This weekend brings D.C.’s biggest celebrations of the Lunar New Year, with lions dancing in the streets of Chinatown, an after-hours party at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art, and dance parties spotlighting Asian artists. There are also even more Mardi Gras parties, including the big parade and fireworks show at the Wharf, postponed from March 15. But a very busy schedule also includes the return of the globe-trotting (and free!) Mother Tongue Film Festival; the ever-popular Garage Racing National Championships, which find bike riders careening through an underground parking garage; and events honoring Black History Month, including a film festival, walking tours and trivia. Dining gets cheaper as two Maryland cities kick off their restaurant weeks, and Adams Morgan’s Her Diner opens its doors early to cheer for the U.S. Women’s Olympic hockey team.
Thursday, Feb. 19
Mother Tongue Film Festival
The Smithsonian’s 11th annual Mother Tongue Film Festival immerses viewers in cultures far from Washington: The Andes Mountains, Fiji, Ethiopia and Scotland are among the places featured in short and featured films, all presented in their native languages with subtitles or open captions. In total, the 25 films included in this year’s lineup represent 27 languages from 14 regions across the globe. The real reason to indulge in Mother Tongue, though, is that all programs are free, and most are followed by a Q&A session with directors, producers and museum curators who provide additional context. Thursday’s opening night presentation, at the National Museum of the American Indian, is “Uiksaringitara (Wrong Husband),” a tale about star-crossed lovers in northern Canada 2,000 years ago, and a discussion with producer and co-writer Samuel Cohn-Cousineau. Screenings take place at various locations around D.C., including Planet Word and George Washington University. Through Feb. 22. Free.
Gold Medal Hockey Match at Her Diner
Since women’s ice hockey became an Olympic sport in 1998, every final except one has been contested by the U.S. and Canada. Defending champion Canada has five gold medals. The U.S. team, winners in 2018, has two golds. The heated rivalry returns to the ice Thursday in the gold medal game, and Adams Morgan’s Her Diner is opening at 12:30 p.m. so fans can settle in with food and drinks before the puck drops at 1:10. (The bar notes that they have WiFi in case you need to “work” remotely.) 12:30 p.m. Free.
Rosslyn BID Lunar New Year Celebration
The Hung Ci Lion Dance Troupe is set to perform a lion dance in the middle of Rosslyn to ring in the year. The main event takes place in the neighborhood’s Central Place Plaza at 6 p.m., with activities including a wishing wall, a photo souvenir booth and a display where you can learn about your birth year’s animal. Get hyped for Rosslyn’s Lunar New Year Celebration by hunting down a cart offering Rosslyn-themed fortune cookies the day before (Feb. 18), starting at 1 p.m. in Central Place Plaza. 5 to 7 p.m. Free.
Beer Olympics at Dacha Beer Garden
If watching the Winter Olympics has made you crave the glory of victory, but your skill level is more rec league than professional athlete, Dacha Beer Garden in Shaw has the solution. The Beer Olympics feature competitions like flip cup, beer pong, quarters and stein-holding for teams of four, with free beer for all participants and prizes for the winners. 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Free; email the bar to register.
Kenya Pleaser at Pitchers
Kenya Pleaser — a contestant on the current season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” noted for her Lizzo impression — visits Pitchers for a meet and greet followed by a performance. You’ll want to make sure you’re in the building in Adams Morgan before the South Carolina native meets her fans at 9 p.m. 9 p.m. meet-and-greet, 10 p.m. performance. Free.
Pun DMV at the Improv
Are you a fan of puns? Are your dad jokes so bad that friends consider hanging out with you to be pun-ishment? Then the Improv has an event you’ll love. The annual Pun DMV competition features up to 20 contestants showing off their wordplay, trying to make the audience laugh, not groan. If you’d like to participate, you can sign up on-site, and if you’re just curious, well, it sounds like a pun-derful evening. 7:30 p.m. $8.50 general admission; $29 reserved table for two.
