Along with the following picks, don’t forget to check out DCist’s Arts Agenda (First Fridays in Dupont!) and Music Agenda for events that might tickle your fancy this weekend.
FRIDAY:
>> Intimate roots-rocker Jolie Holland (at right) brings her sparse yet uplifting music to Jammin Java in Vienna. With guitarist Brooks Williams. 8 p.m., $12.
>> If you’re a fellow The OC freak (hey, we wear our obsession proudly on our sleeve), you’ll remember pre-lesbian Marissa’s gardener boyfriend, who managed the amazing acting feat of looking older than everybody else on the show. Well, we were tipped off that the actor playing him, Nicholas Gonzalez, will be at Lulu’s tonight for some pre-Mardi Gras festivities. There’ll be drink specials, DJs, and a prize for the lucky lady who can, ahem, get the most beads. Advance tickets cost $15 from dcmardigras.com. 18+, 9 p.m.
SATURDAY:
>> Freaking out about the fact that you didn’t get a Valentine’s Day reservation for that special lady and now you’re too late? Worry not. DC Coast chef Andy Brooks and executive pastry chef David Guas host “Cupid’s cooking school,” a men’s-only Valentine’s cooking class at DC Coast. The menu will include roasted red bell pepper soup with crab relish, spinach linguine with wild mushrooms and champagne cream sauce, and a salmon entree. Yum! 11 a.m. – 1 p.m., $75. Wine will be served (because it is an excellent idea to drink wine early in the day while attempting to learn complicated recipes for that hard-to-please woman in your life). Call (202) 216-5988 for more information. (By the way, in case you can’t make that one, Maggiano’s in Tysons Corner is also hosting a men’s-only cooking class Monday from 6 to 8 p.m. Call 703-356-9000.)
SUNDAY:
>>A couple of years ago, we attended the Eurochocolate Festivale in Perugia, Italy, and thought nothing could ever match the total chocolate-y decadence that greeted us there (and after five pounds gained, we never wanted to see anything like it again). But the two-day Chocolate Lovers Festival in Old Town Fairfax is definitely piquing our interest. There’ll be crafts, bake sales, children’s events and, most importantly, lots and lots of chocolate to sample. 8 a.m.-5 p.m.; directions can be found here.
>> We hear there’s this sports event? With men in helmets hitting each other and throwing stuff? And we can’t decide which team we want to win because we loathe them both so much? Yeah. Check out the Post’s guide to where to watch this so-called “Super Bowl.” We’ll be breathlessly waiting for whatever scandalous expose Paul McCartney decides to unleash on us during the halftime.
Stalk DCist: Tonight we’ll make our way over to the Black Cat to catch the CD release party of much-buzzed about local band Exit Clov (read a review of their EP here by local music blogger Here’s a Hint). Saturday, we’d like to check out the 18-foot model of St. Peter’s dome by Michelangelo that’s on display at the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center. Sunday, well, we’ll be drinking some beers, making some wings (the Post has some good wings recipes here) and watching some of this much-ballyhooed “football.”
Enjoy your weekends! What do you have planned?
