They will feature 50 beers on draft including local Oktoberfest brews, pumpkin ales, autumnal ales, international beers and much, much more. The event is free, though tickets must be purchased for food and drink. Beer prices will range from $4 to $7 and seasonal foods will include schnitzel, sausages and wild boar stroganoff.

This event is child-friendly and offers an area for children’s activities, face-painting and a bounce house. To discourage people from drinking and driving, Rustico offers this deal: Take a photo of yourself arriving at the nearby Braddock Road Metro station and show it at the festival’s welcome stand to receive a commemorative Oktoberfest beer mug or $5 in food tickets.

Rustico
827 Slaters Ln.
Alexandria, VA
Free; Tickets must be purchased for food and drink.

Your doggie will get free treats and fresh spring water, while you enjoy $5 cocktails and glasses of wine, $3 beers, and delicious burgers prepared on the outdoor grill. These specials are in addition to the lounge’s usual daily happy hour: half-price burgers, $2 PBR cans, $3 Yuenglings and $5 mixed drinks from 5 to 7.

Helix Lounge
1430 Rhode Island Ave. NW
Washington, DC
202-462-9001
Type: Happy hour – dog-friendly

The restaurants will offer prix fixe menus and Sunday waffle brunches. The festivities will include the second annual “Mussel Throw Down” at the Eastern Market Hall and dinner at the Belgian Ambassador’s Residence in Northwest DC. The Ambassador’s dinner is open to the public and will feature all the participating restaurants with a six-course elegant Belgian dinner. Each course will be paired with a Belgian-style beer as well.

The week will come to a close with the Belgian National Day celebrations throughout the city. Participating restaurants include: Belga Cafe, Brabo, Brasserie Beck, Embassy of Belgium, ET Voila, Granville Moore’s, Le Pain Quotidien, Locolat, Marcel’s, Marvin, and Mussel Bar.

There will be over 150 wines, beers, and alcohol in an “all you care to taste” area, a special art walk with art from the galleries on National Harbor, cabanas on the beach, hand-on cooking demonstrations, and live music to enjoy.

Unfortunately, Saturday’s tickets are sold out but you will still be able to purchase tickets for tomorrow’s event on-site. They will be $45 and provide you access to the festival from 1-6pm. You will also receive a souvenir wine glass, unlimited samples, and entry to all performances and demonstrations. Children 12 and under are free. A portion of the proceeds will benefit D.C. Central Kitchen, so come out to enjoy delicious food, wine and craft beer for a good cause!

We know, you live in DC, so you’re probably wondering why we’re getting Kentucky fever, right? Check out our list of Derby celebrations right here in DC so you can partake in the glitz, the excitement, and the glamour of the races!

**Kentucky Derby at The Red Derby – Come in for the “the big hat bunch” dressed wearing an over-sized chapeau, and they may buy you a drink. The brunch menu includes great deals: $2 mimosas and bloody marys from 11am-3pm. After brunch, mint juleps are $5, and the big projection screen, which usually shows old, arty movies, will show the race live instead. Be sure to grab a slice of free derby pie, while it lasts.

**Kentucky Derby Party at Bourbon – Both the Adams Morgan and the Glover Park branches of Bourbon will offer traditional mint juleps served in frosted metal cups that are made with bourbon that has been steeped in mint for a month to give the cocktail a more mellow flavor. You can also enjoy free passed hors d’oeuvres, including mini Kentucky hot browns and crust-less cucumber sandwiches, or check out the racing form sheets left on the bars if you want to get in on the action.

**Bonnets and Bowties Kentucky Derby Party at Round Robin Bar – If you are looking for DC’s biggest and classiest Kentucky Derby party, it is at the Willard’s Round Robin Bar, which goes all-out for the occasion. Men dress in dapper summer suits with colorful bow ties and women wear enormous, elaborately decorated hats; both of which receive prizes for the best. Tickets are $75, which includes a full Kentucky buffet of sandwiches, potato salads, coleslaw and derby pie, plus two mint juleps that are served in the same commemorative Kentucky Derby glassware that you’d get at Churchill Downs.

