FRIDAY, JAN. 13
BUNDLEHOUSE: On Ancient Future, Jamaican songwriter Protoje draws inspiration from reggae artists of the past to create hip-hop inspired music for the future. That’s why multimedia artist Nyugen Smith has titled his latest work Bundlehouse: Ancient Future Memory. Like Protoje, Smith is looking at the African diaspora’s past to craft a representation of its future. (The Yards; through March 12; FREE)
FIGHT CLUB: Queen’s Freddie Mercury vs. the Queen of England. Princess Leia vs. Xena Warrior Princess. Dr. Frankenfurter vs. Dr. Phil. These are the sorts of battles you can expect from Elvis’ Birthday Fight Club, hosted by Kittie Glitter and an impersonator of the King himself. (GALA Hispanic Theatre; Friday and Saturday; 7 p.m. and 10 p.m.; $30+)
WHODUNIT: Already watched Glass Onion — twice? Consider Kentlands Community Players’ staging of The Hollow for your weekend entertainment. Adapted from an Agatha Christie novel, this whodunit takes you on a weekend escape to a country house that goes awry when a guest is murdered. (Gaithersburg Arts Barn; Friday and Saturday 8 p.m.; Sunday 2 p.m.; $22)
MORE: Mid-Atlantic Leather Weekend (Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill; Friday through Sunday; $15+), Editrix (Rhizome DC; 7 p.m. $10+), MLK Shabbat (Sixth & I; 7 p.m.; $8), Valencia Baryton Project (St. Mark’s Capitol Hill; 7:30 p.m.; $20 suggested donation), Ride the Cyclone (Arena Stage; Friday and Saturday 8 p.m.; Sunday 2 p.m.; $125)
SATURDAY, JAN. 14
TINGLING SICHUAN PEPPER: Spice up your weekend with Tingling Sichuan Pepper: History, Chemistry, and More, an online lecture the United States Botanic Garden is hosting. Your teacher for the hour will be Yao Zhao, who shares a hometown with the sichuan pepper plant: Chongquing, China. (Virtual; 11:30 a.m.; FREE)
THE MAKING OF A HOLIDAY: Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968, but it wasn’t until 1983 that his birthday became a national holiday. Head to Shaw Library on Saturday to learn how Martin Luther King Jr. Day came to be with a screening and discussion of MLK: The Making of a Holiday. (Shaw/Watha T. Daniel Library; 1 p.m.; FREE)
PARK AFTER DARK: It’s a great weekend to visit the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial — even better if you can visit it on Saturday evening, because that’s when a park ranger will be on the premises for Park After Dark: Happy Birthday Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a free tour explaining all of the monument’s symbolism. (Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial; 6 p.m.; FREE)
DUMPLING WORKSHOP: Lunar New Year is coming up, and Chinese Street Market DC wants to get you ready for the holiday with their Crystal Dumplings Workshop. The workshop will walk you through the making of green and white dough dumplings filled with shrimp or vegetables. Then, you have the option of adding on a meal to go along with your creations. (Chinese Street Market; 6:30 p.m.; $65+)
DARE TO DREAM SLAM: Local poets will be looking for inspiration in Dr. King, the civil rights movement, and Black history at large for the MLK Dare to Dream Slam, which takes place at Busboys and Poets in Anacostia. A winner will be chosen by the audience and receive $100. (Busboys and Poets Anacostia; 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.; $5)
LARRY & JOE: If you made a venn diagram containing Venezuelan llanero music and old-time bluegrass music on either end, you’d find Larry & Joe in the middle. The genre-blending duo consists of Larry Bellorín, originally from Monagas, Venezuela, and North Carolina’s Joe Troop. They bring their bilingual tunes to Joe’s Movement Emporium this weekend. (Joe’s Movement Emporium; 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.; $25)
OLD TOWN GHOST TOUR: One of the most haunted cities in the world is in your backyard — at least that’s the claim of the folks behind the After Dark Old Town Ghost Tour and Nightlife Experience, which takes you through the ghost stories and ghoulish tales that supposedly linger in Old Town Alexandria. (Old Town Alexandria; 8:30 p.m.; $30)
MORE: Mastering Macarons (Cookology Culinary School; 11 a.m.; $99), Intro to Pure Data (Rhizome DC; 12 p.m.; $10+), No Excuses, No Limits (Friday 7 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday 1:30 p.m. and 4 p.m.; $20), Science and the Quran (Sandy Spring Museum; 1:45 p.m.; FREE), Couples Ring Making Workshop (Wear Ever Jewelry Studio School; 4 p.m.; $175), Vanessa Collier (Miracle Theatre; 8 p.m.; $25)
SUNDAY, JAN. 15
RENAISSANCE YOGA: Trap Yoga DC: Renaissance Edition will have you heated by the end of its one and a half hour class, set to the tune of Beyoncé’s house record Renaissance. Surrender all of your energy to instructor Brandon Copeland, Trap Yoga DC’s founder, and he’ll make you feel like that girl. (The Morrow; 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.; $30+)
DRY JANUARY: Are you kicking off the new year with a dry January? Just because you’re giving up your buzz doesn’t mean you have to give up on flavor. Shake up your collection of alcohol-free beverages with a Spirit-Free Mixology Class, led by Tory Pratt of the Pratt Standard Cocktail Company. (Shop Made in DC Georgetown; 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.; $50)
MORE: Celebrating the Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (Busboys and Poets Brookland; 10 a.m.; donation based), Flower Tiles Workshop (Shop Made in VA; 11 a.m.; $50), Hip Hop Old School Bar Crawl (U Street Corridor; 2 p.m. to 10 p.m.; $20), Profs & Pints DC: The Tale of Sea Shanties (Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital; 3 p.m.; $14.31), Pretty Boi Drag: 7th Anniversary Show (Union Stage; 4 p.m.; $25+)
MONDAY, JAN. 16
LITTER CLEANUP: Martin Luther King Jr. Day doubles as a Congressionally-designated national day of service. Turn your day off into a day on with the Rock Creek Conservancy, which is hosting volunteer events all weekend long that give you the chance to get your hands dirty and keep our parks clean. (Rock Creek Park; 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.; FREE)
NOT JUST ANOTHER DAY OFF: Spend MLK day with the words of Dr. King himself at Not Just Another Day Off: A Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Tribute Reading. Selected King speeches will be complemented with readings of Gandhi, Frederick Douglass, Malcolm X, James Baldwin and more. (Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library; 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.; FREE)
PEACE WALK: Local activists and public figures held the District’s first Martin Luther King Jr. Peace Walk in 1979, six years before the day was observed as a national holiday. The parade is still kicking over 40 years later, and takes marchers down one of the nation’s first streets named in honor of the civil rights leader. (MLK Jr. Avenue & Howard Road SE; 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.; FREE)
MORE:MLK Prayer Breakfast (Virtual; 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.; $35), W&OD Trail Cleanup (Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Regional Park; 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.; FREE), Barcroft Park & Four Mile Run Cleanup (Barcroft Park; 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.; FREE), Clean Waterways Cleanup (Pope Branch Park; 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.; FREE), Invasive Kudzu Removal (Mount Vernon Trail; 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; FREE), Marvin Gaye Park Cleanup (Marvin Gaye Park, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; FREE), MLK Day of Service (Dunbar High School; 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; FREE), MLK Day of Restoration (Ìpàdé; 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.; $30)
