This week is jam-packed with opportunities to expand your cultural horizons, celebrate women, and reflect on mortality. Get after it.
MONDAY, MARCH 4
HIGH TIME: Trace the use of cannabis all the way back to 8000 BC in ancient Taiwan with a guided tour of The History of Cannabis Museum. You’ll learn all there is to learn about Satan’s Lettuce (is that what the kids are calling it these days?). Snacks will also be provided, of course. (The History of Cannabis Museum, 11 a.m.-7 p.m., $10)
TEQUILA: Start training your liver for Cinco de Mayo with Oyamel’s all inclusive Tequila Mezcal Festival. Tickets includes 14 tequila and mezcal tastings, specialty cocktails, food stations, passed bites, live music, and a photobooth so that you have some recollection of the event. (Oyamel Cocina Mexicana, 6 p.m.-9 p.m., $49)
RESEARCH RIGHT: What do Arthur the Aardvark and Belle from Beauty and the Beast have in common? They love a good library. If you do, too, take advantage of this free Library of Congress research orientation session covering reading rooms, collections, closed-stack requests, conducting efficient research, the Library’s catalogs, and twirling like Belle the first time she sees the Beast’s library. (Thomas Jefferson Building, 6:30 p.m.-8 p.m., FREE with registration)
HOW MUCH: The Price of Everything addresses money-driven market of contemporary art. The film follows artists, collectors, dealers, critics, and auctioneers and raises the question: Is the best art the most expensive art? The producers will be onsite following the screening to discuss the state of the art world with Hirshhorn director Melissa Chiu. You’re guaranteed to leave 40000 percent more thankful for all the free art in D.C. (Hirshhorn Museum, 5:30 p.m.-8 p.m., FREE with registration)
MORE: Puma Blue and Westerman (Songbyrd, 7 p.m.-11 p.m., $15), Mahjong Monday Game Night (Toli Moli, 5 p.m.-7 p.m., $33), Wine Blends Class (Cork & Fork, 7 p.m.-8 p.m., $45), Aromatherapy Workshop (Cityline at Tenley, 6:30 p.m.-9 p.m., $15)
TUESDAY, MARCH 5
WONDER WOMEN: Kick off Women’s Month 2019 with Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Washington Women of Excellence Awards. This celebration honors women of achievement who’ve shown exemplary commitment to their communities. My nomination for an unwavering commitment to local Thai takeout must have gotten lost in the mail. (Eastern Market, 6 p.m.-8 p.m., FREE with registration)
TWO BIRDS, ONE COCKTAIL: If you’ve been wondering how on earth you’ll celebrate BOTH Mardi Gras AND National Absinthe Day, which coincide this year, look no further than Petworth Citizen’s gumbo dinner and absinthe tasting. Your ticket gets you access to the absinthe fountain, gumbo, chocolate pecan pie, a specialty cocktail, and it includes gratuity. (Petworth Citizen, 7 p.m.-10 p.m., $45)
HELLO DARKNESS: Drink tea, eat cake, and talk about death at Death Cafe, where a local end-of-life doula will lead a conversation to “increase awareness of death to help people make the most of their finite lives.” We’re all going to die, but not everyone can attend this morbid meetup as space is limited. (Rhizome, 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m., $5 donation suggested, RSVP required)
SWAMP ROMP: Celebrate Fat Tuesday with the U.S. Army Band’s top brass. Swamp Romp will transport you to Louisiana with traditional New Orleans jazz, zydeco, and Cajun classics. This is a family event, so please keep your top on. BYO beads. (The Kennedy Center, 6 p.m., FREE)
MORE: Argentine Tango Beginner Class (Eighteenth Street Lounge, 8-9 p.m., $15), WET and Kilo Kish (9:30 Club, 7 p.m., $25), Tiki & Slow Jams (Backroom at Capo, 9 p.m, FREE), Miya Folick (Songbyrd Music house, 7 p.m, $13-$15)
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6
CASE CLOSED: MacArthur “genius” grant winner and investigative journalist Jerry Mitchell will join American University School of Communications Assistant Professor Sherri Williams in conversation about Mitchell’s work exposing injustices and corruption in civil-rights-era Mississippi. This dude has put FOUR Klansmen behind bars. Come take notes and learn about the power of journalism. A reception will follow. (Forman Theatre, American University, 6:30 p.m.-9 p.m., FREE with registration)
