The Good Week | October 15, 2026

Your weekly newsletter is just one way to find something fun to do close to home. Whether you're making last-minute plans, curious about trying something new, or looking for ideas to save for another weekend, we've got you covered.

📱 See what we're up to on Instagram! Find last-minute happenings, local discoveries, and our new series, The Good Week Tries It, where we get out and try the experiences ourselves. We kicked things off with trivia night at Potomac Pizza in Potomac Village, where we even made it to a surprise tiebreaker! Follow along to see what we try next.

📚 Explore our local guides. Want to learn mahjong but aren't sure where to start? Love wandering through independent bookstores? We've done the research to help you find new places, pick up a hobby, and make more of your time close to home. Take a look at our guides and see what catches your interest.

✨ THIS ISSUE’S TOP PICK

✉️ Know someone who loves trying new things around Bethesda, Potomac, and nearby? Forward them The Good Week.

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

Synetic Theater returns to Olney after last year’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, this time bringing its movement-driven, wordless style to one of America’s best-known ghost stories.

Inside Olney’s intimate Theatre Lab, choreography and theatrical spectacle reimagine The Legend of Sleepy Hollow as a darker story of love, guilt, revenge, and redemption, with the Headless Horseman stalking the shadows. The result is a highly physical, atmospheric take on the classic ghost story.
👉 Get tickets for The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Damascus Theatre Company, a nonprofit community theater that has been producing local shows since 1985, is bringing Nunsense to the Arts Barn for nine performances. The company has partnered with the Arts Barn for more than two decades.

Dan Goggin’s musical comedy follows the Little Sisters of Hoboken as they scramble to raise money after a convent mishap leaves them with an unexpected problem to solve. The cast includes longtime DTC performer and WATCH Award winner Chrissy Barnett Miller. Tickets $16–$25.
👉 Get tickets for Nunsense

Glen Echo’s Bumper Car Pavilion turns into a Balkan music and dance festival for the afternoon, with live performances, traditional instruments, folk costumes, and plenty of room to move.

The lineup includes Zlatne Uste Balkan Brass Band, a New York ensemble that has performed everywhere from the Kennedy Center to Serbia’s massive Guča Brass Festival, along with Karpouzi, which plays traditional music from Greece and Asia Minor. The day also includes A Journey Through Ex-Yugoslavia, featuring folk costumes from Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, Macedonia, and Slovenia. Bring a picnic or grab food from Praline Bakery. $10-$25 general admission.
👉 Get tickets for Glen Echo Balkan Fest

Singer-songwriter and touring musician Eli Lev is playing an intimate acoustic concert in a private Potomac home to benefit KindWorks. Lev has performed at the Kennedy Center and 9:30 Club and is a Washington Area Music Award winner.

KindWorks is a Montgomery County nonprofit that connects volunteers with practical ways to help local families and neighbors. Doors open at 6:30 pm. A $30 suggested contribution supports its programs, and the concert address will be shared with registered donors. RSVP by October 15.
👉 RSVP for An Acoustic Evening for KindWorks

The evening begins in the lobby with ¡Baila Cuba!, a participatory introduction to Cuban social dance led by local artists. Learn a few basic steps, move to live music, and get into the rhythm before the main performance.

Then legendary pianist Chucho Valdés celebrates his 85th birthday with special guests Joe Lovano and Etienne Charles. The seven-time Grammy and seven-time Latin Grammy winner helped transform Latin jazz by bringing together Afro-Cuban music, jazz, rock, and classical influences. The pre-concert dance event is included with a show ticket. $28–$98.
👉 Get tickets for Chucho Valdés at Strathmore

The 30th annual festival brings readers and writers together for workshops, author conversations, readings, and book signings with Tobias Wolff, Richard Bausch, Deborah Tannen, and other literary guests.

Choose from a screening of This Boy’s Life followed by a Q&A with Wolff, writing workshops, Tannen’s keynote, and a conversation on the art of fiction. You can also take a bus tour of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Rockville haunts. Registration required; workshops, lunch, and the tour are available as add-ons.
👉 Explore the festival schedule and register

Four comics, one Bethesda lounge and two hours that should be considerably funnier than whatever you were going to do at home.

Rob Maher headlines the 19th edition of ON St. Elmo’s Comedy Bunker, bringing credits from Comedy Central, a Dry Bar Comedy special, a No. 1 iTunes comedy album and USO tours across more than 20 countries. The lineup also includes Sandi Benton, Kadeem Richardson and Pete Bergen, with sets ranging from personal storytelling to sharp observational comedy. $17.85.
👉 Get tickets for Comedy Bunker 19

Glenview Mansion is celebrating its 100th anniversary by turning back the clock to 1926, when mob boss Vito “The Gut” Marzetti is getting a secret sendoff at the city’s hottest speakeasy. His widow is searching for his missing fortune, and the guests may hold the key to his final, deadly secret.

