The Good Week | July 16, 2026

Has the World Cup kept you glued to the screen this month? With the final coming up Sunday, you may be ready to trade a little couch time for something closer to home.

You’ve come to the right place. This week’s issue is full of fresh ways to get out, explore, and enjoy what’s happening around Bethesda, Potomac, and nearby—whether you’re in the mood to make plans now or put something on the calendar for later.

As always, let us know if you try something new. And when you visit a place you discovered through The Good Week, please mention that you heard about it here.

Here's to a good week, close to home.

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Art, music, performances, and a few reasons to spend the evening out.

See where the work happens during this open studio weekend, part of the nationwide National Craft Open Studios celebration.

Tour Cyd Rowley’s studio, browse her jewelry, learn about upcoming workshops, and get a closer look at the creative process behind each piece. It’s also an easy way to support a local artist and small business.
👉 Plan your studio visit

Set sail aboard the S.S. American with Anything Goes, Cole Porter’s classic musical filled with romance, mistaken identities, tap dancing, and familiar songs including “You’re the Top” and the title number.

Montgomery College’s Summer Dinner Theatre pairs the production with a pre-show reception featuring hot and cold hors d’oeuvres, followed by dessert, coffee, and tea at intermission. It’s an easy way to turn a night at the theater into a full summer outing.
👉 Reserve your seats

This isn’t the puppet show you remember from childhood. Puppet Slam: Summer Lovin’ brings together a lineup of short-form acts using everything from shadow puppets and marionettes to hand puppets and crankies—illustrated scrolls that are manually rolled through a viewing frame to tell a story.

The tone can shift from funny to serious, making it an easy way to see just how wide-ranging puppetry can be. The evening is for ages 18+, with snacks and drinks available for purchase. Tickets are offered on a pay-what-you-can-style scale from $15–$35.
👉 Get tickets

Buy the ticket first and find out what you’re watching when the movie begins. Landmark’s $5 Secret Movie is an R-rated, 110-minute film screening before its official theatrical release—but the title stays under wraps until showtime.

For five dollars, it’s an easy way to add a little mystery to movie night.
👉 Take a chance on the secret screening

A second show was just added for Alex Edelman’s new comedy and storytelling show, What Are You Going to Do. Edelman is best known for solo shows that blur stand-up with narrative storytelling, including Just for Us, which played more than 500 performances worldwide before becoming an HBO special and earning him a Tony Award and an Emmy. $28+
👉 Get tickets

Food experiences, tastings, and classes that make the week revolve around something delicious

Trade the usual pizza night for wood-fired pies, seasonal salads, ice cream, local beer, wine, and cocktails—plus a little time to wander the farm between courses.

The menu changes throughout the summer, with specialty pizzas, appetizers, and desserts served in a relaxed outdoor setting. Feeling adventurous? You can even add a turn on the farm’s zip line. Reservations are required, and the $30 table deposit is applied to your tab.👉 Reserve a table

Hands-on classes and social activities where you can learn something new or step a little outside your comfort zone.

Bring your knitting, crochet, sewing, embroidery, or other handcraft project and spend the morning creating alongside fellow makers.

The volunteer-led meetup is a relaxed place to exchange ideas, patterns, encouragement, and conversation. Bring your own project and materials. No registration required.

Note: The downstairs meeting room is currently accessible only by stairs.
👉 Drop in and get crafting

Know the basics but not quite ready to jump into open play? Mahjong with Millie’s Mahjong 102 class is designed to help newer players feel more comfortable and confident at the table.

Review the flow of the game, practice the Charleston, use the NMJL card more effectively, choose hands based on your tiles, and learn when to call—or play defensively. Table etiquette is also covered. $75.

More experienced players can join open play upstairs during the same Thursday-night time slot.
👉 Register for Mahjong 102 or open play

That outfit you’ve been saving for the right occasion? This is it.

Way Too Extra Music Bingo is part music game, part fashion moment, with an invitation to finally wear the sequins, velvet, feathers, formalwear, or wonderfully over-the-top look sitting in your closet.

Come for the music, stay for the outfits, and dress like there’s a reason—even if there isn’t.
👉 Learn more

Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke is having a moment, and it sparked one of the liveliest discussions my own book club has had in a while.

