What to Expect for the H Street Festival

The H Street Festival is set to kick off its 10th year tomorrow with a 10-block celebration of the H Street corridor’s restaurants, shops and residents.

The festival, which will take place on H Street NE between 4th and 14th streets NE from noon to 7 p.m., will have nine performance stages, more than 175 food and drink options, and almost an entire block of art on display.

Here is some of what to expect:

Food

• Restaurants all along the H Street will have specials and open their dining rooms and patios to festivalgoers. Guests can check the H St. Main St. app for food and drink specials on the day of the festival.
• Smith Department of Food and Beverage will set up a pop-up eatery and concert venue in the parking lot of the Autozone at 1207 H St. NE. The area will feature tacos, barbecue and burgers, as well as 10 musical performers, throughout the day.

Drinks

• Biergarten Haus will serve eight different Oktoberfest beers in its outdoor beer garden starting at 11 a.m.
• Shiner Brewery will take over Kitty’s Saloon with drink specials on the Texas beer all day.
• For those who aren’t beer fans, a margarita garden will pop up at Chupacabra on 8th Street NE.

Music

• The Rock and Roll Hotel (1353 H St. NE) will hold its annual “Brodown Throwdown,” with different local bands taking the stage at the top of every hour.
• Musical acts and DJs will play throughout the day at the 4th, 6th, 8th, 11th and 14th street stages. Highlights include Malian troubadour Cheick Hamala Diabate and local jazz-go-go band Jogo Project, both of which will play on the 8th Street stage.
• Schedules for all the performance stages are available on the festival’s Facebook page.

Sights

• The festival once again will feature a fleet of ornately decorated “art cars,” and this year there will even be an “art bus.”
• Gallery O on H will set up an art and culture tent with work from local high school, college and professional artists between 13th and 14th streets NE.
• The House of Sweetbottom will put on a variety show at the 7th Street stage at 5 p.m. featuring burlesque and magic.
• For those who enjoy regrettable decisions, there will be a bad tattoo contest on the 10th Street stage at 1 p.m.
• The 10th Street stage also will host three different eating contests: a Ben’s Chili Bowl eating competition at 2 p.m., a Chupacabra Latin American food eating contest at 4 p.m. and a Dangerously Pies eating competition at 5 p.m.
• For fans of fashion or odd culture clashes, there will be a fashion show on the 10th street stage at 3 p.m., after the chili dog eating contest and before the taco eating contest.

Children

• There will be kid-friendly entertainment and games all day at the intersection of H and 9th streets NE.
• A teacup ride sponsored by CBS’s “Two Broke Girls” will also go up a the intersection. Cupcakes and tea will be available at the ride.

Fitness

• The 9th Street stage will feature yoga and fitness sessions throughout the day.

Photo via Facebook/H Street Festival