What's happening, updated every Wednesday.
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‍See this in a more scannable Google doc.

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On sale now! Events in the ~ future ~ that you may want to buy tickets for before they sell out

Are your friends furloughed? Here’s how to throw a good party, tunes: Rico Nasty (10/11), iconic sci-fi fest: Yume Kitasei, Ray Nayler, Julia Vee, and Fran Wilde (10/16), tunes: Doechii (10/21), tunes: Magdalena Bay (10/25), tunes: Parcels (10/27), tunes: Samara Joy (11/12), Alison Roman at 6th & I (11/13)

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Wednesday, October 8

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What’s better than art? Free art!

Visit NMWA on Community Day for free admission! Drop by the open studio for some hands-on art activities, a gallery talk, or a guided tour! (10am-5pm)

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Chillin with my show-mies

Are you waiting in anticipation to find out who’s getting kicked off the island next? You’re not alone! Catch the next episode of Survivor at DC9’s rooftop watch party with fellow fans. (8pm)

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Also || second opinion live taping postponed, temple record release, tunes: Speaking in Tongues festival, restorative yoga, tax land, fund metro, book launch: Bright Before Us, Like a Flame, month long secondhand books pop-up

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Thursday, October 9

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Counting terrors

The 2025 DC Palestinian Film & Arts Festival opens with TERROR COUNTER, a debut poetry and visual performance by DC-based artist Fargo Nissim Tbakhi. (6:30pm)

Plus see more films and performances all weekend at different venues.

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You don’t need persimmon to get on this ride!

The persimmons are ripe and the tea is piping hot! Join DC Trail Rangers for their persimmon pop-up ride, an 8-mile ride to get some fresh persimmons on the 295 trail, then off to Grounded Coffee for a snack after. (7am)

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Also || tunes: Joss Stone, tunes: Gus Englehorn, Mia and the Argonauts, cocktail party fundraiser for common good city farm, author talk: Alexandra Villasante, tunes: Pissed Jeans, comedy: Risas Sin Barreras, free stand up, DSA Socialist Feminist section, art opening: Songlines, Contemporary Aboriginal Masters, National Gallery Nights (limited walk up tickets available!), creatives club and community jam, dcmc grand prix practice, nascar museum (on wheels), mount pleasant clean-up

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Friday, October 10

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I’m walkin’ queer!!!

It’s LGBTQIA+ History Month! Learn about the rich history of local queer life and activism with the Queer Black Broadway walking tour along the U Street Corridor. (6pm)

Head to Takoma Park for another LGBTQIA+ History Month walking tour focused on the area's queer histories and ecologies. (6:30pm)

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It’s all just a bunch of hocus pocus

Start your spooky season off right: join Bridge District for a free outdoor showing of Hocus Pocus. (7pm)

Or maybe, laughter is ten times more powerful than a scream… Catch Monsters, Inc. and sit in your power all night. (7:30pm)

Looking to go deeper? ONE DC screens Cracked Shells, a local documentary about gentrification and displacement. (5pm)

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Also || Asher White at Rhizome, Soweto Gospel Choir, virtual dating, author talk at kramers, tunes: miki berenyi trio, tunes: Zap in the city, crowdwork comedy show, sign making workshop, Because They’re Funny Comedy Festival, latine rooftop party 4 migrant mutual aid

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Saturday, October 11

Circular foods and wheeled vehicles

Life is like riding a bicycle: It’s better when there’s pupusas at the end. Voices on the Border raises money for education in El Salvador at this year’s Pupusa Party. (2pm)
This is not a drive pie ah ah ah ah. But if you ride your vintage motorcycle to this local band showcase, you’ll get a free pie! (2pm)
IMSA Petit Le Mans is what I imagine Mario says when he gets hit by a lightning strike and shrinks. Enjoy a guided wine tasting during this 10-hour endurance sports care race. (12pm)

