MONDAY, JAN. 2
PIZZA MAKING: Kick off the new year with a new skill: pizza making. Join a small group for a Pizza Perfetta pizza making lesson at Glover Park’s In Bocca al Lupo. The class will take you through the whole process, from dough making to toppings. Then, you’ll get to enjoy the fruits of your labor over some Italian wine. (In Bocca al Lupo; 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.; $75+)
SHUT UP AND WRITE: How’s that passion project screenplay coming along? How about that auto-fiction coming of age novel? It’s harder to procrastinate in the company of other writers — at least that’s the idea behind Solid State Books monthly Shut Up & Write! Meetup, taking place on Monday. (Solid State Books; 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.; FREE)
HAPPY GHOUL YEAR: October may be far away, but the folks at Stage Fright Comedy are getting their scary on this Monday. Join them in ringing in the new year with a frightful and delightful open mic and comedy show called Happy Ghoul Year, featuring DMV comedy favorites. (Sudhouse DC; 9:45 p.m.; FREE)
MORE: Rock Creek Park Hike (Rock Creek Park Nature Center and Planetarium; 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; FREE), Artist Cafe and Critique Group (Falls Church Arts Gallery; 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.; FREE), Coats for Ukraine (North Point Village Center; 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.; FREE), Potomac River Mixer Tour (Georgetown Waterfront Park; 5 p.m.; $45), Climb and Meetup (Vertical Rock; 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.; $18), Drag Trivia (Barkada Wine Bar; 6:30 p.m.; FREE), Meatless Monday (Cookology Culinary School; 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.; $99),
TUESDAY, JAN. 3
FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS: Still hanging onto that holiday spirit? Wring out the last drops of holiday joy at the Bull Run Festival of Lights, a 2.5 mile drive-through display of festive lights through Bull Run Regional Park. The winter wonderland is on display through Sunday, so don’t miss your chance to see it. (Bull Run Regional Park; through Jan. 8; 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.; $30+)
BIRRIA TACO TUESDAY: Transform your Tuesday into a Taco Tuesday with this birria taco workshop at Ballston’s Cookology Culinary School. A specialty of Jalisco, Mexico, the braised meat, pan-fried tacos are served with a stew called consomé. Warm yourself up on a chilly night with this hands-on how-to. (Cookology Culinary School; 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.; $109)
MORE: Adult Line Dance Class (LDW Studios; 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; $7), Improv Comedy with Topher Bellavia (St. Alban’s Church; 12:45 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.; FREE), Bethesda Quilters Meeting (Kensington Library; 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.; FREE), Lego Challenge (Georgetown Neighborhood Library; 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.; FREE), Open Mic Night (Settle Down Easy Brewing Co.; 6 p.m. to 8:45 p.m.; FREE), Live Band Karaoke (THRōW Social™ DC; 8 p.m. to 11 p.m.; FREE); New Material Night (Hotbed; 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.; FREE)
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 4
INTRODUCTION TO COFFEE: Want to take your coffee addiction to the next level? Become a coffee connoisseur by enrolling in the Specialty Coffee Association’s Coffee Skills Program, offered by Counter Culture Coffee. The first course in the coffee industry-certified class takes place on Wednesday. (Counter Culture Coffee; 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; $295)
FIRST THE MUSIC, THEN THE DANCE: What relationship do music and modern dance have to each other? It’s a question frequently pondered by Saul Lilienstein, a music historian and former student of Leonard Bernstein. It’s also the question at the center of First the Music, then the Dance, an eight-part series of talks Lilienstein will hold over Zoom. (Virtual; 1:30 pm. to 3:30 p.m.; FREE)
IMPLICIT ORDERS, EXPLICIT VIOLENCE: About three months before the Capitol insurrection, Donald Trump told an White supremacist group to “stand back and stand by” during a televised presidential debate. At Implicit Orders, Explicit Violence, a Profs & Pints taking place Tuesday, American University professor Kurt Braddock will discuss Trump’s comment, other instances of implied support for political violence, and what they indicate about the state of the union. (Little Penn Coffeehouse; 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.; $14.31)
BOARD GAME NIGHT: You’ll never be bored at Board Game Night, a meetup at The Board Room in Clarendon every Wednesday. These aren’t your grandma’s games. Board Game Night focuses on contemporary, complicated games. Don’t worry — the organizers are happy to teach you anything you don’t already know how to play. (The Board Room VA; 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.; FREE)
MORE: (re)Visions (Studio Gallery; through Jan. 28; FREE), African American History Tour (U.S. Navy Memorial Plaza; 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.; $90), Lex Marie: Let Them Kids Be Kids (Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington; 12 p.m.; FREE), Paws to Read (Charles E. Beatley Jr. Central Library; 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.; FREE), Simone Baron and Arco Belo (Kennedy Center; 6 p.m.; FREE),Karaoke Happy Hour (Artemis DC; 7 p.m.; FREE), Drunk Shakespeare (The Sage; 7:30 p.m.; $25)
THURSDAY, JAN. 5
MY SCHOOL DC LOTTERY 101: Are you a parent or guardian looking to enroll your child in a public school they don’t automatically qualify for? District Motherhued is here to help. Head over to Anacostia’s Busboys and Poets on Thursday night for My School DC Lottery 101, an informative panel about navigating the DCPS lottery. (Busboys and Poets Anacostia; 6:15 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.; FREE)
BLUEGRASS AND BEER: The bluegrass is free. The beer is not — but it’s only $2. Welcome the weekend in with Union Stage’s Free Bluegrass & $2 Beers Night, featuring performances from Split String Soup and Old Town Flood. (Union Stage; 7 p.m.; FREE)
JEOPARDY!: You might kill it at weekly trivia, but are you good enough to be on Jeopardy!? Pat Curran, a regular at Breadsoda’s Monday Night Trivia and a two-time Breadsoda Cup trivia champion, is. He’ll be appearing on the beloved trivia show on Thursday, and Breadsoda is cheering him on with a watch party. (Breadsoda Bar, Deli & Billiards; 7 p.m.; FREE)
MORE: Super Magfest (National Harbor; though Jan. 8; $155), Read and Craft (Shaw Neighborhood Library; 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.; FREE), Not a Box Play Party (Southeast Neighborhood Library; 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.; FREE), Group Volunteer (Capital Area Food Bank; 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.; FREE), Pure Poetry Live (Karma DC Live Music Venue; 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.; $20), Luis J. Gomez (The Comedy Loft; 7:30 p.m.; $25), Starting Five Showcase (DC Improv; 7:30 p.m.; $20+),Thursday Night Comedy (DC Arts Center; 7:30 p.m.; $15), Louis Lortie Plays Chopin (The Music Center at Strathmore; 8 p,m.; $35+)
