The DC Lineup for this weekend: agriculture, participatory art and an Adams Morgan beer

From yard sales in DC’s northernmost section to a history walk some 10 miles to the south in the Barry Farm neighborhood, community groups and institutions in various corners of the city are celebrating cultural offerings old and new over the next few days. Residents will find celebrations of beer, agriculture and art as well as opportunities to learn about nature and social issues.

The weather will include a mix of sun and clouds through Sunday, according to the forecast for this weekend, Sept. 6 to 8. Temperatures should range from 62 to 84 degrees. 

1. Art: The Kennedy Center’s REACH Opening Festival kicks off on Saturday with nearly 500 free indoor and outdoor events slated over 16 days. The wide-ranging schedule includes music, storytelling, poetry, comedy and film. Among the performers this weekend are the National Symphony Orchestra, the Chuck Brown Band, Arrested Development and The Second City. Events run from 9:30 a.m. until 11 p.m. on Saturday and then from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Sunday. The fest celebrates the expansion of the Kennedy Center to include the REACH, which is meant to be a place “where art happens so close audiences can reach out and touch it,” according to the Kennedy Center website. The REACH Opening Festival takes place at the campus, 2700 F St. NW. Passes are required to enter, and may be obtained online on a first come, first served basis.

2. Ward 1 Neighborhoods: Try a brand-new Adams Morgan Festival IPA at the 41st annual installment of Adams Morgan Day on Sunday. Roofer’s Union and Atlas Brew Works co-created the beer to honor the iconic neighborhood and DC’s longest-running neighborhood festival. The fest is organized by the Adams Morgan Community Alliance and showcases local businesses, artists and service groups. Entertainment including music, art and family-friendly activities are also part of the program, which runs from noon to 6 p.m. near 18th Street and Columbia Road NW.

3. Social Issues: A 2017 study conducted by the Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality found that adults perceive black girls as more adult than their white peers, which focus group participants linked to harsher treatment in schools and other settings. Take a deep dive into “adultification bias” at Girlhood Interrupted, a forum hosted by the National Museum of Women in the Arts on Sunday from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Speakers include Rebecca Epstein, executive director of the Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality; 12-year-old Naomi Wadler, who spoke at the 2018 March for Our Lives protest and is a youth adviser to the center; and artist Ashely Joi and photographer Sancha McBurnie, who were both commissioned to create art in response to adultification bias research. Tickets cost $15 to $20 and may be purchased online. 

4. Food & Drink: More local beer is on tap during DC Beer Week, which features a Solidarity Beer that will be debuted at the official kickoff party on Sunday from noon to 9 p.m. at Bluejacket, 300 Tingey St. SE. Admission is free, with beers priced individually. The unofficial launch, though, is a tasting event on Friday night from 6 to 11 p.m. at District ChopHouse and Brewery, 509 7th St. NW; tickets cost $55 for this annual tradition featuring about 20 local casks. Also on tap this weekend, a fun run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday will proceed along the Metropolitan Branch Trail from Right Proper Brewing Co.’s Brookland Production House & Tasting Room at 920 Girard St. NE to Red Bear Brewing Co. on M Street NE. Registration costs $10 to $25; a free beer will be given to participants at both the start and end of the jaunt. The celebration continues through Sept. 15, with events across the District such as tastings, educational workshops, a crab feast, a pig roast and contests like a home brewing competition and a “beer battle” for guests to vote on their favorite ale.

5. Ward 4 Neighborhoods: The Shepherd Park Citizens Association has long hosted an annual yard sale spanning the neighborhoods it serves, and this year’s event will cover a broader area than ever. This year, the group has teamed up with the Brightwood Community Association for a combined event on Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Residents who live in the areas served by the two associations are eligible to register and sell items. The sale will take place at about 65 homes in both neighborhoods, with a central location in front of Shepherd Elementary School, 7800 14th St. NW.

6. Community Festival: The DC State Fair celebrates local agricultural, culinary and artistic talents. Now in its 10th year, the annual event features a range of attractions such as mumbo sauce, hula-hoopers and a pet parade. Live music, demonstrations, vendors, educational workshops and contests round out the offerings. This year’s fair takes place Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Gateway DC pavilion on the St. Elizabeths East campus at 2700 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE. Attendees are encouraged to bring reusable water bottles, cutlery and shopping bags to support the fair’s sustainability goals; there will also be a Circulator shuttle from the nearby Congress Heights Metrorail station. The fair is free to attend, with registration and an option to donate available online.

7. Art: This weekend’s First Friday Launch Party transforms the parking lot at 1325 Rhode Island Ave. NE into the Art Park at RIA for a community celebration with music from Social Flow Band, a DC Public Library “mobile library,” and a hands-on painting event presented by NonStop Art and the Phillips Collection. Attendees will be able to purchase food from on-site vendors including Bourbon Boar Barbecue, Muddy Tea, VeggieCityDC Farmers Market, My 4 Souls BBQ and Rita’s Italian Ice and Frozen Custard. The event takes place on Friday from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. 

8. Ward 8 Neighborhoods: Empower DC combines its summer membership meeting with a #DontEraseBarryFarm event on Saturday afternoon as part of efforts to obtain designation of the Barry Farm neighborhood as a historic landmark. Planned activities at Firth Sterling Avenue and Sumner Road SE include a history walk at 12:30 p.m. and a performance by the DC go-go group Junkyard Band at 2 p.m. The event comes as residents of the public housing complex continue to battle the DC Housing Authority’s demolition and redevelopment plans. It is presented by the Barry Farm Tenants and Allies Association along with Empower DC.

9. Nature: In celebration of agriculture in DC, the University of the District of Columbia hosts Kids Day at the UDC Garden on Saturday. The free event will feature food, prizes and games from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 4200 Connecticut Ave. NW. The College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability and Environmental Sciences is sponsoring the program in collaboration with the UDC Garden Club and the university’s Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. … The U.S. Botanic Garden’s weekend programs include a drop-in program that mixes art and nature. On Sunday at the workshop “Mi Jardin in Watercolor (My Garden in Watercolor),” staff from the DC-based Mexican Institute of Art will help attendees paint their own watercolor inspired by the Tucson Botanical Garden’s Jardin del Barrio exhibit. The program takes place from 1 to 3 p.m. on the Conservatory Terrace at the U.S. Botanic Garden, 100 Maryland Ave. SW. It is free to attend without advance registration required, though seating is limited. … The DC Audubon Society, Corazón Latino and Latino Outdoors will combine picnicking and bird-watching on Sunday at the Grove of State Trees at the U.S. National Arboretum, 3501 New York Ave. NE. The free event runs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Organizers will have extra binoculars on hand, and family activities will include how to create a homemade bird feeder.

10. Art: A free opening reception for local artist Maps Glover’s interactive exhibition Save the Seed takes place from 5 to 11 p.m. on Saturday at Culture House, 700 Delaware Ave. SW. A black seed is a metaphor for the black soul, the event description says, and the exhibit highlights the need to save and nurture this seed. The evening will include opportunities for the audience to participate by sharing their own stories. The exhibit, which opened to the public Aug. 31, continues through Nov. 3 during gallery hours — from 5 to 8 p.m. on Wednesdays and from noon to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

This post has been updated to correct the number of homes participating in the Shepherd Park-Brightwood Yard Sale.