Capitol Hill Agenda is a listing of interesting events for the week ahead in the Capitol Hill area. If you’d like to see your event featured, fill out our event submission form.
For more events, be sure to check out our event calendar.
Tuesday – Sunday
Arlene and Robert Kogod Cradle, The Mead Center for American Theater (1101 Sixth St. SW)
Time: 12 p.m. Wednesday; 2 p.m. Saturday; 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and Sunday; 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday
This one-woman show is part of this fall’s Women’s Voices Theater Festival and tells the story of a female newspaper columnist who wrote about suburban home life from the mid-1960s to the late 1990s. The show was written by twin sisters and is in its last week of production on the Southwest Waterfront. Full-price tickets cost $55 to $90, depending on the show date and time. They are available for purchase online.
Tuesday
Celebrate National Novel Writing Month: Get Unblocked!
Northeast Library (330 7th St. NE)
Time: 6:30 – 8 p.m.
The DC Public Library has teamed up with author Hannah Sternberg and Capitol Hill Arts Workshop for a series of free workshops to help locals finish their still-in-progress novels. The Northeast branch will host four workshops every Tuesday in November. Each has a different theme, starting with character development. Interested writers should register online.
Wednesday
Celebrate National Novel Writing Month: Finish Your Novel Already!
Southeast Library in Eastern Market (403 7th St. SE)
Time: 6:30 – 8 p.m.
The Southeast branch is also contributing to the community celebration, holding two workshops on novel writing that start this week. The free workshops–both held on Wednesday evenings this month–are meant to help aspiring authors tackle the “very specific set of challenges and disciplines” that come with writing a novel while keeping up with daily obligations and busy schedules. Interested writers should register online.
Thursday
Hill Center Jazz Ensemble, led by Marshall Keys
Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital (921 Pennsylvania Ave. SE)
Time: 7:30 – 9:30 p.m.
Saxophonist Marshall Keys will take the lead in this installment of the Hill Center Concert Series. Song selections are original works from jazz ensemble members and are written to show the current state of jazz in the District. General admission tickets can be purchased online in advance for $15 or at the door for $20.
Saturday
Nationals Park (1500 S Capitol St. SE)
Time: 12 – 3 p.m. or 5 – 8 p.m.
Craft breweries, DJs, food trucks and lawn games will come together at Nationals Park this weekend for the DC Beer Festival. Guests can choose to attend one of two sessions. Tickets include unlimited beer tasting and access to other event activities which will set up shop throughout the ballpark. Admission is $40 per person and available online.
St. Marks Episcopal Church (301 A St. SE)
Time: 6 – 10 p.m.
The tradition of honoring Capitol Hill area business returns this weekend. The formal event will have food and live music to bring together local businesses and their loyal customers. Gala tickets for the general public are $75, but prices vary for Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce members. They can be purchased online.
Monday
U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum (100 Raoul Wallenberg Place SW)
Time: 6:30 – 10 p.m.
The museum will open a nighttime display featuring images of ethnic and religious minorities in Iraq projected onto the building’s exterior. The series will begin Monday evening with a discussion about the background of the people in the images and to provide context. Admission is free, and the display will run through Nov. 12.
Photo via Facebook/Hill Center
Fall is in full-swing, and Halloween is now 10 days away. For those who love the season of changing leaves, pumpkin spice and costumes, the Capitol Hill area has plenty of ways to celebrate.
Events across the area this weekend will give residents a chance to start their Halloween celebrations a week early. Here are some pre-holiday events to help you get in the Halloween spirit:
Thursday
Seniors Costume Brunch
King Greenleaf Recreation Center (201 N St. SW)
11 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Area seniors are invited to the recreation center for a costume brunch with food and music. There will also be prize giveaways for guests wearing the best costume of the event. More information is available via e-mail.
NoMa Pumpkin Carving Happy Hour
NoMa Junction @ Storey Park (1005 First St. NE)
4 – 7 p.m.
NoMa BID will provide free pumpkins and carving tools for the first 200 visitors to the “pumpkin patch.” Pumpkins can be reserved in advance online. Participants can bring their own pumpkins and tools, if they choose. The event is free and open to the public. It will have live music from ’90s cover band the Lloyd Dobbler Effect, face painting, and a candy scavenger hunt. Food and drinks will also be available for purchase.