Savor Bethesda Restaurant Week
During Savor Bethesda Restaurant Week, set menus are offered for $10, $20 or $35 at dozens of restaurants around the city. Roman kitchen Aventino and seafood hot spot the Salt Line both offer three-course lunches for $35, while Ukrainian restaurant Ruta and vegetarian destination Planta have three-course meals for $20 at lunch and $35 at dinner. Through March 1. See a full list of participants and their menus on bethesda.org.
Friday, Feb. 20
Black History Film Festival at Lincoln Theatre
Twelve hours of programming at the Lincoln Theatre includes three feature films, 10 short films, panel discussions and live music. Selections range from the nine-minute documentary “Joe Barry Carroll” about the NBA all-star turned philanthropist to the 84-minute “Prophet: The Story of Nat Turner.” Doors open at 11:30 a.m., and viewers can stay for as much of the festival as they’d like. Noon to midnight. Free.
Chinatown Funk Express at Lucky Danger
Lucky Danger, Arlington’s fast-casual Chinese joint, plays venue for a Lunar New Year celebration featuring Les the DJ’s mix of Asian artists; a night market with zines, jewelry, prints and more; and food and drinks from its own bar and kitchen. Expect a wide-ranging soundtrack with songs from Korean funk-pop bands, Cantonese Hi-NRG and OPM (Original Pilipino Music). 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. $20 in advance; $25 at the door.
American Craft Made Baltimore at the Baltimore Convention Center
With 400 artists and more than 10,000 attendees, the annual American Craft Made Baltimore festival is the largest juried craft fair on the East Coast, according to organizers American Craft Council. Browse exhibition halls full of handmade items, from furniture to clothing to ceramics, and watch demonstrations and try hands-on activities led by ceramicists, jewelers, turner and papermaker. Sections are dedicated to emerging artists, while other tables feature collaborations between makers who work in the same discipline. If it feels like a lot, multiday tickets are available. Through Sunday. $11.83 single day, $28.64 weekend. Free for children ages 12 and younger.
Black Label at Trade
“A showcase of black drag artistry” takes over Trade, as the multitalented Vagenesis hosts, Sonova Beech and Sirene Noir Sidora Jackson perform, and Alex Love provides the soundtrack. 11 p.m. Free.
Pietasters Beer Release Party at Fair Winds Brewing
nmaaPietasters have celebrated some big moments over the last few the decades — serving as James Brown’s backing band, being one of the first bands to sign with Hellcat Records — but the local ska legends probably know that the real prize is having a beer made in your honor . The first, released in 2013, was Taster’s Choice, a coffee dopplebock brewed as a collaboration between Ska Brewing and DC Brau. The latest, which comes out today, is Pie-Way to Helles, a light helles lager brewed by Lorton’s Fair Winds Brewing. The band is hanging out in the taproom tonight with music and beers for the release party, before heading south to play a pair of shows with Five Iron Frenzy. 5 p.m. Free.
Alemeda at the Atlantis
Ethiopia-born, Arizona-raised singer-songwriter Alemeda is signed to Top Dawg Entertainment, the label that launched the careers of Kendrick Lamar, SZA and Doechii into the atmosphere. But unlike her labelmates, the 26-year-old talent is aiming to take over with the radio-friendly sounds of pop-rock. “I feel like I have a point to prove because even now people will keep trying to put me into the R&B [box]. People will actually go as far as say alternative R&B, and it’s like, at this point, just punch me in the face,” she told Rolling Stone. “It’s the worst.” 7:30 p.m. $35-$87.45.
