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ASSUME WASHINGTON survives the pandemic, and that summer's hottest activity won't be customizing surgical masks with a BeDazzler. Also, assume that by "summer," we don't mean "the season that ostensibly starts June 21 because some solstice says it does," but the one starting, like, next week. If we make it that far, there's a lot to keep us busy.
» 1) FRINGE BINGE: D.C. has its share of avant-garde theater, but this city definitely is into the classics. Luckily, every summer we get a dose of just-plain-weird with the Capital Fringe Festival. Our advice: Read descriptions carefully — in our experience, plays set in swimming pools are never a good idea, but it's hard to go wrong with monologues. You really just never know whether you'll see something sublime or life-ruining. The good news: Most of these plays are very short, so if you get a bad one, you haven't lost much.
» Various locations; July 9-26, $15; 866-811-4111; Capfringe.org. F.Z.
» 2) TOTALLY AWESOME: This area is replete with outdoor film festivals in the summer, but our favorite is "I Love the '80s." Everyone knows the greatest movies of all time were made in that fruitful decade, and a lineup of the very best will be playing in Gateway Park every Friday night this summer.
» Gateway Park, 1300 Lee Hwy., Arlington; Fridays through Sept. 4, free; 703-247-9290, Rosslynva.org. (Rosslyn) F.Z.
NOW THAT D.C. has a baseball team, the pro sports season doesn't end whenever the Capitals and Wizards are eliminated from the playoffs (and that's during good years). But the Nationals aren't always the most entertaining ticket in town. D.C. is filled with top-notch events, many of which feature the best athletes in their respective sports. And those who are more doers than watchers should have no problem finding an activity to get them outside and moving around in the suffocating heat.
» 10) BEFORE THEY WERE STAR(TER)S: Most D.C. sports fans are hoping they can watch the Capitals all the way up until Redskins training camp starts. But if the Caps should falter, that doesn't mean you have to put away your hockey fan gear. Take a day trip to Hershey, Pa., to see the future Caps play for the Bears, Washington's AHL affiliate. They're currently in a playoff battle of their own, and just two years ago they won the Calder Cup (the Stanley Cup of the AHL).
» 550 West Hersheypark Drive, Hershey, Pa.; $17 to $27; 717-534-3380, Hersheybears.com. I.H.
» 11) SUPREME COURT: When President Obama showed up at a Wizards game, the crowd went nuts. So, imagine the reaction if POTUS took an evening off to head down to Barry Farms in southeast D.C. for the Goodman League.
Commissioner Miles Rawls has formally invited the commander in chief to check out the league, which starts June 8 and runs through the first week in September. There will be an And 1 game and a Nike All-Star game sometime in July. With the way the Wizards and Hoyas played this season, the notoriously impressive Goodman League of pick-up basketball might be the best show in D.C. Heck, with players such as Gilbert Arenas and Kevin Durant regularly showing up, some would argue that it's always the best five-on-five ball in the city.
» Barry Farms Recreation Center, 1230 Sumner Road SE; Monday through Thursday from June 8 to July 4, and Sunday through Thursday from July 5 through the first week in September, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., free.
(Anacostia) I.H.
Addison Road