Thursday – Sunday
Scream City D.C.
RFK Stadium (2400 East Capitol St. SE)
7 – 10 p.m. (open until 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday)
“Exorcism Estate” and “Slaughter Factory” are two fully-enclosed haunted houses that will take over Parking Lot 8 through the end of the month. The haunts are from the same minds as Field of Screams Maryland and are almost guaranteed to be very, very scary. The production company recommends no one under the age of 13 attend, and parents should use their discretion when choosing to bring their children. Tickets are available online for $30-$40. One ticket grants admission to both haunts, and each takes approximately 40 minutes to walk through.
Friday
Haunted History and Ghost Hunt
Northeast Neighborhood Library (330 7th St. NE)
4 – 9 p.m.
This evening will pair history and haunts so guests can decide for themselves whether the library is haunted or not. The first hour of the event will provide a haunted history of the building and the surrounding area. Following that will be a paranormal investigation where attendees will get into teams, use “ghost hunting” equipment and search for evidence of paranormal activity. The event is free, but pre-registration is required by e-mail, in person or by telephone at 202-698-0058.
Friday and Saturday
In Their Own Words: Soul Strolls at Congressional Cemetery
Historic Congressional Cemetery (1801 E St. SE)
6 – 9 p.m.
The Congressional Cemetery will have a second weekend of night tours. The tours will tell the stories of some of the 65,000 “residents” there, as interpreted by cemetery staff. The event will also have a cash bar and music each night. Tours are held during the twilight hours. Tickets are available online and cost $20 for adults and $10 for children who are 12 years old or younger.
Saturday
Hot Cider Hustle 5K/15K
RFK Stadium (2400 East Capitol St. SE)
9 a.m.
Capitol Hill-area runners can participated in one of two fall-themed races around RFK Stadium along the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail. Both races start at 9 a.m. in Lot 7. Hot apple cider and caramel apples will wait for participants as they cross the finish line. Registration is still open for both races, but the price will increase tomorrow at 1 p.m.
Pumpkins in the Park
Washington Canal Park (202 M St. SE)
11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
The Capitol Riverfront BID is hosting a late morning/early afternoon of family-friendly activities and entertainment to get ready for the holiday. Small pumpkins and decorating tools will be provided. There will also be face painting and live entertainment. The event is free and open to the public.
Barktoberfest
Yards Park (355 Water St. SE)
1 – 5 p.m.
The Washington Animal Rescue League is hosting the Second Annual Barktoberfest, an event scheduled to have local craft beer, live music, food trucks, shopping, a canine costume contest and a puppy kissing booth. General admission tickets are available online for $35 and include unlimited beer tastings. Dogs must be leashed at all times. Rain date is Oct. 25.
Haunted Harvest
Capitol Hill Montessori at Logan (215 G St. NE)
6 – 9 p.m.
This fall festival is for families to celebrate Halloween a little early. The event will have several activities, including a haunted house, spooky pumpkin painting, mad science experiments and a zombie dance party. Costumes are encouraged for all attendees. A chili cook-off contest will take place from 6 – 7:30 p.m. for $1 per taste. Dinners of chili or hotdogs will be served from 6 – 8 p.m. and cost $5 each. A $20 donation per family is recommended.
Photo via Facebook/Capitol Riverfront BID
About a thousand used books are set to go on sale at the Northeast Neighborhood Library this weekend.
The fundraiser at the 330 7th St. NE library is scheduled to start Saturday at 10:30 a.m. On Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m., any remaining books are slated be sold at a discounted price.
Riverby Books, a used bookstore that closed on Capitol Hill in March, donated the books to the Friends of the Northeast Library, which typically holds two book sales every year to raise money for the library.
Vince Morris, president of the Friends of the Northeast Library, said the gift from Riverby will make this sale much larger than previous times. He also said the quality of the books will be higher because Riverby Books was more selective with the items they accepted.
“They donated a huge part of their inventory,” Morris said. “It’s probably going to be double the size of our typical sales.”
The library on Sunday also will host a block party from 2 to 5 p.m. The party, which will take place in front of the library, will include face painting, crafts, a balloon artist and a professional storyteller.
Photo via Facebook/Friends of the Northeast Library
