Reasons to Hit the Rooftop

By Lavanya Ramanathan
Friday, September 5, 2008

If you are still bothering to keep up the appearance of leisure this summer, your options are drying up. The public pools have closed, the jumbo outdoor screens have come down, the major outdoor concerts have wrapped. And it's pretty much time to retire the mojito . . . again.

It's the end of the road, too, for the First Fridays Deck Party in Rockville. In all, four bashes this spring and summer provided a reason to stay in your own neighborhood to hang out with adults and see live music. Tonight, take advantage of the cool evening and catch local roots rocker Billy Coulter as he closes out the series, which features food and drink and the happy-hour vibe on a downtown Rockville rooftop. Admission is free (food and beverages will run about $4 to $6). 21 and older only. 5-8 p.m. Arts and Innovation Building, Rockville Town Square, 155 Gibbs St., Rockville. 240-314-8620.

If you're already missing the fresh air, a rare exception to all the closings is a rooftop party that launched a few weeks ago at the Martini Sky-Bar at the District's Beacon Hotel. The Coolout is a Sunday afternoon bash that features DJs Adrian Loving and Harry Hotter spinning for the post-brunch crowd till the evening. Marquis Perkins and Austin Hill, two friends whose collective experience includes gigs at Arista Records, Dream and in the fashion industry, throw the egalitarian parties -- "no list, no cover, no doorman, etc.," Hill says by e-mail. Look out over downtown all day, and get home in time to get sleep before work on Monday. Free admission. 3-9 p.m. Sundays. Beacon Hotel, 17th Street and Rhode Island Avenue NW. 202-872-1126.

You also have an extra chance to hit the local pool this weekend -- but this event, unlike the Coolout, is a one-shot deal, and you're required to bring a date. See, the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority closed its pools last Monday, but reopens on Sunday just to reprise its annual Dog Days event, when you can bring your pup to public pools including Bull Run Water Park in Centreville, Downpour Water Park at Algonkian Regional Park in Sterling and Great Waves at Cameron Run Regional Park in Alexandria. And here's the thing: The dogs can actually go swimming (two-legged types will have to settle for hanging out poolside and getting a tan). Noon-4 p.m. $5 per dog. For details and a full list of participating pools, visit http://www.nvrpa.org and look under "Featured Events" on the right-hand side of the page.

SAVE THE DATE

CONCERT Black Kids This dance-happy, undeniably '80s-inspired Florida band blew the crowd away with its energetic performance opening for Cut Copy at the sold-out Black Cat show this spring. Since then, Black Kids have released their full-length debut album, "Partie Traumatic," which, despite its very sophisticated spelling of "party," is packed with juvenile (and fun) songs. They return to the Black Cat this month as headliners, and our guess is that, with the blog momentum behind the Kids, it will sell out. With the Virgins and Magic Wands. $15. Sept. 26 at 9 p.m. Black Cat, 1811 14th St. NW. 202-667-7960 or 202-397-7328.

ON STAGE The Second City: "Pratfall of Civilization" Later this month, Smithsonian Associates hosts the legendary theater/comedy boot camp's touring offshoot for two performances of "Pratfall," a newish show (it debuted last summer in Chicago) that looks at modern America. Meaning: that heady mix of Al Gore, NASCAR and terrorism. $25; members $20. Sept. 26 at 6:30 and 9 p.m. Voice of America, 3300 Independence Ave. SW. 202-633-3030 or visit http://www.smithsonianassociates.org. If the show doesn't sound quite your style, just a week later, you can catch the troupe doing fresh-off-the-headlines performances of its show "Deface the Nation" for three nights at the Arlington Cinema 'N' Drafthouse (a favorite spot of ours to see big names in comedy); the shows are Oct. 2-4. Tickets are $25-$32. Get them at http://www.arlingtondrafthouse.com.

THE DISTRICT

Today

FILM Before the Beatles: "It's Trad, Dad!" The Library of Congress's evenings of double features about the early days of rock continue tonight with the screening of Richard Lester's debut flick, about a vanilla suburb rocked (literally) by its youth population's taste for a certain hard-bopping jazz called "trad." Also on the bill: "Play It Cool" with the U.K.'s Elvis, Billy Fury. Free. 6:30 p.m. Mary Pickford Theater, third floor, Library of Congress Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. SE. To reserve a spot, call 202-707-5677 (Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.). For a full schedule, visit http://www.loc.gov/rr/mopic/pickford/pickford.html.

Tomorrow

FILM In Person: Christo and Jeanne-Claude, at a Screening of "Running Fence" For years, documentarians David and Albert Maysles have captured the art duo of Christo and Jeanne-Claude as they attempt one complicated, much-contested public art project after another. In the 1970s, only a couple of years before their "Gates" saga began, one of the projects the Maysleses filmed was "Running Fence," a nearly 25-mile "fence" of white fabric that wound through the hills of Sonoma and Marin counties in California like a gauzy Great Wall of China. Tomorrow, the Smithsonian American Art Museum screens the hour-long Maysles doc. The highlight: Christo and Jeanne-Claude will attend a talk after the film. Free. (Tickets are required; they're distributed an hour before the talk at the G Street Lobby. Expect a line.) 3 p.m. McEvoy Auditorium, lower level, Eighth and F streets NW. 202-633-1000.