BIG IDEAS: The latest edition of the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation’s Innovative Lives Program Series features Dr. James West, inventor of the electret microphone, and Ellington West, leader of Sonavi Labs, which develops modern medical products that use sound to diagnose disease. Dr. West worked for Bell Labs, which, if you watched The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, you know is a pretty effing big deal. Get face-to-face with these leaders as they discuss their process, the development of an idea, facing failure, and what it means to innovate. (Smithsonian National Museum of American History, 6 p.m.-8:30, FREE with registration)
PRACTICE MAKES PORTRAIT: The wine and watercolors will flow at this class where you’ll create portraits of inspirational women. Every skill level is welcome—there will be stencils of well-known ladies, but you can also free-style paint any woman who inspires you, like your mom. She’d love that. Ticket cost includes ink, watercolors, cardstock, artistic guidance, and all the bubbly you can drink while maintaining artistic integrity. (Shop Made in DC at the Wharf. 6:30 p.m.-8 p.m., $39)
PERIOD KNOWLEDGE: What better way to celebrate Women’s History Month than to demystify the menstrual cycle? Learn about how charting fertility can help you understand your moods and your body, what natural remedies can alleviate symptoms, and how the Ayurvedic doshas correspond to the female body. Dudes, this class isn’t just for proud uterus owners; Here’s your chance to gain some empathy and understanding about where you came from. (The Apothékary, 6:30 p.m.-8 p.m., $10)
MORE: Grand Opening of Busboys and Poets Anacostia (2004 MLK Jr. Ave SE, 6 p.m.-9 p.m., FREE), High Waisted (Rock & Roll Hotel, 8 p.m.-11 p.m., $12), A Seat At The Table: A conversation About Diversity In The Workplace (Mindspace K Street, 6 p.m.-8 p.m., FREE with registration), New Moon Gathering and Workshop (Steadfast Supply, 7 p.m.-9 p.m., $40)
THURSDAY, MARCH 7
MULTI-DIMENSIONAL: What happens when a lunch lady, a bullied kid, a spiritual medium/phone sex operator, and a minister meet a mystical being and are transported into another dimension? Find out at this screening of Kairos Dirt & the Errant Vacuum. The film asks, “What is a dream? What is reality? What must we give up to become something else?” So, ya know, just some typical Thursday night philosophical fodder. (Suns Cinema, 8 p.m., $10)
PRINT LIVES: Ever wondered, “What do the Swiss think of print journalism?” Here is your chance to find out. The co-founders of print magazine Immersions, Delphine Riand and Maxime Fayet, will reflect on what makes slow storytelling, reporting, photography, and art worthwhile. Immersions is an independent journal for “lovers of beautiful stories,” which probably sounds less nebulous and hipster in a French accent. This talk is part of the Francophonie Festival, and a reception will follow for lovers of beautiful snacks. (IA&A at Hillyer, 6 p.m.-8 p.m., FREE with registration)
COCO IRL: Barrett Pitner, a writer who covered the genesis of the Black Lives Matter movement, saw a need for more communities to share in remembrance of lost loved ones in a similar fashion to the Latin American Dio de los Muertos. After spending years navigating how to expand the celebration without appropriating Mexican and indigenous culture, the film Altars: A Cross-Cultural Day of the Dead was born. Immigrant civil rights advocate Claudia Flores will be in conversation with the director following a preview of the project. (Shopkeepers, 7 p.m-9 p.m., FREE with registration)
NO SHAME: Amelia Bonow started the #ShoutYourAbortion movement when she posted a thank you to Planned Parenthood on Facebook. Four years later, Amelia has compiled an anthology of photos, essays, artwork, and #ShoutYourAbortion posts from women who’ve told their abortion stories. Amelia will be in conversation with Philly-based writer Jessa Jordan to discuss the book, which represents “a range of ethnicities, ages, and classes; each tells a unique story, and each is unapologetic and adamant about fighting all efforts to restrict the right to a safe and legal abortion.” (Politics and Prose Union Market, 7-8 p.m., FREE)
MORE: Marbled Clay Workshop (The Lemon Collective, 7 p.m-9 p.m., $65), Liv Warfield, Alternative Soul (Blues Alley, 8 p.m and 10 p.m., $35), Alyssa Mastromonaco: So Here’s The Thing Book Talk (Sixth & I, 7 p.m., $18-$45), RuPaul’s Drag Race Watch Party (JR’s, 9 p.m-11 p.m., FREE)
