The Good Week | May 21, 2026

Trust us. We are just as disappointed as you in this Memorial Day Weekend weather. But that doesn't mean all is lost. There are still so many ways to get out and have fun, make plans that begin to fill up your calendar next month, and do the audition prep you need to nail that audition at Rockville Little Theatre we highlight below. If any readers are cast, let us know so we can come support you!

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

This long-running blues dance weekend brings live music, late-night dancing, BBQ picnics, and a welcoming crowd to Glen Echo Park for five days of music and community. The lineup includes local blues musicians Robert Lighthouse, Clarence “The Blues Man” Turner, and Nella B & the Noise, along with DJs from around the country keeping the dance floor going all weekend. All experience levels are welcome, whether you’re a longtime blues dancer or just curious to try something new. Weekend passes include dances and picnic meals, with vegan and vegetarian options available. $20+
👉 Register

This annual concert celebrates 40 years of Taiwan Night in Washington, D.C., with an afternoon of Taiwanese folk songs, classical music, and internationally recognized musicians. This year’s program also honors America’s 250th anniversary, including newly arranged Taiwanese folk songs performed by Trio Sirenes, featuring members of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. $33.85
👉 Get tickets

A once‑a‑year chance to step inside some of Kensington’s most distinctive homes and gardens. The Maryland House and Garden Tour returns with a self‑guided route through Queen Anne, Georgian Revival, and Victorian properties that are typically closed to the public. It’s a deep look at one of the county’s earliest railroad suburbs—tree‑lined streets, brick sidewalks, and more than a century of architectural character shaped by trolleys, civic pride, and Brainard H. Warner’s original garden‑community vision. Rain or shine.
👉 Buy Tour & Lunch Tickets

Montgomery College’s longtime Summer Dinner Theatre returns for its 49th season with productions of Into the Woods and Anything Goes. A longtime local summer tradition, the series pairs musical theatre with a pre-show dining experience featuring passed hors d’oeuvres, chef-curated food stations, dessert, and coffee service before curtain time. Into the Woods opens in June, followed later in the summer by the high-energy shipboard musical Anything Goes. Dinner theatre tickets start at $75.
👉 Tickets are now on sale

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

Caruso’s Grocery and Owen’s Tavern & Garden are turning their patio into an Italian-style street fair with spritzes, live music, family games, and one of the more ambitious outdoor food lineups of the season. Expect griddled sausages, smashburgers, caprese pasta salad, cacio e pepe popcorn, frozen cocktails, crushable wines, and more than 50 craft beers on draft, alongside lawn games, mini golf, face painting, and a raffle benefiting Manna Food Center.
👉 Plan for an afternoon of spritzes, snacks, and patio time at Pike & Rose

This interactive cocktail class at Summer House features smoky, fire-inspired summer drinks paired with BBQ-inspired small plates throughout the evening. Led by the restaurant’s bartending team, guests will learn approachable techniques for building balanced seasonal cocktails while creating drinks designed to recreate at home later in the summer. $118
👉 Reserve a seat

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

This flower arranging workshop pairs a casual brewery night with a hands-on class from Matisse’s Flower Studio. Guests create their own floral arrangement while sipping a drink of their choice, with all supplies included and no experience required. It’s an easy option for a date night, girls’ night, or simply trying something different midweek. $60.54
👉 Reserve a seat for flowers, drinks, and a creative night out

This lively swing night starts with a free beginner Balboa lesson before local band Swing 5 takes over with fast-paced jazz inspired by the lively Paris café and dance hall music of the 1930s. The tavern’s small dance floor and live music setup make it feel more like stumbling into an old neighborhood dance hall than a formal class, and no partner or experience is needed. $10–$20 suggested donation
👉 Arrive at 7:15 pm for the lesson and stay for live music and dancing

The bucket hat has lived many lives: ’90s staple, Gen Z favorite, celebrity street-style regular, and now, apparently, your next sewing project. In this beginner-friendly class, instructor Linda Henson will guide students through making a reversible bucket hat, with templates and instructions provided in class. Students can cut fabric by hand or use the AccuQuilt die, making this an approachable way to try sewing something wearable, useful, and very much back in rotation. $52.50
👉 Learn more

