Dance Theatre of Harlem performs in D.C. three times this weekend. (Photo by Christopher Duggan, courtesy of Bucklesweet Media).
This weekend’s agenda includes an Autumn Festival, Improv Festival, and Italian Festival, plus perfume making, soap making, and more.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14
DANCE PERFORMANCE: The Dance Theatre of Harlem returns to D.C. for two nights (and three performances). The three part program will include the D.C. premiere of System. (Sidney Harman Hall) 8 p.m. $30-65. *Saturday performances also available
FANTASTIC NEGRITO: After leading a band with a million dollar record deal, then experiencing a near fatal car accident that mangled his playing hand, Xavier Dphrepaulezz is now back playing music as Fantastic Negrito. The 2015 winner of NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert Contest brings The Last Days of Oakland tour to the Rock & Roll Hotel. ” It was his passion, his voice and his backing band that landed him an invitation to perform behind my desk. We’re proud of our choice,” Bob Boilen wrote last year. 9 p.m. $14
POLITICAL SATIRE: Unelectable You, a “traveling salon of satire and mockery of the blue and red states alike” has made its way to the Kennedy Center. The Second City’s Completely Unbiased Political Revue, presented by Slate, will feature the improvisational theater troupe trying to figure out just what makes a candidate electable. 8 p.m.
$29-69 *Saturday performances also available
IMPROV FESTIVAL: The Chinese Menu Comedy Invitational pairs improv teams from Baltimore, Philadelphia, NYC, and Boston with D.C. teams for a two-day celebration of improv. Choose from five performances, (or attend them all)! (DCAC – DC Arts Center) 7:30 and 10 p.m. $12 *Saturday performances also available
More: German game night, Story District, Robyn Schaal comedy show, Sara Armour comedy show, bonus Truckeroo
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15
Steadfast Supply, the new retail space at the Arris in Navy Yard, will host a perfume blending workshop. (Photo via Facebook.)
PERFUME BLENDING WORKSHOP: Steadfast Supply, a newly opened retail space offering rotating vendors and DIY workshops, hosts its first event. At the Botanical Perfume Blending Workshop, participants will design their own fragrance using aromatics including Haitian Vetiver and Moroccan Rose Absolute. All participants will take home a 9 ml bottle of their handmade perfume. 1-3 p.m $50
ITALIAN FESTIVAL: Celebrate Italian Heritage Month at the return of Expo Italiana. D.C.’s largest Italian festival will feature a film workshop & forum with directors Anthony & Joe Russo, indoor bocce tournament, traditional singing and dancing, food and drink tastings, and more. (Marriott Wardman Park) 9 a.m.-4 p.m. FREE
HOME MOVIES: Do you have 8mm, Super 8, 16mm, VHS, Hi-8, VHS-C, or Mini-DV movies that you need help preserving? At Home Movie Day, (celebrated worldwide), you can have them inspected by local archivists, or you can simply choose to share them for strangers’ viewing pleasure. If you want to know more about digitizing home movies, but can’t make it to Home Movie Day, you can always book a session at DCPL’s Memory Lab. (Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library) 12-4 p.m. FREE
AUTUMN FESTIVAL: Celebrate 40 years of The National Bonsai & Penjing Museum at the National Aboretum during the Aki Matsuri Autumn Festival: Bonsai and Beyond. The festival will feature bonsai demonstrations, garden tours, tram tours, a kimono fashion show, and more. Unfortunately the Full Moon Hikes are all full, but you can still purchase tickets to the Otsukimi Moon Viewing, featuring Japanese food, drink, music, and Haiku writing. 10 a.m.- 9 p.m. FREE (except for the Moon Viewing)
More: Fantom Comics Trivia Night, Bethesda Row Arts Festival, Curbside Cookoff, Crab Feast, Steve Byrne comedy show , Story League finale, Punk Rock Karaoke
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 16
The first collective reading of “I Want A President” in Stockholm, Sweden took place in 2010; another will happen in front of the White House. (Photo by Sissela Nordling Blanco, via Facebook.)
PRESIDENTIAL REQUIREMENTS: Between July and September, a series of seven writing workshops were held in which participants were asked to answer the questions, “What do you want in a president? What experiences should be reflected? What do you wish to see in government that seems impossible from where we stand now?” After an editing session held last week, there will now be a collective reading of participants responses in front of the White House. The 2016 responses will be read in unison with Zoe Leonard’s 1992 text piece that inspired this project. 5:30-6:30 p.m. FREE
PIG AND GOAT FEAST: Celebrate local farmers, musicians, brewers, and distillers at the (hopefully) first annual Pigstarter. Chefs from Gravitas, Daikaya, Thip Khao, Beuchert’s Saloon, Café Saint-Ex, and The Riggsby will each prepare passed hors d’oeuvres and small dishes featuring pigs and goats from Spring House Farm in Lovettsville, VA. Ticket prices include three beverages. Additional beverages will be available for purchase. (Sixth Engine) 6-10 p.m. $75.
FILM SERIES: Political Nightmares, the latest Hill Center film series, features movies dealing in “paranoia, suspense, and acid political satire.” Keeper of the Flame, the 1942 film (starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn) that premiered to a poor reception due in large part to its leftist politics, kicks off the four-film series. 4-6 p.m. FREE
SOAP MAKING: Make your own soap, salt soak, and sugar scrub in this Halloween Soap Making Extravaganza! Sorry, there won’t be any pumpkin spice fragrances available, but there will be Halloween-themed soap molds. If you’re lucky, there will be a pumpkin-shaped mold. (Latela Art Gallery) 3:30-5 p.m. $38
More: Convergence Theatre Trivia Night, Jackie Kashian comedy show, Peter Frampton, Flower Arranging
