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

By: Mimi Montgomery

Baseball, baseball, and more baseball…oh, and free ice cream.

Photo by Eric Sidle

FRIDAY, JULY 13

I SCREAM, U SCREAM…It’s the most magical time of the year…National Ice Cream Day. In honor of the holiday, Union Market will host its annual D.C. Scoops shindig. You can listen to live music and enjoy the market’s outdoor space while purchasing a cone from the likes of Dolcezza or Ice Cream Jubilee. Or, better yet, grab a free scoop and load it up with pick your own toppings–that’s right, it’s free. This is not a drill.

AFTER-HOURS ART…Brightest Young Things will give you after-hours access to the new American Art Museum exhibit, Trevor Paglen: Sites Unseen, at its party tonight. Paglen’s photos and installations are part concept art, part activism, and you can take them in while enjoying an open bar featuring drinks by the folks at Service Bar, Archipelago, and Bar Deco, to name a few. There will also be DJs, a photobooth, a scavenger hunt, a caricature artist, and lots of PBR.

SUMMER FRIDAY…Over at the Freer|Sackler Galleries, you can kick off the first of its summer Fridays celebrations tonight. Head over for Hong Kong-style food by Tiger Fork, fusion cuisine by ChiKo, Asian-inspired desserts by Ruby Scoops Ice Cream & Sweets, and cocktails by Please Bring Chips. There’ll also be traditional music by way of West Bengal, India, a screening of the Hong Kong action movie Shock Wave, and gallery tours.

HBD 2 U…A very happy birthday to D.C. Bike Party! The meet-and-ride group is celebrating its sixth year with an epic cycle session. Decorate yourself (and your bike) with balloons and streamers, glitter, birthday hats–you name it–and meet the group at Dupont Circle to start your journey. After, everyone will meet to keep the party going at Wunder Garten.

PLAY BALL…Today kicks off the MLB All Star Week at Nats Park. While the big game is on Tuesday, there’s plenty to do ahead of time. Events that highlight the intersection of art, fashion, music, and baseball will run all weekend, as will plenty of interactive games, activities, and panel discussions. Tonight, stop by for the Armed Services softball tournament, then check back in for a Color Run 5k on Saturday and the All Star Futures Game and Legends & Celebrity Softball Game on Sunday.

AND…Improv groups come together for one big show…A prom night that’s pro-choice…Chat yoga and periods…White Ford Bronco at the Bullpen…A chat about the new bougie foods of Northeastern ballparks…Get your 2000s dance party on…Todd Terry with Kundalini at U Street Music Hall…The premiere of Dave at Arena Stage…

Photo by Ethan Miller

SATURDAY, JULY 14

LET THE RIVER RUN…It’s not the most glam job, but someone’s gotta do it: Slip on your close-toed shoes, put on some sunscreen, and head out to Theodore Roosevelt Island to help clean up a portion of the Potomac. Summertime means there are a lot of visitors to the waterfront park, which also means there’s a lot of trash left behind. Do your civic duty and help keep our waters clean–afterwards, treat yourself to a canoe jaunt or a picnic.

VIVE LA FRANCE…Celebrate Bastille Day like any good Francophile with a series of parties throughout town. You can head to Le Diplomate for family-friendly face painters, accordion tunes, and balloon artists during the day; at night it turns into a party, with DJs and drag queens. Over at CityCenter, you can have brunch cocktails while learning to make macarons and hanging with can-can dancers at DBGB, listen to jazz, or get a free mini facial at Caudalie.

HOME RUN…In keeping with all things baseball this weekend, the Library of Congress is hosting a Baseball Americana family day. You’ll start with a tour of the Thomas Jefferson Building before playing old school baseball, aka a game adhering to rules from the 19th century. Throughout the day, there’s also baseball story time, a play about pioneering African-American baseball players, a bat-making workshop, and a talk with the MLB’s official historian.

AND…Throw down Wyoming style with country tunes and dancing…Take a canoe tour of Kingman Island…Catch some girls rockin’ out…Learn to hand letter and laser cut your own sign…Get your clown and circus fix…An interactive art show at Femme Fatale…

Photo by Olaf Zerbock

SUNDAY, JULY 15

HA HA HA…Today kicks off the National Gallery of Art’s new exhibit Sense of Humor, which runs through January 6 of next year. It pulls from the gallery’s collection of prints and drawings to highlight the history and development of on-paper humor, from 1700s drawings to 20th century comics. Come check out work by everyone from Pieter Brueghel the Elder to the Guerilla Girls.

OH, ROMEO…Get cultured with a operatic version of Romeo and Juliet performed in French. Roméo et Juliette runs tonight through next Saturday at Wolf Trap’s smaller venue, The Barns. A projected translation will run on the screen throughout the performance, and you can get there early for an Inside the Opera pre-show discussion.

AND…Free Ice Cream Jubilee…Shania Twain…Sleeping With Sirens at Sixth & I…The Get Up Kids at 9:30 Club…World Cup Final Viewing Party…Yoga in the park…Open mic poetry at Busboys and Poets…Learn to drum…Do a French wine tasting…Become a quilt-making master…Dive into dying indigo…