.
    Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture | Baltimore, MD
  • Show/hide event description
    Regents - Music Event
    With Redgrave.
    Galaxy Hut | Arlington, VA
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    Who Speaks for Fortune? - Miscellaneous Event
    Scientists and historians discuss what Fortune, a former slave whose skeleton was used to teach anatomy, still has left to teach.
    Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at Maryland | College Park, MD
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    Anything But Rockford - Performing Arts
    James Del Fiore's play is read and then discussed.
    Round House Theatre - Silver Spring | Silver Spring, MD
  • Show/hide event description
    Alia Malek - Book Event
    The journalist discusses her new anthology, "Patriot Acts: Narratives of Post-9/11 Injustice." A book signing follows.
    Busboys and Poets | Washington, DC

Highlighted Events: Tues, October 11

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    Literary Tour - Miscellaneous Event
    The Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery's exhibit "VESSEL" kicks off the 9/11 Arts Project, a series of exhibits and events reflecting on the process of cultural healing a decade after the attacks on Sept. 11. Take a "literary tour" of the exhibit on Tuesday, when a group of writers read works they have written in response to the art in the exhibit.
    Healing Arts Gallery | Washington, DC
  • Show/hide event description
    Ladytron - Music Event
    Icy, synth-heavy electro-rock.
    9:30 Club | Washington, DC
  • Show/hide event description
    Lungs - Performing Arts
    A young couple struggles with the idea of becoming parents and bringing a child into a world with climate change.
    Studio Theatre | Washington, DC
  • Show/hide event description
    Material Girls: Contemporary Black Women Artists - Exhibit
    More than 35 pieces from eight artists who use traditional mediums and things such as rubber, rocks and model cars. The materials reflect memories and cultural meanings.
    Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture | Baltimore, MD
  • Show/hide event description
    Monica Brown - Book Event
    The award-winning children's writer, the author of several bilingual books for children, including "My Name is Celia/Me llamo Celia: The Life of Celia Cruz/la vida de Celia Cruz," chats about raising children in a multicultural world inspired by both her own Peruvian-American heritage and bringing up her two daughters as multi-ethnic, bilingual Americans.A book signing follows
    Arlington County Central Library | Arlington, VA
  • Show/hide event description
    Steven Pinker - Book Event
    The Harvard psychology professor discusses and signs his new book, "The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined."
    Politics & Prose Bookstore | Washington, DC
  • Show/hide event description
    Opera d'Arte - Performing Arts
    At the Terrace Theater.
    The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts | Washington, DC
  • Show/hide event description
    DJ La Reyna - Miscellaneous Event
    Salsa dance. Lesson at 7:30
    Artisphere | Arlington, VA
  • Show/hide event description
    Har Mar Superstar - Music Event
    As Har Mar Superstar, Sean Tillman sings R&B; songs like a serious player. The Los Angeles-based singer, songwriter and producer isn't sexy, but that's kind of the point. With Marijuana Deathsquads.
    Black Cat | Washington, DC
  • Show/hide event description
    Lewis Sorley - Book Event
    The military historian discusses and signs "Westmoreland: The General Who Lost Vietnam" (Sorley served in his office when Westmoreland was Army Chief of Staff).
    Barnes & Noble Booksellers - Bethesda | Bethesda, MD

