Weekend Round Up August 6, 2026
By • August 6, 2026 0 529
Sample wines from the Willamette Valley at Georgetown’s Fountain Inn and others connected with the Cold War at Alexandria’s Planet Wine (not to be confused with Planet Word). Are you into quadrupeds? Get your fill of cats on video at AFI and elephants “in person” at the National Zoo. Oddly named musical acts appearing this weekend: Øra nØir, Grupo Fénix and Hot Tuna.
Wine on Wisconsin
The Fountain Inn, 1659 Wisconsin Ave. NW, will host a Bethel Heights Wine Dinner tonight and tomorrow, Thursday, Aug. 6, and Friday, Aug. 7, at 7 p.m. Cameron Casenhiser of Bethel Heights Winery in Oregon’s Willamette Valley will guide a tasting, pairing wines with a six-course dinner crafted by the Fountain Inn’s Greg Heitzig and visiting chef Samuel Meoño from Roman-inspired Portland restaurant Ava Gene’s. Tickets are $219.60 plus tax on Resy.
Animal Anime
On Friday, Aug. 7, at 7 p.m., the Washington Harbour Waterfront Movie Nights series presents “Zootopia 2” at Georgetown Waterfront Park, K Street and Wisconsin Avenue NW. In the 2025 Disney animated feature, brave rabbit cop Judy Hopps and her fox friend Nick Wilde team up again to crack a new case. Admission is free. BYO blankets and lawn chairs.
Wine of the Cold War
Erin Dudley, wine director at Planet Wine, 2004 Mount Vernon Ave. in Alexandria, Virginia, will lead a casual seated class, “Wine & Diplomacy,” on Friday, Aug. 7, from 6 to 7 p.m. Participants will discuss how wine was intertwined with the Cold War while sipping six wines that represent important styles in the conflict and nibbling artisanal cheese. Bottle purchases of the sampled wines will be discounted. Tickets are $57.38 on Eventbrite.
Saxophonists Four
Also in Alexandria on Friday, Aug. 7, from 7 to 8:30 p.m., Virginia-based saxophone quartet Øra nØir performs a program exploring connection, memory, community and shared humanity at the Athenaeum, 201 Prince St. Taking its title from Tyree Nesbitt’s “Kapwa,” a work inspired by the Filipino concept of “shared self,” the program brings together music by Nesbitt, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Jeff Scott and George Walker. Tickets are $25.
Meow I’ve Seen Everything
CatVideoFest 2026, a 75-minute compilation of G-rated feline footage, sinks its claws into the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center, 8633 Colesville Road in Silver Spring, Maryland, this weekend, co-presented by D.C.-based nonprofit City Dogs & City Kitties Rescue. Screenings are 11:15 a.m. and 7:15 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 7; 11:15 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 5:15 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 8; and 1:15 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 9. Tickets for the two morning shows are $10; $8 for children. All other shows are $14, $11 for seniors and $8 for children.
Pachyderm Palooza
The Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute, 3001 Connecticut Ave. NW, is trumpeting EleFest, a three-day celebration of its seven Asian elephants — including six-month-old Linh Mai — taking place from Friday, Aug. 7, to Sunday, Aug. 9. The grounds are open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (last entry: 5 p.m.) and admission is free. On Saturday, Aug. 8, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., there will be live cultural performances, hands-on activity stations and special animal demonstrations and keeper talks.
Mardi Gras in August
On Saturday, Aug. 8, at 10 a.m., the inaugural Mardi Gras Parade of the D.C.-based Krewe of Pyros Foundation will step off from Chinatown Park, 6th and I Streets NW, and proceed with its floats and bands down 7th Street NW to Anthem Row, 800 K St. NW. The Krewe of Pyros Fiyah Festival (“fiyah” as in fire, of which Pyros is the god) at Anthem Row, featuring New Orleans rapper Mannie Fresh, will follow the parade from noon to 3 p.m.
Another Art-Filled Saturday
The Limits & Proximities Gallery, 1054 31st St. NW, second floor, will hold its monthly Second Saturday event on Aug. 8 at Canal Square. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., visitors can explore contemporary art galleries, artist studios and pottery.
Música de América Latina
Grupo Fénix, a D.C.-based trio that presents music from Latin America, will perform on Saturday, Aug. 8, at noon and 2 p.m. at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, 1300 Constitution Ave. NW. The hourlong “Music from the Hearts of America” program will include mariachi standards such as “Cielito lindo” and “El rey” as well as South American hits like “Lambada,” “Llorarás” and “La gota fría,” adding contextual and historical notes. Admission is free.
Time to Get Wordy
Aimed at ages 2 to 6, Sunday Storytime at Planet Word, 925 13th St. NW, on Aug. 9 from 10 to 11 a.m., features songs and read-alouds presented by children’s librarians from the DC Public Library. Afterward, attendees are invited to explore the museum or stop by the pop-up DCPL wagon to check out children’s books using their library cards. Registration is free on the museum website.
Moving Portraits of Artists
On Sunday, Aug. 9, from 4 to 5 p.m., the Dana Tai Soo Burgess Dance Company presents “A Study in Form: Asawa, Noguchi & Frankenthaler” at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, 800 G St. NW. The dances on the program, collaborations between Burgess and Associate Director Felipe Moltedo, are: “Light Against the Earth,” a world-premiere Portrait Gallery commission that pays tribute to sculptor Isamu Noguchi; “Drawing in Space,” an exploration of the world of sculptor Ruth Asawa; and “Sudden Snow,” inspired by Abstract Expressionist Helen Frankenthaler, whose canvases were influenced by Asian calligraphy. Registration on Eventbrite is free but required.
Hot Tuna, Unplugged
On Sunday, Aug. 9, at 7:30 p.m., guitarist Jorma Kaukonen and bassist Jack Casady, founding members of blues rock band Hot Tuna, which released its debut album in 1970, will appear at the Birchmere, 3701 Mount Vernon Ave. in Alexandria, for An Evening of Hot Tuna Acoustic. Formerly of Jefferson Airplane, Kaukonen, 85, and Casady, 82, are both Grammy recipients and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame members. Tickets are $96.35 through Ticketmaster and $86.50 at the Birchmere Box Office.
