Here we focus exclusively on the cheapest YET most satisfying entertainment to be found around DC. Every week we highlight free and almost free activities, a choice happy hour or two, food specials and hot tips for budget survival. PLEASE POST YOUR FREE EVENTS (FOR FREE!) ON OUR AGENDA PAGE or send us FREE TIPS to [email protected] for inclusion in the future FREE THINGS guide. So, time to plan the week!
Outdoor movie season is beginning. That’s means there’ll be no end to the free movies showing throughout the city and into the burbs. Be sure to consult your Outdoor Movie Guide, my friend, if this is your bag
- Tuesday, June 30 – Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day plays at South Riding Center as a part of South Riding Movie Night. Turns out Steve Carell did another family friendly movie that wasn’t Evan Almighty.
- Wednesday, July 1 – Grease (lightning, oh Grease lightning) will be shown at NoMa Summer Screen. Surrender yourself to Travolta.
- Wednesday, July 1 – Perhaps the most properly British film festival playing this summer, the Dumbarton House Jane Austen Film Festival will highlight high dramedy of the Victorian Era, beginning with Sense and Sensibility on Wednesday.
- Thursday, July 2 – See the end of the world (as we know it) with the ridiculously American sci-fi armageddon flick Independence Day at Capitol Riverfront. Young Jeff Goldblum is in this film.
- Thursday, July 2 – Market Common in Clarendon’s Dinner and a Movie will show The Sandlot. The weather is killing me, Smalls!
- Friday, July 3 – Ferris Bueller’s Day Off will be shown at the Rosslyn Outdoor Film Festival. That film is almost thirty years old; I guess life does move pretty fast.
- Saturday, July 4 – Plus they’re showing Independence Day again at Stonebridge at Potomac Town Center (Did anyone actually see this film? Cause we get seriously messed up by the aliens in case you missed it).
- Tuesday, June 30 – Tomato Dodgers, Shirt/Pants, Polygon and Seaknuckle tear it up at Above the Bayou. Bring a donation for the bands that are on tour if you drop in.
- Wednesday, July 1 – The Woodshedders might shred (sorry) at Gypsy Sally’s, along with Herb and Hanson, Big Hoax.
- Thursday, July 2 – The North Country, Big Mama Shakes, Anthony Pirog Trio play at DC9. Weird freak folk + experimental DC jazz = a fun night of groovin’.
- Thursday, July 2 – Brooklyn rockabilly three-piece The Bloodshots play at Hill Country BBQ for free.
- Thursday, July 2- Sitali + Juju play at Bossa Bistro and Lounge, this time with strings attached (meaning they’ve got a dope four-piece string quartet this time around).
- Thursday, July 2 – If soulful R&B is your jam (and if you like Lauryn Hill-style contemporary R&B), Nu Soul Collective will feature three modern soul artists close to the U Street area.
- Friday, July 3 – Jazz in the Garden, as a part of your regularly scheduled programming. Saxophones, sangria, and the Speakers of the House (that’s the name of the funk group performing that night).
- Friday, July 3 – Local electronic-hip-hop collective and label Proper Vibes will display its artist showcase at a Zeba Bar throughout the evening, pro bono.
- Friday, July 3 – The Pinch hosts an In It Together Fest Benefit Show with Ezra Mae & the Gypsy Moon, Mad Extras, Social Station and EastWestHWY.
- Saturday, July 4 – So there are (obviously) many places you can see the fireworks on the 4th, but you may want to drop by A Capitol Fourth on the West Lawn of Capitol Hill for the real deal, which features a performance of Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture” and live cannon fire. Talk about dramatics.
- Tuesday, July 30 – The first of the Brookland Busboys and Poets’ No Rules Slam (like actually no rules, slammers can bring whatever they can fit on stage with them) starts up at 7:30.
- Tuesday, July 30 – Afro-Peruvian artist Vicky Leyva will reflect on Peru’s rich cultural musical heritage through live performance at the Enrique V. Iglesias Auditorium.
- Wednesday, July 1 – Drop in at Baked & Wired in Georgetown for a discussion of Virginia Woolf’s “The Mark on the Wall,” with coffee and baked goods to boot.
- Wednesday, July 1 – A short “bite-sized” gallery talk at the National Museum of Women in the Arts will discuss the new exhibition “Super Natural” during the lunch break (for those of you working downtown).
- Wednesday, July 1 – July 5 – The beginning of the second week of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival kicks off, with Peruvian cultural events (as well as a marketplace of cultural goods) going from Wednesday until Sunday night. Definitely not the type of awesome folk festival you want to miss.
- Thursday, July 2nd – join us and FotoDC for the Faces of DC & Places of DC opening @ W Hotel. It is FREE. RSVP Here.
That’s all, remember – PLEASE POST YOUR FREE EVENTS (FOR FREE!) ON OUR AGENDA PAGE or send us FREE TIPS to [email protected] for inclusion in the future FREE THINGS guide. Feel free to leave us your suggestions in the comments. Sharing is the new caring.