Highlighted Events: Wed, October 12

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    Beer and Ballet - Performing Arts
    Watch professional dancers at work in the studio, then gather with friends for a microbrew.
    Washington Ballet Studios | Washington, DC
  • Show/hide event description
    Yuck - Music Event
    This young U.K. band sounds like it came straight off the most perfectly curated '90s indie-rock mixtape ever. With Porcelain Raft.
    Black Cat | Washington, DC
  • Show/hide event description
    The Suzanne Farrell Ballet - Performing Arts
    The Ballet celebrates its 10th anniversary with two mixed programs, with each program featuring Balanchine's Diamonds in an Artistic Partnership with The Sarasota Ballet. At the Eisenhower Theater.
    The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts | Washington, DC
  • Show/hide event description
    Material Girls: Contemporary Black Women Artists - Exhibit
    More than 35 pieces from eight artists who use traditional mediums and things such as rubber, rocks and model cars. The materials reflect memories and cultural meanings.
    Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture | Baltimore, MD
  • Show/hide event description
    Lunch Bytes - Institutional Challenges - Miscellaneous Event
    A panel of new media artists, curators and conservators. Includes a light lunch.
    Goethe-Institut | Washington, DC
  • Show/hide event description
    Contemporary Chinese Poetry - Book Event
    The Library of Congress is hosting a reading and discussion of contemporary Chinese poetry featuring Xi Chuan, founder of the literary magazine Qingxiang (Tendency) and editor of Dangdai Gouji Shitan (Contemporary Poetry International), and Zhou Zan, who currently writes for Wings, a journal of contemporary Chinese poetry by women, in the Mumford Room. Both poets are featured in the new anthology, "Push Open the Window: Contemporary Poetry from China." The readings will be in both Chinese and English, followed by a discussion with the poets moderated by Michael Wiegers, executive editor of the book's publisher, Copper Canyon Press. Call 202-707-5394 for details. At the Madison Building.
    Library of Congress - James Madison Bldg. | Washington, DC
  • Show/hide event description
    New Tendencies in Our Approach to Architecture - Miscellaneous Event
    A talk by German architect Stefan Behnisch. At the Edward M. Crough Center for Architectural Studies.
    Catholic University of America | Washington, DC
  • Show/hide event description
    Lewis Sorley - Book Event
    The military historian discusses and signs "Westmoreland: The General Who Lost Vietnam" (Sorley served in his office when Westmoreland was Army Chief of Staff). At the William G. McGowan Theater.
    William G. McGowan Theater - National Archives | Washington, DC
  • Show/hide event description
    National Fossil Day - Miscellaneous Event
    Dig for fossils and learn more about them at this event on the National Mall outside of the Natural History Museum.
    National Museum of Natural History - Smithsonian Institution | Washington, DC
  • Show/hide event description
    Food & Folklore Features South American Wines - Miscellaneous Event
    A dinner with Latin American wine pairings.
    Eatonville | Washington, DC

Highlighted Events: Thurs, October 13

  • Show/hide event description
    DeLeon - Music Event
    The Brooklyn-based group does indie-rock takes on ancient Sephardic Judaic melodies.
    The Red Palace | Washington, DC
  • Show/hide event description
    Going Out Guide Happy Hour - Bar/Club Event
    In celebration of our new iPhone app, we're hosting a happy hour with drink specials and great prizes, including your chance to win an iPhone or a gift certificate to Eighteenth Street Lounge.
    Eighteenth Street Lounge | Washington, DC
  • Show/hide event description
    Murs and Tabi Bonney - Music Event
    L.A. underground veteran Murs and local standout Tabi Bonney team up on the Hip Hop and Love Tour.
    DC9 | Washington, DC
  • Show/hide event description
    Return of The Kings of Hip Hop - Music Event
    Some of the finest from hip-hop's "golden era" take the stage, including Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Slick Rick, Rob Base, Special Ed, Kurtis Blow, Dana Dane and Chubb Rock.
    Constitution Hall | Washington, DC
  • Show/hide event description
    Army Navy - Music Event
    Especially joyous power pop.
    Black Cat | Washington, DC
  • Show/hide event description
    Savage in Limbo - Performing Arts
    Five 30-something bar regulars search for answers in the Bronx.
    MetroStage | Alexandria, VA
  • Show/hide event description
    The Suzanne Farrell Ballet - Performing Arts
    The Ballet celebrates its 10th anniversary with two mixed programs, with each program featuring Balanchine's Diamonds in an Artistic Partnership with The Sarasota Ballet. At the Eisenhower Theater.
    The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts | Washington, DC
  • Show/hide event description
    Mad Forest - Performing Arts
    A poor family and a wealthy family attempt to continue their friendship before, during and after the Romanian Revolution.
    Round House Theatre - Silver Spring | Silver Spring, MD
  • Show/hide event description
    Lungs - Performing Arts
    A young couple struggles with the idea of becoming parents and bringing a child into a world with climate change.
    Studio Theatre | Washington, DC
  • Show/hide event description
    Material Girls: Contemporary Black Women Artists - Exhibit
    More than 35 pieces from eight artists who use traditional mediums and things such as rubber, rocks and model cars. The materials reflect memories and cultural meanings.
    Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture | Baltimore, MD

Highlighted Events: Fri, October 14

  • Show/hide event description
    Dana Tai Soon Burgess & Co: Becoming American - Performing Arts
    The group debuts its newest work, inspired by the story of a Korean child adopted from an orphanage in South Korea by Caucasian American parents and brought to the U.S. to grow up in New Jersey.
    Dance Place | Washington, DC
  • Show/hide event description
    Savage in Limbo - Performing Arts
    Five 30-something bar regulars search for answers in the Bronx.
    MetroStage | Alexandria, VA
  • Show/hide event description
    Mad Forest - Performing Arts
    A poor family and a wealthy family attempt to continue their friendship before, during and after the Romanian Revolution.
    Round House Theatre - Silver Spring | Silver Spring, MD
  • Show/hide event description
    The Suzanne Farrell Ballet - Performing Arts
    The Ballet celebrates its 10th anniversary with two mixed programs, with each program featuring Balanchine's Diamonds in an Artistic Partnership with The Sarasota Ballet. At the Eisenhower Theater.
    The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts | Washington, DC
  • Show/hide event description
    Lungs - Performing Arts
    A young couple struggles with the idea of becoming parents and bringing a child into a world with climate change.
    Studio Theatre | Washington, DC
  • Show/hide event description
    Material Girls: Contemporary Black Women Artists - Exhibit
    More than 35 pieces from eight artists who use traditional mediums and things such as rubber, rocks and model cars. The materials reflect memories and cultural meanings.
    Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture | Baltimore, MD
  • Show/hide event description
    Get Sparked! Reading - Miscellaneous Event
    A reading of works that inspired art pieces now on display in the gallery.
    Del Ray Artisans | Alexandria, VA
  • Show/hide event description
    Friday Morning Music Club - Music Event
    The Club performs selections from Beethoven and Schulhoff.
    Calvary Baptist Church | Washington, DC
  • Show/hide event description
    G Love and Special Sauce - Music Event
    Alt-rock-blues-funk mainstay.
    9:30 Club | Washington, DC
  • Show/hide event description
    The Ahn Trio - Music Event
    The Trio returns to The Barns to celebrate Founder's Day at Wolf Trap with a new co-commission: BraziliAHN. Part of the Discovery Series
    Wolf Trap - The Barns | Vienna, VA

Highlighted Events: Sat, October 15

  • Show/hide event description
    Loretta Lynn - Music Event
    Country music royalty.
    9:30 Club | Washington, DC
  • Show/hide event description
    Rustico Oktoberfest - Bar/Club Event
    A neighborhood party with 50 beers on draft, fall foods and a moon bounce.
    Rustico | Alexandria, VA
  • Show/hide event description
    Harley Davidson Bike Night - Bar/Club Event
    Harley Davidson riders roar into Savage on the third Saturday of the month to show off their motorcycles, listen to music and enjoy a free buffet.
    Rams Head Tavern | Savage, MD
  • Show/hide event description
    Taste of Georgetown - Food Event
    It seems that "Taste of" events are plentiful these days, and with Taste of D.C. behind us, this weekend brings a Georgetown-centric food fest.
    Wisconsin Avenue and M Street | Washington, DC
  • Show/hide event description
    Dana Tai Soon Burgess & Co: Becoming American - Performing Arts
    The group debuts its newest work, inspired by the story of a Korean child adopted from an orphanage in South Korea by Caucasian American parents and brought to the U.S. to grow up in New Jersey.
    Dance Place | Washington, DC
  • Show/hide event description
    The Suzanne Farrell Ballet - Performing Arts
    The Ballet celebrates its 10th anniversary with two mixed programs, with each program featuring Balanchine's Diamonds in an Artistic Partnership with The Sarasota Ballet. At the Eisenhower Theater.
    The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts | Washington, DC
  • Show/hide event description
    Mad Forest - Performing Arts
    A poor family and a wealthy family attempt to continue their friendship before, during and after the Romanian Revolution.
    Round House Theatre - Silver Spring | Silver Spring, MD
  • Show/hide event description
    Savage in Limbo - Performing Arts
    Five 30-something bar regulars search for answers in the Bronx.
    MetroStage | Alexandria, VA
  • Show/hide event description
    Lungs - Performing Arts
    A young couple struggles with the idea of becoming parents and bringing a child into a world with climate change.
    Studio Theatre | Washington, DC
  • Show/hide event description
    Material Girls: Contemporary Black Women Artists - Exhibit
    More than 35 pieces from eight artists who use traditional mediums and things such as rubber, rocks and model cars. The materials reflect memories and cultural meanings.
    Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture | Baltimore, MD
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