The To Do List

uploaded to Flickr by nikkicookiebaker

Knuckles-deep in cinnamon sugar cookie-making this evening I took a break to do a little research on the weekend goings-on about the neighborhood, and I was struck by one thing: there’s more live music on the Hill than you might think.

But first things first: don’t miss our bake sale on Saturday at Eastern Market. There will be cookies, lots of cookies…among other delicious things, you can be sure. And if you find yourself rolling down 7th Street and you’re not yet sated, point your belly towards the Atlas, where the second H Street Bakes will be held from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Eight local bakers seek to tempt tummies at this pop-up bake shop as they feel out the market for a co-op bakery on H Street.

But, back to the music (and how lucky did I get with a Flickr search of cookies + guitar?).

To ease on into the weekend, you have a variety of spots to settle in and enjoy free or inexpensive live music. I can vouch for the view and the vibe of the Friday Night Concert Series at the Yards Park; Sam O’s Caribbean sounds might just make a sultry DC night feel more island than swamp. For a mellower scene, drop by Marvelous Market: each Friday from 5-7 p.m. performers as varied as the Redwood Guitar Duo, Dave Mosick and Friends and venerable kid’s musician Mr. Skip take turns at the mic. The Corner Store will feature acclaimed guitarist and composer Michael DeLalla as he opens his East Coast tour with a blend of  classical, jazz, Celtic, funk and folk on Friday at 8 p.m. ($20).  In Northeast you can catch the Songwriters Association of Washington Emerging Artists Showcase ($5) at Ebenezer’s from 7-10 p.m.

To support the youngest artists on the Hill, drop by CHAW at 5:30 p.m. on Friday as members of the Youth Arts Program  showcase all they’ve learned this session in the visual and performing arts. Stick around until 7:30 p.m. to watch American Ensemble Theater’s presentation of Why Torture is Wrong and the People Who Love Them ($8). The run of this black comedy that hones in on our private terrors both at home and abroad ends Saturday night.

For an unusual twist on Friday night ‘magic’, head to Labyrinth from 6-10 p.m. for a night of Block Constructed Scars of Mirrodin. I have no idea what Mirrodin, Mirrodin Besieged, and New Phyrexia sets are, but from what I hear, these events have quite a following.

Want to have something different to talk about over your Monday morning coffee? Check out the antics and smackdowns as an array of DC Lady Arm Wrestlers wrangle for the coveted Golden Bicep, all while raising money for N Street Village on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. at the American Legion Post 8 ,at 224 D Street, SE ($5). Don’t miss Princess “Lay-Ya” Down, Scarlett O’Scara, Top Guns, Aussie Osbourne, Sideshow Sally Strongarm, Bocce Balboa, Rainbow Blight and Black and Deck Her as they roll up their sleeves.

If you’re more artistic than bawdy, Saturday’s one-day watercolor workshop Afternoon Art Feast, June in Bloom, in the CHAW art studio from 1:30-4 p.m. might be better fit. For $50 registration fee, artists of all levels will have step-by-step coaching on how to create a frameable watercolor painting in an afternoon, enjoying wine and cheese all the while.

Just want to enjoy the air conditioning? Local theaters are featuring a wide swath of performances in their temperature-controlled spaces this weekend. Fats Waller’s lively Ain’t Misbehavin’ is at the Atlas through June 19. The outrageously prodigious comic and musical soul of 1930s Harlem lives on in this rollicking, swinging, finger-snapping revue that is still considered one of Broadway’s best. Through July 3, the H Street Playhouse hosts Scena Theatre’s regional premiere of Purge, the powerful story of an Estonian woman’s lifelong struggle through political exploitation, family betrayal, and sexual trafficking, by hot European playwright Oksanen. The Folger has extended Cyrano through the weekend so there’s still time to bask in the wordplay and romance of 17th-century swashbuckling France and the story of this poignant, if nose-centric, love triangle.