Events: Celebrate the annual Anacostia River Festival

EventsBy Karly Meyer (Former Engagement Fellow) May 15, 2023

Anacostia River, SE DC by Jim Havard licensed under Creative Commons.

Celebrate the ninth annual Anacostia River Festival this Saturday, May 20, 2023 at Anacostia Park. The 11th Street Bridge Park and the National Park Service are hosting the festival in celebration of breaking ground on the ambitious new 11th Street Bridge Park project. Perched over the Anacostia River, the 11th Street Bridge Park will be DC’s first elevated public park and a space for healthy recreation, environmental education, and the arts.

Celebrate this new park project by reconnecting with the river and the outdoors at the family-friendly festival this Saturday. Enjoy a free canoe ride, fishing workshop, live music, and more. Learn more about the event and how to attend here.

Monday, May 15:

Share your thoughts on transportation access in Georgetown: The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) will host a hybrid in-person and virtual community workshop to kick off the Georgetown Transportation Access and Circulation Study with the community, a multimodal transportation study for the Georgetown neighborhood.

The upcoming workshop is an opportunity for community members to share their feedback on ongoing issues, challenges, and opportunities for the study. DDOT staff will also provide information on existing conditions and will be available to answer questions and gather comments. Learn more about the event and how to attend in-person or virtually here.

Thursday, May 18:

Meet Arlington’s Pro-Housing County Board Candidates: Help mobilize the pro-housing vote in this critical upcoming election. Join the YIMBYs of NoVA for a Happy Hour Meet and Greet with the GGWash endorsed candidates for the Arlington County Board at the Continental Beer Garden in Arlington. Learn more about Julius D. “JD” Spain, Sr., Maureen Coffey, and Jonathan Dromgoole, and more event information here.

Friday, May 19:

Join thousands of area commuters for the free 22nd annual Bike to Work Day 2023: This year’s Bike to Work Day event provides an opportunity for DC-area commuters to be part of the growing trend of bicycling, all while participating in a fun and free event that helps save commuters money, reduces traffic congestion, and improves regional air quality. Commuter Connections, hosting the event with the Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA), and a variety of local pit stop organizers and sponsors, hopes to reconnect residents with bicycling as a form of commuting, exercise, and a way to encourage mental well-being.

Riders can find Bike to Work Day pit stops around the metropolitan region in DC, Suburban Maryland, and Northern Virginia. Learn more about Bike to Work Day and how to participate here.

Saturday, May 20:

Help restore Rock Creek Park: Invasive plants are a major threat to our fragile forests, and stopping their spread helps allow for a thriving native understory. Join Rock Creek Conservancy and the National Park Service for this invasive plant removal restoration event in Rock Creek Park at Trail 9. Learn more and register here.

Join a walking tour of Friendship Heights: Friendship Heights is changing as new retail replaces big box stores and more housing promises shift the character on both sides of the DC/Maryland line. What’s next for Friendship Heights? Join the Coalition for Smarter Growth, Ward3Vision, and Friendship Heights Alliance on a walking tour to look at opportunities to guide redevelopment in Friendship Heights and build a more walkable and inclusive neighborhood, and a vibrant mixed-use center. Learn more about the event and how to attend here.

Attend this weekend’s Better Bus Initiative Community Workshops: Buses keep our region moving, providing more than 500,000 trips each day. The Better Bus Network Redesign Project is an initiative to rethink, redesign, and revitalize bus service to better serve the needs of customers in the region. It is the region’s first comprehensive redesign of the entire Metrobus network since its creation in 1973. Through a network redesign, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) is taking a fresh and detailed look at their bus service and routes to serve residents better.

To celebrate 50 years of Metrobus and to gather your valuable input on the Visionary Network’s draft routes, WMATA is hosting 50 events in 50 days between April 17 and June 5. The Better Bus Initiative in-person Experience LIVE! community workshops will include interactive stations to discover the draft Visionary Network bus routes, food, fun, and more. Learn more about the community workshops hosted this weekend here.

Experience LIVE! Community Workshop 1

Experience LIVE! Community Workshop 2

Sunday, May 21:

May Ward 1.5 meet-up: Civic engagement can be both rewarding and frustrating, but it should never be lonely. If you’re looking to connect with other folks—especially in Wards 1 and 2—who think neighbors are nicer than neighborhood character and that cities should be for people, not for cars, come out this Sunday at 3 pm for this month’s meet-up at Grand Duchess in Adams Morgan. Learn more and sign up here.

View more upcoming events on our calendar!


Community members submit events for inclusion on our events posts and in our events calendar. Submit your event here. Submissions may be edited for context and clarity.