The youthful enthusiasm of a decidedly all-ages crowd won out over cold, rainy conditions on Saturday, as Sweetgreen put on their Sweetlife Food and Music Festival at Merriweather Post Pavilion. more ›

A few weeks ago, we reported that the annual Fiesta DC in Mt. Pleasant wasn't a celebration for everyone. But it looks like those residents may not have much to worry about next year. more ›

Yesterday's 40th anniversary celebration of Fiesta DC in Mt. Pleasant was either a raucous and colorful celebration of the District's Latino heritage or a complete breakdown of the neighborhood's otherwise peaceful veneer. It just depends on who you ask. more ›

On Sunday, Sonic Circuits finished up another year of challenging perceptions on what music is, exactly. more ›

The Sonic Circuits Festival of Experimental Music kicked off last night at AFI with one of many collaborative performances. Check out our comprehensive guide to the festival to help sift through the racket. more ›

After days of unrelenting rain, people looking for an excuse to take off their shirts found one in this year's Virgin Mobile FreeFest, a newly minted end-of-summer tradition at Merriweather Post Pavilion. more ›

Last night was "closing night" for Silverdocs, and the awards were handed out yesterday afternoon, but that doesn't mean the festival's over. Indeed, today and tomorrow are packed with final screenings of films that played this week, including some of the most high-profile titles and award winners. more ›

In today's Silverdocs roundup, we cover last night's Guggenheim award winners, D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, and three more new films you can still catch before the festival's over. Be sure to check out our complete coverage of the festival. more ›

Today's roundup of Silverdocs reviews starts off with three films about finding the right targets for blame, and the damage that can occur when our need to hold someone responsible oversteps justice and fairness. more ›

In today's roundup of Silverdocs reviews, we cover films on the last record shop in Teesside, England, Romanian school integration, a remote Georgian town and Baltimore school lunches. Check out our previous reviews here and here. more ›

DCist's daily roundup of films playing this week at Silverdocs: thoughts on the festival-opening eponymous doc on The Swell Season, plus our reviews of other films with upcoming screenings. more ›

Tonight's screening of The Swell Season -- a documentary on the band formed by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, the stars of the 2006 indie hit Once -- marks the opening of the D.C. area's most prestigious film festival, and the largest documentary-based film festival in the country. Over the next seven days in the AFI's three theaters and a screening room in the Discovery Channel headquarters, the Silverdocs film festival will screen over 100 feature and short documentaries, and host conference events and workshops for filmmakers and industry professionals. more ›

Speedos! Pasties! Fabulous drag queens! Shirtless dancing Asian American cowboys! Dogs with rainbow-colored fur! Capital Pride Weekend -- which, like every year, appeared to serve as a two-day stimulus for the body paint industry -- is one of those events that's really far better remembered in photographs than words. more ›

Persistent rain couldn't dampen the festivities in Columbia on Sunday, as Sweetgreen's Sweetlife Festival -- held last year in a small Dupont Circle parking lot -- graduated to considerably more impressive digs at Merriweather Post Pavilion. In most respects, the event was a definite success, as local music lovers balanced healthy salads with copious amounts of alcohol, cigarettes, and other less salutary indulgences while taking in an eclectic, entertaining string of performances highlighted by The Strokes' long-awaited return to a local stage. more ›

The Wat Thai Temple in Silver Spring will be hosting their annual Songkran (Thai New Year) event this Sunday, April 17, 9 a.m.- 3 p.m. For lovers of Thai food, this event is worth the journey. more ›

Tequila and mezcal may be most frequently associated with painful morning-afters and terrible decision making. But a finely crafted tequila or mezcal can be a true pleasure if savored or mixed in a cocktail. Oyamel is back with their annual Tequila and Mezcal Festival, which runs from March 14 to 27 and is a good way to educate yourself on the finer points of these spirits. more ›

Throngs of people and sold out performances have been the norm for the past several days at the Kennedy Center. Whether it's South Asian women dressed in their finest silk saris or just curious passers-by who seek a different cultural experience, the Center's maximum INDIA offers something for everyone. Like the country for which it is named, the festival's opening week was a feast for the senses, giving attendees an explosion of color and energy to close this dreary winter and welcome the warm hues of spring. more ›

Just a friendly reminder that tickets for D.C.'s premier beer event SAVOR go on sale to the public tomorrow at noon. Last year's Brewer's Association gala sold out in under an hour, so a second day has been added to quench our craft beer thirst. Tickets to the June 3-4 event are $110, but that gets you access to unlimited tastings of some of the country's best beers. Odell, Deschutes and Lost Abbey are just some of the breweries that will be serving up some of their finest that we simply can't get much of in this area. Along with the beers, a pairing of food will be served with each offering to create a wonderful culinary experience. more ›

The folks behind Sweetgreen, the D.C.-based purveyors of locally-sourced salads and frozen yogurt treats, are hosting the second annual Sweetlife Festival on Saturday, April 30 -- and this year's festival features some major changes. Last year's event was held in a parking lot in Dupont and featured a headlining DJ set by Hot Chip and performances by D.C.'s very own US Royalty and another band with DC roots, The Love Language. This year's headliner? The Strokes. The venue? Merriweather Post Pavilion. more ›

About fifteen years ago, the Kennedy Center initiated a developmental plan designed to look outward and present the arts from places in the world that did not have any real presence on its stages. The Center began with a program called African Odyssey, a four-year initiative starting in 1997. Another four-year initiative examining Latin American arts followed and, for the past three years, the Kennedy Center turned its gaze eastward to Asia, staging events celebrating China, Japan and the Arab world. The next four-year plan will be announced next week, but this latest cycle concludes with a highly-anticipated three-week extravaganza featuring over 500 artists from the world's largest democracy -- India. more ›

One of our favorite February traditions, the Chinese Lunar New Year Parade and Festival, took place yesterday around the streets of Chinatown. Things sound like they went a little smoother this year than during the previous two editions of the event -- in 2009, the traditional five-story firecracker display was delayed and eventually cancelled due to a suspected gas leak in the area, while in 2010, the presence (or lack thereof) of the Taiwanese flag was a source of serious contention. But the lack of drama was just fine with DCist staff photographer Kevin Carroll, who was able to focus his lens on the joyous aspects of the celebration. more ›

Fotoweek DC, the international photography festival, kicks off its third year this weekend. The event corrals photography lovers into exhibits, lectures and workshops all over town. This year they've moved their headquarters to the more central Corcoran Gallery of Art; they're still using their former Georgetown HQ, 3333 M Street NW, but now as the oxymoronically named Satellite Central, each with its own exhibits and programming. more ›

DCist reminded you a few times about the USA Science & Engineering Festival which happened on the National Mall this past weekend, so we hope you didn't miss out on the mass nerdgasm. The second annual festival was an enormous affair, with hundreds of booths lined up on the Mall between 7th Street and the Capitol grounds -- even more booths took up all of Freedom and Wilson Plazas and filled the Mellon Auditorium. Eager and personable representatives led games and activities like robot soccer, Science Plinko and a spacecraft simulator. more ›

You've heard stats like this: barely half of all adults know how long it takes for the Earth to revolve around the Sun. President Obama has been pushing STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education after the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology released a report with recommendations last month. All the arguments are there, that science knowledge helps our economy and creates a more innovative, knowledgeable society (so we can go to the Moon and invent iPhones and write correct textbooks and stuff). Plus it's fun! We think science is just the best, from the vastness of space to all the crazy things swimming at the bottom of the sea, so we were excited to hear about a bunch of science events coming to D.C. this month. more ›

This weekend, Sonic Circuits started their annual festival of experimental music with a bang. And a hiss. Plus a bunch of other sounds that might sound out of place anywhere else. more ›

Most bands can't even stick around for ten years, much less niche music festivals. Yet, the Sonic Circuits Festival of Experimental Music is back for its tenth year and still drawing renowned acts from places like Italy, Japan and Austria as well as from right here in D.C. "Experimental music" is such a loose, wide-reaching term that can encompass anything from jazz improv to hissing screeching electronica and often anything in between. There may be audience participation, there may be unlikely musical instruments and toys and there will almost certainly be a need for earplugs for at least one act per night. more ›