Weekend picks in and around Washington, DC

All weekend

Fiesta DC is a family friendly celebration of Latino culture. The full-day festival includes a wide range of entertainment and great food from a wide variety of Latino cultures. The festival grounds are located on Pennsylvania Avenue between 9th and 14th Streets beginning at the U.S. Navy Memorial Plaza and extending to Freedom Plaza.

Mark the beginning of the Kennedy Center’s 50th anniversary with a weekend pointing us towards the future. Various performances are planned Thursday-Saturday.

HUEPHORIA is at Merriweather District Experience an immersive and interactive art exhibition in the Merriweather District through Sunday. Four Artists. Four Days. One Exhibition. Bolder, brighter, and better than ever. Merriweather District’s Artist-in-Residence program presents HUEPHORIA: a fully immersive art exhibition fusing sound, culture, and performance.

Returning for its sixth year, the international mural festival, formerly known as POW! WOW! is convening local, national and international artists under its new name, D.C. Walls from September 8th – 18th, 2021. The 10-day outdoor festival launched originally in 2016, and is the local chapter of the worldwide POW! WOW! collective, based in Hawai’i. Click above link for locations!

Corn Maze & Apple Harvest at Great Country Farms lasts through Sept. 30 and is open 9am-6pm daily. Pick apples, listen to live music, and learn how cider was made back in the day on an antique cider press with an antique 1865 cider pressing demos. Sample freshly pressed cider and see how it used to be produced! You must have registered prior to going. Head up to Dirt Farm Brewery afterwards for a breathtaking view & some hops.

Saturday

10:00am-4:00pm: Falls Church Festival
The festival features The Taste of Falls Church, a beer garden, live music, children’s entertainment, and booths from local crafters, businesses, and civic organizations.

10:00am-12:00pm: Clean the creek with Little Falls Watershed Alliance
Saturday promises wonderful fall weather, Perfect for cleaning the creek! Meet at the gravel parking lot at the intersection of Little Falls and
Mass Avenue in Bethesda to clean the Little Falls Parkway and Creek. There will be boots and grabbers to lend as well as gloves, safety vests and
bags. The event is pre-approved for MCPS SSL hours. Kids under 14 years must be accompanied by an adult supervisor. Registration and more information is here.

10:00am-7:00pm: Maryland Renaissance Fair
Take a time machine back to medieval times. With plenty of entertainment, including music, joisting, puppetry, pony rides and so much more. Dates are: September 11, 12, 18, 19, 25, 26; October 2, 3, 9, 10, 16, 17, 23, 24

11:00am: Adams Morgan Day is back with some in-person events! Music, dancing, a kids zone with some clinics and vendors are a few.

12:00pm-4:00pm: Doggie Swim
With the end of the *human* outdoor swimming season, this annual event provides *dogs* with a one-day opportunity to jump in the pools, enjoy a swim and play fun aquatics games. Register above and read the guidelines for dogs to be eligible to join the fun.

Upshur Pool (4300 Arkansas Ave., NW)
Randall Pool (25 I Street, SW)
Francis Pool (2435 N Street, NW)

3:00pm-4:00pm: NSO In Your Neighborhood: La Coop Coffee Company, Outdoor Chamber Performance
With deep roots in the Guatamalan coffee industry, La Coop Coffee Company is a family-owned and operated business from the beginning of the value chain in Union Cantinil, Huehuetenango, Guatemala, to the end in Washington, D.C. La Coop Coffee prides themselves on using the business to foster community in this uptown neighborhood of Brightwood Park. Join members of the NSO for an outdoor concert in the backyard of this home-style coffee shop. Bringing your own blankets and chairs are encouraged.

6:00pm-7:00pm: NSO In Your Neighborhood: The Parks at Walter Reed, Outdoor Chamber Performance
The Parks at Walter Reed is a vibrant community of mixed-use development spaces on 66 acres of land, formerly known as the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. This NSO string quartet performance will take place on the Great Lawn, prior to a screening of Disney Pixar’s Soul. Bringing your own blankets and chairs are encouraged.

7:00pm-8:00pm: NSO In Your Neighborhood: Takoma Station Tavern. Outdoor Chamber Performance
Takoma Station Tavern is a well-established and historic DC venue, known for supporting local musicians, particularly jazz musicians and soul singers. This chamber concert will take place outdoors across the street from the venue. In the event of rain, this event will be held indoors at Takoma Station Tavern. Come enjoy live music along with local food trucks and family friendly activities.

Sunday

12:00pm-1:00pm: NSO In Your Neighborhood: AFI Silver Theater and Cultural Center, Chamber Performance
The AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in downtown Silver Spring is a historic landmark dedicated to preserving the art of the moving image, and concentrates on presenting film and video generally unavailable elsewhere. This chamber performance will take place against the backdrop of 1938 art deco details, in the historic Theater 1. FREE event; tickets required! RSVP here, then pick up your tickets at the theater on Sun, Sept. 12, starting at 11:30 a.m. RSVP is strongly recommended. Walk-up admissions on Sept. 12 will be accepted on the basis of availability, but are not guaranteed.
AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center will require proof of vaccination or a negative PCR test result from within the past 72 hours for entry. Read the full policy here.

12:00pm-1:00pm: NSO In Your Neighborhood: Rock Creek Nature Center, Outdoor Chamber Performance
Rock Creek Nature Park consists of 1,754 acres of lush greenery. The Nature Park Center serves as the hub, where park ranger-led programs meet and numerous trails begin. This chamber concert will take place outdoors in front of the center, accompanied by the quiet bustling sounds of nature.

Think ahead:

September 26, for the very popular Creek Critters Day, a family oriented workshop where you are invited into the creek to hunt for macro-invertebrates. Creek Critters is free, but registration
is required as space is limited. Register here.