Photo by Caroline Angelo.
It’s once again Halloween, when adorable children dress in adorable costumes to ask for candy and less adorable adults stumble around after drinking too much blood punch at a party. Below are a variety of events, from costume contests to movie screenings, taking place today. Did we miss something? Send it to tips@dcist.com.
Union Market (1309 5th Street NE) will host its final drive-in movie of the fall with a screening of Ghostbusters. $10 tickets for cars can be purchased here. 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.
H Street NE businesses — Big Board, Michos, Driftwood Kitchen, Cirque du Rouge, Le Grenier, Boundary Road, Metro Mutts and D.C. Harvest — will hand out candy to kids and the adults who accompany them tonight.
Wear a costume, get a free, small pumpkin shake at Boloco (1028 19th Street NW) today.
The Kennedy Center‘s (2700 F Street NW) Millennium Stage will host a Halloween dance party and costume contest. Choreographer and dancer Quynn Johnson will teach the steps to dances like “The Time Warp” at 5 p.m., and The Loser’s Lounge will play at 6 p.m. Costume contest categories include Best Kid Costume, Best Character, Funniest, Scariest and Wild Card.
The Heurich House (1307 New Hampshire Avenue NW) will be open for trick-or-treating from 5 to 8 p.m.
Eastern Market, the D.C. Public Library and Capitol Hill Arts Workshop will host HILLoween on 7th Street SE. Events include mask-making at CHAW (545 7th Street SE), a pie eating contest, dog costume parade and more. 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
The National Park Service, Metro Mutts and Washington Humane Society will host a Halloween event for dogs in Lincoln Park (East Capitol and 11th Street NE) from 3 to 5 p.m. WHS (1201 New York Avenue NE, 7319 Georgia Avenue NW) will also host a Howl-O-Ween adoption special, with dogs available for $31 and cats for $10. Friday and Saturday, noon to 7 p.m.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of Sun Ra’s birth. The jazz iconoclast, who claimed to be a native of the planet Saturn, was among the most visible members of the afrofuturist movement and had a life that no one could have predicted given his humble beginnings in the Jim Crow south. Along Came Ra… is a three-day festival taking place this weekend, and if there was ever an artist who could bring together jazz and Halloween, Sun Ra is that artist. The festival kicks off on Friday with the marquis performance from the Sun Ra Arkestra, with special guest Bernie Worrell (P-Funk, Talking Heads). A 6:30 p.m. costume procession from the 9:30 Club will precede the 8 p.m. performance, which takes place at the Lincoln Theatre. Tickets $20. Kids in costume get in free if accompanied by a ticket holder, subject to availability.—Sriram Gopal
The Black Cat (1811 14th Street NW) will host the Halloween Circus featuring live music from Jonny Grave & the Tombstones, Rocky and the Pressers and Humble Fire; burlesque from Cheríe Sweetbottom and Ruby Rockafella; and a sideshow from Moloch’s Midway and Cabinet of Infernal Mysteries. 9 p.m. $15.
The Freer Gallery of Art (1050 Independence Avenue SW) will host Fear at the Freer, which features a screening of Ringu at 7 p.m., Japanese food, mask-making and a look at spooky objects. 5 p.m. Free.
Jimmy Valentine’s Lonely Hearts Club (1103 Bladensburg Road NE) requires a costume and $15 cover to get in to its Halloween bash. A $70 ticket means an open bar with no limitations. DJs Beatrix, Team Zapata, Joe L., R&b and V:ishal Kanwar will provide the music.
Tropicalia (2001 14th Street NW) will host a Halloween Monster Bash with Black Masala and Osaka Monaurail at 9 p.m. “Multiflora Productions hosts a Halloween Monster Bash with the D.C. debut performance of Osaka Monaurail, a nine-piece funk band from Japan who are on world tour celebrating their 20th Anniversary and a new album. D.C.’s favorite eclectic brass band, Black Masala will play a set of Gogol Bordello and Leningrad covers, adding to the holiday fun. Party continues late night with DJs Castro and Congo Sanchez, who just “Shed his Dreads” for Cancer!” $10 tickets at door. —Andy Cerutti
The Halloween Social at POV at W (515 15th Street NW) doubles as a fundraiser for wounded warriors organization Luke’s Wings. Costumes required. $40.
The Rock and Roll Hotel (1353 H Street NE) will host performances by B Side Shuffle and the Brass Backwards Orchestra, Big Country Express and Emilio Festevez starting at 9 p.m. A cash-prize costume contest will be held. $12.
BikeSPACE and Bardo are hosting a Halloween bike ride that will leave Mount Vernon Square around 7:30 p.m. The ride will be followed by a costume party and contest at Bardo (1200 Bladensburg Road NE).
Rí Rá Irish Pub (3125 M Street NW) will host a costume contest with a $500 top prize.
Town Danceboutique does even better with a $1,000 top costume contest prize. $10 cover between 10 and 11 p.m. for people over 21, $15 after.
Spirit Cruises‘ Spirit of Mount Vernon boat will play host to a “Boo Cruise” at 9 p.m. The event features a DJ, costume contest, food and a cash bar. $44.90 plus fees. 600 Water Street SW.
Morton’s (3251 Prospect Street NW, 1050 Connecticut Avenue NW) is offering a four-course steak dinner for $35.
Photo by Caroline Angelo.
