MONDAY, FEBRUARY 20
CLIMATE CAFE: Get those anxious feelings about climate change off your chest at this monthly group discussion. Share any feelings of grief, fear, or despair, that you want, and know that the group’s goal is to also include doses of hope and action and become a bit of an organizing opportunity. (Rhizome DC; 6:30 p.m.; $5 donation suggested)
TRANSCRIBE-A-THON: Participate in Sandy Springs Museum’s regular transcribe event; this particular session focuses on Black History Month. The museum’s transcription coordinator will be available through Zoom to help attendees discover Black family stories by transcribing historical documents about the town. (Sandy Springs Museum; virtual; through 3 p.m.; FREE)
MORE: Profs & Pints DC: George Washington Reconsidered (Little Penn Coffeehouse; 6 p.m.; $14.31), The Comedy Shuffle (Comedy Loft; 8 p.m.; FREE), President’s Day in Black Georgetown: Presidential Connection Tour (Mt Zion Female Union Band Society Cemetery; 10 a.m.; FREE)
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21
MARDI GRAS: There are a few ways to celebrate Fat Tuesday around D.C.: enjoy a concert with a five-piece jazz ensemble alongside light appetizers and drinks at City Ridge (City Ridge; 6 p.m.; FREE admission), or dance the night away with beads, speciality cocktails, games, and more (Wunder Garten; 6 p.m.; FREE admission). If food is what you’re looking for, opt for all-you-can-eat crawfish bowl and all-you-can-drink hurricanes (Dacha Navy Yard; 6 p.m.; $55 food or $65 drinks), a Cajun buffet complete with gumbo, jambalaya, king cake, and classic cocktails (Due South; 4 p.m.; $50), or a $13.99 unlimited taco buffet at an LGBTQ+ mixer (Freddie’s Beach Bar; 6 p.m.; FREE admission).
COMMUNITY MURAL: Help Glassey DC beautify their place and join in on a community mural. Bring your creativity, any spare paint, and brushes, and help add to the mural in Truxton Circle during this community sip and paint. Beverages are available for purchase. (Glassey DC; 4 p.m.; FREE admission)
MORE: More is More is More: Today’s Maximalist Interiors with Carl Dellatore (Hillwood Estate; 5:30 p.m.; $22 in-person $10 virtual), Be the Change: An Activism Workshop (Sixth & I; 6 p.m.; $12), Qi Gong for Beginners (Eaton DC; 6 p.m.; $25), It’s Complicated: February Reading (Doubles; 7:30 p.m.; FREE), Equitable Development Open House (11th Street Bridge Park; 5 p.m.; FREE), MONC Presents : A Conversation with Derek Musgrove & Professor Ravi Perry (The Guest House; 6:30 p.m.; FREE), Stitcher Takeover (Beeliner Diner; 6 p.m.; FREE admission), Wine, Cheese, No Wrinkles Please (WHINO; 5 p.m.; FREE), African Ancestry at 20 Celebration and World Tour Launch (Woolly Mammoth Theatre; 6 p.m.; FREE)
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22
DIY NIGHT: Petworth’s Ace Hardware hosts its very first annual Ladies’ Night for do-it-yourself fiends. Enjoy 20% off storewide during the event and browse from over 15 tabling vendors before diving into hands-on DIY demos hosted by pros on projects like terrariums, knife sharpening, power tool skills, and more. Snacks and beverages from Right Proper Brewing, Cabot Cheese, and more will be available for purchase. Expect some giveaways too! (Petworth Ace Hardware; 5 p.m.; FREE admission)
HISTORY TALK: Tune into a virtual talk from Joe McGill, the founder of Slave Dwelling Project. McGill will discuss his experience sleeping in former slave dwellings across 26 states over 12 years to bring attention to the neglected spaces and the enslaved people who lived in them. (DC Preservation League; 6 p.m.; FREE)
VENDOR MARKET: Shop local Black-owned brands at this Black History Month vendor market. The market will also feature an exclusive beer club with representatives from Soul Mega pouring three beers in the garden. (Dacha Navy Yard; 4 p.m.; FREE admission)