Saturday, Feb. 21
Garage Racing National Championships
For one day, an underground parking garage at National Landing turns into the coolest bike track in the country. A full slate of 10 races finds fixie-riding hellions, competitive relay teams and even novice cyclists negotiating two levels of the garage, peddling up ramps and trying to avoid concrete pillars. (There’s a reason the 14-year-old race has been dubbed “the ‘Fight Club’ of bike racing.”) The capstone of the day is the Anything Goes race, packed with wacky costumes and human-powered rides that include wagons or modified rocking horses. When not watching the action, spectators can race each other on stationary bikes, get their own bicycles tuned up, or hit the bar, which features regular and nonalcoholic beer and cider. Food and merch are also available. (Important note: Crystal City Metro station is closed this weekend; the closest station is Pentagon City.) 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Doors open at 10:30 a.m. Free; Advance registration is required for racers and encouraged for spectators.
National Museum of Asian Art Lunar New Year Festival
The National Museum of Asian Art is going big with its Lunar New Year Festival, which spreads into two Smithsonian buildings this year. While the museum is hosting curator talks and tours throughout the day, as well as family-friendly activities from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., the Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building next door transforms into a marketplace. Purchase snacks from local eateries like Toimoi Bakery, Bun’d Up, Teas’n You and Roll Play, or shop jewelry, ceramics, floral art and more from local makers. This is also where you’ll be able to catch performances, including a show featuring Korean traditional dance and drumming. Noon to 6 p.m. Free; advance online registration required to enter the Arts and Industries Building.
Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington Presents: Heart and Soul at Howard Theatre
Seasons of Love, the Gay Men’s Chorus ensemble dedicated to gospel and inspirational material, celebrates Black music by performing numbers from artists like the Weather Girls, En Vogue and Chaka Khan. The chorus’s 17th Street Dance ensemble also takes the stage. 5 p.m. gmcw.org. $54.77-$72.28.
Walk With Woodson at the Mary McLeod Bethune Council House
This stroll through Shaw is a Black History Month tradition for the National Park Service. Actor Dexter Hamlett portrays Carter G. Woodson, the founder of Negro History Week, on a living history walk that begins at the Mary McLeod Bethune Council House, just south of Logan Circle, and covers ground that Woodson knew well. 10 a.m. to noon. Free; reservations required.
100 Years of Black History Month Trivia Night at Penn Social
Soul Brain Trivia, which has hosted trivia nights at venues including Shanklin Hall and Logan Tavern, is bringing the show back to the spacious Penn Social. Expect questions to cover Black history, music, TV shows, sports and geography, among other topics. 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. $12.90.
Lunar New Year Chinatown Walking Tour
Hosted by the 1882 Foundation, a local nonprofit raising awareness about the history and continuing effects of the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, this walking tour through the streets of Chinatown examines the local history of Chinese Americans in Washington. It starts at the foundation’s headquarters. 1 to 2:30 p.m. Free.
Potomac River Keeper Polar Plunge
The District’s Special Olympics DC Polar Plunge is moving to a new waterfront location this year, jumping from Yards Park to the Wharf. Brave participants dressed in their swimsuits or, preferably, a costume line up to leap into an icy pool to support Special Olympics athletes. Registration begins at noon, with an opening ceremony at 12:45 p.m. before the first round of plunges begins at 1. Note that, because of the Potomac River sewage spill, the plunge is now a pool splash. Noon to 3 p.m. $100 minimum fundraising goal for participants.
Mammoth Family Day at Smithsonian American Art Museum
In celebration of its new exhibit — “Nick Cave: Mammoth” — the SAAM is hosting a day of drop-in activities for all ages. Kids and parents can craft their own puppet mammoth, explore the exhibition with a themed scavenger hunt, or color in Cave-inspired pages. 11:30 to 3 p.m. Free; registration encouraged.
Annapolis Restaurant Week
Annapolis Restaurant Week kicks off Saturday with two-course breakfasts from $13.95 to $19.95, two-course lunches between $15.95 and $22.95, and three-course dinners from $29.95 and $45.95. Participants in Maryland’s capital city include Galway Bay Irish Pub, Blackwall Hitch and Harry Browne’s. Through March 1. Menus are posted on downtownannapolis-partnership.org.
