Happy Valentine’s Day everyone. Hope you’re enjoying some of this spring-like weather today. If you’re still looking for something to do tonight, or during the week, here are some ideas for free and super low-cost things to do in D.C. and the metro area from my site, Free in DC.
Tonight
The Naomi Wallace Festival, organized by Forum Theatre, continues this evening with a pay-what-you-can staged reading of Wallace’s coming of age play The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek at 7:30 p.m. at the Silver Spring Civic Building, just a short walk from the Silver Spring Metro station.
Poetry fans are in for a treat tonight as Sarah Browning, Split this Rock Poetry Festival director and co-editor of the anthology D.C. Poets Against the War, makes a special appearance at tonight’s “The Garden” open mic night at BloomBars. Doors open and open mic sign-up start at this donation-based event at 8:30 p.m. and the event goes to 11.
Tuesday
The Library of Congress hosts a special love poems-themed “Poetry at Noon” event. Michael Salcman, Michele Wolf, and Sue Brannan Walker will read their own poems and share the work of several well-known poets. The reading will take place in the LOC’s Thomas Jefferson Building at 10 1st St. SE.
If you can get to Smith Farm’s Joan Hisaoka Gallery at 6 p.m. you can take part in the interactive performance and deconstruction of John M. Adams’ “Efflux” installation outside of the gallery at 1632 U St. NW.
Curious about meditation? You still have two more Tuesdays left in this free “Intro to Meditation” class, led by Raymond Holmes of Science of Spirituality DC, at 606 I St. NW from 7 to 9 p.m.
Wednesday
Celebrate the Egyptian Revolution with CODEPINK activists Medea Benjamin and Tighe Berry—who were in Tahrir Square last week—and Hossam Mansour and Hana Elhattab of D.C. Egyptian Youth Organizers, and more at Busboys and Poets 14th & V from 8:30pm -11:30pm. Best to arrive early for this one if you want to grab a seat.
Mothertongue hosts its annual “Anti-Valentine’s Day Slam” at the Black Cat starting at 9 p.m. Sarah D. Lawson hosts the event, which will feature performances by Danielle Evennou, Natalie E. Illum, and Ilse Bendorf. This night will start with an open mic for any type of poetry, followed by an elimination-style Anti-Valentine’s Day slam—which means no love poems.
Amy Melrose is the creator of Free in DC, an arts, culture, and consciousness
blog highlighting free and low-cost events that are all Metro accessible in the D.C. area. You can also follow Free in DC on Twitter and Facebook.