What’s Going On This Week? Here are the Best Events in Town

By: Mimi Montgomery

Stand-up comedy, performance art, and the Titanic’s menu.

Photo by Zach Cockrum

MONDAY, JULY 23

THE DOVE…Inspired by the storytelling show the Moth, the Dove is a show that shares stories of hope and peace. This is the third event in the series, and its will focus on personal stories tied to the Israel-Palestine conflict. Co-sponsored by the New Story Leadership for the Middle East, this night at Busboys & Poets will feature six young storytellers from Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank.

LOL…The Upright Citizens Brigade is the New York-based improv group that got big names like Amy Poehler and Kate McKinnon started. The group is at Wooly Mammoth this month to perform its show Damned If You Do. The show gets an audience member on-stage to share his or her life’s story, then they use that to launch the off-the-cuff performance.

AND…Yes at Warner Theatre…Yoga with live music…A Flying Dog tap takeover…Boxing and yoga at Lululemon…Ladies: learn to be okay with aging…An all-women stand-up show...A free week at a coworking spot…

Photo by Jenn Verrier

TUESDAY, JULY 24

FREE TUNES… The Arun Ramamurthy Trio is a fresh take on South Indian classical music, and they’ll be at the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage tonight. Listed by NPR’s New Sounds as a top release, the group is part tradition, part improvisation and fresh takes. And maybe the best part? You can see them for free.

MONET…Catch the film I, Claude Monet tonight at the Avalon Theatre. It follows the life of the famous painter in his own words–based on thousands of his letters, the film follows Monet’s life as his art develops, and features over a hundred of his paintings and the locations where he made them.

COMIC CLASS…Think you’re funny? Sign up for an improv and sketch comedy workshop with a comic from the Second City training center. The group lists folks like Tina Fey and Stephen Colbert as alums, and the workshops will lead you through things like selecting characters, getting out of performance ruts, and how to create your own solo material. Sign up for one, two, or all of them.

AND…Courtney Barnett at the Anthem…A silent disco…Flex your Disney movie trivia knowledge…An experimental music showcase for Capital Fringe…A literary guide to D.C...Celebrate National Tequila Day at El Centro…A museum curator dives into the world of whales…Learn what it takes to me an ANC commissioner…

Photo by Joe Flood

WEDNESDAY, JULY 25

CRAFT HAPPY HOUR…Inspired by its Burning Man exhibit, the Renwick will host a crafting happy hour tonight. In fitting with the Burning Man-theme, you can showcase your creative expression by making your own jewelry while listening to live music and drinking beer from Denizens Brewing Co. And you don’t even have to go out into the desert.

RAISE A GLASS…Calling all Hamilton nerds: There will be a special gala performance of the Tony Award-winning show tonight. The Raise A Glass event will feature an evening at the show, after which you’ll head to the Grand Foyer for dessert, an open bar, and dancing to the Hamilton Mixtape. And, yes, the cast members will all be there for you to hang out with.

TITANIC FOOD…Okay, so Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio won’t be here, but you can eat and drink like you were on the Titanic tonight. In conjunction with the National Geographic Museum’s exhibit Titanic: The Untold Story, come by for an event that features food from the actual menu that was on board the ship. Also, restaurants like Duke’s Grocery, Hank’s Oyster Bar, and Bar Pilar will be there serving the kind of food the passengers would have enjoyed in the early 1900s.

AND…A Dave Matthews tribute band…Free music at the Wharf…A film about one of the greatest Japanese baseball stars…A punk rock-inspired workout…An outdoor concert for the D.C. Punk Archives…The Jane Austen Film Festival screens Emma…Practice your Japanese…Free kidney screening…

Photo by Jim Havard

THURSDAY, JULY 26

BOAT CRUISE…Celebrate the Year of the Anacostia by taking the family out on an educational adventure. Get on a boat that will take you on the river, where you’ll examine its ecology and wildlife before the kids sit down to a story about the environment. Each kid will get to create its own animal inspired by the day’s sights, and everyone gets to take home a book, too. Bon voyage!

PERFORMANCE ART…The Hirshhorn is hosting its first performance art exhibition this summer, and all shows focus on the intersection of art, the body, and identity. Tonight’s event features performance artist Will Rawls’s piece Cursor, which explores the computer cursor as a type of body. Rawls combines dance, performance art, and writing to make you question your perceptions.

NORTH KOREA…So we’ve been hearing a lot about North Korea, but beyond media coverage, what’s actually happening? Come to a panel of Stanford international studies experts and former ambassadors as they discuss the country’s nuclear power, its relationship to the U.S., and its isolation from the greater world stage.

AND…Free concerts on the Library of Congress’s lawn…The Eagles with James Taylor at Nats Park…Free music at the Arboretum…Watch E.T. at the LOC…A five-course beer dinner…Nine singers and songwriters come together for one performance…Watch Coco outdoors at Canal Park…