It’s getting hot, hot, hot! (“Bend it like Beckham" reference anyone?) So bust out your social planner, here’s our 🔥 super hot 🔥 monthly guide to the District for May.
Hot Flicks
Outdoor movies — a D.C. summer rite of passage — are officially back. NoMa’s CiNoMatic outdoor theater in Alethia Tanner Park is kicking things off on May 6 with “Pirates of the Caribbean.” If fighting off undead pirates isn’t your thing, catch “Mulan” at Union Market’s drive-in theater on May 8 or “Rocky” at Adams Morgan Movie Nights on May 21. I’ll probably be hitting up all three.
Hot Jazz
Love it or hate it, Jazz in the Garden is a summer staple (don’t act like you didn’t love it back in your intern days). It returns on May 22 with one of our favorite D.C. bands “Oh He Dead.” It’s free but you need tickets, which you can get via lottery starting the week before each show. So bring your blanket, buy some sangria, give into the mosquitos, and pretend you’re a jazz aficionado.
Hot Club
Electronic music and arts festival Project GLOW is returning May 30–31 at the RFK Stadium grounds. It features multiple stages, local and national DJs, art installations, local food vendors, and graffiti artists. D.C.’s EDM scene is having a cultural moment right now (seriously, DJ Mag ranked Echo Stage #6 in the world over Berghain 🤯), so it's the perfect time to become the rave babe of your dreams.
Dim sum at the closing Da Hong Pao on 14th St. NW. (Washington Post/Getty Images)
Hot and Fresh Out the Kitchen
Two D.C. stalwarts — Tonari and Da Hong Pao — are closing their doors on May 3. It’s not too late to squeeze in one last reservation. And if you’re looking for something to fill the dim sum-sized hole in your heart, these D.C. restaurant newcomers have been blowing us away.
Hot Sand
Unpopular opinion, but May is perfect beach weather in the Mid-Atlantic. Starting May 22, you can take OurBus from Dupont Circle or Union Station all the way to Dewey Beach for the perfect weekend getaway. Tickets are $55 and the trip clocks in at about 3 hours. Watch the sunset, throw back an orange crush, and bask in the knowledge that you have the entire summer ahead of you.
Hot Wheels
Something I do once a year as part of my “spring cleaning:” A bike tune-up which makes you safer and smoother on the road. They typically start at around $100 but are so worth it. Here are the best spots around town to get fixed up with prices.
