Photo by grit and whatever.
FRIDAY
DANCE PARTY: Moonwalk your way to the 9:30 Club’s (815 V Street NW) fourth annual Michael Jackson Dance Party. “A portion of the proceeds from this event will be donated to the Duke Ellington School of the Arts.” 9 p.m. $15. — Elisabeth Grant
VROOM VROOM: Head up north for the Grand Prix of Baltimore if you want to see sports cars whip around the streets near Inner Harbor. You may even see famous person Patrick Dempsey, who was spotted on a bike today. Ticket information can be seen here. $5-$750. Through Sunday.
MOVIE: Rosslyn’s outdoor film screenings at Gateway Park (1300 Lee Highway) conclude with a showing of Grease. Expect singing along, especially during the drive-in scene. (Oh Sandy!) Dusk. Free.
PARTY LIKE IT’S 1999: The 201 Bar (201 Massachusetts Avenue NE) will once again host “A Party About Nothing,” which is actually about the 90s. From 9 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. shots of Redemption and Temptation Bourbon cost $.90, but please don’t do anything stupid, you guys. We love you and your liver. Drink specials continue throughout the night. DJ Benny Beats will also spin songs from that decade we all love to fetishize now.
MUSIC: D.C. ska punks and Less Than Jake disciples Kill Lincoln will headline an all ages punk rock showcase at the Rock And Roll Hotel (1353 H Street NE). The band recently released their latest album That’s Cool...In a Totally Negative and Destructive Way. Boardroom Heroes, Braceface and Collapser (which features DCist’s own Matt Cohen) will open the show. $10, 8 p.m. — Andy Hess
SATURDAY
THEATER: The Kennedy Center (2700 F Street NW) hosts the 12th annual Page-to-Stage Festival “featuring more than 40 D.C.-area theater companies. This three-day event offers free readings and open rehearsals of plays and musicals being developed by local, regional, and national playwrights, librettists, and composers.” This includes a group profiled by DCist, who will be performing a play written by prisoners Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Free. Through Monday.
BURLESQUE: The Bier Baron (1523 22nd Street NW) will host the Evil League of Ecdysiasts who will present Pastius Revelio: A Burlesque Tribute to Harry Potter. “Join a stunning cast of students, teachers, and creatures appearing at Hogwarts (known to Muggles at the Bier Baron) from far and near.” There will also be drink specials, a raffle, trivia and a costime contest. Doors 8:30 p.m. Tickets $10 in advance, $12 at the door.
BUILD IT: The National Building Museum (401 F Street NW) will host the build-out of Canstruction, an annual competition between architecture and engineering firms that benefits Capital Area Food Bank. “Watch top area architecture and construction teams build fantastic structures entirely out of thousands of canned goods. Bring your own canned goods and vote for your favorite project.” 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Free.
MUSIC: Three Stars alums Priests will bring their Back To School Tour of the East Coast to Comet Ping Pong (5037 Connecticut Avenue NW). The D.C. punks who just released Tape Two this past June will bring along Rhode Island’s Downtown Boys and California’s Neonates to round out the bill. $10, 10 p.m. — Andy Hess
BLUES: The 25th Annual DC Blues Festival will be held at the Carter Barron Amphitheater (4850 Colorado Avenue NW) and will feature performances by The UnXpected, Fast Eddie & the Slowpokes, the DC Blues Society Band with Ayaba Bey, Austin “Walkin’ Cane,” Big G and Albert Castiglia. There will also be activities for the kids. Noon to 7:30 p.m. Free.
SUNDAY
CAPITOL CONCERT: The National Symphony Orchestra will once again perform a Labor Day concert on the West Lawn on the Capitol. “This year’s program theme is Americana, with works by composers from this country (John Williams, Mark Isham) as well as symphonic works that have come to be associated with specific parts of the country including Rossini’s Overture to William Tell, associated by generations with the Wild West as the theme music for The Lone Ranger.” Gates open at 3 p.m. Concert at 8 p.m. Free.
