Starting today, 54 fourth- to eighth-graders from across the country and U.S. territories will battle it out in the National Geographic Bee. Matthew Wilson will be representing D.C. for the second time, hoping to improve on his 2010 performance. more ›

What's small, made of marshmallow and firmly believes in promoting the interests of the 99 percent? OccuPeep D.C., of course, which took top honors in the Post's annual Peep Diorama Contest. more ›

The National Zoo is at it again -- it needs names for two cheetah cubs, and it has teamed up with the people behind I Can Has Cheezburger to vote on them. more ›

Gothamist is looking for another long-form non-fiction feature to publish. more ›

Gothamist is looking for another long-form non-fiction feature to publish. more ›

Does the HBO Dance need to be tinkered with? No, it does not. But that's not going to stop people from encouraging such blasphemy! more ›

Hey, fellas: haven't yet jumped on the hot trend of getting a vasectomy during March Madness? Not to worry, because People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has you covered! more ›

At first, Greg Maciog was bummed. When he'd heard that District Taco -- an establishment he didn't know anything about -- was holding a taco eating contest, he assumed it would be in, well, the District. more ›

Sure, most of us are peeved that District residents still don't have voting rights. But at least you can win some money for finding creative ways to do something about it. more ›

So the Washington Post thinks that its readers can come up with the best names for the National Zoo's lion cubs, eh? This is quite the insult to the ultimate mental power of the DCist commentariat brain trust! Let the dueling name-suggesting commence! (I'm symbolically slapping a paper copy of the Post with my laptop as soon as I finish typing this, guys. We stand as one!) more ›

Each time we post something about the National Zoo's ridiculously adorable lion cubs, we get asked about when everyone will actually be able to see the little things in person. (To clarify: no, we can't get you in to see the cubs. Sorry.) But the Zoo is offering the chance for a six-person group to take a morning tour with the cubs -- if you can build the best gingerbread lion habitat ever. more ›

Cupcakes: we all like them. So how could one resist linking to the tasty images from a decorative cupcake competition held by the friendly folks at Hello Cupcake -- especially when it was all about D.C.? Some very impressive entries were on display: a pastry tribute to Ben's, a panda, a Metro map (with accurate transfer locations, no less) some statehood activism, in icing form. But let's be honest, while it's hardly the most Washingtonian entry, this Chinatown entry with ridiculous lo mein detail really takes the cake. The real question: who gets to eat these things? more ›

We swear we're not making this up -- ESPN.com's NBA section is currently running a contest in which subscribers to the site's Insider service can send in their best inbounds play. The winner -- as chosen by ESPN "experts" -- will actually be given a whirl by the Wizards in a live NBA game. Of course, all interested applicants should feel free to conclude all submissions with "then Gilbert Arenas takes a 30-foot-long contested shot" or "ball gets thrown out of bounds," since that's what will likely happen regardless of design. more ›

Believe it or not, this year marks the fourth annual DCist Exposed Photography Show. For three years in a row, we've had the pleasure of working with local galleries to show off the stellar work of our photography community. We conceived the exhibit in 2005 as a "thank you" to our thousands of contributors -- our Flickr pool currently has over 2500 members and nearly 70,000 images. Just over five years ago, when DCist.com was just a tiny speck of the Internet, we started asking readers to submit images that we could use to illustrate our posts, and the success of that endeavor is part of the reason the site has grown to the readership it has today. more ›

DCist teamed up with the Phillips Collection last month to sponsor the museum's Make Your Own Morandi contest, which challenged local photographers to create images in the style of Italian painter Giorgio Morandi. Morandi was famous for his still life scenes featuring everyday objects that portray a vague purpose, and his work is featured in a special exhibition that runs through May 24. more ›

Listen up photographers, we have a new project for you. DCist is partnering with the Phillips Collection for Make Your Own Morandi, a contest that asks photographers to create their own images in the style of Italian painter Giorgio Morandi. more ›