Cinco de Mania at Clarendon Grill- This annual celebration at the Clarendon Grill will feature DJs Pat Premier and 2Nutz, who are known across Clarendon for their dance jams.

Cinco de Mayo At Town Tavern – This party will offer all-you-can drink deals, plus discount beer and tequila, not to mention a live donkey wearing a sombrero on the patio that customers can take photos with. If you post the photo on Town Tavern’s Facebook page, you could win a free group happy hour.

LatinVIP.com Cinco de Mayo Happy Hour at Eden – The Hispanic Bar Association, the National Society of Hispanic MBAs, the Hispanic Lobbyist Association and other professional groups sponsor this networking happy hour featuring mariachis and drink specials on a rooftop deck. The evening will include a mariachi band, free food from 5 to 7pm and discounted Dos Equis and Ambhar tequila drinks. Admission is free with an RSVP to rsvp@latinvip.com.

Cinco de Mayo at Masa 14 – Masa 14 has an extensive tequila list, and its menu offers several margarita variations. For Cinco de Mayo, flavored margaritas – including strawberry, peach, piña colada, and mango – in addition to the traditional flavor, will be sold for $5 all night.

Cinco de Mayo Latin Dance Party at Little Miss Whiskey’s Golden Dollar – Although most parties will celebrate Cinco de Mayo with mariachis and salsa, Little Miss Whiskey’s will feature DJs D-Mac (Marvin) and Thomas Blondet (Eighteenth Street Lounge) who are promising a night of more modern tunes and styles, including moombahton, tropical bass, Latin house and digital cumbia.

Whether you hit one, or all, of these parties, we hope you have a safe and festive Cinco de Mayo in DC!

Happy Hour at Cafe Asia
Arlington, VA & Washington, DC | Monday-Friday
Every weekday from 4 to 7:30pm, both locations serve up $1.25 pieces of nigiri, discounted rolls, $2.50 pints of Kirin Ichiban beer and discounted carafes of hot or chilled sake. Happy Hour prices are only available at the bar.

Happy Hour at Current
Washington, DC | Monday-Friday
Stop by between 5 and 7 pm, Monday through Friday, and sit at either the sushi bar or the regular bar to get the happy-hour deal. The menu changes depending on availability, but usually has around six rolls for $4 each, and drink specials include $5 bottles of Kirin or Kirin Light beer, $5 martinis and $6 glasses of house wine.

Happy Hour at Mate
Washington, DC | Monday-Friday
Happy hour is from 5 to 7pm on weekdays and includes a seaweed salad, miso soup and a calamari salad all for $2.50-$3.50 each, as well as nigiri and rolls for $3-$3.50 each. The drink menu includes $6 mojitos and margaritas and $4 draft beers, including Stella Artois and Guinness.

Happy Hour at Sei
Washington, DC | Monday-Friday
Between 5 and 8pm on weeknights, you can enjoy $5 beers and $7 house martinis, as well s delicious small plates, which include eel, spicy tuna and a few other rolls. (Note that Sei’s sister restaurant Oya offers almost the exact same deals at the same time. If one is too crowded, you can always walk four blocks and try your luck at the other.)

Happy Hour at Tako Grill
Bethesda, MD
The long list of $2 dishes includes bowls of edamame, fried shrimp and octopus puffs, which are a house specialty: Tako is Japanese for octopus. There’s also the selection of $2 sushi rolls, which range from California rolls up to spicy albacore with tempura flakes. Drink specials include $2.25 pints of Kirin and Stella Artois beers, or half-price sakes. The deal is offered from 5 to 7pm on Sunday and 5:30 to 7pm Monday through Thursday.

Happy Hour at Tono Sushi
Washington, DC | Monday-Friday
The menu usually has a dozen different nigiri offered for $1 a piece, along with $3.75 bottles of beer.