Dress in your Roaring Twenties best and settle in for an interactive murder mystery with dessert included. Evening performances are Friday and Saturday at 8 pm; matinees are Saturday and Sunday at 2 pm. An Italian buffet is available at the evening shows, with brunch at the matinees. $40; $70 with meal.
👉 Get tickets for Funeral for a Gangster

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

Afternoon tea is usually a civilized daytime affair. Strathmore is waiting until darkness falls.

Midnight Tea transforms the historic Mansion into a gothic gathering with herbal brews, eerie nighttime treats, seers and other guests with uncanny gifts. Come dressed in your gothic best, then brave a ghost tour through the Mansion and watch for a few chilling surprises along the way. $65.
👉 Register for Midnight Tea at Strathmore

Wine and cheese pairing, meet baby goats. Bluffing Goat Farm is hosting an afternoon in the goat field with five locally made cheeses paired with five wines from Metzger Winery.

Between tastings, you can play with and bottle-feed the baby goats while learning about each pairing. Crackers and other accompaniments are included, and non-drinkers can choose a mocktail pairing instead. An alternate location or rain date may be used if needed. $36 plus fees.
👉 Get tickets for goat cheese, wine and baby goats

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

Rooting 4 You is bringing Plant Bingo to 7 Locks Brewing for 15 rounds of the classic game, only this time the prizes are live plants and other plant-themed finds. Your ticket also includes a drink, so you can settle in with a beer while trying to add something leafy to your windowsill. It’s bingo, but with a prize you might still have several years from now if you’re good with plants. $35.88.
👉 Get tickets for Plant Bingo at 7 Locks

If you’ve thought about trying an overnight backpacking trip but aren’t quite sure where to start, REI is offering a free introduction to the basics. The class covers how to choose gear, plan a safe and responsible trip, and pack efficiently for time on the trail.

It’s designed for beginners as well as hikers who want to feel more confident going farther on their own. Free; advance registration required.
👉 Sign up for Backpacking Basics at REI

Locally Crafted Workshop has added a DIY patch bar where you can start with a hat or pouch, then dig through a big mix of patches, pins, charms, and chains to make it your own. Once you’ve chosen your patches, the LCW team heat-presses them in the studio, and you can finish your piece with whatever extra embellishments catch your eye.

The patch bar will be open during select workshop events, with drop-in times and appointments announced as they’re available. It can also be booked for adult birthdays, bridal showers, team outings, book clubs, and other group get-togethers.
👉 Check Locally Crafted Workshop for upcoming Patch Bar dates and booking options

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

Pinstripes is taking wellness upstairs with a rooftop event that pairs yoga with a cold-plunge recovery session. D.C. instructor Mikalyla Agard will lead a Stack House FLOW class, followed by a cold plunge experience in collaboration with SWHZ.

It’s designed for all fitness levels, whether you’re curious about trying a cold plunge or just want a different kind of Saturday reset. Attendees will also receive curated gift bags. Space is limited. $50
👉 Get tickets for Brunch & Burn at Pinstripes

Earlier picks still ahead — and still worth catching.

📚 The Floral Club at Wildflowers Collective — Thu, Oct. 15, 6–8 pm — Turn an old book into a sculptural floral arrangement and create paper roses from its pages in Rockville. $25.

🧶 Chunky Blanket Workshop at Hammer & Stain — Thu, Oct. 15, 6:30 pm — Make a cozy oversized throw using just your hands and chunky yarn in Rockville. $80.

🎨 Ch/Art Annual Art Walk — Sat–Sun, Oct. 17–18, noon–5 pm — Meet 86 local artists across 35 locations throughout Chevy Chase, Maryland, and D.C. Free.

📚 A Beginner’s Guide to Food Writing at The Writer’s Center — Saturdays, Oct. 17 & 24, 10 am–noon — Turn food memories, family recipes, and traditions into stories in Bethesda. $85–$100.

🎬 John Carpenter Film Series at Bethesda Row Cinema — Wed, Oct. 21 & 28 — Catch Prince of Darkness and The Thing on the big screen in Bethesda. Tickets from $8.

🧘 Birdability Week Yoga at Meadowside Nature Center — Sat, Oct. 24, 11 am–noon — Enjoy gentle, bird-inspired yoga with seated and mat options in Rockville. $12.

🍷 Sip & Seek at Grape Escape Kentlands — Sat, Oct. 24, 3–6 pm — Sample 15 wines at three tasting stations, with small bites included, in Gaithersburg. $10 plus fees.

☕ Ceramic Painting with Craft Cart at Coffee Republic — Sun, Oct. 25, 1–3 pm — Paint your own ceramic plate, bowl, or coaster while enjoying coffee and pastries in Bethesda. $28.

🍁 Nature Journaling at Croydon Creek Nature Center — Sun, Oct. 25, 1–3 pm — Capture fall through writing, drawing, and observation in Rockville. $18.

🎃 Drag Bingo & Halloween Costume Contest at Round House Theatre — Mon, Oct. 26, 7:30 pm — Play bingo, show off your costume, and compete for cash prizes in Bethesda. Free.

🧪 An Evening of Alton Brown at Strathmore — Mon, Oct. 26, 8 pm — Expect food science, comedy, live demonstrations, and a little controlled mayhem. $28–$200.

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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