10.22 - it's cheesy
what’s going on in d.c.
An event billed as the world’s largest national dance competition - Red Bull Dance Your Style - hosts its national finals this weekend at the Howard Theater. In addition to the dance battles, there are public dance workshops throughout the weekend.
Dogs in costumes? Say no more. The Rosslyn BID is hosting “Howl-O-Ween” tonight, with a dog costume contest throughout the night.
The Chevy Chase Art Walk is on Saturday, with 40+ artists displaying and selling their work in houses throughout the neighborhood.
The annual DC Zinefest is back this Sunday from 11-5 at Brookland Art Walk - artists will feature their self-published zines (short for magazines)
There’s a Día de los Muertos celebration at The Wharf on Sunday, with music, food, and sugar skull decorating.
The 11th DC Palestinian Film and Arts Festival is this weekend with film screenings and discussions with authors and artist. All-access passes to the virtual event are $50.
let’s talk food and drinks
my weekly best bite: Grilled cheese at the Wharf’s The Grill
Arlington Restaurant Week runs through the weekend, with 50+ restaurants offering specials and discounts.
A bunch of new bars have opened in the area in the past month - here’s what Eater DC deems the hottest options. I’m intrigued by the alcohol-optional pop-up Disco Mary at Shaw’s Columbia Room.
what’s on our minds?
Washington City Paper’s very fun “Best of” list is out with its 2021 iteration. The list features readers’ favorites, including food, drink, services, and “pandemic superstars.”
D.C.’s City Council unanimously passed a bill that will create “baby bonds” for low-income children. The program, designed to help reduce the racial wealth gap, will add $1k a year into a trust fund that the child will be able to access when they turn 18. Baby bonds can be a powerful tool to reduce the staggering racial wealth gap in the United States (a typical white D.C. household’s net worth is $284k compared to $3,500 for a Black household) - research by financial firm Morningstar concluded that a baby bond program could halve the racial wealth gap (in terms of resources available to a child at age 18).
Quick links to other weekly #goodreads:
A slain boy, his grieving teammates and a football coach’s rush to save them - per The Washington Post, “After 11-year-old Davon McNeal was killed by a stray bullet, youth football coach Kevin McGill has tried to steer his players away from D.C. gun violence.”
What’s the deal with fictional influencers? - per Vox, “One tech company has created a slate of scripted influencers, each with their own storylines. But how is anyone supposed to tell the difference between what’s real and what isn’t?” (ed. note - this is a fascinating article about the blurred lines of “reality” online)
The case of the Martha’s Vineyard heiress and the Florida psychic who took her for millions - per The Boston Globe, “Vera Pratt moved to the island at age 70 hoping to find many years of happiness. Then she met “Psychic Angela” and her future got a whole lot more complicated.”
Inside Wheel of Time, Amazon’s Huge Gamble on the Next Game of Thrones - per GQ, “As legend has it, a few years back, Jeff Bezos demanded that his team at Amazon Studios create a fantasy epic that would put Game of Thrones to shame. Turns out, that kind of thing is even harder to do than it sounds. And more expensive than you can imagine. Inside the epic quest to bring Wheel of Time to life—and maybe change the face of global television forever.”
what are we watching/reading?
Four Hours at the Capitol on HBO. Tbf, I don’t know if I have it in me to watch, but a new documentary including never before seen footage from January 6 premiered this week on HBO. It’s receiving strong reviews thus far as a chilling look into a terrifying day and moment for democracy.
Why not spend the weekend watching some of the show’s deemed by BBC as the “100 greatest TV series’ of the 21st century” (or debate the list - 30 Rock ahead of Veep? Nah.)