Thursday
“Woody Guthrie’s American Song,” Theatre Alliance at Wharf Park
515 Water St. SW, 7:15 p.m., pay what you can
One of D.C.’s buzziest theater companies opens a three-month, citywide festival of performances and exhibits celebrating “America’s most enduring folk poet and social agitator.” Expect more than a “This Land Is Your Land” sing-along at this outdoor musical revue that addresses America’s turbulent social climate through the lens of Guthrie’s writings and songs. Recommended for fans of Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger and Rhiannon Giddens.
Rip! Tear! Collage Exhibit at Eye Street Gallery
200 I St. SE, 6 p.m. free
Trending
The D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities picked “Collage as Critique” as the theme for its annual juried show, which awards grants to artists whose work is chosen for display. More than 20 local artists have work in the 2026 exhibit, and three of them will be on hand to lead a workshop on shredding, tearing and ripping up paper, then turning the scraps into art.
More to explore: “Apollo 13” blasts off at the Library of Congress’ Movies on the Lawn.
Friday
“Tosca” at Wolf Trap
1551 Trap Road, Vienna, Va., 8 p.m., $39 to $107
The Washington National Opera Orchestra — a beleaguered group of veteran musicians who were recently kicked out of the Kennedy Center — will accompany up-and-coming singers on the Wolf Trap stage. The summer company produces one major opera each year, and this season it’s Puccini’s classic about an artist, his muse and the religious zealot police chief out to thwart their star-crossed romance. Husband-and-wife team Ryan and Tonya McKinny, who have vocally opposed President Trump’s Kennedy Center takeover, will direct the production and provide subtext, while José Luis Gómez conducts.
“SUNNY RAVE” at the Howard Theatre
620 T St., 10 p.m., $30
New York and Toronto may have “Heated Rivalry” parody musicals, but D.C. has [checks notes] a late-night “Always Sunny in Philadelphia” dance party? Yep. That’s a thing. The Philadelphia-based “dj pressed” will spin tunes accompanied by clips from the long-running FX comedy at the Howard Theatre. Come dressed as Mac, Dee or Danny DeVito.
More to explore: Country singer Jordan Davis performs a free show for ticketholders after the Nationals game.
Saturday
Chesapeake DogDocks at The Wharf
101 District Square SW, 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., free
Come watch Prince, Banana and their canine frenemies play fetch in a 40-foot pool installed outside The Anthem. Billed as the mid-Atlantic’s premiere “aquatic dog performance” club, the Chesapeake DockDogs are hosting their first District competition surrounded by bougie people drinking beer. (Cerveza Pacifico and Tito’s “Vodka for Dog People” are the event sponsors.) Think your pooch might have what it takes to take the big leap next year? The club is organizing a “Youth Day” introductory session in Marriottsville, Md., on Aug. 15, minus the pool and booze.
Crochet Community Social at Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington
525 14th St. S, Arlington, Va., 2:30 to 4 p.m., free
Bring your own needles or pick up a free pair at this informal gathering hosted by the Crochet Cart Project. Participants will each contribute a square for a community blanket. That may sound more wholesome than trad-wife Instagram, but the group also aims to spread the joy of crocheting to all communities and help people express “creativity through fibre art.”
More to explore: Swing Fling dance convention at the Dulles Hyatt Regency; Sneaker Con at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.
Sunday
Summerfest Open House at Olney Theatre
2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney, Md., 11:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m., free
Families in the Northern suburbs (and anyone else who loves theater and has a car) are likely to love the grand opening of Olney Theatre Center’s multimillion-dollar expansion project. After two years of construction, the 88-year-old Montgomery County theater has a new lobby, studios and education spaces. More than two-dozen free shows, tours and workshops are on the schedule, while food trucks and a used costume shop are open all day. A gala performance featuring “Younger” star and Tony-winner Sutton Foster caps off the celebration, but tickets have long been sold out.
Mandoleers at Lyon Park Community Center
414 N. Fillmore Street, Arlington, Va., 5 p.m., free
Since 1923, the Mandoleers have been making music together on instruments that resemble miniature guitars. The ensemble holds a three-day intensive each summer, open to anyone who plays the mandolin, mandola, mandocello, classical guitar or upright bass. It’s unclear how exactly this merry band of musicians will celebrate the Declaration of Independence, but the event culminates with a free community concert called, “America at 250: We the People, All of Us.” Ernesto Parets conducts.
More to explore: Final weekend to see the critically hailed “American Aspirations” exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution Building.