Inspired by Awesome Con this year and already thinking about next? This open sew workshop with Sayakat Cosplay — an award-winning cosplayer and judge with over a decade of experience, most recently at New York Comic Con — is a great place to start. Bring your current project or pick up supplies and start something new. Get hands-on help with tricky seams, alterations, patterning, machine and hand sewing, and more. $30
👉 Register now

If all of your friends seem to be getting into Mahjong lately, this beginner-friendly Boot Camp is your chance to learn the game in a supportive, hands-on setting. Participants can choose between Mahj 101 Foundations, Mahj 102 Building Confidence, or the full-day experience combining both workshops, with guided instruction focused on supported play. Snacks and refreshments are included throughout the day, with lunch provided for full-day participants. $60+
👉 Learn more & register

The Bender JCC’s Summer Book Club returns as part of the Lessans Family Literary Series with thoughtful discussions centered on historical fiction, memory, identity, and survival. June’s selection, The Last Rose of Shanghai by Weina Dai Randel, follows a Shanghai nightclub owner and a Jewish refugee during World War II, while July’s discussion of Linda Grant’s The Story of the Forest traces generations of a Jewish family across Eastern Europe and beyond.
👉 Learn more

Channel your former theater kid energy — or simply try something completely new — at Rockville Little Theatre’s open auditions for The Game’s Afoot, a witty murder mystery filled with actors, secrets, Sherlock Holmes references, and theatrical chaos.

Auditions are open to performers of all experience levels, making this a fun excuse to revisit a longtime interest, meet creative people, or see what it feels like to step onto a stage yourself. Even if your last audition was somewhere around high school, community theater has a way of pulling people back in. The show runs this fall at the F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre in Rockville.
👉 Learn more

Gather a few friends or finally learn on your own at these beginner knitting lessons from KnitLove Bethesda. Designed for complete beginners and rusty former knitters alike, the one-hour sessions cover the basics of knitting and purling in a relaxed, approachable setting. Private and small-group lessons are available, making this a cozy and unexpectedly fun thing to try with friends, family, or anyone looking for a more creative kind of night out.
👉 Learn more

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

Designed for intermediate players looking to build more consistency on the court, this four-hour pickleball camp combines drills, strategy, and plenty of court time in a small-group setting with an 8:1 player-to-coach ratio. Coach Brendan Mattingly will cover serves, returns, third-shot drops, dinking, resets, lobs, and transition play. Designed for players ages 40+ at the 3.0–3.5 level. $249
👉 Reserve your spot

Whether you’re training for a marathon, getting back into running, or looking for more structure and motivation, Montgomery County Road Runners Club offers summer training programs for a range of paces and experience levels. Programs include marathon training, speed work, half marathon prep, and 10-mile training, along with access to group runs, races, and weekly workouts.
👉 Learn more

Earlier picks still ahead — and still worth catching.

🎶 Jason Mraz: Still Yours Tour — May 26, 7:30 pm — acoustic concert at Strathmore

🧵 Kawandi Stitching Workshop — May 30, 1–4 pm — fiber arts workshop at Artists & Makers Studios, Rockville

🀄 Mahj in Bloom: Spring Tea & Open Play — May 30, 1:30–4:30 pm — mahjong social at The Retreat, Gaithersburg

🧗‍♀️ Women’s Climbing Circle (Rappel Skills) — May 31 — women’s climbing and rappel skills session at Carderock, MD

🥂 Soiree on the Lane — May 30, 11 am–3 pm — hands-on workshops across Bethesda Row

🎶 Glenstone Summer Music Series — June 6, 5:30–7:30 pm — outdoor concert series at Glenstone, Potomac

🐶 Puppy Yoga Club — June 7, 12–1 pm — yoga class with rescue puppies at Pink Moon Studio, Bethesda

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

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