Celebrate Halloween with the animals, including this lemur, at Boo at the Zoo. (Photo by Smithsonian’s National Zoo)
By DCist contributor Lyndsey McKenna
It’s all about autumn this weekend, including a few Halloween frights for the whole family.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19
LIONS, TIGERS AND BEARS: It’s all treats and no tricks at Boo at the Zoo, featuring after-hours access to animal habitats and over 40 spots to grab goodies. Admission includes a treat bag. (Smithsonian National Zoo, 5:30 p.m., $20 member, $30 non-member)
GET OUT OF YOUR COCOON: Spread your wings and soar to the 2018 Butterfly Bash. Enjoy an evening of cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, and live music to raise funds for Fair Chance, which supports promising nonprofits with organizational management. (Washington National Cathedral, 7 p.m., $125-$275)
UNCLE BOB: After more than twenty albums and three decades, the seminal (and absurdly prolific) band Guided by Voices continues. After first calling it quits on their 20-year collaboration in 2004, the Robert Pollard-led indie rock group reunited back in 2010, broke up again in 2014, and has since reunited once more. Its latest album, Space Gun, was released in March. Park Doing opens their show at the Black Cat. (Black Cat, doors 8 p.m., $32-$35)
MORE: Shear Madness (The Kennedy Center Theater Lab, 8 p.m., $56), Friends! The Musical Parody (AMP by Strathmore, 8 p.m., $28-$44), Beetlejuice (National Theatre, 8 p.m., $54-$114), Prosciutto tasting event (Pitango Gelato, Adams Morgan, 5 p.m., FREE)
This is your chance to trick or treat among the most important artifacts of space discovery. (Photo by Kārlis Dambrāns)
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20
THE FRIGHTFUL SKIES: Take your trick-or-treating indoors at Air and Scare, the National Air and Space Museum’s annual Halloween event at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. There’s crafts, spooky science experiments, and pumpkin carving. (National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, noon-5:30 p.m., FREE)
ALL THINGS FALL: Celebrate autumn 18th-century style with Fall Harvest Family Days at Mount Vernon. Set sail on a sightseeing cruise, snake through a straw bale maze, or take in some colonial music. The festival is included with the price of admission. (Mount Vernon, 9 a.m., $12-$20, children under 5 are free)
GET SET, GO: Get ready to run at the sixth annual Race for Every Child 5K run/walk and 100-year kids dash. Though registration’s closed, it’s not too late to support care and research at Children’s National by spectating or donating. The 3.1 mile loop start and ends along Pennsylvania Avenue NW. (Freedom Plaza, 8:45 a.m.)
MORE: Community yoga (The Kennedy Center Grand Foyer, 10:15 a.m., FREE), Nate Chinen (Politics & Prose, 7 p.m., FREE), Trevor Noah (DAR Constitution Hall, 7:30 p.m. show sold out, 10 p.m. tickets still available, $63+), Stella Donnelly with Conor & The Wild Hunt (Songbyrd, doors 7 p.m., show 8 p.m., $12-$14), Professional Fighters League MMA Playoffs (Entertainment and Sports Arena, 7 p.m., $25-$125+), Masterworks of Five Centuries Saturday Concert Series (National Museum of American History, lecture 6:30 p.m., concert 7:30 p.m., $25 member, $35 non-member), DC Statehood: The Struggle for Political Rights in the Nation’s Capitol (Anacostia Community Museum, 3 p.m., FREE), Chesapeake Oyster and Beer Festival (Nationals Stadium, noon-4 p.m., $79)
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 21
MASTERPIECE: Anchored by Adrianne Lenker’s detail-driven songwriting, Big Thief’s music is often inward, yet written with warmth that’s inviting. Last year, the Brooklyn band followed up its 2016 debut Masterpiece with Capacity, an album of quietly captivating reflections. Hear for yourself at their 9:30 Club show, where The Range of Light Wilderness and .micheal open. (9:30 Club, doors 7 p.m., $20)
FLOW DOWN: Take your savasana subterranean at Dupont Underground for a flow set to the sounds of the American Pops Orchestra. The sequence will be led by Michael Peterson and will feature a selection of Broadway stage sounds. (Dupont Underground, 6 p.m., $25)
GRAB A SPOON: Earlier this year the local soup slingers of Soupergirl brought the brand to ABC’s Shark Tank. Tune in as mother-daughter duo Marilyn Polon and Sara Polon pitch their “soup revolution” to the panel of entrepreneurial experts. The show begins at 9 p.m.
MORE: Shenson Chamber Music Concert: Women Perform Bernstein (National Museum of Women in the Arts, 3 p.m., FREE), The Eye-Opening New Rules of Coffee (S. Dillon Ripley Center, 1 p.m., $30 member, $45 non-member), Commonwealth Joe’s Flagship Turns 2 (Commonwealth Joe Pentagon City, 7 a.m.-7 p.m., $2 nitro cold brews, $1 hot coffee)
