The DC Lineup for this weekend: Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day and lots of local talent

Throughout this weekend, March 8 to 10, DC will host opportunities to support local dance, music, art and film, as well as bike and restaurant businesses. Events geared toward International Women’s Day start things off on Friday.

The weather forecast calls for light rain on Friday, clouds on Saturday and Sunday, and temperatures ranging from 33 to 69 degrees. For those counting down to cherry blossom season, the National Park Service announced this year’s prediction on Wednesday: The blossoms should hit peak bloom sometime between April 3 and 6.

1. Local Dance: Over the next few months, Dance Place will present a collection of new, early-stage ideas from local movement artists in informal presentations and discussions as part of its Works In Progress Series. Audience members are invited to share their feedback with dancemakers selected for the program, which is curated by Dance Place’s executive artistic director, Christopher K. Morgan. On Saturday at 7 p.m. at Dance Place, 3225 8th St. NE, see the first group of showings by Katie Sopoci Drake of Spacetime Dance, Keira Hart-Mendoza of UpRooted Dance and Anastasia Johnson of A.J. Collabs. The entrance fee is a suggested donation of $5. Additional showings are scheduled for March 23 and July 6.

2. Local Music: The Smithsonian American Art Museum is showcasing local bands alongside the 3,000 artworks in its Luce Center this Friday from 6 to 8 p.m. during the Luce Unplugged Community Showcase: Knife Wife & Jax Deluca. The concert is part of the Smithsonian Year of Music and the American Women’s History Initiative, with the lineup chosen by Washington City Paper arts editor Matt Cohen. The all-ages event is free — plus there will be free beer tastings for those 21 and over. Drinks and food will also be available for purchase. The museum is located at 8th and F streets NW.

3. Food & Drink: The documentary A Fine Line highlights the fact that fewer than 7 percent of head chefs and restaurant owners are female. On Friday, the Ana G. Mendez University Culinary Arts Program, 514 V St. NE, will screen this film while honoring DC women chefs and restaurateurs in honor of International Women’s Day. Joanna James, director of A Fine Line,  will attend the event. Kristen Hartke, food writer for The Washington Post and NPR’s The Salt, will moderate a panel discussion. The program begins with appetizers and wine at 6:30 p.m., followed by announcements of awards and scholarships at 7:20 p.m., the film screening at 7:30 p.m. and a discussion of the film at 8:45 p.m. Tickets cost $45. The reception is limited to those 21 and over. Watch the trailer to learn more about the film.

4. Local Art: This is the first weekend to see Everyday DC 2019, an exhibit developed by the Pulitzer Center and DC Public Schools that features photography by more than 100 public middle school students from all four quadrants of the District. DCPS visual arts teachers from 14 schools facilitated the creation of this artwork. The students were asked to consider how DC is portrayed in the media versus what it is like on a day-to-day basis, which stemmed from Everyday Africa, a project by Pulitzer Center grantees that explored the same question in Africa. Everyday DC is partly funded by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. Pepco Edison Gallery, 702 8th St. NW, donated its space for the exhibition, which began with an evening reception on Wednesday. A free special event on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. will feature participatory photography and curation activities led by educators from the Pulitzer Center and DCPS. The exhibit is free and open to the public Tuesdays through Fridays from noon to 4 p.m. through March 20.

5. Literature: The PEN/Faulkner Literary Conversations series celebrates successful female writers this Sunday with Fantastic Women, a panel discussion featuring award-winning authors Lesley Nneka Arimah, Kelly Link and Carmen Maria Machado. The talk is from 7 to 9 p.m. at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, 1250 New York Ave. NW, and is presented in part by the museum’s Women, Arts and Social Change initiative. Reservations are required; tickets cost $25 for general admission or $20 for museum members, seniors and students.

6. Family Fun: To kick off its newest exhibit, Rise Up: Stonewall and the LGBTQ Rights Movement (which includes the first issue of the Washington Blade), the Newseum will join with DC’s mix107.3 radio station to host Family Pride Weekend on Saturday and Sunday. The event includes a special discount on tickets: One general admission adult ticket ($24.95 plus tax) to the museum comes with two free children’s tickets, valid for ages 18 and younger. Tickets must be purchased at the door. On Saturday, the event will include a program at 2:30 p.m. with prominent figures from the DC area including Sheila Alexander-Reid, director of the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, and Bianca Humady Rey, chair of Capital Trans Pride. The museum, located at 555 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

7. Local Business: Dreaming of cycling around the city on your very own bicycle this spring? Buy some wheels at a refurbished bike sale at Big Bear Cafe, 1700 1st St. NW, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. DC-area nonprofits Phoenix Bikes, Gearin’ Up Bicycles and Bikes for the World will be selling quality, rehabbed bikes at prices around $250 to $350, along with bike gear.

8. Holiday Celebration: The St. Patrick Day’s Parade of Washington, DC, was unfortunately canceled this year due to a shortage of funds. In lieu of the parade, you can join the St. Patrick’s Parade Committee on Sunday to celebrate Irish culture and kick off festivities for the group’s 50th year in the District. The event, a fundraiser for the 2020 parade, starts at noon at Kelly’s Irish Times, 14 F St. NW. Tickets cost $40 online or $45 at the door and include an open bar from noon until 3 p.m., $6 appetizers, live music and a raffle that includes Diamond Club ticket packages for Nationals games and tickets for Capitals games. Even if you can’t make it to the event, you can still support the parade with an online donation to ensure this tradition continues in the District.

9. Local Comedy: Grassroots Comedy DC uses its stage not just to get laughs, but also to raise money for important causes. This week, the group is partnering with Rise Against Hunger for a performance on Friday at 8 p.m. at Kramerbooks & Afterwords bookstore and cafe, 1517 Connecticut Ave. NW. Rise Against Hunger’s mission is to end hunger by 2030, and the proceeds from the Super Spectacular Comedy Show for Hunger Relief will go to a Global Emergency Relief Fund that is helping with the food crisis in Venezuela. The show will feature Benjy Himmelfarb, Dana Fleitman, Katie McKelvie and other Mid-Atlantic comedians. Tickets cost $12 online and $15 at the door.

10. Local Film: DC-based filmmaker Mignotae Kebede’s documentary What Happened 2 Chocolate City shows how gentrification is changing DC from the perspectives of three generations of Washingtonians. Head to the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum, 1901 Fort Place SE, on Sunday for a free screening of the film followed by a conversation with Kebede. The program starts at 2 p.m. Registration is required but does not guarantee seating. Watch the film’s trailer for a preview.