Things to Do

Last-Minute Things to Do in the DC Area 7/28-7/31: Food Festivals, Farmers Markets, and Cirque Du Soleil

Plus, a video game exhibit!

Written by Sophia Young and Maggie Hicks | Published on July 28, 2022

Cirque du Soleil's Kurious: Cabinet of Curiosities. Photograph by Mathew Tsang.

Celebrations and festivals. Say happy birthday at Jerry Garcia’s Birthday Celebration (Sun, free, Woodridge) or 730 Day at Metrobar (Sat, free, Brentwood).

For the foodies. You can also enjoy the area’s finest at the Taste of the DMV festival (Sat, free, Congress Heights), the Ballston Quarter Food Fest (Sat, free, Arlington), or the Caribbean Latin Food, Music & Arts Festival (Sun, free, Silver Spring). Stop by the newest location of fast casual Indian joint Rasa for free bowl lunch with donations going to Feed the Fridge (Fri, free, Fairfax).

Toes in the sand. If you can’t make it to a real beach this summer, head to the new NaLa Beach Club pop-up for outdoor music, food, and other fun events (All week, free, National Landing) or jam out at Caribeat’s Real Happy Vibes Lime (Fri, free, Union Market).

Kids corner. Get crafty with an original graffiti art class at this week’s Good Kidizen (Sat, free, Columbia). Or, if you’re looking for some fun weekend activities, find some new-to-you puzzles at a puzzle swap (Sat, free, Capitol Hill) or pick up a free book at a summer party & book giveaway (Fri, free, Mt. Pleasant).

See a show. Cirque Du Soleil opens this week for its two-month DC stint (Opens fri, $60+, Tysons). You can also see more amazing artists at the SOLE Defined dance performance (Thurs – Sat, $2+, Forest Hills), The Frontera Project Performance (Fri, $7+, Chinatown).

Jam out. If you’re looking for live music, head to the third Rosslyn Rocks show with Stonebrook (Thurs, free, Rosslyn), a performance from School of Rock, a music program for young rockstars (Fri, free, Lamond Riggs), or the Fridays at the Park concert series (Fri, free, National Landing).

Head to a museum. Learn all about indie gaming and try your hand at a few with the American Art Museum Arcade (Sat, free, Penn Quarter). This is also the first week to see Determined: The 400-Year Struggle for Black Equality exhibit at the Reston Museum (Opened Wed, free, Reston). And don’t miss your last chance to see It Takes a Village’s Framing Fatherhood exhibit (Ends Sun, free, Downtown).

Outdoor films. You can see these free outdoor showings of The Goonies (Thurs, free, The Wharf), A Quiet Place 2 (Thurs, free, Capitol Riverfront), Dog (Thurs, free, Mosaic District), Lawrence of Arabia (Sat, free, Culpepper), Wagon Train (Sat, free, Culpepper), or Beverly Hills Cop (Fri, free, Culpepper).

Family-friendly. Take your kids to one of these films: Spider-Man: No Way Home (Thurs, free, Downtown), James and the Giant Peach (Sun, free, National Harbor), The First Lego Movie (Fri, free, Arlington), or Mary Poppins (Thurs, free, the National Mall).

Outdoor yoga. Get your zen on with some free yoga at Sunday Serenity Yoga (Sun, free, Georgetown) or Yoga at National Landing (Sun, free, Arlington). You can also enjoy views of incredible flowers at Yoga at Kenilworth Gardens (Sun, free, Anacostia) or take a class on the National Mall at Yoga at the Washington Monument (Sat, free, National Mall).

Head to a market. Support local vendors by heading to the National Landing Market (Sat, free, Arlington). You can do some more shopping at one of Freshfarm’s many weekend markets in Dupont Circle (Thurs & Sun, free), Columbia Heights (Sat, free), Arlington (Sat, free), Silver Spring (Sat, free), and even more areas.