Thursday, July 30, 2026
The Hillbilly Thomists tonight and “Weird Al” Yankovic on Sunday — quite the musical bookends. Screening on Saturday: Best of Thomas Edison Film Festival at the National Gallery of Art and Transatlantic Rising Stars at the Hirshhorn. Otakon, the summer weekend anime cosplayers and LARPers live for, starts tomorrow at the convention center.
Tonight, Thursday, July 30, at 7 p.m., Catholic University’s Hartke Theatre, 3801 Harewood Road NE, welcomes The Hillbilly Thomists, a folk ensemble in the “Dominican roots tradition.” The group is touring to promote a new album, “Strange Land.” Tickets are $33.85, $23.18 for ages 13 to 18 and free for priests and members of religious orders.
On Friday, July 31, at 6 p.m., at the National Museum of African Art, 950 Independence Ave. SW, Jasmine Hearn and Alsarah perform “Lullaby from the bottom of a ship,” animating and providing a soundscape for sculptures by Ethiopian American artist Tsedaye Makonnen. The event — during which the audience is encouraged to move with the performers — is described as “a ritual and sonic encounter rooted in diasporic memory and spiritual cosmology that resists the colonial decontextualization of African sacred art.” Admission is free, with registration via Eventbrite.
Teaism Penn Quarter, 400 8th St. NW, hosts Sip, Feel, Create, a tea collage workshop, on Friday, July 31, from 6 to 8 p.m. In this sensory workshop — open to those of all ages who can handle a large pair of scissors — mixed-media artist Ariana R-G will guide participants “from sip to snip, turning the flavors, feelings and memories that tea evokes into one-of-a-kind cards.” Admission is $28.52 on Eventbrite.
Drawing more than 40,000 attendees, Otakon is one of the top festivals of anime and Asian pop culture in the U.S. This year’s event takes place from Friday, July 31, to Sunday, Aug. 2, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, 801 Mount Vernon Place NW. Three-day admission is $110, $55 for ages 9 to 12 and free for age 8 and under. Single-day admission is $70 (Friday), $80 (Saturday) and $45 (Sunday).
The Transatlantic Rising Stars Film Series screens at the Hirshhorn Museum, 7th Street and Independence Avenue SW, on Saturday, Aug. 1, from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The five films: “Animal” of 2023, directed by Sofia Exarchou of Greece; “The Black Hole” of 2024, directed by Moonika Siimets of Estonia; “Julie Keeps Quiet” of 2024, directed by Leonardo van Dijl of Belgium; “Sleepless City” of 2025, directed by Guillermo García López of Spain; and “Under the Grey Sky” of 2024, directed by Mara Tamkovich of Poland. Admission is free.
More movies on Saturday, Aug. 1: Best of Thomas Edison Film Festival 2026, from noon to 4 p.m. in the National Gallery of Art’s East Building, 4th Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Festival Director Jane Steuerwald and Artistic Director Henry Baker will be on hand to present 16 shorts that received awards at the festival, which promotes “innovation in the art of the moving image with films that honor Edison’s vision.” Admission is free.
Bee Care Institute at the Franciscan Monastery Garden Guild, 1400 Quincy St. NE, offers a course, From Comb to Jar, on Saturday, Aug. 1, from 1:30 to 6 p.m. Participants will get hands-on experience uncapping frames of ripe honey, using centrifugal extractors to release it from the comb and bottling and labeling the finished product, taking home two bottles each. Tickets are $55.20 on Eventbrite, with a two-for-one option.
Currently in ninth place in Major League Soccer’s Eastern Conference, D.C. United plays first-place Nashville SC at Audi Field, located in Buzzard Point at 100 Potomac Ave. SW, on Saturday, Aug. 1, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $24.
Living Classrooms Foundation invites area residents to join a 21+ Sunset Cruise on the Mildred Belle, a 1948 Chesapeake Bay buyboat, on Saturday, Aug. 1, from 6 to 8 p.m. While soaking up local history, passengers can help steer and navigate. Coolers are provided for food and beverages brought aboard. The cruise departs from Yards Marina, 10 Water St. SE. Tickets are $39.19 on Eventbrite, with a two-for-one option.
Sunday, Aug. 2, is a Community Day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, 1250 New York Ave. NW. Highlights tours depart from the Grand Hall at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Inspired by the works on view, visitors of all ages can take part in art-making activities in the fourth-floor studio. Admission is free, with registration recommended.
A session of Bumper Car Squares gets do-si-do-ing on Sunday, Aug. 2, at Glen Echo Park, 7300 MacArthur Boulevard in Glen Echo, Maryland. After an introductory lesson at 2:45 p.m., caller Dave Hauver will lead a square dance to live music by Jump Fingers from 3 to 5:30 p.m. No flip-flops. Tickets are $12 in advance. Same-day tickets are $15, $5 for teens (at the door only) and free for age 12 and under (at the door only).
The Bigger & Weirder 2026 Tour, “Weird Al” Yankovic’s multimedia comedy rock show, rolls into Merriweather Post Pavilion, 10475 Little Patuxent Parkway in Columbia, Maryland, on Sunday, Aug. 2. Also appearing: seven-foot sad clown Puddles Pity Party. Gates open at 6 p.m. with the show at 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $57.25 (lawn).