The DC Lineup for this weekend: community aid, Kwanzaa and a free Christmas concert

Our gift to you this season is a slightly longer Lineup with a bonus item that may come in handy if your holiday greenery isn’t going to stay green much longer. Winter festivities are included in our standard top 10.

The weather this weekend, Dec. 25-27, is predicted to be mostly cloudy on Friday, with clearer skies in the evening moving into sunny skies throughout Saturday. Sunday will remain mostly sunny. Temperatures should range from 22 to 45 degrees, according to the forecast.

1. Community: The Anacostia High School Winter Coat Drive set the goal of raising $600 to buy 40 high school students winter coats. Concerns about donating, handling or accepting used coats because of the pandemic mean the need for funds to purchase items is even greater. Given that, the fundraiser continues even though it has exceeded its goal at over $2,000. The initiative is co-sponsored by Bullying Is Not Dope, National Black United Front and the Ward 8 Education Council.

2. Arts: Catch the end of the Foundry Gallery’s community fundraiser. Until the end of the year, 20% of proceeds from sales will be donated to the Diverse City Fund, an organization that provides grants to grassroots social justice initiatives led by people of color in the District. This is also the last chance to see Cristy West’s exhibition The Language of Marks, open through Sunday. The show features abstract paintings. “Runes and petroglyphs, the scripts of other languages, children’s drawings — all these point to meanings I don’t quite understand,” West is quoted as saying on the gallery’s website. These paintings are her attempt to find the hidden meaning in these marks, she goes on to say. Located at 2118 8th St. NW, Foundry Gallery is open this weekend on Saturday and Sunday from 1‐7 p.m. The space will be closed on Christmas Day, but its current hours of operations usually include Friday from 1‐7 p.m. Only four patrons are allowed in the gallery at once, and face masks are required. 

3. Environment: The National Park Service and Rock Creek Conservancy present a socially distanced Holiday Trash Cleanup, providing another chance to serve the community this season. It takes place at Carter Barron (one of five mini-oases designated by the conservancy) on Saturday from 10 a.m.‐noon. Volunteers are required to wear face masks; they are also welcome to wear festive (or “ugly”) sweaters. It is free to attend. The group will meet at Picnic Grove No. 24. Upon registering, volunteers will be emailed instructions and directions.

4. Spirituality: Ausar Auset Society is a Pan-African religious organization with a branch in the District. The group’s annual Kwanzaa event Kujichagulia Night 2020: Justice for All is happening on Sunday from 7‐10 p.m. on Zoom. A children’s virtual art show, a social justice panel discussion, and “inner-attainment” by musicians like the Holly Girlz and KB The General are some of the highlights.

5. Spirituality: Northwest DC’s Center for Mindful Living is opening its virtual doors to the public on Christmas Day to serve as a refuge and place of community. One of the center’s teachers, Niel Rosen, will lead free online Christmas Day meditations at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., starting with 30 minutes of guided meditation and ending with mindful discussion. No registration is needed.

6. Arts: Transformer arts space is offering free online programming this season, including a series of performances called “Evoking the Senses” that features artists from Transformer’s FlatFile program every Wednesday and Saturday through Feb. 20. FlatFile is an online collection of two-dimensional artworks 16 inches by 20 inches or smaller, and priced at or below $500. Saturday’s sound performance by artist Ziad Nagy will be viewable on Instagram and uploaded to Transformer’s website.

7. Music & Spirituality: Washington National Cathedral is bringing the warmth of its community to your home with a free online version of its annual organ recital on Christmas Day. “Make a cup of cocoa, wear your holiday-appropriate ugly sweaters and socks,” the description notes. Organists Thomas Sheehan and George Fergus will perform holiday music on the cathedral’s 10,647-pipe great organ. Registration is required for the event, which takes place at noon Friday on Facebook.

8. Theater: The Anacostia Playhouse is presenting a virtual magic show “Stream of Illusion” on Saturday at 2 p.m. featuring Ran’D Shine. Shine is a two-time winner of the Association for the Promotion of Campus Activities’ Magician of the Year award who has performed on BET, on the CW and at the South African Arts Festival. The cost of admission is “pay what you can.” Registration is required to receive the Zoom link. 

9. Finances: Compass Realtor Chad Ernst and lender Matt Borgerson are hosting a free online seminar about buying a home during the COVID-19 pandemic. This Sunday’s workshop takes place from 4:30-5:30 p.m. Topics include the best neighborhoods for different budgets and the DC Open Doors program, which aims to make homeownership more attainable by assisting with down payments. Registration is required, and a free keychain will be sent to the first 10 registrants.

10. Culture: On Dec. 21, Congress passed an act to build new Smithsonian museums honoring American Latinos and women’s history. The creation of the former has been championed by an online movement (#BuildMuseumsNotWalls) and petition; the latter currently exists as an online museum with virtual exhibitions and numerous educational materials. Our final pick for this weekend is to familiarize yourself with these two initiatives in anticipation for what is ahead.

A bonus listing, looking ahead to next week and beyond:

11. Environment: The DC Department of Public Works will once again pick up holiday trees from the homes its crews serve, but that leaves out residents of multifamily buildings with four or more units. If you fall in that category and have holiday greenery that is (or soon will be) ready for disposal, Zero Waste DC has you covered with a list of tree drop-off spots that will operate daily from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. starting Monday and continuing through Feb. 5. The locations are Benning Road Transfer Station, 3200 Benning Road NE; Fort Totten Transfer Station, 4900 Bates Road NE; Bryant Street Sweep Shop, 201 Bryant St. NW; and South Capitol Street Graffiti Shop, 2700 South Capitol St. SE. Other tips for properly recycling of holiday materials are also included on the Zero Waste DC website.