08.13 - digging the dancing queen
what’s going on in d.c.
Petworth’s Slash Run is hosting a True Crime and Horror book swap today from 4-7 pm (perfect for Friday the 13th?). Even if you don’t have books to swap, the organizers say there will be enough books for everyone.
Alexandria’s hosting their annual summer sidewalk sale this weekend with 70+ stores participating in the Old Town and Del Ray neighborhoods.
Mamma Mia! A world-touring ABBA tribute band is headlining Sunday night at outdoor amphitheater Wolf Trap in Vienna
looking ahead: Swingers, the instantly popular mini-golf bar in Dupont, is adding another D.C. location - this time in Navy Yard near Nats Stadium (but not til 2022). If you’re looking for another mini-golf option in the meantime, the Washington Post has info on other courses in the D.C. area.
let’s talk food and drinks
my weekly best bite: Pancakes from new Capitol Hill spot Crazy Aunt Helen’s
Catch the end of summer restaurant week through Sunday. Familiar favs are on the roster, but if you’d like to try a new spot, here are 10 recent openings participating in the week.
Speakeasy-esque cocktail bar the Gibson reopens this weekend. The U Street space with moody lighting and a large back patio was closed for most of COVID.
The aforementioned Crazy Aunt Helen’s is hosting drag star Sherry Vine this weekend - performances are tonight and tomorrow at 9 and 10:45.
what’s on our minds?
Detailed census results are out, with the U.S. growing increasingly racially and ethnically diverse over the past ten years (Maryland is now the East Coast’s most diverse state). The detailed data also provides insights into how D.C.’s population changed over the period (the city’s Black population shrunk and White population grew), with Ward 6 (primarily the Capitol Hill, Waterfront, and Navy Yard area) growing the most rapidly - adding over 30k residents since 2010. The ward’s population growth likely means that the ward maps will be redone in order to maintain relative parity in ward population sizes.
Have some backyard envy looking at these four beautiful outdoor spaces redone during COVID.
Quick links to other weekly #goodreads:
The Kids of Camp I Am, a Decade later - per The New York Times, “Fourteen years ago, the mother of a gender-nonconforming son organized a “summer camp” of sorts, where her child and others like him could wear frilly pastel nightgowns and tend to their My Little Ponies together. Only three other families showed up that first summer, but the camp grew quickly. It was called Camp I Am.”
American motherhood vs. the American work ethic - per Vox, “Working motherhood is getting harder. Let’s fix that…nearly two dozen white-collar women Recode interviewed in recent weeks said working from home during the pandemic stretched them beyond their limits.”
UFO Mania Is Out of Control. Please Stop. - per The Washington Post, “Sorry to disappoint you, this science writer says, but there’s zero evidence of aliens.”
what are we watching/reading?
Free Guy in theaters. The producers of this movie have done their best to inundate previews of this movie across all channels, but in case they’ve missed you, this Ryan Reynolds and Jodie Comer flick is about a character in a video game who realizes he can control his actions (and save the game). And surprisingly, it’s getting good reviews - 84% on Rotten Tomatoes. Could be a fun, low investment, summer watch.
Lots to keep up with in the #freebritney saga, but ICYMI, Jamie Spears finally filed paperwork to step down as Britney’s conservator yesterday.