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Happy Thursday everyone! There’s so much happening this weekend, it’s going to be hard to choose what to do. Here’s a great list of highlights from my site, Free in DC. All events are free and all ages unless otherwise noted. Have a super weekend!
Tonight and all weekend!
Noticed there’s an unusually large number of poetry readings this week? Well, that’s because the annual conference for the Association of Writers & Writing Programs is in town! Numerous authors and poets are reading this week at venues like Politics and Prose, Busboys and Poets, and the Fridge, and most of them are free! Check out the entire list of AWWP events.
Crystal Couture continues tonight through Saturday, from 6 to 10 p.m. each night. Check out fashion shows and meet designers at the old food court at 1750 Crystal Drive, at the foot of the Crystal City Metro escalator. You don’t even need to go outside to get there—perfect for those of you who are cold-averse.
Tonight
The North African Film Festival—focusing on the cinema of Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, and Algeria—starts tonight at the National Museum of African Art with a free screening of Cairo Time from Egypt. Screenings will take place each Thursday in February at 7 p.m.
Julian Smith reads from Crossing the Heart of Africa, in which the author—inspired by Ewert Grogan, the British explorer who walked across Africa to win a woman’s heart— details his own 4,500 mile journey across the continent in the name of love. Smith is at Borders at 18th & L Streets NW at 6:30 p.m.
Friday
It’s the first Friday in February and that means that the galleries in Dupont Circle are open late! Most galleries are open until 8 p.m.; Hillyer Art Space is open until 9 p.m., and opens two shows: Monstrous, featuring works by Jessika Tarr, and Clouds InFormation, featuring works by Helen Glazer.
There’s also an opening for “Color of Love,” a member show featuring works by 50 artists, at Touchstone Gallery, located near the Mount Vernon Square Metro, from 6 to 8:30 p.m.
Level X Lounge in the U Street Corridor hosts great acoustic show with a bevy of local talent—Margot Mac Donald, Molly Hagen, Flo Anito, Coles Whalen, Harris Face, and Gene Gregory will all perform. The show starts at 9 p.m. and there’s a $5 cover.
Saturday
Transformer Gallery hosts a meet and greet from 1 to 7 p.m. installation artist Lauren Rice, in celebration of her new show Heirlooms. Rice, a Detroit-based artist, will be speaking about her first D.C. solo exhibition at 2 p.m.
Sunday
If you’re not into football, there are still some alternatives to watching the Super Bowl. Busboys and Poets 14th & V hosts the monthly A.C.T.O.R. (“A Continuing Talk on Race”) event at 4 p.m. with a conversation about the new exhibit at the National Geographic Museum, America I AM: The African American Imprint. Museum director Susan Norton and vice president for lectures and public programs Gregory McGruder will discuss the inception of and their hopes for the exhibit.
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.