Ghoulish Activities for Your Halloween
Halloween is Saturday, and the bewitching hour has begun. There are plenty of Halloween activities to fill your weekend from friendly-friendly events to those your should leave the kids at home for.
Metro will be working on all six lines this weekend with adjustments beginning at 10 p.m. Friday and continuing through closing on Sunday. This weekend, Red Line trains will operate every 18 minutes. Yellow Line trains will operate every 24 between Huntington and Mt. Vernon Square only. Green Line trains will operate every 16 minutes on Saturday, with a regular weekend schedule on Sunday. Orange, Silver and Blue line trains will operate every 24 minutes. Daylight Saving Time will end at 2 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 1. At that time, clocks will “fall back” to 1 a.m. Metro will remain open until its normal closing time of 3 a.m. “new time.”
Artomatic
Artomatic, the DMV’s big, unjuried arts experience in which participating artists are selected on a first-come, first-served basis, will take place in Hyattsville this year featuring everything from paintings and poetry to comedy and music performances. The show includes visual and performing artists and filmmakers. Search for something that strikes your fancy or savor the sights and sounds while enjoying a drink.
Oct. 30 through Dec.12 except Mondays and Tuesdays from 5-10 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays 11 a.m.-midnight Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at 8100 Corporate Dr., Hyattsville. Admission is FREE!
El Día de Los Muertos
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian kicks off El Día de Los Muertos or Day of the Dead celebrations with a concert Friday by Quetzal, a Grammy Award-winning band out of East Los Angeles. Events continue throughout the weekend with discussions, demonstrations of food, dance and crafts, and readings by authors Francisco X. Alarcon and Caridad de la Luz. You can also learn how to create papel picado butterflies, marigolds and sugar skulls.
Oct. 30 at 6:30 p.m. and Oct. 31-Nov. 1 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. at the National Museum of the American Indian, Fourth Street and Independence Avenue SW. Admission is FREE!
Halloween Movie
Head over to the Arts Walk at Monroe Street Market to enjoy dinner and a free movie featuring Johnny Depp in Edward Scissorhands. Participating restaurants will feature special promotions while a free outdoor movie will be shown beginning at dusk. Don’t forget your lawn chair. All guests receive a free bag of popcorn. Participating restaurants include Halsa with 15 percent off your dinner check, Potbelly with a free cookie or drink with entrée purchase and Brookland Pint with 10 percent off any entrée.
Oct. 30 at dusk at the Arts Walk at Monroe Street Market, 716 Monroe St. NE. The movie will be shown at the bottom of the Arts Walk near the Metro. Admission is FREE!
Brookland Farmers Market
Go dressed in your Halloween costume to the historic Brookland Farmers Market on the Arts Walk at Monroe Street Market. The farmers market features more than 13 vendors offering local produce, dairy, meat, coffee, artisan bread, baked goods and more. Special Halloween activities include trick-or-treating at participating artist studios on the Art Walk; Halloween costume contests for children, adults and dogs with prizes; free entertainment by Olivia Mancini with Halloween-themed songs; pumpkin sales by Pleitez Produce and Chesley Vegetable Farms; seasonal candy sales by The Capital Candy Jar and Undone Chocolate from Union Kitchen; themed sweets by cookie vendor Cevinyon from Mess Hall; and a fall photo display.
Oct. 31 from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Arts Walk at Monroe Street Market, 716 Monroe St. NE. Admission is FREE!
Fall Frolic
Glen Echo’s Fall Frolic is a family-friendly event that features a pumpkin patch in which visitors can pick out and purchase a pumpkin for $1 each to decorate at a craft table. Guests can also trick or treat at Glen Echo Park’s studios, galleries and theaters. There will also be face painting ($1-$2) and other free crafts such as decorating trick-or-treat bags as well as pumpkin themed games with prizes.
Oct. 31 from 1-4 p.m. at Glen Echo Park, 7300 MacArthur Blvd., Glen Echo. Admission is FREE!
Nightmare on M Street
Claiming to be the DMV’s largest Halloween party, Nightmare on M Street spans D.C.’s three most hauntingly unforgettable neighborhoods of Dupont Circle, the U Street Corridor and Gallery Place. Bar hop from bar to bar including Dirty Bar, Irish Whiskey, Ping Pong Dim Sum, Salty Dog Tavern, Dirty Martini, Lost Society, Chi-Cha Lounge, Green Turtle, City Tap House, Fado Irish Pub, RFD, Kelly’s Irish Pub and more offering specials for nine hours with $3 Coors Lights, $4 Blue Moons and Redd’s Apple Ales, $5 Three Olives Vodka, $5 Kraken Rum drinks, food specials and no cover charge with your wrist band. There will also be costume contests.
Oct. 31 from 3 p.m.-midnight at 30 bars starting at James Hoban’s, Sign of the Whale, Gryphon and Exchange in Dupont, Bar Louie in Gallery Place or Sudhouse on U Street. Tickets are $35.
Scary League
Story League puts a haunted twist on its usual format for Halloween, with its raconteurs sharing scary and funny stories for Scary League at the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theatre. Costumed, comedic storytellers will present scary-funny stories including two-time Story League champion Jeff Simmermon and Moth StorySlam winner Shrake, among others. Note: The program contains mature themes and strong language.
Oct. 31 from 6-7 p.m. at the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater, 2700 F St. NW. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Admission is FREE!
Haunted Halloween Bash
Do you like your beer hoppy and haunted? Bluejacket Brewery’s Haunted Halloween Bash includes free haunted brewery tours (reservations required), music by DJ Kid Cannibal, a costume contest with prizes for best costume, scariest, most D.C. and best beer related costumes. There will also be tastings of vintage barrel-aged Bluejacket beers back from the dead including James E. Pepper Bourbon Barrel-Aged Burning Bush, Barboursville Octagon Red Wine Barrel-Aged Snallygaster Ale: Blueberries and James E. Pepper Rye Whiskey Barrel-Aged The Betty.
Oct. 31 starting at 9 p.m.at Bluejacket Brewery, 300 Tingey St. SE. Admission is FREE!
Rocky Horror Tasting Show
The Sonic Transducers, who perform The Rocky Horror Picture Show monthly at E Street Cinema, are teaming with DC Brau for a Rocky Horror Tasting Show. DC Brau, which is also commemorating the event with free T-shirts, will start pouring free beer tastings in the lobby, leading up to a costume judging.
Nov. 1 from 5-9 p.m. with the show starting at 7 p.m. at E Street Cinema, 555 11th St. NW. Tickets are $9.
Editor-in-Chief Mark Heckathorn is a journalist, movie buff and foodie. He oversees DC on Heels editorial operations as well as strategic planning and staff development. Reach him with story ideas or suggestions at dcoheditor (at) gmail (dot) com.