Upcoming Events Around DC

14th Annual MidCity Dog Days of August Sidewalk Festival: Over 70 stores, boutiques, restaurants and art galleries throughout the MidCity Corridor of Washington, D.C. will be participating in this year’s Annual MidCity Dog Days of August Sidewalk Festival on Saturday, August 3 and Sunday, August 4. Much more than a sidewalk sale, the MidCity Dog Days of August features special events, sales, family events and restaurant deals throughout the 14th Street (MidCity) Corridor, which comprises 14th Street from Florida Avenue to Thomas Circle and just off U Street from 9th to 17th Streets, Northwest. On the fashion front, area boutiques including Junction, Current Boutique, and Redeem will feature sales of up to 60% on current season clothing and accessories and other sidewalk specials. Restaurants will be holding special events and offering patrons MidCity Dog Days specials on food and libations including Cork Market, Saint Ex, and Pearl Dive Oyster Bar. In addition to the great sales, MidCity Dog Days will also feature art, literature and cultural exhibits, performances, giveaways and deals from Som Records, 9:30 Club, and The Howard Theatre amongst others. Join us to shop, dine and enjoy the experience in the city's most culturally diverse neighborhood!

Join DGS and Entry Point DC for three interactive cooking classes. Price includes 1 hour class, plus small bites, sparkling wine, and take away recipes. August 3rd at 4pm. Slivovitz, Shrubs and Moving Beyond Manischevitz. Last but not least. Drinking. Our drinking culture was born in Eastern Europe, but was shaped in Lower East Side bars, summer retreats in the Catskill Mountains, and winter getaways to Florida. Learn from Beverage Director Brian Zipin how to make slivovitz at home, turn fruit into shrubs for your cocktails, and pair Jewish food with wine.

National Farmers Market week gets off to a great start at the Columbia Heights Community Marketplace! This Saturday, August 3rd the Community Marketplace, located at 14th Street and Park Road NW, Washington, D.C. 20010. At 9am there will be a market tour, followed by a ceremony to launch the Farmers Market Week at 10am. After the ceremony there will be live music from DC's Bellwether Hall, fantastic cooking demonstrations and fun activities for children. For more information check out Columbia Heights Community Marketplace online, Facebook and Twitter. 

Graffiato and Mike Isabella will be hosting the Industry Takeover event on August 5th with great chefs including: Victor Albisu, Tony Starr and Timothy Spinner to benefit the American Cancer Society's Fit for Hope fundraiser. Tickets will be $10 each with $5 per ticket being donated directly to Fit for Hope. At Graffiato, $2 of each sale from the Roasted Turkey and Chicken Salad sandwiches will benefit the cause. 

Special Birthday Beer Tapping Party to Celebrate 21 Years: Capitol City Brewing Company has finally reached the legal drinking age! The District’s first brewpub since Prohibition is turning 21 and celebrating its anniversary with a momentous Birthday Beer Tapping Party featuring the original “Honey 21” on Wednesday, August 7 from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. at the Downtown DC location (1100 New York Avenue, NW). David von Storch, founder and president of Capitol City Brewing Company, crafted the anniversary beer named “Honey 21,” which combines von Storch’s personal favorite flavors of smooth honey, refreshing citrus coriander and zesty orange peels. This beer has been fermenting for more than a month and will be honorably tapped and poured at the August 7 birthday celebration. For more information, visit Capitol City Brewing Company’s site atwww.capcitybrew.com.

Iconic Sunday Supper at Union Market: Union Market will host the annual Sunday Supper on Sunday, August 18, 2013 to benefit the James Beard Foundation Educational Grants and the Good Food Awards Merchant Guild food entrepreneur support programs with Zeke Emanuel presiding over the evening. Washington D.C.’s most renowned chefs will participate in an evening for the community to experience an exclusive, family-style dinner, where each chef will be responsible for preparing one course. Participating Chefs at Sunday Supper include: Tony Chittum, Iron Gate Restaurant; Robb Duncan, Dolcezza Artisanal Gelato; Michael Friedman, The Red Hen; Katsuya Fukushima, Daikaya; Dylan Fultineer, Rappahannock River Oysters; Barry Koslow, DGS Delicatessen; Marjorie Meek-Bradley, Ripple; and John Mooney, Bell Book and Candle. Tickets for Sunday Supper are $250 per person, and $200 per person for James Beard Foundation members. For tickets or more information about Sunday Supper and Union Market, please visithttp://unionmarketdc.com/events/sunday-supper-2/ or call Evelyn Hawkins at 301-347-3491

