30 Things to Do in the DC Area This Week and Weekend

Happy Monday, DC!

Celebrate Easter with family and friends at a neighborhood egg hunt. Or, visit Folger Shakespeare Library for an all-ages Shakespeare-themed birthday party.

Best Things to Do This Week and Weekend

April 14–April 20

1. 1. Shakespeare’s Birthday Celebration. Wish the Bard a Happy Birthday at the Folger Shakespeare Library this weekend. All ages can commemorate the English playwright and poet with printing press and sword-fighting demos, ruff-making, lawn games, face painting, coloring, and more; there will be birthday cupcakes for everyone, too (Sat, free, $15 donation encouraged, Capitol Hill).
   2. Corcoran’s NEXT Festival. The Corcoran closes out another George Washington University school year with a celebration of art, theater, education, and music. This year’s NEXT Festival will showcase a variety of projects from graduating Corcoran students, including dance recitals, piano and chamber concerts, research presentations, and an evening extravaganza featuring drinks, food, and more art  (Thurs to May 16, prices vary, Northwest DC).
   3. Easter at the Perch. The Perch is commemorating the holiday with an array of outdoor activities. Participants can go on a Color Fun Run, unwind at goat yoga, take photos in pastel attire with the Easter Bunny, pet baby bunnies, play lawn games, and join a paint-and sip-class (Sat, $20+, Tysons).
   4. NMWA Nights. Join this after-hours Earth Day party at the National Museum of Women in the Arts. At April’s NMWA Nights, guests can participate in recycling opportunities, dance to DJ beats, sip cocktails or mocktails, and view art (Wed, $25, Downtown).
   5. Lucy Dacus concert. Lucy Dacus’ Anthem concerts are sold out, but you can snag a ticket to one of the shows from third-party sellers. The Richmond singer-songwriter–and member of the indie-rock supergroup Boygenius–arrives in DC to promote her fourth solo album, Forever Is a Feeling (Fri-Sat, $25+, Wharf).
   6. Eggstravaganza! Tudor Place’s springtime tradition returns with a two-day egg hunt and egg roll. This weekend, kids can roll down the South Lawn, make art, play games, and pose for a photo with an Easter Bunny (Fri-Sat, $10 for adults, $20 for children, Georgetown).

Want More Things to Do?

Arts and culture:

• Test your knowledge at Crush Pizza’s trivia night (Mon, free, Arlington).
• American philosopher Agnes Callard unpacks her book Open Socrates at Politics and Prose (Thurs, free, Wharf).
• Dress your best for a Black culture-themed trivia and comedy show at Busboys and Poets (Fri, $12+, Anacostia).
• View chic pink attire at the Pink on the Pier outdoor fashion show (Sat, $40+, National Harbor).
• View artist Stephanie Barber’s playful short film Another Horizon (Sun, free, but registration required, National Gallery of Art).

Community and heritage:

• Pay homage to President Abraham Lincoln at a guided walking tour led by Ford’s Theatre and the National Park Service remember (Mon-Tues, $3+, Penn Quarter).
• Spring Break has arrived. Families and friends can have a Day of Play at RFK to grab bites from food trucks, and play volleyball and frisbee (Wed, free, RFK Campus).
• Take a selfie with the Easter Bunny, and then munch on snacks with neighbors at Stead Park (Sat, free with rsvp, Dupont Circle).

Theater and shows:

• Classic musical Annie makes a National Theatre return this spring (through Sun, $49+, Downtown).
• Rock out at Signature Theatre’s Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Tues through June 22, $70+, Arlington).

Music and concerts:

• Post-hardcore band L.S. Dunes plays live at Union Stage (Mon, $35+, Wharf).
• Rapper Denzel Curry performs songs from his latest project King of the Mischievous South Vol. 2 at The Fillmore Silver Spring (Mon, $53+, Silver Spring).
• Don’t miss cellist and composer Mabe Fratti at Songbyrd (Tues, $16+, Union Market).
• R&B legends Jagged Edge bring their silky vocals to Warner Theatre (Wed, $79+, Warner Theatre).
• Yukimi—lead vocalist of Little Dragon— brings her solo show to The Atlantis (Fri, $40, Shaw).
• Local rock and soul band Oh He Dead is playing 9:30 (Sat, $50, Shaw).
• Charlie Ballantine plays a live concert at the picturesque Kreeger Museum (Sat, $35, Northwest DC).

Get involved:

• Volunteer to clean up the Ward 7 community with Edgewood Baptist Church in celebration of Earth Day (Sat, free, Southeast DC).

Bites and beverages:

• Taste happy hour cocktails at Colada Shop while your pups participate in a dog egg hunt on the patio (Wed, $6, Arlington).
• Sip more than 100 wines and bubblies at Uncorked DC (Sat, $75+, Nationals Park).

Things to do with kids:

• It’s the last weekend for kiddos to search for treat-filled eggs at Great Country Farms (through Sat, $12+ for adults and $10+ for children, $8 additional for egg hunt, Bluemont).
• Children can win a prize at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens’ self-guided egg hunt (through April 30, $8, Vienna).
• Families can stop by Metrobar for Easter activities, and storytime (Sat, $5, Brentwood).
• At Cherry Hill Park’s Easter egg hunt children can see a magic show, and take pictures with Mr. and Mrs. Bunny (Sat, free, Falls Church).

If you enjoyed these events, please don’t forget to share this post with a friend on social media, and sign up for our newsletter for more things to do.

Briana Thomas

Briana A. Thomas is a local journalist, historian, and tour guide who specializes in the research of D.C. history and culture. She is the author of the Black history book, Black Broadway in Washington, D.C., a story that was first published in Washingtonian in 2016.