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

By: Mimi Montgomery

Photo by Brandon Kopp

MONDAY, APRIL 23

PRESERVE IT: Today, the Library of Congress will be celebrating Preservation Week. You can go check out a lecture on the Library’s work to preserve veterans’ legacies, check out special collections, and go on a tour to see how rare artifacts are preserved. (Library of Congress, times vary, FREE, registration required)

CREATIVE HAPPY HOUR: Calling all D.C. creatives! Come meet up, swap ideas, and get to know your fellow artists at a happy hour. Hang out under the Liz Taylor eyes at Dacha and mingle over good food and beer. (Dacha Beer Garden, 4 – 8 p.m., FREE, registration required)

PETWORTH COMMUNITY MARKET: The Petworth Community Market is hosting a fundraiser today to help make its goods more affordable and accessible to everyone, as well as well as engage more local customers. Not only will there be raffle prizes, drink specials, and a meet-and-greet with the market’s managing team, but it’s also a great excuse for a community get-together. (Ten Tigers Parlour, 6:30 – 9:30 p.m., FREE)

MORE: Roy Wood$: Say Less Tour (Union Stage, 8 p.m., $22 – $125), Boardgame Madness to End the Madness (The Midlands, 7 – 10 p.m., $10), Women, Globalization, and Civil Society in the Mediterranean Area (Institute for Women Policy Research, 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., FREE, registration required), Architecture: Decentralizing New York Cultural Offerings (Former Residence of the Ambassadors of Spain, 7 – 8:30 p.m., FREE, registration required), Sip + Savor Yoga Social Mondays (Wunder Garten at NoMa, 6 – 7 p.m., $18), Comics & Cocktails (The Board Room, 6:30 – 9:30 p.m.)

Photo by Flickr user johnmcochran2012

TUESDAY, APRIL 24

PLANTS = SO HOT RIGHT NOW: Terrariums and succulents are all the rage right now, so get in on the trend before something else takes hold! Urban Jungle will have a spring workshop and happy hour tonight, where you can put together your own plant masterpiece while sipping on some libations. (Urban Jungle, 6:30 – 8 p.m., $49)

PRETTY PICTURES: Former National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence and professor of anthropology Wade Davis is an ethnobotanist and photographer, so, yeah, he’s basically a modern-day Indiana Jones. He’ll be talking about his book, Photographs, today, and diving into the stories behind his images. From Saharan salt mines to Inuit villages–he’s seen it all (National Geographic Museum, 7:30 – 9 p.m., $25)

DANCE LIKE A SWEDE: Thursday, the Andersson Dance and Scottish Ensemble groups partner at the Kennedy Center for the American premiere of Goldberg Variations Ternary Patterns for Insomnia. Tonight, the Swedish choreographer behind the piece, Orjan Andersson, will speak on a panel about the world of Swedish contemporary dance, and its growing popularity in the U.S. (Embassy of Sweden, 7 – 9 p.m., FREE, registration required)

MORE: Fashion Revolution Week D.C. (American University, 6 – 9:30 p.m., FREE, registration required), Research on Tap: Gender Wage Inequality (Washington Center for Equitable Growth, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m., FREE, registration required), Network After Work (Proper 21, 6 – 9 p.m., $2.37 – $5.97), Lindi Ortega (Union Stage, 7:30 p.m., $20), Book Launch: Army of None by Paul Scharre (Center for a New American Security, 5:30 – 8 p.m., FREE, registration required), Four-Course Wine Dinner (Le DeSales, 6:30 – 10 p.m., $85)

Photo by Justin Schuck

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25

A HANDMAID’S TALE: Blessed be the fruit–season two of the hit show A Handmaid’s Tale premieres today. You could binge watch it by yourself on your couch, or you go go out and be social. Bureau will have a watch party tonight, complete with Jezebel Punch and Keepercorn popcorn. Bring your own bonnets. (Bureau, 7 – 9 p.m., $15)

BOOKER + PHILLIPS: Author and Democracy in Color founder Steve Phillips will be in conversation with Senator Cory Booker tonight to celebrate the second edition release of his book Brown Is the New White: How the Demographic Revolution Has Created a New American Majority. The two will talk about the conditions leading up to Trump’s election win and the state of race and politics in the U.S. (National Press Club, 6 – 7:30 p.m., FREE, registration required)

A NIGHT IN PERU: Get a taste of Peru without leaving D.C. The Peruvian Embassy will open its doors tonight for a celebration of its country and heritage. Check out dance performances and live music, art, local films, and a smorgasbord of Peruvian food and drink (think chicken and rice, churros, and Pisco Sours). (Embassy of Peru, 7 – 9:30 p.m., $50)

MORE: Hope for People and the Ocean: Dr. Jane Lubchenco (Carnegie Institution for Science, 6:30 – 7:45 p.m., $10 donation), Constitutional Comedy (Drafthouse Comedy in D.C., 6 – 9 p.m., $20 – $30), Beginner Coding Session (WeWork White House, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.), Afghanistan in 2020: Is Peace Possible? (United States Institute of Peace, 2:30 – 4:30 p.m., FREE, registration required), Third Annual Ward 1 Public Safety Summit (Banneker Recreation Center, 6 – 8 p.m., FREE), Sip and Savor (DBGB DC, 6 – 9 p.m., $50)

Photo by Victoria Pickering

THURSDAY, APRIL 26

CRAFTY: Heat up your glue guns–it’s the Smithsonian Craft Show! From today until Sunday, the juried show of American fine crafts will be taking place at the National Building Museum. The theme is “Asian Influence, American Design,” and the 120 makers present (selected from a pool of 1,000) will represent everything from furniture to wearable art to basketry. (National Building Museum, times vary, $15 – $20)

WILD + SCENIC: Rock Creek Conservancy is partnering with NYU-Washington, D.C. for the Wild & Scenic Film Festival. It will be filled with films on climate change, the outdoors, and environmental policy, and there will be a panel about women in the nature conservancy world. A happy hour at Maddy’s Taproom is planned, as are prizes from spots like Patagonia. (NYU-Washington, D.C., 6:30 – 9 p.m., $10)

HOMEGROWN ART: RAW is an artists’ collective that represents up-and-coming artists who are in the first 10 years of their career. The D.C. chapter will have its showcase tonight at the Howard Theatre, and there will be tons of local emerging artists showcasing their stuff. Come by to support the D.C. arts scene, and check out folks from the worlds of fashion, hair and makeup, performance art, photography, music, and more. (Howard Theatre, 7 – 11 p.m., $22 – $30)

MORE: Muzzled Media: Global Threats to Freedom of the Press (McCain Institute, 4 – 6 p.m., FREE, registration required), Remaking Black Power with Busboys and Poets Books (Busboys and Poets, 6:30 – 8 p.m., FREE), Cinemarx: Marx Reloaded (Goethe-Institut, 6:30 – 8 p.m., FREE), Evolving Traditions: Wonder of Shamisen (Embassy of Japan, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m., FREE, registration required), Beck (The Anthem, 8 p.m., $55 – 75), Intro to Hand Lettering (Shop Made in D.C., 6:30 – 8 p.m., $55), Gallery Talk: Carol Brown Goldberg (American University Museum at Katzen Arts Center, 6 – 7:30 p.m., FREE)