Earlier in the day, The Good Food Awards winning products will be available for the public to taste and for purchase at Union Market. Tickets for the VIP Hour are $25 per person with exclusive preview from 10:00AM – 11:00AM. The Good Food Marketplace will be free for the public from 11:00AM – 3:00PM. For tickets or more information about the Marketplace, please visit http://unionmarketdc.com/events/marketplace/.

From Monday, August 19, to Sunday, August 25, DC area foodies are invited to dine at their favorite participating restaurants and discover new dining destinations, which will feature three-course, prix fixe lunch and dinner menus priced at $20.13 and $35.13, respectively. The full list of participating restaurants will be available online at www.ramw.org/restaurantweek.

Join Victor Albisu and Will Artley for their Battle of the Bulges 5-Course Dueling Summer Menu at Pizzeria Orso in Falls Church, Virginia on Monday, August 26 at 7pm. Please call 703-226-2460 to make a reservation for your party. The $80 total includes wine, but is exclusive of tax and gratuity.

Derek Brown and Todd Thrasher will be bartending together at the Shake It Off Party on Monday, August 19 6:30 pm-close at the PX and on Monday, August 26th 5-9pm at the Passenger. Be ready to drink delicious cocktails, and expect athletic gear and a little trash talk. To RSVP for the August 19th event please e-mail events@eatgoodfoodgroup.com

Interested in learning how to cook up your own Chinese and Thai food? Join Scott Drewno, Executive Chef at Wolfgang Puck's The Source, for cooking classes on Saturday, September 21 11am-1pm to have a Thai cooking lesson and on Saturday September 7 11am-1pm to learn about cooking Chinese food. The chef will demonstrate three recipes at each event and include low-calorie and healthy cooking options. Each class costs $75, includes sparkling wine and a family style lunch after the lesson. $25 of each ticket will go directly to the American Cancer Society to support Scott Drewno's Fit For Hope Challenge. Please make reservations by calling Erica Frank at (202)-637-6106 or e-mail her aterica.frank@wolfgangpuck.com

Attend Marjorie Meek Bradley's Farm Dinner at Ripple on Wednesday, September 4th. Be sure to reserve your ticket today because it is limited at 55 tickers. Each $75 ticket which includes beverages will donate $50 directly to Fit for Hope. The menu features delicious land and sea options such as Rappahannock Oysters, a Summer Vegetable Salad, Cherry Glen Farms Goat Cheese Ravioli, Poached Tilefish and a Roasted Peach Gallette. Please make your reservations by calling(202)-244-7995 or e-mailing info@rippledc.com.

Visit Frederik De Pue's restaurants, Azur in Penn Quarter or Table in the Shaw neighborhood. Azur is a European seafood restaurant, offering a special dish of Vegetable Crudites until August 24th. This is a healthy dish including fresh market veggies, quinoa, radish sprouts and green goddess. This option is available on the daily dinner menu for $18, with $5 going directly to the American Cancer Society. At Table, try the Guinea Hen accompanied by baby fennel and mango poivrade. This dish is $27 and also gives $5 to the American Cancer Society.

Sixteen chefs and mixologists will be participating in the American Cancer Society's Fit for Hope challenge to lose weight, as well as help raise money to reach their personal fundraising goals. DC foodies can help support the cause and attend Taste of Hope which is the American Cancer Society's signature food and rink event with over 50 of DC's most successful chefs, restaurants and beverage vendors. The event takes place of September 24th at the Carnegie Library located at 801 K. St. NW, Washington DC.  If you can't make it to the main event be sure to go to the individual chefs' restaurants to eat, drink and help out a fabulous cause! Below are a list of the events that occur throughout August and September.