Weekend Round Up September 17, 2026
By • September 17, 2026 0 407
This Saturday, three Brians mix jazz with Chopin. Also that day: the National Museum of Asian Art’s Chuseok Family Festival and the H Street Festival on H Street NE. Hoist a few in Shaw’s Dacha Beer Garden on Saturday and at Sauf Haus Bier Hall on Sunday. This Saturday to next, free themed walking tours will wend through the District for WalkingTown DC.
Stories of Connection
Tonight, Thursday, Sept. 17, at 7 p.m., Politics and Prose presents a conversation between Mellon Foundation President Elizabeth Alexander and “PBS News Hour” political analyst Jonathan Capehart about Alexander’s book, “Signals Across Vast Distances: Essays and Tales,” at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, 901 G St. NW. Admission is free. RSVP on the library’s website.
Two, Two, Two Openings in One
An Opening Reception for “Rafael Lozano-Hemmer: Look Alive” and “Professor E. Brady Robinson: Studio Hours/After Hours” — the fall exhibitions at the Georgetown University Art Galleries, 3535 Prospect St. NW — will be held this Friday, Sept. 18, from 6 to 8 p.m. “Look Alive” displays Lozano-Hemmer’s installations in the Maria & Alberto de la Cruz Art Gallery and the Lucille M. & Richard F. X. Spagnuolo Gallery. “Pulse Map” fills the de la Cruz Gallery with nearly 3,000 lightbulbs, pulsing with visitors’ recorded heartbeats. In the Spagnuolo South Gallery, “Studio Hours/After Hours” displays studio portraits, album cover collaborations and photographs documenting Baltimore club culture. The event, with live music and light refreshments, is free and open to the public.
Roll Out the Dough
Chef Jordan Chestnut leads a cooking class, Pasta from Scratch, on Friday, Sept. 18, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Blossom Bakery and Cafe, 1823 West Virginia Ave. NE. Participants — who should bring a hat or hair cover and wine, beer or sake — will master (or attempt, as the case may be) garganelli pasta with savory meat sauce and filled pasta, such as tortellini or agnolotti, with a rich cream sauce. Another class will be offered on Friday, Sept. 25. Tickets are $111.68 on Eventbrite.
The Queen Returns
On Friday, Sept. 18, from 7:30 to 10 p.m. Things to Do DC presents Evening at the Embassy of Ethiopia. Joined by Ethiopian diplomats, including the new ambassador, and their spouses, attendees will celebrate the Ethiopian New Year, Enkutatash — the anniversary of the Queen of Sheba’s return from her visit to King Solomon — with an Ethiopian New Year’s buffet and coffee ceremony, an open bar of Ethiopian wines and beers, an Ethiopian dance performance and displays of African artifacts and paintings, followed by dancing to a DJ. Tickets are $73.71 on Eventbrite.
Looking for Awe in All the Right Places
As part of the Finding Awe series, National Gallery of Art visitors can have a 90-minute group encounter with Joan Miró’s 1921-22 painting “The Farm” on Friday, Sept. 18, at 2 p.m.; Saturday, Sept. 19, at 11 a.m.; and Sunday, Sept. 20, at 2 p.m. Looking slowly and mindfully, participants will discover how playful exercises stretched surrealist artists’ thinking, departing with “awe practices” for everyday use. The free sessions (registration required) meet in Gallery E415 on the upper level of the East Building, 4th Street and Constitution Avenue NW.
No Charging Needed
On Saturday, Sept. 19, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Turning the Page, a nonprofit that engages families for student success, presents a Children’s Book and Learning Festival — with a Carpe Librum used book sale — in Woodrow Wilson Plaza, between the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave NW, and the Federal Triangle Metro station. Authors Austin K. Graff, Desaray Mnyandu, Pamela Ehrenberg, Joanne Kieffer, Karen Leggett Abouraya, Ginger Park, Naaz Khan and Trap Bob will bring their books and family art activities.
Brought to You by the Letter H
The 2026 H Street Festival takes over a 12-block stretch of H Street NE, from 3rd Street to 15th, on Saturday, Sept. 19, from noon to 7 p.m. The festival’s 15 staging areas will feature several types of music, plus dance, youth-based performances, interactive children’s programs, fashion, heritage arts and poetry. Also along H: activity stations with participatory artwork, informational stations promoting arts education and exhibitor stations showcasing D.C.-based artists.
Roll Out the Barrel
Seasonal Bavarian festivities begin at Dacha Beer Garden, 1600 7th St. NW in Shaw, with an Oktoberfest Kick Off Party on Saturday, Sept. 19. The party starts at noon with the ceremonial tapping of a keg of Weihenstephan, the world’s oldest continuously operating brewery (986 years), north of Munich. Men’s and women’s stein holding contests at 2 p.m. will be followed by a pretzel eating competition at 3 p.m. Wear a dirndl or lederhosen for a free pour from the Weihenstephan keg.
My Man, Chopin
Tragically, Fryderyk Chopin died at 39, half a century before the birth of jazz. But his spirit will be summoned on Saturday, Sept. 19, from 5 to 7 p.m. at “Chopin Meets Jazz: Three Brians in Concert” at the Kosciuszko Foundation, 2025 O St. NW. The three: concert pianist Brian Ganz, jazz pianist Brian Smith and jazz bassist Brian Aylaian. Smith will perform two of his Chopin-inspired compositions alongside the “Prelude in C Minor” and the “Mazurka in G Minor,” one of Chopin’s last works, played by Ganz. A reception with wine will close out the evening.
Harvest Time in Korea
On Saturday, Sept. 19, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., the National Museum of Asian Art and the Korean Cultural Center Washington, D.C., host a free Chuseok Family Festival at the museum, 1050 Independence Ave. SW. Along with Korean food (available for purchase), an art and vendor market, a scavenger hunt and other games, this year’s festival highlights Korea’s traditional masks (Tal 탈) with talks, displays and activities, including a photo booth. Performing in the Freer Gallery plaza: DJ EPX, the Korean Performing Arts Institute of Chicago (traditional percussion), Gumwoo Washington Gayageum Ensemble (traditional strings) and Insun Park & Generals, masters of the Gangnyeong Mask Dance, who infuse rock with Korean traditional music and mask dance rhythms.
Remembering the Lavender Scare
On Sunday, Sept. 20, at 10 a.m., licensed tour guide Zachary Patalingjug leads a free WalkingTown DC tour, “Beyond the Closet: The Persecution and Liberation of Washington DC’s LGBTQ+ Community,” starting at Parker Lee Park (Triangle Park), 1999 Q St. NW. Participants will learn how the resistance to discrimination — including the uncovering and firing of closeted gay federal government employees from the 1940s to the 1970s — paved the way for today’s more inclusive city. Registration on Eventbrite is required.
How Do You Say ‘Brunch’ in Italian?
Stellina Pizzeria, 399 Morse St. NE, hosts the Bellini Morning Club, “where Sunday mornings get a little more fun,” on Sunday, Sept. 20, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. This tribute to the classic Venetian cocktail — made with Prosecco and peach purée or nectar — includes bottomless Bellinis, breakfast bites, music by a DJ and giveaways.
Ach Du Liebe!
Also on Sunday, Sept. 20, in partnership with the German Embassy, the Choral Arts Society of Washington is convening an Oktoberfest Community Sing at Sauf Haus Bier Hall, 1216 18th St. NW, led by Artistic Director Dr. Marie Bucoy-Calavan and Assistant Conductor Shannon Arnold. During the event, from 2 to 5 p.m., Choral Arts will perform the fourth movement of Brahms’s “Ein deutsches Requiem.” Tickets are $15, including one beer.
