MONDAY, APRIL 19
PLAY ON: Learn how to design your own game using accessible prototype tools in this virtual workshop with Game Genius, a D.C.-based nonprofit focused on playing and making games for good. The virtual event is part of their annual Play Week, a free week-long festival with environmentally-themed challenges, interactive panels, and more, so make sure to check out later events. (5:30 p.m., FREE)
KOREAN FILMS: Enjoy a Korean film about crime, power, and celebrity with the Korean Cultural Center. The award-winning film, By Quantum Physics: A Nightlife Venture, follows an aspiring entrepreneur who gets enmeshed in a celebrity drug scandal. The 2019 movie directed by Lee Seong-tae will be available to stream in Korean with English subtitles – advance registration is required. (through April 25, FREE)
TUESDAY, APRIL 20
LUNCH AND LEARN: Get ready for Earth Day with a “lunch and learn” panel on how to protect clean water with plants in your yard from Waterkeepers Chesapeake alliance. The virtual talk will feature waterkeepers from Blue Water Baltimore, James River Association, and ShoreRivers who work to encourage the use of native plants, water-friendly lawn practices, and more. (12 p.m., FREE)
CANADIAN AMBASSADOR: Meet Kirsten Hillman, Canada’s first female ambassador to the U.S., in the first event from Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital’s newly launched Meet the Ambassador program. The one-hour, virtual interview, which will be pre-recorded and distributed to ticket holders, offers an inside look on the day-to-day life of a diplomat. (7 p.m., FREE)
BLACK OSCARS: Join D.C. Public Library for a discussion with Frederick Gooding about Black filmmakers and the Academy Awards — just in time for Oscars season. Gooding will talk about his new book,Black Oscars: From Mammy to Minny, What the Academy Awards Tell Us about African Americans, on how the Oscars have recognized Black creatives from the award’s inception to the present. (6 p.m., FREE)
MORE:Lost City Books – The Fictional Now reads The Hearing Trumpet (7 p.m., FREE), Molly Baz (Sixth and I, 7 p.m., $38 for admission plus signed book)
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21
RHYMING RAP: Join the Planet Word Museum for a panel on the history of rhythm and rhyme, from poetry to modern-day rap. Panelists Adam Bradley and Sue Ellen Thompson come prepared with examples of poets and rappers using rhyme in their creative work. (6:30 p.m., FREE)
OSCARS DRAMA: Walk the virtual red carpet with Washington City Paper film critic Noah Gittell as he explores the unusual awards season as a result of the pandemic. Gittell will feature behind-the-scenes stories, Oscars history, and trivia at the virtual Smithsonian event. (6:45 p.m., $25)
SOUL FOOD: Tune into a screening of the documentary Soul Food Junkies, followed by a conversation with filmmaker Byron Hurt. The film explores themes of health and culture in the movement to solve food insecurity and deserts in D.C. The screening comes from the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum, where the exhibit Food for the Peopleis now on view. (7 p.m., FREE)
MORE: Climate Town Hall with Eleanor Holmes Norton (Citizens’ Climate Lobby DC, 6 p.m., FREE), BSO Sessions Episode 23: Locally Made ($10), People Power! Citizen Scientists and the Smithsonian (Smithsonian Folklife Festival, 7 p.m., FREE)
THURSDAY, APRIL 22
USED BOOK SALE: Bookworms rejoice: Downtown DC’s huge outdoor bookstore returns to Federal Triangle. Shop thousands of used books, CDs, DVDs on sale for $6 or less at the Capital Book Fest. The books are provided by Carpe Librum, benefiting nonprofit Turning the Page. (Woodrow Wilson Plaza, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., free admission)
WINE AND DINE: The Yards neighborhood celebrates its chef-driven restaurants with a dinner and wine tasting experience. The VineYard dinners come with everything you need for a fancy evening in: insulated wine bag, tablecloth, napkins, napkin rings, wine glasses, and wine pairing tutorials. Participants can choose from $75 and $150 options for pick-up from Shilling Canning Co. and Maxwell Park. (The Yards, Thursday and Friday, $75-$125)
COMEDY FOR A CAUSE: Test your knowledge in a 50% comedy, 50% trivia event raising funds for the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, just in time for Earth Day. The virtual event will feature three rounds of trivia, varying in difficulty, followed by a comedian palate cleanser. (8 p.m, $5 suggested donation)
VIRTUAL FESTIVAL: The National Museum of the American Indian kicks off its annual festival celebrating the Earth, starting on none other than Earth Day. The Living Earth Festival features Native innovators dedicated to using Indigenous practices to protect the environment. Stream any of the events, including conversations, film screenings, and cooking demonstrations, at any time throughout the festival’s duration. (Through Sunday, FREE)
MORE: Gay is Good: Frank Kameny and the Fight for LGBTQ Rights (DC History Center, 7:30 p.m., FREE), The Hidden History of Coined Words with Ralph Keyes (Planet Word Museum, 6:30 p.m., FREE), Lost City Book – In Translation reads Disoriental (7 p.m., FREE)