D.C. United is hosting another D.C. Jam Session, the free concert/chowdown/beerfest that complements the RFK match-day experience. Scheduled for October 4 from 2:30 to 7:30 p.m., before United takes on Chivas USA, the Jam Session will feature tons of food, five bands on multiple stages, games and a special party area for kids. Best of all, admission is free. For those of you really planning on making a day of it, there's an option of purchasing a VIP ticket at the gate for unlimited access to a beer garden, food service and private bathrooms. Those tickets will run you $20 at the door, but DCist has 10 pairs of VIP passes to give away for free to our readers! more ›

Fishbowl DC released its annual Hottest D.C. Media Types list today. Angela Valdez thinks there are an awful lot of white guys in there. It's definitely true, but it's also true that are also an awful lot of white guys who work in media in D.C. and who are vain enough to nominate themselves. more ›

Metro is celebrating National Dump the Pump Day, which is this Thursday, June 19, by giving away one $100 SmartTrip card to the lucky person who can guess how many people will use the Metrorail system that day. more ›

Don't forget about DCist and Cultural Tourism DC's photo contest for this weekend's WalkingTown DC. All you have to do to enter the photo contest is check out the schedule of free tours being offered on Saturday and Sunday and pick one or more to attend, take some great photos, and then upload them to Flickr and tag them with WalkingTown and DCist. More details on the contest, which last fall earned several lucky winners prize packages from Cultural Tourism DC, are below. more ›

DCist is once again teaming up with Cultural Tourism DC to sponsor a Flickr photo contest for their twice yearly WalkingTown DC event. This year's spring WalkingTown will be held on April 26 and 27, and will feature even more fantastic free walking tours of D.C. than ever before. All you have to do to enter the photo contest is check out the schedule of free tours and pick one or more to attend, take some great photos, and then upload them to Flickr and tag them with WalkingTown and DCist. More details on the contest, which last fall earned several lucky winners prize packages from Cultural Tourism DC, are below. more ›

This time we're doing Overheard in D.C. a little differently — as a contest. One of this week's crop of overheards almost requires a follow-up, so give us your best guess in the comments as to what the kid did before, and the winner will be mentioned on next week's Overheard. It's not exactly a free pony, but hey, you can forward it to your pals and be the envy of your office. more ›

Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners LLP won yesterday’s City of the Future design challenge to imagine what Washington would look like in the year 2108. The winning team went green, envisioning a self-sustaining city with soaring towers built on the sites of former forts that once defended Washington, transforming them into centers for wind and solar energy production, hydroponic farming and defensive security systems. In this environmentally friendly city, cars have no place. Metro has been drastically expanded. The diagonal streets designed long ago by Pierre L’Enfant have been turned into pedestrian-friendly green belts, or the “lungs of the city,” as described by Hanny Hassan, partner at BBB. Above-ground public transportation runs on the square street grid of the city. more ›

Last year, design teams in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles mused on the futures of their cities. The events were so successful that the event’s sponsors – the History Channel, Infiniti, IBM, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the American Society for Civil Engineers (ASCE) - decided to hold competitions in San Francisco, Atlanta and Washington this year. more ›

Remember the HGTV Change the World, Start at Home contest we told you about last month? Anacostia was one of ten needy neighborhoods in the United States identified by the cable channel that was eligible to win a "neighborhood revitalization" package if it received enough votes online -- and Anacostia has won! more ›

We've mentioned it briefly before, but it's worth reminding everyone that a D.C. neighborhood is in contention to win a makeover from HGTV, and a lot of local bloggers are asking you to cast your vote to help make it happen. In partnership with Rebuilding Together, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Natural Resources Defense Council, HGTV's Change the World, Start at Home contest has identified D.C.'s Anacostia as one of ten needy... more ›

The Air Force Memorial has a certain architectural elegance that makes it almost hard not to photograph well, but some certainly stand far above the others, and we especially like Flickr user mosely.brian's crisp version here. Did you miss our announcement on Wednesday? The DCist Exposed Photography Show contest is open and accepting entries for our 2008 exhibition. Not only might you get to show your original work on a real gallery wall at... more ›

Last year we were blown away by how many folks participated in our very first DCist Exposed Photography Show. What we hoped would be a fun event for our faithful photography contributors turned into a full-blown gallery event packed to the gills with supporters. Many of the selected 2007 photographers -- most of whom had never even framed their work prior to the show -- have continued to sell their prints and some even... more ›