Take a break from your usually-scheduled September studying for a bundle of activities in D.C. with a mix of culture and history this weekend.

Expect the unexpected at a quick-fire comedic night in Adams Morgan Friday, learn about “mountain cuisine” at an immersive European cultural event at the Czech Republic embassy Saturday and get lost in a bountifully-woven oaks garden in Georgetown Sunday.

Friday

Underground Comedy at Hotbed Comedy Club
If you’re looking for an appetizer before Leslie Jones’ Fall Comedy Show at the Smith Center, stop by this stand-up set and fit in a few laughs with friends in Adams Morgan. Known as D.C.’s “laugh leader,” Underground Comedy switched venues earlier this year, moving into the newly-opened Hotbed club in Adams Morgan after Big Hunt, its former venue of seven years in Dupont Circle, closed due to the pandemic. Speedy standup sets from 10 to 15 comics are optimal for a group that would prefer some fast-paced, humor-filled action over a three-hour long film at the movie theater. Acclaimed comics like Michael Che, Patton Oswalt, Michelle Wolf and Judah Friedlander are among past performers at this independent comedy production show, so you never know who you’ll see.

Hotbed, 2477 18th Street NW. 11:30 p.m. Free. Must be 21 years and older. Find more information here.

Saturday

Mountaineering Day
Missing the thrill of traveling abroad? Take a crack at outdoor rock climbing or make your own trail mix as part of a chance to catch glimpse of the Central European outdoors at the Embassy of the Czech Republic’s Mountaineering Day. The celebration delves into themes of nature preservation and EU-led climate change awareness with Czech and American cultural ties to bring the diverse D.C. community together. The event is hosted by The European Union National Institutes of Culture – a council of representatives from the Austrian Cultural Forum, the Delegation of the European Union to the United States, the Italian Cultural Institute of Washington and the Czech, Polish, Slovakian and Slovenian embassies. Witness Italian Chef Roberto Donna showcase the flavor of farm-to-table mountainous fare, the type of hiking nourishment galvanized by the chef’s mountain hiking hobby. Enjoy a Czech-bred German Shepherd dog show led by an expert trainer. Meet a West Virginian falcon handler and his red-tailed hawk and barred owl who will represent the United States at this international exposé. The opportunities are endless at Mountaineering Day.

Embassy of the Czech Republic, 3900 Spring of Freedom Street Northwest. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Free. Find more information here.

Sunday

Dumbarton Oaks Garden
Stroll through the historic landscape of Dumbarton Oaks Garden, now representing a century of an original project dating back to 1921. Landscape architect Beatrix Farrand’s delicate gardening designs date back to 1921. Farrand envisioned botanical wonders beyond the Georgetown property that she sketched for wealthy couple Mildred and Robert Woods Bliss, who sold the portion of the land to create Dumbarton Oaks Park. Today, the budding 16 acres in the garden attract visitors with scattered exhibitions of pathways through the Georgetown neighborhood, in addition to the 27-acre park in its entirety. Explore the illusive tails of green with carefully constructed dated features like the expansive South Lawn, the greenhouse known as the Orangery and the beautiful ivied mosaic called the Urn Terrace.

Dumbarton Oaks Garden, 3100 block of R Street. 2 to 5:30 p.m. Tickets starting at $7. Find more information here.

This article appeared in the September 22, 2022 issue of the Hatchet.