FRIDAY, OCT. 21
REEL AFFIRMATIONS: This weekend, Reel Affirmations Film Festival is taking over E Street Cinema. The international LGBTQ+ film festival features films of all lengths, genres and countries of origin. Learn more about a beloved 1980s hub of Black gay D.C., Argentina’s resilient trans community with Our Bodies Are Your Battlefields, or an erotic filmmaker in Pat Rocco Dared. If you’d prefer to watch the movies from bed, you can buy virtual passes. (E Street Cinema and virtual; Thursday through Sunday; $10+)
ROCK ‘N’ ROLL POSTER SHOW: Want to live — or relive — the glory days of rock and roll? This weekend, you can peek into the era of Jeff Beck and Janis Joplin with the Psychedelic Art Exchange’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Poster Show, which features original posters from the 1960s. The exhibit will be visiting Canal Center in Old Town Alexandria, and is free all weekend long. (Old Town Alexandria; Friday through Sunday; FREE)
DESIGN BLOCK PARTY: DC Design Week is coming to a close, and they’re going out with a party. This Friday evening, they’re hosting a block party along Brookland Arts Walk. You’ll be able to block print a t-shirt or tote bag, take a design skills class and buy art from local vendors. (Brookland Arts Walk; 6 p.m.; FREE)
SLOPPY JANE: Want to get in the Halloween mood? Just listen to Sloppy Jane’s cover of Napoleon XIV’s eerie 1966 hit “They’re Coming to Take Me Away–Ha Ha!” Or even better, buy yourself a ticket to see the band play DC9 this weekend. Sloppy Jane headlines the venue after touring with Phoebe Bridgers, and their original rock songs hold up on the creepy front. (DC9 Nightclub; 7 p.m.; $15)
MORE:The Housing Affordability Breakthrough Challenge (National Building Museum; indefinitely; $10); Sanctuary City (Arena Stage; through November 27; $76+); Top Gun (Rosslyn Cinema; 5 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.; FREE); Tidal Basin Night Photography Class (FDR Memorial; 5:50 p.m.; $89); Singles Talk Show (Capo Italian Deli; 7 p.m.; $20); City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (Music Center at Strathmore; 8 p.m.; $30)
SATURDAY, OCT. 22
GOOSEBUMPS: Your wildest Scholastic Book Fair dreams are coming true this weekend at the Library of Congress: R. L. Stine, author of the Goosebumps novels, and Mary Pope Osborne, author of the Magic Tree House series, are visiting the library to celebrate three decades of the childhood favorites. Their conversation is part of the library’s Halloween Family Day. (Library of Congress; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; FREE)
CH/ART WALK: This weekend’s CH/Art Walk is like PorchFest, but for visual art. Stroll around Chevy Chase and visit 67 local artists in 22 home studios. Enjoy a glass of wine and a walk with neighbors as you meet artists working in painting, sculpture, jewelry, pottery, ceramics, photography, fabrics, mixed media and video. (Chevy Chase Maryland and D.C.; Saturday and Sunday; 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.; FREE)
BLUEGRASS JAMBOREE: The leaves and temperature have officially caught up with the season. Celebrate all things autumn this Saturday at Dupont Circle’s Fall Fest and Bluegrass Jamboree, where you’ll find a pumpkin patch, pumpkin painting, snacks from Capitol Kettle Corn, hot apple cider, local apples from Dawson’s Market, and four hours of live bluegrass music. (Dupont Circle; 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.; FREE)
OUTDOOR MINI-FEST: With bands hailing from Arlington, Baltimore, D.C. and Richmond, its locals only at Rhizome’s Outdoor Mini-Fest. A $20-$30 ticket (which is on a sliding scale, as all Rhizome tickets are) buys you entry to the festival, which in addition to music features arts and goods by AnaMarie King and wings by Jaren Morrow. (Rhizome DC; 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.; $20+)
ART BETWEEN CULTURES: How can art connect people belonging to different cultures and communities? That’s the question that will drive Contemporary Art as a Means of Finding a Way between Cultures, a conversation between three local and contemporary art experts that takes place this Saturday at Anacostia Arts Center. Sarah Gordon of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities will moderate the talk. (Anacostia Arts Center; 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.; FREE)
MORE: Rummage Sale (St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church; 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.; FREE); Walk to End HIV (Gateway DC Pavilion; 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.; $35+); Howard University Yard Fest (Howard University; 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.; FREE); Very Sad Lab Pop-Up Plant Clinic (The Nicholson Project; 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.; FREE); Happy Diwali! author and illustrator Sanyukta Mathur and Courtney Pippin-Mathur (East City Bookshop; 11:30 p.m.; FREE); Mosaic International Showcase (Pentagon Center; 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.; FREE); National Landing Oktoberfest (Crystal City’s Restaurant Row; 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.; FREE); DC Climate Resiliency Training (Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library; 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.; FREE); Let’s Talk About Publishing (American University; 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.; FREE); Howl-o-ween Celebration (Hillwood Museum; 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.; $13); Meet the Makers (Union Market; 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.; $20)
SUNDAY, OCT. 23
CRAFT SHOW: Another weekend, another artisan market ripe for gift-shopping. If you’re up for a drive, the Academy Art Museum hosts its 25th annual Craft Show this weekend, featuring over 60 makers from all over the country. You name a craft, and it’s probably represented somewhere at the Craft Show, a self-described “show by artists for artists.” (Academy Art Museum, Easton; Saturday and Sunday; FREE)
PLANET WORD COMMUNITY DAY: Planet Word is turning one, and they’re celebrating with a family day that features crosswords, crafts, book readings, haiku writing and more word-related fun, intended for the whole family. (Planet Word; 10 a.m.; FREE)
CHESTNUT FESTIVAL: It’s not quite chestnuts roasting on an open fire season, but it is Chestnut Festival season. The American Chestnut Festival will take over the Congressional Cemetery this Sunday to celebrate chestnut trees with expert talks, a chestnut planting, food and alcohol vendors and more. (Congressional Cemetery; 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; FREE)
MORE: Taco, Beer, Tequila Festival (National Harbor; Saturday and Sunday; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; $55+); Animated Rally for Reproductive Rights (Dupont Underground; 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday; $10); Habitat for Humanity Young Professionals PumpkinFest (Dacha Beer Garden Navy Yard; 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.; $35); Intro to Stained Glass Mosaics (Shop Made in DC Union Market; 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.; $100); Prokofiev’s Sixth Symphony (Kennedy Center; 3 p.m.; $15+); George Stavis and Elkhorn (Rhizome DC; 4 p.m.; $15+); Profs & Pints DC: Thoughts of the Undead (DC Comedy Loft and Bier Tavern; 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.; $15); King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard (The Anthem; 6:30 p.m.; $35)
