October in the Neighborhood: Listen and learn with UDC Music; Grain Fair, Halloween celebrations

Some of the neighborhood events on our October calendar:

Listen and learn with UDC’s music programs. UDC hosts periodic lunchtime lectures and performances in the Recital Hall (Building 46-Performing Arts). This month’s topics and guests are the piano music of Black composers (Tuesday, October 3rd), the founder/executive director of the Capitol Hill Jazz Foundation (Tuesday, October 17th), and the intersection of jazz and classical Indian music (Tuesday, October 24th). All three begin at 12:30 p.m. and are free and open to the public.

Rid Rock Creek Park of weeds. Rock Creek Conservancy’s month-long “Weed Wrangle” cleanups end this weekend, but the work of fighting the advance of non-native invasive plants never stops. Sign up for weed removal events at Trail 9 and Reservation 630 East on October 7th, and Reservation 630 West on October 14th and October 29th.

Attend an end-of-season shindig at Peirce Mill. Friends of Peirce Mill and partners including UDC are planning a unique celebration of whole grain farming, milling and cooking at the first-ever Mid-Atlantic Grain Fair and Conference on Sunday, October 22nd. The free event includes cooking demonstrations, hands-on activities, tours of Peirce Mill, and live music. You can also purchase snacks and locally grown and milled flour at the Grain Fair’s farmers market, and watch the mill in action for the last time this year. The Grain Fair will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the mill will be operating between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Celebrate Halloween with cute costumed dogs and kids. Hillwood Museum’s Spooky Pooch Howl-o-ween Celebration is a garden party that happens to include your dog – and a costume contest. Categories include Most Glamorous, Funniest, and Best Owner & Dog Combination Costume. Please enter… and send us the pics!

Kids will tell you that the key to getting the most out of Halloween is to wear the costume early and often. They (and their grownups) get to do that at Forest Hill Playground’s annual Spooktacular bash on Sunday, October 29th. From 10 a.m. to noon, Van Ness Main Street and its Friends of Forest Hills Playground program are planning pumpkin crafts, a Halloween hunt, a magic show and other activities. Then, from noon to 3 p.m. participating businesses will welcome trick-or-treaters. Register here to learn more and receive updates about the event.