Kingman Island

For a city that gets its geographic definition from a pair of rivers, it often seems like D.C. pays little mind to the tiny land masses sitting in the middle of the water. But tomorrow residents have a chance to have some fun on one of the city’s three islands.

The fourth annual Kingman Island Bluegrass and Folk Festival kicks off tomorrow at 1 p.m., featuring a lineup of local bands, food vendors, and breweries in an event designed to raise some awareness for one of D.C.’s last natural preserves. Kingman Island, along with adjacent Heritage Island, was created artificially, but today it’s marshy landscape offers one of the few unbuilt places in the District.

Kingman and Heritage islands were built in 1916 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers using land dredged from the bottom of the Anacostia. Between then and the 1990s, when the District took control of the islands, Kingman was suggested to be everything from an airport to an amusement park. (Fortunately, neither of those came to pass.)

Seven bands are slated to perform tomorrow, and the festival will be fed by dozens of the city’s food trucks, along with beer from Sierra Nevada Brewing Company. Proceeds from the $10 suggested donations will go toward funding educational programs that take D.C. youth to Kingman Island. Pro tip: Buy a ticket today, get a free beer tomorrow.

Kingman Island is accessible by taking Metro to the Stadium-Armory station on the Blue and Orange lines and hopping on a shuttle bus. Or you can bike there, the island sits just off the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail.