MONDAY, JULY 25
FESTIVAL Get a taste of farm life without straying too far from the Beltway. The Loudoun County Fair returns through July 30, bringing tons of Americana for city folk to enjoy. Check out (and maybe even pet!) sheep, cows, and goats on display, meet NASCAR Driver Patrick Szabo, hop on carnival rides, participate in a karaoke challenge, and of, course, chow down on delicious fair food. $15-$70
FOOD Learn how to cook traditional Spanish cuisine, as Taberna Del Alabardero hosts a two-hour tapas and paella cooking class. Tickets include ingredients, an expert chef and delicious food to eat, plus sangria and house wine to sip as you cook. $100, 6:30 PM
TUESDAY, JULY 26
FOOD In the thick of a swampy DMV summer, Good Humor is offering much-needed reprieve in the form of their Welcome to Joyhood Tour, offering free ice cream throughout the city until Aug. 21. The tour kicks off Tuesday afternoon outside the Ronald Reagan Building with Redskins linebacker Ryan Kerrigan doling out frozen treats. Free, 12 PM
MUSIC Singer-songwriter LP is everywhere. Real name Laura Pergolizzi, you may remember her tune “Into the Wild” from that epic Citibank rock-climber ad, or from Rihanna’s “Cheers (Drink To That)” and Christina Aguilera‘s “Beautiful People,” both of which she wrote. The genre-blending pop singer with a truly distinctive voice heads to U Street Music Hall tonight. $15, 7 PM
WEDNESDAY, JULY 27
MUSIC Alpha-female performers Neko Case, K.D. Lang, and Laura Veirs collide and collude on a new record and tour, blending tight harmonies and proven songwriting chops. Case, an Alexandria native, has said the supergroup was set in motion by a simple e-mail from Lang proposing the idea, and it turned into an event that sold out Lincoln Theatre so quickly, a second show was added. $59 to $79, 6:30 PM
DISCUSSION Fans of CBS’s just-ended drama The Good Wife watched Alicia Florrick (Julianna Margulies) transition from a wife braving her politician husband’s sex and corruption scandal to the head of her own law firm. But that evolution wouldn’t have been nearly as powerful without the expert skills of Emmy-nominated costume designer Daniel Lawson. Lawson will be in conversation with Independent Journal Review reporter (and former Washingtonian fashion editor) Kate Bennett at the Smithsonian’s S. Dillon Ripley Center, discussing what it’s like dressing the strong, powerful women who rule on The Good Wife. $30, 6:45 PM
FILM Enjoy the Steven Spielberg classic E.T. under the stars, as part of the NoMa Summer Screen series at Storey Park. A bevy of food trucks, from Bar-B- Q Bus to Captain Cookie & the Milkman, trivia hosted by local comedian Andrew Bucket, and fashion truck Gogo’s will be onhand to make the night even more entertaining. Free, 7 PM
