12 Of Our Favorite Events in D.C. This Week

By: Mimi Montgomery

Photo by Caroline Angelo

MONDAY, JAN. 22

RESTAURANT WEEK: It’s that time of year again – restaurant week is here in D.C. Today until Jan. 28, you can hit up a long list of local restaurants for pre-fixe menus at discounted prices. With $22 lunch and brunch, and dinner for $35, there’s no reason not to make multiple reservations. (Locations vary, times vary, $22 – $35)

KING OF AMERICANA: Charles Phoenix has been on Cake Wars, Storage Wars, Martha Stewart, and NPR, and is a purveyor of all things mid-century Americana. He has a passion for collecting vintage slide photography, and his show “Addicted to Americana” celebrates all things gloriously retro. (Union Stage, 7:30 p.m., $25 – $35)

GIRL POWER: Following the anniversary of the Women’s March, today’s book talk at The Wharf’s Politics and Prose is timely: Rebecca Roberts will discuss her book “Suffragists in Washington, D.C.,” which highlights suffragist Alice Paul’s and the National Woman’s Party’s battle for equal rights. (Politics and Prose at The Wharf, 7 – 8 p.m., FREE)

MORE: MØ (9:30 Club, 7 p.m. $35), Kokedamas with Succulents (The Lemon Collective, 7 – 8:30 p.m., $50), Rise & Rhyme (Busboys and Poets, 9:30 – 11 a.m., $5), A Lecture by Playwright Timberlake Wertenbaker (Georgetown University, 5 – 6:30 p.m., FREE)

Photo by Laurie Shaull

TUESDAY, JAN. 23

SPY STORIES: Author Joseph A. Williams will be at the Spy Museum to discuss his book, “The Sunken Gold: A Story of World War 1, Espionage, and the Greatest Treasure Salvage in History.” It follows the story of the HMS Laurentic, a British ship carrying 44 tons of gold sunk during World War I, and the divers sent to recover it. (International Spy Museum, 6:30 – 9 p.m., $8 – $10)

HBD: Happy Birthday, Zora Neale Hurston! To celebrate the author’s life, head to Sankofa Books for cake, champagne, and a reading of Hurston’s work. Some of her work from the Hilltop newspaper, which Hurston co-founded at Howard University in 1924, will be read, too. (Sankofa Books, 7 – 9 p.m., FREE, RSVP requested)

DOCU NIGHT: As part of the Washington Jewish Film Festival, French activist, writer, philospher, and filmmaker Bernard-Henri Lévy will present two of his documentaries tonight, Peshmerga and The Battle of Mosul. Between screenings, Lévy will discuss ISIS, Kurdish forces, foreign intervention in the war on terrorism, and much more. (Aaron and Cecile Goldman Theater, 6:15 p.m.)

MORE: Kramer’s Book Club: News in Long Form (Kramerbooks & Afterwords Cafe, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m., FREE), Cuba Policy from Obama and Trump: Differences or Only Distinction (Busboys and Poets, 6 – 8 p.m., FREE), Out There: The Self-Created Artist in DC (Goethe-Institut, 6:30 – 8 p.m., FREE, registration required)

Photo by Josh Bassett

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 24

SUPPORT DC JOURNALISM: Celebrate city journalism (!!) tonight at the event Local Press Club: A Reader Happy Hour with 730DC and Our Favorite Local Journalists. The crew from 730 DC hosts talks by DC journalists Ally Schweitzer of WAMU, Tanvi Misra of CityLab, and Rachel Sadon of the former DCist; they’ll chat about covering beats here in our city. (Union Stage, 6 – 9 p.m., FREE)

SUNDANCE IN DC: Come see a screening of the Sundance-featured film “Most Likely to Succeed” tonight. It takes a look at education in the U.S., analyzing its history while questioning conventional teaching methods and exploring revolutionary alternatives. Come early for a group discussion with D.C. public school teachers pre-film. (Roosevelt Senior High School, 6 – 8:30 p.m., FREE, RSVP required)

ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN: Yes, people have been buzzing about “The Post,” but come check out the original Washington Post movie tonight at West End Cinema. As part of its Capital Classics program, it will screen “All The President’s Men.” See the Watergate scandal unfold in the newsroom alongside Woodward and Bernstein. (Landmark’s West End Cinema, 1:30, 4:30, and 7:30 p.m., $9.50 – $12.50)

MORE: Music Series with Seth Washington (Bakers & Baristas, 7 – 9 p.m., $10, RSVP required), Murder Mystery Cocktail Caper (Suns Cinema, 8 – 11 p.m.), Artist Talk: Antonio McAfee + Rachel Guardiola (Hamiltonian, 7 – 8 p.m., FREE)

Photo by AWard Tour

THURSDAY, JAN. 25

DANCE: Washington Project for the Arts will host Contraband: A Night of Dance and Electronic Music tonight. The event will showcase dance and electronic music from the South American, Southern American, and African colonial diasporas. It’s all curated by Nigerian-born artist chukwumaa, and is part of a bigger exhibit on cultural imperialism running through Feb. 16. (Washington Project for the Arts, 8:30 – 11:30 p.m., FREE)

GO GLOBAL: Satiate your wanderlust at tonight’s talk with National Geographic explorer Peter Houlihan. The conservationist and nature photographer leads expeditions into the jungles of Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America to document understudied communities in remote areas. It’s visual storytelling meets science and travel. (Patagonia Store, 7 – 10 p.m., FREE)

DOWN UNDER: It’s Australia Day at Boundary Stone. Head to the Bloomingdale spot for door prizes, Australian jams, meat pies, and $2 off beers from Little Creatures Brewery, an Australian original. BYOK (bring your own kangaroo). (Boundary Stone, 6 – 10 p.m., FREE)

MORE: 15th Anniversary Open House Reception (National Center for Transgender Equality, 5 – 7 p.m., FREE, RSVP required), Ivy and Coney Four Year Anniversary Party (Ivy and Coney, 4 – 10 p.m., FREE), Chocolate & Wine Tasting (The Chocolate House, 7 – 8:30 p.m., $50), K-Cinema: The Divine Move (Korean Cultural Center, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m., FREE, RSVP required), Pacers Running Party at District Distilling (District Distilling Co., 7:30 – 10:30 p.m., $25), Bell’s Hopslam Release Party (The Midlands, 5 p.m. – 12 midnight, FREE)