July in the Neighborhood: Indie theater festival, Japanese star festival, and “Water Power Day”

Fringe festivals are celebrations of local, independent and often very DIY theater. And early this year, it looked like DC’s own Fringe tradition would be ending after almost 20 years. Enter District Fringe, an artists’ coalition that sprang up after Capital Fringe in January announced that its 2024 festival was its last.

The inaugural District Fringe festival is taking place July 11th through July 27th, with performances every day except Mondays and Tuesdays. The main location: a lecture hall on the UDC campus, and other shows and festivities are popping up elsewhere on and near the campus.

Per the District Fringe press release: “The festival will activate spaces at the UDC Lecture Hall 44A03 [in Building 44, which fronts Van Ness Street NW. (map)] and the outdoor amphitheater [next to the UDC Theater of the Arts on Windom Place], plus additional spaces around Van Ness Main Street, including a pop-up bar/community gathering space where patrons can purchase drinks, snacks, and hang out and connect with other patrons and District Fringe artists. There will be a District Fringe Opening Night Party on July 11 starting at 9pm, with location and details coming soon.”

UDC amphitheater

District Fringe is starting relatively small with its first festival, but appears just as experimental as its larger predecessor. Check out the list of shows and descriptions. Tickets are $15 and available here, and multi-show passes are available for purchase, too.

After the July 4th fireworks, enjoy the other lights in the sky. National Capital Astronomers and National Park Service return to their stargazing spot near the Nature Center at 9 p.m. on July 5th. Their telescopes will be pointed at the Summer Triangle and Hercules constellations, the M13 star cluster, and the moon.

Also, Hillwood Museum and Gardens is celebrating Tanabata on July 10th. The Thursday evening event marking the Japanese star festival includes music, crafts and stargazing.

Learn and play at Peirce Mill. The historic mill is a living demonstration of the power of water, and you can see it in action on the next milling days: Saturday, July 12th and Sunday, July 13th. The demonstrations take place between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. In addition, July 12th is “Water Power Day” at the mill, with hands-on activities and a DC Water-provided misting tent where you can cool off. That’s happening from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the rain date is July 13th.