Hey DC! Looking for things to do this weekend? BEST WEEKEND BETS are, as always, hand picked and carefully calibrated for maximum fun, minimum stress. This week’s theme is Wet Hot American Summer in honor of our upcoming End-of-Summer Camp party (our final museum after hours of the year!!). Get your tickets now!
• OUR LAST MUSEUM AFTER HOURS OF THE YEAR! FRIDAY! End-Of-Summer Camp will turn the Smithsonian American Art into a cowboy inspired setting to celebrate the last weekend of the season with open bars, music (Dan Deacon!), and more. Tickets on sale NOW. Our last after hours sold out so…
•COMEDY FESTIVAL: October 24-27, BYT + Tig Notaro’s Bentzen Ball Comedy Festival celebrates 10 years of comedy and friendship! All access passes are sold out and tickets to Los Espookys Live and Roxanne Gay and Tig are going fast. We also just announced the DC Comedy Homecoming show featuring hometown faves Jay Pharaoh, Aparna Nancherla, Rory Scovel, Jermaine Fowler and more. Go to bentzenball.com! for all of the shows and buy your tickets while you still can!
• TRUE CRIME FESTIVAL: November 8-11, Death Becomes Us – True Crime Festival returns to D.C. ALL ACCESS FESTIVAL PASSES ARE ON SALE NOW SOLD OUT! More individual shows are available for sale! Throwing Shade! The Murder Squad! Amanda Knox! BuzzFeed Unsolved! Capturing the DC Sniper!
• More announcements coming soon. Stay in the loop and follow us on Facebook & Twitter & Instagram + keep and eye out on Upcoming BYT Event tab. Use #BYThings too. And do some pushups.
• We have a bunch of exciting Bentzen Ball news! Come see Call Your Girlfriend and Sasheer Zamata (with Roxane Gay!) at the Bentzen Ball.
• Your favorite 90’s fashion designer has an exhibition in Georgetown. This is how Helmut Lang came to D.C.
• Somewhere is your new favorite coffee shop / clothing shop.
• We talked to Amanda Knox about her favorite music. 2019 is wild.
• RADIORADIORADIO: Listen to BYT radio! Hosted by Brandon Wetherbee, it streams every Thursday at noon. Listen live. Subscribe in iTunes.
SOCIAL MEDIA BONUS: Tag all your Instagram stuff #BYThings (@brightestyoungthings) and get a chance to shine on OUR Instagram feed too.
• The Washington Monument is open again. Going inside is a thing you can do.
• One of D.C.’s best film festivals, DC Shorts, begins tonight and runs through September 28.
• Head to the 9:30 Club to see Band of Skulls and Demob Happy.
• ARTECHOUSE Live begins their 3 days of special programming.
• ChurchKey is celebrating ten years of killer beer with Hill Farmstead Brewery.
• The Phillips Collection is hosting a talk with the Asylum Seeker Assistance Project. This is your last week to check out The Warmth of Other Suns. Do it.
• Black Moth Super Rainbow is at the Black Cat with Taraka Larson.
• Swing by Dacha for Washington Blade’s annual Best of Gay DC party.
• Looking for a different kind of party? The U.S. Botanic Garden is hosting a harvest party! Put on your Midsommar best and come eat some local honey.
• La URSS, Aertex and Asesinato are at Slash Run.
• Celebrate the last breath of summer with boozy ice cream cocktails at Petworth Citizen.
• FREE PICK: Eaton is hosting the DC Environmental Film Festival’s fall filmmaker series. If you like supporting local films, this is the place to be.
• It’s finally time for our End-of-Summer Camp party at the Smithsonian American Art Museum!
• Mac Demarco will wear a hat inside The Anthem.
• The DC Climate Strike starts at John Marshall Park and includes a march to Capitol Hill.
• Nick Cave is talking and singing at the Lincoln Theatre.
• Learn how to cook all of your favorite street food at Tastemakers.
• NSO Pops is teaming up with Maxwell for what is sure to be a lovely night.
• Truckeroo is always a solid choice if you’re looking to eat a lot of different food at once.
• Bottled Up, October ’71 and Daniel Sohn will be playing underneath D.C. streets at Dupont Underground.
• Up your cheese plate game at Glen’s Garden Market.
• FREE PICK: Love, Gilda is screening for free at The REACH.
Do some daytime stuff:
• Watch some cute dogs run for your entertainment at The Wharf‘s Weiner 500 Oktoberfest race.
• Fill your body with oysters, wine and beer at Dock 5.
• Fall is here (kind of!), school is back in session (definitely!) and Big Bear is hosting their quarterly bike sale.
• Another week, another outdoor festival recommendation. This week is H Street Fest.
Then:
• One of the last shows of the year at Merriweather is one of the best: Tyler, The Creator, Jaden Smith, and GoldLink.
• The Embassy of France is hosting a masquerade ball. Live your life like it’s a CW TV show.
• Spend your Saturday with Washington Social Club, Bad Moves and The Osyx at Black Cat.
• DC Shorts film festival is back! Go bask in the beauty that is short films.
• Comet Ping Pong hosts WIKI + Wifigawd. Get a pizza first.
• Celebrate Oktoberfest in the most D.C. way at Heurich House.
• Or swing by Bluejacket for their Oktoberfest / Hill House Bavarian-style lager release party!
• FREE PICK OF THE DAY: Dance the day / night away at National Dance Day at The REACH.
For your viewing pleasure:
• Not sure what to see in the theater? Check out our film section for reviews.
• Looking for some good new brunches to try? Check out our DC BRUNCH GUIDE.
Leaving the house?
• The Anthem hosts a different kind of show with An Evening with Jane Goodall.
• Feeling hungry? Pie queen Nicole Rucker teams up with hometown favorite Pichet Ong to serve a four course dinner at Spoken English. Make your res now.
• Find out how Georgetown tastes at Taste of Georgetown. The 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. event benefits Georgetown Ministry Center‘s Homeless Assistance Programs.
• Calling all wine nerds, Maydan is hosting an amber wine festival.
• Catch Ride and The Spirit of the Beehive at 9:30 Club.
• See the incredible Judy Chicago in conversation with Martha C. Nussbaum at the National Museum for Women in the Arts.
• Anxo is transforming the patio of their Florida Avenue cider bar into an immigrant and refugee artisan market.
• Jam out to Raveena and Dianna Lopez at U Street Music Hall.
• DC Lit Crawl is back! Get your daily dose of books.
• Grab a beer and learn about economic crashes at Bier Baron.
• FREE PICK: Hirshhorn is screening Labyrinth. This is a good free event. Don’t forget your goblin look.
THERE ARE OTHER THINGS TO DO LISTED IN THE BYT CALENDAR PAGES, so use it and if you think we may have missed something, comment away–you know you want to. NO EXCUSES.
Until next time…
