Being Social: the Weekend of 10.14.11

Apparently there was something to do last Sunday: the DC Rollergirls started their season! unfortunately, they won’t be playing again until November 5^th. My apologies!This week we have two awesome things to celebrate: Bacon and wine! Bacon week is sadly only being hosted at one place: 3 Bar & Grill in Clarendon. Yet, there will be bacon martinis at bacon happy hours and an entire menu of bacon.  DC wine week will include deals on wine, as well as tastings. It will also be supporting local wineries and merchants.   And don’t forget: Oktoberfest is still going strong (more places here), and there are only two weekends left for the RennFest.  Also for your enjoyment:

Friday

10am-6pm

Tour the US Patent and Trademark office in Alexandria – get free stuff and watch mascots do silly things. This is also open 10-4 Saturday. (via theDistrict)

Mmmm.... beer....

7pm

Sir Terry Pratchett, OBE, will be speaking at the National Press Club to discuss his newest novel, “Snuff: A Novel of Discworld”! Tickets are $15. If you haven’t read Pratchett, do so NAO.

930pm

Midnight Madness. “Friday marks the first time college basketball teams can run organized practice for the upcoming season. (DCist)” I went to a school where sports weren’t top tier, and I don’t understand the big deal. Is this thing legit across the country, or is it just a DC area thing?

Um.... yay?

Saturday

9am-3pm

Feet on the Street– Michelle Obama’s continuing ‘get fit’ campaign, hosts a day of very odd activities, such as rock climbing, airbrush tattoos, and RIDES ON THE D. CHERRY PICKER. Don’t you just want to see the city from the top of a mechanical lift?

11am-4pm

The Taste of Georgetown will be held at Wisconsin and M, and will feature a ‘pumpkin food fight’. Tickets will be sold at $5 each or 5 for $20. Drink tickets are slightly cheaper. (via WaPo)

Noon

There will be a DC Brony Meetup at the Southeast Neighborhood Library. If you like ponies, it should be fun and I’ll be there! If not, don’t hate. K thx.

Sunday

11am (with celebrations starting at 8am)

Finally, the MLK memorial be officially dedicated! And the weather looks awesome! Woo!

10am

If there wasn’t one last week, feel free to check out the DC Barcraft.  This weekend will be a StarCraft 2 Tournament for Major League Gaming, played in Orlando.  And I’m working on my writeup of last week’s, so keep an eye out for my personal view of this geeky spectator sport!

730pm

Duran Duran will be performing at DAR Constitution Hall. I’m a secondhand fan, and Ordinary World is first to pop into my head when I read this group’s name. Is this good or bad?

Being Social: the Weekend of 06.24.11

This weekend will be the long-advertised Safeway Barbecue Battle downtown!  It will be June 25^th and 26th from 11am-9pm (730pm on Sunday). Tickets are $10, which includes watching teams barbecue, free samples while they last, live music and ‘cooking entertainment’ – whatever that entails.

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This weekend also marks the end of the SILVERDOCS film festival, which highlights over 100 films from 60 different countries.  Silverdocs tickets are $11 per showing.

Other events of note include:

June 25:

11am-8pm

D.C.’s annual Caribbean Carnival will have a parade  and an after party at  “De Savannah” at Banneker Recreation Park where there will be food, crafts and live music.  Admission for the festival is $10, and the parade is free! (via metromix)

630-730pm

You knew it was coming.  The Michael Jackson Flash Mob will be occurring here in DC.  To find out more, you have to go to the super secret website: jordinsparadise.com (totally not checked to see if it’s real or not – this is one that the District Geek will pass on). (via metromix)

June 26 :

 

12-3pm

The Georgetown Waterfront Summer Celebration will apparently involve chucking a ton of water balloons at one another.  Supersoakers are welcome.  There will also be food stalls and a steel drum band.  Nothing like Caribbean music by the water wars to kick your summer off right!  (via metromix)

Just watch out for this guy.

Being Social: The Weekend of April-May 2011

I know I work a weird shift schedule at work, but still… somehow I lost winter and spring and now it’s May.  Crazy.

Anyhoo, this weekend there’s a ton to to, and hopefully the weather will cooperate!

OMG ROYAL WEDDING! </3

There are a ton of places that will celebrate (or heckle) the marriage of the young British couple of Prince William and [title yet to be announced] Kate. There will be a chari-tea party at Dupont Circle Georgian Manor on the eve of the wedding, and Royal watch parties will be starting at 4am Friday morning at The Mansion on O Street, P. Lawrence Bridal Wear, all Union Jack’s locations, and the Ritz Carlton in Georgetown to name a few.  More party places can be found at Metromix.

For those that like their sleep, fear not! The brand new and awesome looking Queen Vic British Pub on H street will be offering select food and drink for $5 and the wedding will be on a loop from noon on Friday until 3 a.m on Saturday. Plus they will have raffles every hour on the hour and will give away free shots for fancy wedding hat wearer!

I so need to get me a hat!

April 29-30th

Visit the Georgetown French Market, which runs through Saturday and includes live music, shopping, free children’s balloon sculptures and, of course, French cuisine (food is not free of charge). Many of Georgetown’s boutiques will also be offering substantial discounts on their wares. [via WaPo]

April 30th

1-4 pm: Barracks Row taste of 8th.  Just south of the Eastern Market metro stop, there are tons of restaurants to choose from.  Each offers its on atmosphere and great choices on food and drink.  I recommend Belga Cafe and DC3 hot dogs.  Beware Matchbox pizza, though.  Although some swear by their spicy pizzas, whenever my friends have eaten at this location, they have gotten sick

And for geeks’ sake, there is apparently a Croquet Match between St. John’s and Navy on Saturday as well.  That is hardcore!

May 1

Noon-6pm: National Cinco de Mayo festival on the National Mall at the Sylvan Theatre.  It will have performances, musicians, dance, children’s arts and crafts, food, games and activities for the entire family.  Just remember, booze isn’t allowed on the mall.

Noon-Night: The Sweetlife Festival is some indie salad-and-froyo-shop-inspired party in Columbia, Maryland.  It will have all sorts of live music, so your best bet is to check out the Sweetlife Festival event page for more info.

3pm: At Domaso Trattoria Moderna in Rosslyn, there will be a Top Dog Half Smoke Challenge!  Competing chefs include including Domaso’s Paul Healey, The Source’s Scott Drewno, Liberty Tavern’s Liam LaCivita, and Jackson 20′s Dennis Marron. Tickets are $20 and can be found at brownpapertickets.

Remember these guys?

8pm: This last one is a ways away… in Annapolis, Maryland, at the Rams Head Tavern, the vocal group Rockapella will be performing.  You may remember them from Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? on PBS (or even Where in Time…).  For a bit of nostalgia and some good music, tickets are being sold online.

Rockapella! Rockin’ it A-capella! Hoo!

Also, since Cinco de Mayo is next week, here are a couple of food specials I have stumbled upon… My favourite pizza place, Z Pizza, is celebrating by offering free samples of their Mexican and Santa Fe pizzas (MEXICAN PWNS) and their Pollo Latino sandwich from 11am-12pm and 4-5pm at participating locations.  Also, mention Cinco de Mayo when you order a Mexican between now and the 5th, and you’ll get $5 off.  Trust me, even a full price Mexican pizza is worth it.  Their ingredients are incredibly fresh and flavourful.

mmmmmmmmmmmmm

And for dessert, there will be free Pinkberry Yogurt on May 5th.