There’s so much going on promoting peace, service and education for Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, plus there’s a chilly sport in Chantilly. News4’s Tommy McFly breaks it all down.
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Now that we're drying off after that rain and wind mess, we’re putting on our Storm Team4 hats and tracking good things ahead on a much-needed long weekend.
Our meteorologist friends have their eye on another round of rain Friday night, so it’s even better if you’re OOO Monday.
As John Lewis often said, Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a day on, not off, and there are lots of ways to promote peace, service, education and reflection.
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Looking for an active way to volunteer, get your steps in and honor our veterans? Come to our first Scene meetup next weekend!
We’re getting a team together to help Wreaths Across America pick up tens of thousands of wreaths that are laid on servicemembers' graves each December to honor their sacrifices.
💚 Wreaths Out at Arlington National Cemetery is Saturday, Jan. 20. We hope to see you!
Ice Swimming
📅 Fri. and Sat.
📍 Brookfield Swim Club
💲 Free
🔗 Details
It’s getting chilly in Chantilly! You can watch the 2024 U.S. National Ice Swimming Championships. Fierce and frosty competitors from 18 states will jump into an outdoor pool that’s 41 degrees max – no warm swimwear allowed.
But fear not, spectators. You can stay bundled up, dip into food trucks and help make a party atmosphere to cheer on swimmers.
The International Ice Swimming Association is on a mission to make this a new Olympic sport, so you could be getting into the next phenomenon on the level of curling.
Bombs Away!
📅 Fri., 7:30 p.m. (show at 8 p.m.)
📍 Saloon at 1205 U Street NW, Washington, D.C.
💲 $5
🔗 Details
Does the idea of a performer bombing on stage make you cringe deep in your soul? Same! We’re trying to figure out if that makes the Bombs Away! sudden death stand-up show fantastic or frightening.
Here’s the idea: Comedians take the stage, and if they don’t make the audience laugh, it’s curtains. We presume a giant shepherd’s hook yanks them off stage before another brave comic rotates in.
Kinda Live Comedy calls it “a comedy show guaranteed to make you laugh the whole time,” and we'll happily spend $5 to soothe our rain-induced winter blues.
See also: 50 First Jokes in Adams Morgan on Thursday.
Say it Loud
📅 Sat.
📍 Germantown, Maryland
🔗 Details
BlackRock Center for the Arts is hosting its Say it Loud MLK event, a full day of performances, films, art exhibits and a record fair celebrating the legacy of Dr. King.
Daytime programming is free, including the films, starting with “King in the Wilderness” at 10:30 a.m. and ending with a documentary about D.C.’s music heritage, “Black Fire,” at 5:45 p.m.
D.C.’s own The JoGo Project, fusing jazz and go-go and featuring Silver Spring’s Desiree Jordan, plus Nag Champa Art Ensemble will close out the night with an 8 p.m. show. Tickets to the show start at $35.
Winter Restaurant Week begins Monday
Winter Restaurant Week officially begins Monday and continues through Sunday, Jan. 21.
Lunch and brunch menus are generally two courses for $25 or $35 per person, while dinners are usually three courses for $40, $55 or $65.
A lot of restaurants won’t offer their Restaurant Week brunch menus on Monday, but these spots are coming through with $25 deals: Brasserie Liberté in Georgetown, Dovetail at the Viceroy Hotel in Bloomingdale, and Mi Vida’s three locations in D.C. Joon in Tysons has a $35 brunch available in addition to their regular menu.
These $35 lunches are available on MLK Day, and you can call it brunch if you like: Takara 14 in Logan Circle, The Pembroke on Dupont Circle, Zaytinya in Penn Quarter, Spanish Diner in Bethesda and Rasika’s West End and Penn Quarter locations.
Snag a table soon! The good reservations go fast: This is D.C. after all.
FYI: Alexandria’s and Falls Church’s restaurant weeks will run from Jan. 19-28.
Other MLK Day brunches in the D.C. area
- Ambar, with locations in Clarendon, Capitol Hill and Shaw, is offering its brunch menu of unlimited Balkan small plates and drinks on Monday.
- Levantine tapas spot ala is offering its three-course brunch with bottomless drinks for $48 on Monday. Book it on Resy.
- Hank’s Oyster Bar’s locations in Dupont, Old Town and The Wharf will be open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Monday.
- Residents in Dupont will offer a two-course brunch with a welcome drink for $45 per person. Get tickets here.
- Sixty Vines in Reston is set to serve brunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Surreal, the new “whimsical diner” in National Landing, will open at 7 a.m. on MLK Day.
- Bloomingdale pub Boundary Stone will do brunch classics from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Live music and concerts this weekend
Black Masala, 8 p.m. Friday, Pearl Street Warehouse, $20-$30
D.C.’s own funky, genre-defying, brass party band is high energy and highly entertaining live. Details.
Kill Lincoln, 7 p.m. Saturday, Black Cat, $25
Hyperactive local hardcore-ska band. Like-minded but lighter and goofier Boston group Bid D & the Kids Table opens. Details.
Walk the Plank, 8 p.m. Saturday, Atlas Brew Works, $12
Growly D.C. hardcore punks celebrate the release of their new EP “Loathe.” Details.
Things to do in D.C.
Lecture: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., A Life
Thurs., 7 p.m., MLK Library, free
Comedy: Funny Arabs by Rola Z
Fri., 8 p.m., Union Stage at The Wharf, $25
DC Onesie Crawl
Sat., 2-10 p.m., Dupont, $22-$25
The Hip Hop and R&B Bar Crawl
Sun., 2-10 p.m., U Street, $10-$20
Booze Free Bingo for Dry January
Sun., 2 p.m., metrobar in Northeast, $5
The Rebellious Life of Rosa Parks
Sun., 1:30 p.m., MLK Library, free
Rock the Rink at The Wharf
Sun., noon to 4 p.m., The Wharf Ice Rink
FYI: Fans dressed in Caps gear get $5 off rink admission.
Things to do in Maryland
Black History Month Exhibition at Montpelier Arts Center
Opens Fri., Laurel, free
Suburban Maryland Home Show
Sat. and Sun., Prince George's Equestrian Center and Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro, free with online registration or $10 at the door
Make n’ Take: African Violets in Glass
Sun., 1-3 p.m., indigro plant design in Takoma Park, $35 per garden (drop-ins welcome)
Last chance: LuminoCity winter lights
Through Mon., Montgomery County Fairgrounds in Gaithersburg, $20+
Things to do in Virginia
Candle making workshop
Thurs., 7 p.m., Alexandria, $65
Comedian Preacher Lawson
Fri., The Birchmere in Alexandria, $39.50
FYI: You may know him from of "America's Got Talent"
Screaming Infidelities: Emo Night
Fri., Jammin Java in Vienna, $18
Stargazing Spectacular
Sat., Burke Lake Park, $10
K-Pop Glow Up the Night Dance Party
Sat., Shipgarten in McLean, free admission
Calvin Earl: Music of the Civil Rights Movement
Sun., 2 p.m., McLean Community Center, $5-$10
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