This week there’s the opportunity to unwind with a sound bath, attend a fancy dinner party with zoo animals, and be a DJ for a night.
MONDAY, MAY 13
COMMON SENSE: What doesn’t Common do? Tonight he’ll be giving an intimate concert and engaging in conversation about his new memoir, Let Love Have the Last Word, “which explores love as an action and a tool for self-betterment and healing humanity.” So glad SOMEONE finally has a suggestion for healing humanity. (The Kennedy Center, 8 p.m., $45-$75)
BIG FANTOM: Dupont comic haven Fantom Comics is collaborating with 20th Century Fox to host an X-Men party ahead of the release of the new X-Men movie, Dark Phoenix. Cosplay is encouraged, but taping knives to your hands is not. There are less pointy ways to be Wolverine, folks. Get crafty with some hair gel and enter to win advanced screening passes, exclusive posters, play X-Men trivia, and enjoy beer specials. (Fantom Comics, 5 p.m.-8 p.m., FREE)
SELFIE CARE: Feeling like the physical manifestation of a cattywampus Picasso? Get realigned with this wellness class at the endlessly Instagrammable Eaton DC. You’ll be led through a restorative yoga practice followed by Reiki healing including essential oils. You’ll leave feeling like a relaxed, slippery, spiritually-aligned dolphin—the dream. (Eaton DC, 6 p.m.-7:30 p.m., $30)
MORE: Free Adult Sword Class (DC Samurai Training Academy, 7:30 p.m., FREE), Intro to Hand Lettering (Shop Made in DC – Wharf, 6 p.m.-8 p.m., $75), DC Cabaret Network May Open Mic (Seasons & Sessions, 8 p.m., FREE)
TUESDAY, MAY 14
SPIN IT: Do you feel a burning desire to show the world your excellent taste in music and allegiance to the analog? Sign up for a 15-20 minute slot, show up with your favorite records, and spin for a crowd at this BYO Vinyl night at The Graham. Bonus points if you pretend you’re a DJ and do fun hand gestures. (The Graham Rooftop, 6 p.m.-9 p.m., p.m. with registration)
THIS IS WHAT YOU DO WITH A BA IN ENGLISH: That’s a long, weird title, but the song titles for Avenue Q are long and weird, too. Here’s your chance to sing along to the absurd, too-true music from the hit Broadway show. Check out this spreadsheet to sign up for parts. Shockingly, no one has signed up to sing “I’m Not Wearing Underwear Today.” Open karaoke starts at 7 p.m. and Avenue Q karaoke starts at 8 p.m. (Solly’s, 7 p.m.-10 p.m., FREE)
STORYTIME: Test your attention span at The Inner Loop’s May reading. This monthly showcase of local writers features five minute works of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. You can also submit to read at a future event if your self expression can’t be contained by social media character counts, but it also isn’t quite book-deal material. (The Pie Shop, 8 p.m., FREE)
GREEN SWAP: Do your current plants know too much? Swap them for some new green friends at this Spring House Plant Swap. Bring 1-3 healthy, pest-free houseplants to trade with other plant parents and enjoy snacks and drinks. There will also be a “free plant” table for any additional plants or cuttings you’d like to give away, so now is the time to dump that half-dead succulent and give it a chance at a new life. (The Lemon Collective, 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m., $18)
MORE: Jill Biden, Where the Light Enters (Sixth & I, 7 p.m.-8 p.m., $45), Concert, Hanna Bachmann & Isabel Pfefferkorn (Austrian Cultural Forum, 7 p.m.-9 p.m., FREE), The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Trivia (Pinstripes, 7 p.m.-9 p.m., FREE with registration), Lecture: The World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 (Tudor Place, 6:30 p.m.-8 p.m., FREE with registration)
WEDNESDAY, MAY 15
HANDIMAN: Happy hour is great, but it rarely results in a paper crown or floral centerpiece. Luckily the Renwick Handi-hour offers both a post-work buzz and a crafternoon delight. This Handi-hour you’ll get to make a paper flower wreath, crown, or centerpiece while listening to live music. Your ticket includes two beers or ginger beers, all crafting supplies, a souvenir glass, and snacks. (Renwick Gallery, 5:30 p.m.-8 p.m., $25)