DabbleLab's Plot Twisted pairs the buzzy read with a hands-on craft inspired by the story. Bring your own drink, they'll provide the nibbles, and you'll leave with a one-of-a-kind creation to show for the night. Casual readers welcome, no homework required. $55.
👉 Reserve your spot

Move your body, get outside, and stay active this week.

Join Urban Boxing for a free outdoor class combining high-energy fitness and self-defense in a fun, encouraging setting.

The class is part of Bethesda’s Free Fitness in the Parks series, presented in partnership with Montgomery Parks. Wear comfortable workout clothes, and bring boxing gloves and hand wraps if you have them. Pre-registration is required.
👉 Register for the free class [BUP}

Ease into the week with a free, instructor-led mat yoga class led by wellness coach Archana Gupta.

The session includes 45 minutes of movement followed by 15 minutes of breathing and meditation, with poses adapted for different ages, abilities, and comfort levels. Bring a mat if you have one; a limited number will be available. No registration required.
👉 Drop in for yoga

Spend a summer evening learning to navigate the night sky with an astronomer from Montgomery College, then look through a telescope to spot planets, star clusters, nebulae, and the season's brightest constellations. You'll head home with your own star map and a new appreciation for what's overhead every clear night. Registration is required, and these programs can fill well before August. $33 members, $46 nonmembers.
👉 Reserve your spot

Earlier picks still ahead — and still worth catching.

🎭 ADRIFT: A Medieval Wayward Folly — July 16–Aug. 2 — Puppets, live music, physical comedy, and medieval spectacle at Round House Theatre.

🍷 Summer Wine & Beer Social at Botanero — Thu, July 16, 6–8:30 pm — Wines, craft beers, small plates, and a fundraiser for SMYAL.

🎨 Bays & Beaches Paint Night — Thu, July 16, 6–8 pm — A beginner-friendly beach-themed paint night in Kensington.

✍️ So You Want to Write a Book? — Thu, July 16 + 23, 7–8:30 pm — Learn how to build a strong first chapter at The Writer’s Center.

🍸 Embers & Elixirs Cocktail Class — Fri, July 17, 6:30–9 pm — Smoky summer cocktails and BBQ-inspired small plates.

🧗 Global Climbing Day — Sat, July 18, 8 am–8 pm — Free climbing, rentals, beginner classes, games, and giveaways.

🪴 Summer Container Garden Workshop — Sat, July 18, 11 am — Design a colorful planter with heat-loving summer plants.

🌙 MidSummerFest — Sat, July 18, 6–9 pm — Live music at Old Angler’s Inn benefiting pediatric brain cancer research.

🖼️ What’s So Funny? — Through Sun, July 19 — Political and cultural commentary from two Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonists.

🎭 Carla Hall in Please Underestimate Me — Through Sun, July 26 — Carla Hall shares her funny and candid path to television fame.

🪶 On the Wing Along the Canal — Sun, July 26, 8–10:30 am — Spot birds, dragonflies, and damselflies along the C&O Canal.

🧵 Connecting with Nature: Contemporary Art Quilts — Through Fri, July 31 — Textile art inspired by the natural world at Strathmore.

🦙 Pottery With Alpacas — Tuesdays, Aug. 4, 11, 18 + 25, 6–8 pm — A four-week ceramics series on a Poolesville microfarm.

🌿 Bonsai Bar at 7 Locks Brewing — Tue, Aug. 11, 6:30 pm — Pot, trim, and learn to care for a dwarf jade bonsai.

🧘 Sunset Yoga at Lake Needwood — Monday evenings through Aug. 10, 7–8 pm — Free, beginner-friendly lakeside yoga.

🎶 Strathmore’s Free Lawn Concerts — Wednesdays through Aug. 12, 7:30 pm — Free outdoor concerts spanning multiple genres.

🎭 Round House Theatre’s 50 for 50 — Throughout the 2026–2027 season — Free experiences celebrating Round House Theatre’s 50th anniversary.

If you stop by any of this week’s spots, let them know you heard about it in The Good Week.

If something landed well—or if we missed a place you think deserves attention—tell us at [email protected].

If you’re a local business interested in advertising or sponsoring a future issue, reach out to [email protected].

And if you know someone who’d appreciate a little local intel on Thursdays, forward this along.

See you next week.

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