SUPER MAGFEST: Super MAGfest is where music and gaming come together — think industry panels, indie game showcases, and performances from groups like the 8-Bit Big Band. Celebrate your favorite video games and their accompanying music at this four-day, 24-hour festival. (Gaylord National Hotel & Convention Center; through Sunday; $155+)
NEW YEAR, NEW SCULPTURES: Kick off the new year by learning about new sculptures. The National Museum of Women in the Arts is back this Friday with its weekly virtual Art Chat @ 5 series. This week, attendees will be chatting about three new contemporary sculpture acquisitions: “Daisies Up Your Butterfly” by Shinique Smith,” “All This Could be Yours (Study I)” by Katherine Vetne, and “Hummingbird” by Davina Semo. (Virtual; 5 p.m.; FREE)
DANCING WITH THE STARS: Friday brings a chance to see your favorite celebrity dance competition in person. The “Dancing with the Stars” tour stops at MGM National Harbor, and the dancers will be recreating memorable numbers from previous seasons and debuting never-before-seen performances. (MGM National Harbor; 8 p.m.; $162.50+)
DAVID BOWIE’S BIRTHDAY: Let’s dance, as the late and great David Bowie once told us to do. Bowie’s birthday is on Sunday, and Pearl Street Warehouse is celebrating with a dance party in his honor. Put on your red shoes — they’ll provide the face paint. (Pearl Street Warehouse; 8 p.m.; $10)
MORE: Big Objects, Big Stories (African American History and Culture Museum; 10:45 a.m.-12:30 p.m.; FREE), Frederic Church’s Olana (Virtual; 12 p.m.; $30), Wicked (Kennedy Center; 7:30 p.m.; $59+), Shabbat Night Live (Shaw’s Tavern; 8 p.m.; FREE), T.J. Ferguson (DC Comedy Loft; Friday and Saturday; 8 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.; $15), Gasolina: Reggaeton Party (9:30 Club; 9 p.m.; $20), Indie rock Karaoke (DC9 Nightclub; 9 p.m.; FREE)
SATURDAY, JAN. 7
BEYOND ED BUCK: Last April, Edward Buck was sentenced to 30 years in prison. He was charged for drug and sex crimes that included providing lethal doses of methamphetamine to two Black men. Beyond Ed Buck, which screens at Alamo Drafthouse Cinema this weekend, tells the stories of Buck’s victims and other Black queer men who have been preyed on. The film will be followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers. (Alamo Drafthouse Cinema; 12 p.m.; FREE)
ZORA NEALE HURSTON: Zora Neale Hurston was born on Jan. 7, 1891. This Saturday, 132 years later, the Anacostia Arts Center is celebrating Hurston’s life and award-winning work. Come out for an evening of readings from Hurston’s novels, musical and poetic tributes by local artists, and free copies of her book, You Don’t Know Us Negroes. (Anacostia Arts Center; 6 p.m.-8 p.m.; FREE)
JOEL ROSS: Looking for good vibes this weekend? Look no further than young vibraphonist Joel Ross and his band, who perform at NYU Washington on Saturday. Ross, along with his band Good Vibes, has charted a new path for jazz in the 21st century with his post-bop compositions. (NYU Washington, D.C.; 7 p.m.; $15)
GDP MEETS LOL: Who wants to be a millionaire? Capitalism: The Game Show won’t make you one, but it will make you laugh — and get you one beer on the house. Join the Midnight Gardeners League for this game-show style improv act, which will challenge local talent to dive into the trenches of American capitalism. (City-State Brewing; 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.; $10)
MORE: Fort Stanton Park Volunteer Day (Fort Stanton Recreation Center; 10:30 a.m. -1 p.m.; FREE), Black Wall Street Renaissance Pop-Up Shopping Bazaar (Everlasting Life Restaurant and Lounge; 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; FREE), Culture Queen Kids Hour (Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum; 11 a.m.; FREE), Sip Sip Saturday Wine Tasting (Woodlawn Press Winery; 12 p.m.-6 p.m.; $7+), Candle Making Workshop (FSC Workshop; 12:30 p.m.; $55), Cuban Salsa Dance Class & Social Dancing (Chevy Chase Baptist Church; 1:15 p.m.-4 p.m.; $15), Jellyfish Terrarium Workshop (PlantHouse Alexandria; 6:30 p.m.; $40), Brian Curry The Good Liar (Capital Hilton; 5 p.m. and 8 p.m.; $50), Kris Kuldkepp (Rhizome DC; 7 p.m.; $10+), The Entrepreneur Ball (Overdue Recognition Art Gallery; 7 p.m.; $65+)
SUNDAY, JAN. 8
SPY TOUR OF EMBASSY ROW: Forget about the monuments and the memorials. The Spy Tour of Embassy Row will take you through Washington’s darker history: the conspiracies, the cover-ups and the assassinations. Led by former intelligence officers, this tour will show you where notorious spies lived and operated. It’ll also put your sleuthing skills to the test with a “secret operation.” (Dupont Circle; 12:30 p.m.; $35)
HUSTLE: Warm up in this winter weather with HUSTLE DC’s free HIIT class this weekend. Normally offered at a boutique fitness price, HUSTLE is offering a New Year’s special free class at the Crystal City Marriott this Sunday. (Crystal City Marriott; 1 p.m.; FREE)
LOS REYES MAGOS: The holiday season is still going for those in New Orleans, Spain, South America and anywhere else in the world that celebrates Three Kings Day, or Día de los Reyes Magos. GALA Theatre will join in on the celebrations with a festive parade followed by a series of performances. (GALA Hispanic Theatre; 1:30 p.m.; FREE)
KINSHIP: This weekend is another chance to see “Kinship“, the National Portrait Gallery’s exhibition of contemporary works that explore the intimate relationships we form with one another, whether those relationships be familial, platonic, romantic or community-based. The gallery will host a curated tour Sunday. (National Portrait Gallery; 3 p.m.; FREE)
SUNSET BOULEVARD: There are a lot of good movies in theaters right now, but it’s hard to be as good as Sunset Boulevard, the Academy Award-winning 1950 noir about an aging silent film star and the young screenwriter who stumbles into her madness. Catch it on the big screen this Sunday at Alamo Drafthouse. (Alamo Drafthouse Cinema; 6:45 p.m.; $11)
MORE: Crafternoons (Shop Made in VA; 12 p.m.-3 p.m.; FREE), Vision Board Party (Keller Williams Preferred Properties; 12 p.m.-3 p.m.; FREE), Tree Songs w/ Penny’s Puppets (Joe’s Movement Emporium; 2 p.m.; $5), New Jack Swing Party (Songbyrd Music House; 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.; $25+), Trauma-Sensitive Gentle Yoga (Eaton DC; 6 p.m.; $25), Open Mic Night (Hops N Shine; 6:30 p.m.; FREE), Spank Horton (DC Improv; 7 p.m.; $25), Flynn Cohen and Natalie Padilla (Seekers Church; 7:30 p.m.; $25)
Correction: This post has been updated to correct the dates for “Kinship.” It closes Jan. 7, 2024.
