Main Street updates: Playground dance party, pop-up market, pollinator garden walks and annual meeting

NEW: The Forest Hills Park dance party will be held on its rain date: Sunday, April 27th.

Babies, let’s boogie.

If a toddler dance-off sounds like the best thing ever, head over to Forest Hill Park this Saturday, April 26th between 4 and 6 p.m. Van Ness Main Street is hosting a family dance party. More details:

• DJ Bdubz will be there, spinning all your favorite tunes;
• When you need a break from the dance floor, join Little Heart Studios for some crafting;
• Free refreshments so you can keep the party going!

Suggested donation is $5 per family and all proceeds will support [Van Ness Main Street’s] Good, Clean, Fun Initiative.

Worried about weather? No need! Rain Date is Sunday, April 27 from 4-6pm.

Donations are welcomed here and during the event.

The dance party is part of VNMS’s Spring NOW! initiative, which is a celebration of springtime and community, and a way to boost local businesses.

Have you seen these adorable critters?

Fifteen Van Ness and Forest Hills businesses are taking part in another Spring NOW! event through May 17th. Tucked away inside their establishments are plush bees with QR codes to scan. Collect enough, and you can win prizes donated by the businesses. Here’s more information about the bee hunt.

Bees were chosen as the scavenger hunt mascot in part because of their importance as pollinators… which brings us to another Spring NOW! event. VNMS partner and Master Gardener Kathy Sykes is leading walks of the Connecticut Avenue pollinator garden on May 3th, 4th and 17th.

Take a closer look at those pollinator beds and the bees and butterflies who enjoy them. Learn from Kathy about the plants that have been selected, as well as their visitors, and why it all matters for DC and the greater ecosystem. Kathy will guide you for one hour and you’ll leave with a new appreciation for the pollinator beds, plus a few ideas for your own balcony or garden! Tickets are $15 for one person and $25 for two people. All proceeds support the Pollinator Planting Program.

Tickets are available here.

Shop for Mom and more on May 10th. Van Ness Main Street’s Second Saturday artisan pop-Up market returns for the season, just in time for last-minute Mother’s Day shopping.

Returning artisans include Anny Art Designs (based in Forest Hills), JenHud Studios – @jenhud.art, and Lita+Ro Home Goods. And several new-to-us names are on the vendor list.

Also returning: Carpe Librum, a used book and music pop-up, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The pop-up market’s hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. And the location, as always, is 4340 Connecticut Avenue.

One last thing: The final Van Ness Main Street event we’re highlighting is a look back at everything VNMS did for local businesses and the community in 2024. We’re all invited to its annual meeting at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, May 8th, at the Park Van Ness clubroom (4455 Connecticut Avenue). You can check out its previous annual reports here.

Forest Hills Connection is a program of Van Ness Main Street. We maintain our editorial independence.