MORE: Demystifying Sewing Machine Feet (DC Public Library; virtual; 6 p.m.; FREE), Lecture: Winslow Homer: The Man Behind the Art (Smithsonian American Art Museum McEvoy Auditorium; 6:45 p.m.; $25), Screening + Discussion: Shut Up and Paint (Eaton DC; 7 p.m.; FREE), Grassroots Comedy’s Super Spectacular Black History Month Special (Kramers; 7:30 p.m.; $15), Balanchine! (The Washington Ballet; 8 p.m.; $25), An Anatomy of Addiction (Smithsonian Associates; virtual; 6:45 p.m.; $25), Film Screening: Till (Busboys and Poets Columbia; 6 p.m.; FREE), Human Trafficking Book Talk & Photo Presentation (Lost Origins Gallery; 6:30 p.m.; FREE), MOLGBTQA Presents Toast to LGBTQ+ Elders: Earline Budd (Atlas Performing Arts Center; 4 p.m.; FREE), Q&A with the Host of Afro-Latino Travels with Kim Haas (NOVA Alexandria Campus AA 196; 12 p.m.; FREE)
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23
FOLK MUSIC: Head to the latest in the Live! At the Library of Congress series for an African American folk music talk and concert. Local musician and scholar Jake Blount will discuss the African roots of the banjo and how African Americans have shaped Americana music. (Thomas Jefferson Building Members Room; 6 p.m.; FREE timed pass required)
MOTHER TONGUE FILM FEST: The Smithsonian Mother Tongue Film Festival is back and in person! The festival celebrates cultural and linguistic diversity with films all around the world. Opening night includes two documentaries: New York, just another city and Daughter of a Lost Bird, about women confronting situations that force them to reckon with the past and their ancestors. (Hirshhorn Museum; 6 p.m.; FREE)
ORAL HISTORIES: In this inaugural event in HumanitiesDC’s Culture Series, writer Saaret E. Yoseph presents her oral history project JOURNEY(S): Addis to DC. Witness the project’s story of sister cities D.C. and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in a combination of documentary interviews and original poetry. Yoseph will screen clips and discuss the project with some collaborators. (Busboys and Poets 14th and V; 7 p.m.; FREE)
COFFEE AND COLLECTION: In honor of Frederick Douglass’ chosen birthday and what was once a school holiday in D.C., head to this museum series of coffee and collections. Attendees can view materials related to Douglass and listen to audio clips of civil rights activist Mary Church Terrell discuss her friendship with him. (Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum; 11 a.m.; FREE)
MORE: Golden Girls: The Laughs Continue (Warner Theatre; 7:30 p.m.; $49), MOTHER of ALL Comedy Shows (Busboys and Poets Takoma; 7:30 p.m.; $20), PASSAGE/WAY/S ONSITE TOUR AND ARTIST TALK (VisArts Gibbs Street Gallery; 6 p.m.; FREE), Nigerian Center’s State of the Union on Immigration (Shaw Neighborhood Library; 6 p.m.; FREE), Interesting Facts about Mt. Vernon and Whiskey Tasting (Nepenthe Gallery; 6 p.m.; FREE admission), BLACK X short film screening & conversation with creator Malachi Robinson (Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital; 7 p.m.; $12), SHADOW. Eurydice Says (Austrian Cultural Forum; 7 p.m.; FREE), Opera on Tap DC Metro presents Singers’ Choice (Wonderland Ballroom; 7 p.m.; FREE admission), Rodgers, Hart, And Hammerstein (Music Center at Strathmore; 8 p.m.; $35), Stand-Up for Ukraine Comedy Benefit Show (The Crown and Crow; 8 p.m.; $20), Frederick Douglass: Autobiographer (Smithsonian Associates; virtual; 6:45 p.m.; $25), Mental Health and Wellness Workshop for Black Men (MLK Jr. Memorial Library; 6 p.m.; FREE), DC Game Night (Astoria’s Kitchen; 7 p.m.; FREE admission), Our Grain of Sand: Montgomery County Climate Stories Film Festival (AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center; 6 p.m.; FREE), The Past, Present, and Future of Black Resistance in the District & Beyond (MLK Jr. Memorial Library; 6 p.m.; FREE), Cocktail Conversations (Signature Tasting Event; 6:30 p.m.; $35)
