What You're Doing This Week

What are you doing this week? We bravely offer up some suggestions:

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MONDAY, NOV. 14:

 

• The Grape Festival at Zaytinya (701 9th St. NW) offers two weeks of specialty cocktails, grape-inspired dishes, and 26 featured wines, including some new to the DC area. See times and prices throughout the week here.

 

• Head to the Black Cat (1811 14th St. NW) for Couch Night in the Red Room with Baby Alcatraz. Drink specials include Anderson Valley Winter Solstice and New Belgium Snow Day for $5 each. 8 p.m. doors; no cover.

 

• Busboys and Poets (2021 14th St. NW) screens Feurat Alani's documentary "Fallujah: A Lost Generation?," featuring Alani's interviews with residents, doctors and experts. The documentary sheds light on the health crisis in Fallujah, notably the dramatic increase in cancers, birth defects and infant mortality since 2004. 8:30 p.m.; free admission.

 

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TUESDAY, NOV. 15:

 

• Georgetown professor and acclaimed public figure Michael Eric Dyson sits down with Steve Stoute, CEO/founder of the marketing firm Translation and author of the book "The Tanning of America." The event at Busboys and Poets (2021 14th St. NW) will be followed by a book signing. 6:30 p.m.; free admission.

 

• English rocker Ray Davies -- best known as lead singer/songwriter in The Kinks -- takes the stage at the Fillmore (8656 Colesville Road, Silver Spring) as he performs some of his latest hits and classic songs. 7 p.m.; tickets $45-$50.

 

• Restaurant 3 (2950 Clarendon Blvd., Arlington) celebrates its love for beer during a Port City Brewing Co. Beer Dinner. Enjoy beer-infused food paired with some of Virginia's best local brews in a five-course dinner with Bill Butcher, the founder of Port City. 7 p.m.; $50.

 

• Italian flick "The Solitude of Prime Numbers," screening at the AFI Silver Theatre (8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring), focuses on the anti-romance of two damaged souls who form a powerful spiritual bond. 9:10 p.m.; $12.

 

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WEDNESDAY, NOV. 16:

 

• Enjoy born-yesterday French wine Beaujolais Nouveau and dinner at Get Beaujolaid, hosted by Brightest Young Things at 1905 (1905 9th St. NW). Go early if you can for a seated four-course dinner featuring escargots, apple cider-braised pork, and beignets topped with cocoa, sugar and espresso cream. After they clear the dinner tables, get ready to count down until midnight, when tradition dictates the Beaujolais bottles will start popping. Dinner seatings at 6:30 and 7 p.m.; $50 plus tax, tip and beverages; RSVP ASAP. Party starts at 9:30 pm.; $10 at the door. Note: For more Beaujolais events, click here.

 

• Legendary author Michael Ondaatje will be at 6th & I Historic Synagogue (600 I St. NW) to promote his latest work, "The Cat's Table." Ondaatje is known for his Booker Prize-winning novel "The English Patient," made into the Academy Award-winning film starring Ralph Fiennes. 6 p.m. doors; $26 for book and two tickets; $12 single ticket ($15 day of).

 

• Two big acts are featured at the 9:30 Club (815 V St. NW), although they couldn't be more different. Sugar-sweet electronic act Owl City, best known for the hit radio single "Fireflies," will perform an early show. Following will be gloomy goth Peter Murphy and '80s-inspired alt rock band She Wants Revenge for the late show. Smoky cult-rockers Hussle Club will open. Early show: 5:30 p.m. doors; $20. Late show: 10 p.m. doors; $25.

 

• Join author, political analyst and opinion writer Sophia Nelson at the University of Maryland, College Park in the Prince George's Room of Stamp Student Union as she discusses her book "Black Women Redefined." 7:30 p.m.; free admission.

 

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THURSDAY, NOV. 17:

 

• British actor-comedian and hubby of Katy Perry, Russell Brand will be performing stand-up at George Mason University’s Patriot Center (4500 Patriot Circle, Fairfax, VA). Brand’s famous for his wild antics and unpredictable humor, so the audience is in for a treat. 8 p.m.; $25-$45.

 

• Annie Leibovitz will be signing the new hardcover "Pilgrimage," featuring images from her collection at Politics & Prose (5015 Connecticut Ave. NW), filled with visual homages to places that inspired great American artists. 7 p.m.; book $50, no presentation and no Q&A -- book signing only.

 

• Academy Award-winning actress Diane Keaton comes to 6th & I Historic Synagogue (600 I St. NW) for the release of her memoir, "Then Again." The autobiography tells anec dotes about her family, life and work, framed in the greater cultural story of the American Dream. The program will be about 45 minutes with a audience Q&A and book signing to follow. 6:30 p.m. doors; $35 admission includes copy of the book.

 

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FRIDAY, NOV. 18:

 

• Ever feel bad because you can't touch your toes? Is tying your shoe a team effort? Well, prepare to feel terribly inflexible if you go see the National Acrobats of the People's Republic of China at the GMU Center for the Arts (Braddock Road and Route 123, Fairfax, Va.). These bendy contortionists will take the 'fitting through a coat hanger' trick to whole new levels. They'll performing acts with tables, chairs, bowls and other household objects as traditional Chinese music plays. You'll only be left wondering if they travel in their own suitcases. 8 p.m.; $24-$48.

 

• To mourn the loss(?) of Burlusconi, come out and see some burlesque-oni! (Sorry, we tried.) Red Palace (1210 H St. NE) will be hosting Freaks & Oddities, a night of weird, wild and sexy burlesque by Valentine Candy Burlesque. 8:30 and 10:30 p.m.; $10.

 

• The Pointless Theatre Company hosts the Hugo Ball: A Super Spectacular Dada Adventure, about the absurdist Dada movement. Expect puppets, marshmallow eating, dancing and tambourine playing at the Shop at Fort Fringe (607 New York Ave. NW). This Super Spectacular Dada Adventure is all a part of the Capital Fringe Festival. 9 p.m.; $8-$20.

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ALSO SEE:

• It's Beaujolais Nouveau Time!
• Rock & Roll Hotel Debuts Rooftop Deck
• Lovetown USA Coming to Northern Virginia?

 

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