Editors' Picks

August's best concerts

• The Washington Post Staff
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• Updated 08/17/2012

Summer is winding down, but you can still bask in the concert season for one more month. We've broken down some of the best remaining shows into six categories, with three picks for each. Get out there before it's back to the grind.

Best events for August and September

• By Jess Righthand
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• Updated 08/17/2012

The heat is here, and it's likely to hang around a while. But don't let the soaring temperatures derail your plans for the next few months. Summer also means outdoor concerts illuminated by fireflies and festivals serving fresh local seafood. If all else fails, you can always retreat to the (air-conditioned) multiplex for a summer blockbuster. Here's what to put on your calendar for July, August and September.

Best events this weekend

• By Going Out Guide staff
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• Updated 08/15/2012

Some of the Going Out Guide's favorites for the weekend: concerts with jazz trumpeter Christian Scott, a festival for lovers of crabs and beer, an all-star lineup paying tribute to the the Godfather of Go-Go and the unveiling of three new DC Brau beers as party of D.C. Beer Week.

Best karaoke

• By Stephanie Merry and Jess Righthand
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• Updated 07/07/2012

Washington is a serious town, and for good reason -- there are important decisions to be made and issues to lobby, laws to pass and bills to filibuster. But after a full day of taxing contemplation and staid conversation, Washingtonians are equally proficient in the art of unwinding. We don't always take ourselves so seriously, and that's especially obvious with the popularity of one self-deprecating pastime.

We sing, occasionally off-key. Sometimes even in costume.

Every night of the week, there are multiple options for karaoke, such as the karaoke nights with distinctive appeals that we write about below. Whether you like singing old-time tunes or channeling your inner rock star, performing for a small group or crooning to the masses, it's time to find your voice.

Best live jazz without crowds or cover charges

• By Fritz Hahn
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• Updated 02/23/2011

When you go out in the middle of the week, you can skip the cover charges and minimums that have become de rigeur on a Saturday night.

Best military events

• By Christina Barron
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• Updated 06/28/2012

Beyond the battlefield, the military also serves us -- with parades, concerts, air shows and exhibits, most of which are free. Make your way to the following places and events to appreciate the military on Veterans Day and beyond.

Best open mike sessions

• By Fritz Hahn
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• Updated 06/30/2011

Ever wish you could be the person in the spotlight? Here's your chance.

Best quick trips

• By Weekend staff | The Washington Post
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• Updated 07/18/2011

Here are seven of our favorite excursions. They are urban and suburban, in museums and on footpaths, kid-friendly and date-friendly.

Best rainy-day diversions

• By Going Out Guide Staff
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• Updated 11/30/2011

You don't have to stay home under the covers. Beat cabin fever with these go-to spots that can make rainy days a little brighter.

Best summer concerts

• The Washington Post Staff
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• Updated 08/17/2012

The summer music calendar can be intimidating. It's jam-packed with performers, and decisions on which concerts to attend must be made carefully. You don't want to spend money on shows that are merely good. You want to see the best. With that in mind, we've compiled a "Summer Concert Superlatives" guide. Every one of these concerts stands out from the pack for one specific reason. So let's just say that it's in your best interests to attend as many of these as possible. See photos of the top acts

Best trivia nights

• By Stephanie Merry, Fritz Hahn and Alex Baldinger
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• Updated 05/31/2012

Bar fights are nothing new. But disputes over what the colors of the Olympic rings represent while hanging out at a favorite watering hole? That's not exactly your typical beer-fueled brawl.

Call it what you will -- trivia night, pub quiz, smartypants smackdown -- it's a battle playing out at an ever-increasing legion of establishments across the area. True to the region's overachieving status, it appears that locals like to drink in knowledge while sipping on cocktails.

"It's a free night. It's a fun way to engage. It's a fun way to get to hang out with your friends and still be challenged," says Allison Jessing, who hosts the National Portrait Gallery's trivia night. "I think D.C. is a really precocious town, and people are always looking for challenges and ways to learn and get acquainted with new ideas."

But it's also an alternative to the passivity of lounging on the couch.

"It's something to do besides watching TV," says occasional Wonderland trivia host Alex Reish. "And it's a pretty laid-back activity that, while you're doing it, you can still talk to people. That's golden."

Since those "NCIS" reruns aren't going anywhere, maybe it's time to check out one of the trivia nights below. The spotlighted locales design their trivia in-house (as opposed to outsourcing the question-writing to trivia-specializing corporations), and all are worthy of your precious post-work hours.

Coolest summer ever

• By Weekend/Going Out Guide staff
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• Updated 08/13/2012

Even the suffocating humidity and tourists can't detract from our annual rituals of spreading out blankets and cheese boards in the park, wandering the farmers market, doing Bikram yoga outdoors and lounging at pool parties. And that's just the tip of the spiked snow cone. There are trips to the beach and trips to the country, too. Summer in Washington is a bounty, people. Here are the reasons -- in no particular order -- to love it.

Summer arts preview: Film series

• By Ann Hornaday and Fritz Hahn
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• Updated 08/09/2012

Summer is the perfect time to watch movies under the stars. Catch recent blockbusters and classic films at these free outdoor series.

Summer arts preview: Museums

• By Lonnae O'Neal Parker and Jacqueline Trescott
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• Updated 08/13/2012

Come summer and the storm clouds, the humidity and the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, now in its 45th year, arrive on the Mall. It's a time to discover and reconnect with music, food, crafts, people and the cool tang of the Mall's lemonade. The events this year are built around three themes: "Citified: Arts and Creativity East of the Anacostia River," "Campus and Community" and "Creativity and Crisis." Anniversaries and cultural movements inspire the festival's lineup and tie the colorful mixed bag of events together.

Summer arts preview: Visual arts

• By Philip Kennicott
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• Updated 05/31/2012

There is no sleepy summer, only a barely perceptible slackening in the pace of exhibition and gallery openings. Don't expect blockbusters, but don't settle in for a season of sweet intellectual lassitude, either.