Tuesday

THE SCENE Speakeasy DC's "Rock Bottom" The storytelling series's popular, themed open-mike event returns next week with "Rock Bottom: Stories about falling flat, bombing out, and bouncing back." Regulars and the brave will expound on the theme, telling stories from their own lives.The result is a little like comedy, a little touching, and always revelatory. $10 (cash only). Doors open at 6:30 p.m.; event at 8. Station 9, 1438 U St. NW. Visit http://www.washingtonstorytellers.org or call 240-888-9751.

Wednesday

LITERATURE Junot Díaz This year's "it" author won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction this spring for his novel "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao," about a Dominican American teenager in New Jersey struggling with his nerdiness and matters of love. On Wednesday, Díaz will visit Politics and Prose to read from the book and talk. Free. 7 p.m. 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW. 202-364-1919.

MARYLAND

Today

FILM "Nerdcore Rising" Negin Farsad's micro-documentary follows the tour of MC Frontalot, a dorky Web-designer-turned-rapper who is among a group of budding -- and white -- geek rhymers whose subjects include "Star Wars," Ally Sheedy and algorithms. The phenomenon has a name: "nerdcore." ("It's ostensibly the ironic juxtaposition of two very disparate cultures," Weird Al Yankovic offers as explanation in one interview in the film, which also checks in with Brian Posehn, Jello Biafra and Prince Paul.) The film opens at U-Md.'s Hoff Theater today. $7, $5 matinee; students, $5, $4 matinee. 1:30 and 7:30 p.m. today, 9 p.m. tomorrow. Hoff Theater, Stamp Student Union, University of Maryland, Campus and Union drives, College Park. 301-314-8587.

Tomorrow

FOR FAMILIES "Project Runway" Fan? Discover Your Inner Designer Did you know it's Sewing Awareness Month? Yeah, we didn't either, but it is, and to celebrate G Street Fabrics in Rockville and the American Sewing Guild are teaching the curious how to sew tomorrow -- okay, it's just how to sew a pillowcase, but baby steps, folks . . . . G Street provides the machines and the fabric. Free. Walk-in anytime between 1 and 4 p.m. G Street Fabrics, 11854 Rockville Pike, Rockville. 301-871-2128.

FOR FAMILIES Brazil Day This month, the Brazilian Embassy celebrates its independence day and culture with a series of events that will include a capoeira festival, an exhibition of works by artist Oscar Niemeyer, film screenings at the AFI and a Brazil Day celebration at a Frederick park tomorrow. Singer-songwriter Chico César performs, and the Brazil Day festival will feature Brazilian foods, arts and crafts and demonstrations of martial arts. Free. 1-6 p.m. tomorrow. Baker Park, West Second Street and North Bentz Street, Frederick. For a schedule for Brazil Day, visit http://www.brazildayinfrederick.com or call 301-748-1438 or 240-315-2112.

NORTHERN VIRGINIA

Today

ON STAGE Last Weekend for Tales of Woe -- um, "Les Misérables" Atlanta's Theater of the Stars' production of the Tony Award-winning musical ends at Wolf Trap on Sunday after a multi-night run. $55-$80; lawn, $25. Tonight-Sunday at 8 p.m.; also tomorrow and Sunday at 2 p.m. Wolf Trap, Filene Center, 1551 Trap Rd., Vienna. 877-965-3872.

Tomorrow

THE SCENE U.S. Arena Polo Championships You'll have to wait till next month for the popular Virginia Gold Cup to return to Great Meadow, but go this weekend or next and you'll find the playoffs of this national competition closing out the Twilight Polo season. (Prepare for a drive: Great Meadow is about 50 miles west of Washington.) Admission is $20 per carload at the gate. Tomorrow and Sept. 13, gates open at 6 p.m. for tailgating. Great Meadow, 5089 Old Tavern Rd., The Plains. 540-253-5000.

FOR FAMILIES Military Aviation Celebration The highlight of the festivities at Fort Myer celebrating 100 years of military flight will be the unveiling of a working reproduction of a 1908 Wright Model A plane that will eventually make its home at Fort Myer. Beginning at 10 a.m., the festival will include a flyover (the Wright plane, however, will stay grounded, though you'll be able to hear its engine run), an open house featuring displays and activities sponsored by the Air and Space Museum and College Park Aviation Museum, and performances by the Army and Air Force jazz bands. Free. 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. (gates open at 8:30). Parking is off-site at Pentagon North parking, Boundary Channel Drive at Washington Boulevard. 703-696-6906 or http://www.fmmc.army.mil.