Hannah vs. Miley Party at Pitchers
In the years since the pandemic, bars and venues have posed pop divas against each other for dance nights, such as “Chappell vs. Charli,” “Sabrina vs. Taylor,” and the like. Pitchers has a different take on the same theme: Miley Cyrus vs… herself? This dance party, featuring drag performances, pitches pop star Miley up against Hannah Montana, her Disney-channel character pop star. That means hearing “He Could Be the One” and “Wrecking Ball” in one night. It might be the best of both worlds. 9:30 p.m. Free.
Moonfall: A Lunar Rave at Union Stage
Attendees are encouraged to wear a red outfit to this DJ-fueled late night Lunar New Year party happening at Union Stage. Asian American electronic dance music is the soundtrack to “Moonfall: A Lunar Rave,” organized by local event producer One AZN. 10 p.m. 740 Water St. SW. unionstagepresents.com. $21.
VFW Post 350 Winter Hootenanny
When more than 1,400 readers voted on the D.C. area’s best dive bar in our 2024 poll, an unassuming VFW hall in Takoma Park with cheap drinks and regular live music finished in the top 12. If you’ve never ventured there, the annual Winter Hootenanny is the perfect excuse. Bring the kids early for a face painter and family-friendly tunes; stick around for a Neil Young tribute, classic rock, bluesy rock, power pop and other entertainment in a relaxed, friendly and affordable atmosphere. 2 to 10 p.m. Free.
Mardi Gras at Aslin Brewing
Fat Tuesday has come and gone, but some folks are determined to keep the good times rolling this weekend. One of them is Aslin Brewing, which is holding Mardi Gras parties at its Alexandria, D.C. and Herndon taprooms on Saturday afternoon. Performers and specials vary, but look for live music, the tapping of a new barrel-aged stout, hurricanes and festive cocktails, and family crafting activities. Noon to 6 p.m. Free.
Sunday, Feb. 22
DC Chinese Lunar New Year Parade
A fireworks show marks the finale of the District’s annual Chinese Lunar New Year Parade, which stretches seven blocks around Chinatown’s iconic Friendship Archway. Crowds queue up each year to see dancers, marching bands, martial artists and performers, including traditional lion and dragon dances through the downtown streets. The parade begins at Sixth and I streets NW and ends at Sixth and H streets NW. 2 p.m. Free.
Mardi Gras at the Wharf
D.C.’s biggest public Mardi Gras celebration was postponed due to concerns about the weather, but the marching bands, stilt walkers, street performers and festively decorated floats are set to parade through the Wharf development this Sunday, beginning at 3:30 p.m. (Assuming the weather cooperates this time, look for guests including the Racing Presidents and other sports mascots.) Once the last participants cross the finish line, you’ll find bands playing brass music, jazz and go-go on outdoor stages at both ends of Wharf Street. A kids zone at the southern end hosts family activities, including mask making and face painting, and there are multiple outdoor bar areas for adults. Festive vibes continue at bars and restaurants around the Wharf, with hurricanes and rum cocktails at Tiki TNT, and parties on rooftops, including at Whiskey Charlie. The party ends with fireworks shot from a barge at 6:30. 3 to 7 p.m. Free.
Curley Taylor and Zydeco Trouble at College Park American Legion
If you’re craving more Mardi Gras vibes, look no further than Louisiana accordionist Curley Taylor, a veteran of CJ Chenier and Geno Delafose’s bands, and featured performer on the 2026 Grammy-winning album “A Tribute to the King of Zydeco.” Taylor brings his band Zydeco Trouble to the American Legion in College Park, alongside Texas native Ruben Moreno and the Zydeco Re-evolution. Show up early for a dance lesson before the bands begin. Doors at 2 p.m., music at 3 p.m. $30.
