July is jam-packed with extra-local fun. And a note to our newsletter subscribers: Most of these events might look familiar, but if you read to the end you’ll be rewarded with new Girl Scout-sponsored activities, open to all, and right here in the neighborhood. Celebrate Tanabata, Japan’s star festival. According to legend, two lovers, separated […]
More things to do in June: Violins and pickleball in our parks
One of the joys of walking neighborhood streets and trails is the unexpected encounters along the way. Here’s just one example: A year ago, our editor-in-chief heard the faint strains of violins while on a hike in Rock Creek Park. Following the sound, she eventually stumbled upon a violin concert at Picnic Grove #13. You […]
June in the Neighborhood: A toy swap, children’s concert, yoga in the park, Create by the Creek, and more
Spend a fun day at Forest Hills Park. Thanks to Van Ness Main Street’s Good Clean Fun initiative, June 6 is a day of service, community and music, with an all-ages cleanup, a community toy swap, and a performance by Grammy-nominated children’s music artist Mamá Elena. Create a work of art at Peirce Mill. Artists have been inspired by […]
The 2026 District Fringe festival at Van Ness-UDC includes programs for up-and-coming playwrights and young audiences
After its successful inaugural festival in July 2025, District Fringe is returning to Van Ness this summer with new plays and initiatives. District Fringe recently announced the festival dates (July 10 through 26, Wednesdays to Sundays) and the performance lineup (see the news release below). The performance schedule and online box office should arrive at […]
May in the Neighborhood: Embassy tours, pop-up artisans market, historic trades festival, Hillwood movies
Van Ness Main Street celebrates 10 years. The organization’s May 2 anniversary party is “A Taste of Van Ness Main Street.” Sample some local restaurant specialties while enjoying music performed by Tracey Cutler and the UDC JAZZAlive Trio. The event also honors neighborhood business leaders and volunteers. Local embassies are opening to the public. May 2 is Passport DC’s […]
Volunteer in the neighborhood: Park cleanups, Van Ness Main Street events, NW Community Food, Peirce Mill
Want to give back to the community? Opportunities abound for service-minded people, including students in need of community service hours. Pitch in for spring cleaning at local parks. Van Ness Main Street’s Good Clean Fun initiative is hosting an April 25 cleanup at Forest Hills Park. All ages can pitch in. Just make sure you let a […]
‘It’s important to get the mill running again’: Group works to restart Peirce Mill’s milling operations after an August breakdown
The 2026 milling season at Peirce Mill in Rock Creek Park typically begins in April. But this month, the grinding stones remain idled while devices critical to the mill’s operation are in the shop. Two water recirculating pumps were installed during the major restoration project that allowed the historic mill to reopen to the public […]
Main Street updates: Retail studies, ‘Taste of Van Ness Main Street,’ playground cleanups, spring pop-up market
Outside experts gave the business corridors in Van Ness and the 5000 block of Connecticut Avenue a closer look last year. Van Ness Main Street released the results of the two studies early this year. As we’ve reported previously, both studies had a lot to say about the former Intelsat campus and its impact on […]
April in the Neighborhood: Primary election candidate forums; ‘Yoga on Connecticut’; 3 flavors of jazz
Watch a DC politics miniseries. Over three nights in April, candidates for DC mayor, DC delegate and at-large Council member will appear on stage at St. Johns College High School’s Frana Auditorium (2607 Military Road NW). The candidate forums will also be streamed on Zoom (links below). Each forum will start at 7 p.m.: April […]
March in the Neighborhood: Timepieces and the science of time; Welcoming spring with cleanups and dance
Time, as we experience it, is a forward-moving phenomenon. For most of the past century, physicists have also understood time in that way, positing that “the first arrow of time” only increases disorder, or entropy, and there is no backtracking. That, however, does not explain how the complex systems of the universe are able to […]