CIDER? I BARELY KNOW HER: This five-part horizontal tasting event pairs each different cider with a similar beer or wine. Apparently a horizontal tasting does not mean you’re tasting while lying down, but rather that all of the sips are from the same year and from a variety of producers. Though messy, I maintain that a reclined tasting would be more fun. If anyone starts a tasting room with chaises and bean bags, please invite me. (Capitol Cider House, 7 p.m.-8 p.m., $25)
CLEAN YOUR EARS: Is basic meditation too quiet for you? Take a spiritual dip in a sound bath and let the healing frequencies of Tibetan Singing Bowls carry you to a place of deep relaxation. Please note that this does not take the place of a regular bath, no matter how squeaky clean your aura feels afterwards. (Eaton Wellness, 7-8 p.m., $35)
RUSSIAN MERMAIDS: Tonight’s Profs & Pints features folklorist Philippa Rappoport of Hogwarts George Washington University. Philippa will talk about the Slavic mermaids of yore whose beauty took men to watery graves and inspired everything from hair styles to wedding rituals to parades. Russian mermaids sang sexy songs and murdered men, but Potomac mermaids convince you it’s a fun idea to take a Boomerang Pirate Cruise. (The Bier Baron Tavern, 6 p.m., $12)
MORE: Strawberry Lemon Cake Class (Milk Bar Flagship, 7-9 p.m., $95) Mel Brooks Retrospective: Young Frankenstein Screening (Warner Bros. Theatre, 6:30 p.m., $12), Swirled Chainmaille Bracelet Making (Halcyon Arts Lab, 6:30 p.m.-9 p.m., $70), Watercolors and Cocktails (Union Market, 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m., $55)
THURSDAY, MAY 16
BE YOUR OWN FLORIST: Since snipping blooms out of neighborhood flower beds is supposedly “inconsiderate,” take this flower arranging class. You’ll go home with an “Ina Garten style” (read: simple) floral centerpiece hand-crafted under the tutelage of Georgetown’s A Mano floral designer, Patricia Berl. She’s trained with both the National Cathedral Altar Guild here in D.C. and with Royal Wedding Floral Designer Shane Connolly in the U.K., so safe to say this is classier than ripping tulips off of a street median. Ticket cost includes a glass of wine. (Acacia Food and Wine, 6:30 p.m.-8 p.m., $30)
140 MINUTES OF FAME: GALA, D.C.’s Hispanic theater, is mounting a bilingual language version of beloved musical FAME. There will be subtitles in both English and Spanish visible on screens in rows E through H, but the story of talented, ambitious kids dealing with live, love, and tragedy at their prestigious high school for the performing arts will transcend language barriers and leave you wondering why you quit chorus in the 7th grade. (GALA Hispanic Theatre, 8 p.m., $65)
BITE FOR A CAUSE: If you’re looking for a fun tax write-off, become a Friend of the National Zoo and snag a ticket to ZooFari: Bite Night. The annual event supporting the Smithsonian’s conservation efforts features food from D.C. hot spots, wine from local vintners (that’s a fancy name for a winemaker), live entertainment, a silent auction, and all the animals your peepers can peep. If you’ve been jonesing to wear fancy clothes to the zoo and get up close and personal with some of its residents, tonight is your night to shine. (The National Zoo, 6:30 p.m.-9:30, $175-$225)
RAIDERS OF THE LOST SNARK: How are our museums full of fascinating artifacts and priceless treasures? Colonization and cultural theft! American University professor and author of Indiana Jones in History: From Pompeii to the Moon, Justin M. Jacobs, will discuss the relationship between the Indiana Jones films and real-life explorers and archeologists, who were really the good guys and the bad guys, and the ideologies used to justify the removal of artifacts from their home countries to put them in Western museums at tonight’s Profs & Pints. (Cambria Hotel Washington, 6 p.m., $12)
MORE: Detroit String Quartet: Haydn (Washington National Cathedral, 7:30 p.m., $10-$40), Full Moon Margarita Cruise on the Potomac (Georgetown Harbor, 7:30 p.m.-10:30, $30), The Biggest Little Farm Screening and Filmmaker Q&A (E Street Cinema, 7:30 p.m.-10:30 p.m., $9.75-$12.75), Beyond Basics: Pasta Making (Hill Center, 6:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m., $65)