George Washington’s Birthday at Mount Vernon
Feb. 16 was the federal holiday celebrating George Washington’s birthday, but Feb. 22 is actually the big day. Kids visiting Mount Vernon can make a birthday card for the Father of His Country and enjoy a slice of birthday cake with Washington himself, or at least an actor portraying him. Highlights of the day include a concert of Revolutionary War music; multiple discussions covering archaeological finds; Washington’s childhood; and Washington’s actions around Boston in 1776; the chance to taste hoecakes; and a ceremony at Washington’s tombs. The morning also features a naturalization ceremony, with immigrants becoming citizens. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. $30; $16 for ages 6 to 11; Free for children age 5 and younger.
‘Mr. Smith Goes to Washington’ at National Gallery of Art
As part of its America 250 celebrations, the National Gallery of Art is hosting a year-long series celebrating “Treasures of American Cinema.” This edition features “Mister Smith Goes to Washington,” the 1939 Frank Capra classic ranked as “the best political movie ever” by Post critic Ann Hornaday. James Stewart portrays an idealistic scoutmaster-turned-senator who arrives in Washington to find the Capitol full of (spoiler alert!) corrupt, cynical and shady career politicians. 2 p.m. Free.
Cheers and Beers: Black Brewers Tasting Party at Metrobar
The Black Brew Movement and DC Beer shine a light on Black-owned beer brands at this annual event, held at Metrobar in Edgewood. Tickets include tastes of a dozen beers from the Liquid Intrusion, Soul Mega, Black Beauty, Bitter Fruit and Black Viking breweries. 3 to 4:30 p.m. and 4:30 to 6 p.m. metrobardc.com. $38.14.
Black Gay Flea Market at Doubles
The debut of the Black Gay Flea Market — from the founders of similar markets held at Metrobar and City-State Public House — promises more than 15 Black LGBTQ vendors and makers setting up their wares on the patio behind Doubles and the No Kisses bar in Park View, with DJs and cocktails inside. 1 to 5 p.m. $13.25-$18.90.
Raclette Fest at Cheesetique
Raclette is a warming dish meant for the dreary days of winter: An alpine feast blanketed in lush, stinky cheese. Alexandria cheese shop Cheesetique is bringing back its multi-week Raclette Fest, which features platters of pork sausage, potatoes, onions, cornichons and greens covered with cheese that’s scraped from a wheel right at your table, and served with a baguette. The special menu includes a charcuterie board, raclette dip with pretzel bites, a regional wine flight, and cocktails including an Aperol Spritz and the zero-proof Alpine Fizz. Sunday’s opening Apres-Ski party is sold out, but reservations are available for the rest of the fest. Through March 15. Raclette $20-$30; Other prices vary.
Monday, Feb. 23
‘The Fire on the Mountain: The Life of James Baldwin’ at Lincoln Theatre
Presented by the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities and the Mayor’s Office for LGBTQ+ Affairs, this show of multimedia presentations takes a look at the life and impact of writer and civil rights activist James Baldwin. The production is followed by a panel discussion. 5:30 p.m. Free.
Tuesday, Feb. 24
Are You the Wine? at Reveler’s Hour
No matter your level of wine experience, you probably think you have a favorite style or variety of grape. But do you really? Reveler’s Hour wants to challenge your perceptions with Are You the Wine, a blind tasting led by Alexya Brown. Taste eight different wines over the course of 90 minutes, and you’ll only find out what they are when you’ve picked a favorite. (You can arrive at any time over the course of the evening, but are asked to keep the tasting to 90 minutes to make room for others.) 5:30 to 9 p.m. $27.50.
Wednesday, Feb. 25
‘Survivor 50’ viewing party at DC9
To mark the 50th season of “Survivor,” 24 contestants from previous seasons are finding themselves stranded on the Mamanuca Islands in Fiji. Those who’d rather watch the first episode while discussing the show and making predictions about tribal council votes with fellow fans should head to DC9, which, despite being known as a music venue, has hosted multiple seasons of “Survivor” viewing parties. Doors open at 7 p.m., and this event is held on the club’s rooftop. 8 p.m. Free.
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