Sticky Rice Sushi Happy Hour
Washington, DC | Mondays
The weekly happy hour doesn’t start until 10:30pm on Monday nights but all sushi on the menu is half-price until 12:30am. Enjoy the Crunchy Shrimp roll — filled with tempura shrimp, cucumber and avocado and topped with a zesty sauce — for only $3.25, and the broiled eel roll is just $2.75.

Happy Hour at Flying Fish
Alexandria, VA | Daily
Only six types of nigiri are discounted during Flying Fish’s happy hour, which runs every day from 5 to 7 pm. To drink, there’s a $1.99 beer, which was about 16 ounces of Miller Lite. Note that the deals are offered in the brightly lit main bar area as well as in the downstairs Speakeasy Room. The key difference is that smoking is allowed downstairs, which may or may not be your cup of tea.

This “Intro To Sausage” class will be the first in another series of intimate cooking demonstrations held at Northside Social in the upstairs wine bar. Executive Chef Lacivita will guide the attendees through his personal favorite recipes and offer professional cooking tips and secrets.

Space is limited in these classes to 15 people, so be sure to register early. The classes are always at noon on Saturday and they cost $50 per person or $175 for all four classes. To make a reservation or ask any questions you may have, call 703-465-0145 or stop by and ask any of their baristas.

The class schedule for April is:

April 9
Introduction to Sausage Making with Executive Chef Liam Lacivita

April 16
Pasta and Dumplings with Chef Andy Bennett

April 23
Introduction to Bread Baking with Executive Pastry Chef Rob Valencia

April 30
Plated Desserts at Home with Executive Pastry Chef Rob Valencia

Northside Social is a coffee shop, wine bar, and cafe located in the Clarendon neighborhood of North Arlington at 3211 Wilson Blvd. Don’t miss these wonderful cooking classes throughout the month of April!

This exhibit is free and will go from 6:30pm until just before midnight. Enjoy a custom cocktail menu paired up with savory food items and listen to old-school soul and funk music from DJ SoulCall Paul as you peruse the photos.

Danny Harris is a DC-based photographer, writer, and performer who will be exhibiting his series “At Home on the Playa” throughout the month of April. “Art Crimes” will only be on display to celebrate opening night this Wednesday.

The exhibit is curated by The Dunes who will be donating 33% of their profits from art sales at “Art Crimes” to Japan earthquake relief.

Danny Harris considers Burning Man to be like another home for him, after attending two years in a row. “[His] hope is that these images encourage you to think about the different places that you call home and to reflect on your own intimate, solitary moments there.”

“Art Crimes” by Danny Harris
6:30 PM- 11:55 PM
The Gibson
2009 14th St NW
U Street Metro

Your team must consist of four or fewer members and should have a creative name. There is a $20 entry fee per team and you must go to R.F.D. between 7pm and 11pm on Friday March 25th to check in and receive your necessary materials, which include: wristbands for team members, a beer checklist, a list of bars and directions. Once your team is checked in, start searching out those beers!

You and your teammates will have until Saturday to finish your hunt, considering there are 20 puzzles to solve at 10 bars across the city. The search will come to its conclusion with a party in R.F.D.’s back room Saturday night where prizes will be awarded to the winners.

Participating Bars:
The Big Hunt – 1345 Connecticut Avenue NW
The Black Squirrel – 2427 18th Street NW
Bourbon (Adams Morgan) – 2321 18th Street NW
Iron Horse Taproom – 507 7th Street NW
Justin’s Cafe – 1025 First Street SE
Meridian Pint – 3400 11th Street NW
The Reef – 2446 18th Street NW
RFD – 810 7th Street NW
Scion – 2100 P Street NW
Smith Commons – 1245 H Street NE
Click here for a map of the bar locations.

Save some time and email jstreetbeer@gmail.com to register! More info is also available at http://jstreetbeer.wordpress.com/category/events/.