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Also || dc witch fest, kid’s clothing swap, paint & debate, book event: history of dc punk fanzines, tunes: black eyes, work sucks comedy show, poetry series: Gina Myers, Black Georgetown walking tour, make a candle in a wine bottle, Gay Men’s Chorus of DC Cabaret night!, free boot camp class, Scooby Doo Worn Wear (swap, upscycle, screen print), sketch comedy: Mother’s Pouch, pokemon-themed comedy, meditation in the gallery, Oktoberfest at the Boro, book talk: middle spoon, long run from union market, live music in dupont circle, van ness main street celebration, navy yard cleanup and costume contest, dcmc grand prix qualifying, sapphic rodeo party (ft. mechanical bull)

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Sunday, October 12

It’s like a credit score for your aura points

I need someone to take an aura picture, read it, and tell me who I am. District Candle Lab snaps a polaroid to give you a personal reading and inspire a one-of-a-kind candle. (11am)

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Small but mighty

From Adams Morgan to Union Market, Songbyrd has become one of the area’s best music venues for intimate concerts. Help celebrate their 10th anniversary with an all day long block party featuring food, drinks, and live music! (12pm)

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Also || tunes: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, alleys of DC, sunday storytime @ planet word, learn to plant trees, dcmc grand prix, coffee, cars, and bikes, the funset @ dew drop inn, networking happy hour (ft. live tattoos??), fall day party

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Monday, October 13

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Your parents are fools

Magician David Kwong, the head magic consultant for Now You See Me (add that to the list of jobs no one told me existed), teaches your kids how to be better at pranking you with everyday objects (the real magic is that tix are only 5 bux). (4pm)

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Oh trust me, I pull

Calling all weed warriors: Rock Creek Park needs a full Brazilian. Join Rock Creek Conservancy in removing invasives to support native plant growth (and bring a full bottle of water). (10am)

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Also || talk: the macabre Poe, tunes: Rosslyn Station, family pumpkin carving and painting, tailgate experience: bears vs commanders, tunes: sombr, tunes: Peel Dream Magazine

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Tuesday, October 14

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That’s a perfect amount of horror for me!

Local DIY directors showcase their spooky, scary 5-minute horror flicks at Rhizome. With musical accompaniment by Sonic Eddy and Mike Galerpin. (6:30pm)

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Did you know the world’s longest mural lives underground in DC?

Located in the basement of Organizations for American States, “Roots of Peace” was painted by Uruguayan artist Carlos Páez Vilaró in 1960. It’s not always open to the public, but for now you can get a free ticket and tour! (11am)

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Also || garden ramen at city blossoms, economic mobility conference, book talk: Helena Haywoode, film screening: Loneliness Isn’t Inevitable, Profs & Pints: Came from Within, film screening: Fierceness Served!, tunes: Ravyn Lenae, spoken word open mic

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OCTOBER

10/15: tunes: Ben Folds, talk: Jack the Ripper, Wednesdays at Waldorf, book talk: Anna North, talk: stop financing factory farming, artists and architects , tarot and wine tasting, Howl-O-Ween Bar(k) Crawl, IONA 50th, Faux Cake Decorating, DC Archives Crawl

10/16: tunes: Weston Olencki / niki afsar, Oktoberfest @ CJM, DIY polymer clay pies, theatre: julius X, Deaf Way Film Festival, iconic sci-fi fest: Yume Kitasei, Ray Nayler, Julia Vee, and Fran Wilde, Yes Queen comedy, NGA talk: Design, Pedagogy, Access

10/17: tunes: Chris Thile, tunes: Consone Quartet, art: Fragments @ Thundershark, tunes: Chris Ryan Williams / Truculent, volunteer at Boo at the Zoo, queer line dancing, creepypasties, art: Fragments, comedy: Robert Mac

10/18: authentic relating, intro to LARPing, walk to prevent suicide, third coast percussion, 86th ladies board rummage sale, gallery talk: new exhibit of Australian indigenous art, choir: Sacred Jewelbox, afterparty for Rico Nasty, The Big Build @ NBM, sauna pop-up, tunes: tire x silver x theresedreaming / Argyle Torah, DIY in DC Festival, yoga at kreeger, jazz, family day: creating comics, Goatman’s Camp Fear, Creepypasties, Juke Joints and Jubilee, My Sister’s Place walk, Franciscan Monastery fall festival, from here(ish) comedy