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THIS WEEK: Halloween is over, but nobody told the AFI. If you're already missing the horror movie atmosphere that gripped the world these last two weeks of October, extend it with AFI's Halloween On Screen Festival, which doesn't end until Wednesday. Monday night, you can see a documentary about horror TV host Count Gore de Vol, "Every Other Day Is Halloween." Yeah, every day except November 2, guys.
» AFI Silver, 8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring; Mon., Nov. 2, 7 p.m., $6-$10; 301-495-6700. (Silver Spring)
Photo courtesy Spooky Movie Festival
THIS WEEKEND: Mission objective: Find something that is actually fun for both adults and kids over Halloween weekend. Your target: The International Spy Museum.
On Friday and Saturday, the museum will host events for kids during the day, including the launch of the new game CLUE: Secrets and Spies edition. Festivities will include visits from Special Agents Plum, Scarlet, Mustard and the rest of the game as well as a professional makeup artist who will teach incoming agents how to disguise themselves. Special Halloween treats will also be offered.
Beginning at 6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights, adults can enjoy a special Halloween edition of the museum's Spy at Night event, which will include cocktails and tours through the Operation Spy exhibit, in which actors lead visitors through the museum and teach them the craft of spyhood. There will also be a costume contest on Saturday night at 7 p.m.
Wear your costumes to the museum and you'll get a discount — 50 percent off admission to the museum and 25 percent off of the Spy Fright events and all store purchases.
» The International Spy Museum, 800 F St. NW; Fri., Oct. 30 - Sat., Oct. 31, $14-$20; 202-393-7798. (Gallery Place-Chinatown)
Written by Express' Sarah Mimms
Photo courtesy International Spy Museum
SATURDAY: We can't condone the drunken, half-naked morass that is M Street on Halloween. But we can't deny that the Nightmare on M Street bar crawl that takes place on the stretch below Dupont is a time-honored tradition, like the Drag Race or the State of the Union.
Register for the insanity at Mackey's, McFadden's or the Front Page. Party until closing with no cover at those bars and 12 others: Rumors, BlackFinn, Ozio, the Exchange, Public Bar, Madhatter, Bread 'n' Brew, James Hoban's, Singapore Bistro, Fast Eddie's, the Bottom Line and Steve's Bar Room. A $10 advance cover is good for specials at every bar, including $2 Coors Lite, $3 Blue Moon beers and $4 Captain Morgan and Jeremiah Weed sweet tea vodka drinks.
Oh yeah, one more thing: costumes are encouraged. So are designated drivers and the buddy system.
» LindyPromo, Sat., Oct. 31, 3 p.m.-1 a.m.; advance tickets through LindyPromo.com or bars, walk-in tickets $20.
Written by Express' Anne Polsky
Photo by Kevin Clark/Washington Post
FRIDAY: Special effects are overrated. Some of the coolest horror movies are the old classics, like "Nosferatu," which showed vampires for what they really are — horrifying, ugly villains — long before Bella met Edward.
The AFI Silver Theatre is showing "Nosferatu" for one night only on Friday, just in time for Halloween. The Silent Orchestra — oh, right, the movie is silent — will be playing along with the "Dracula" adaptation.
It's the perfect way to get yourself in the mood for Halloween weekend.
» AFI Silver, 8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring; Fri., Oct. 30, $6-$10; 301-495-6700. (Silver Spring)
Written by Express' Sarah Mimms
Photo courtesy Kino International
TENPENH MAY HAVE a smoky pumpkin, but now you can re-create Dino's Fizz.
SPICED CHIANTI FIZZ
Ingredients:
» 1.5 oz. Chianti good enough to drink on its own
» 1/2 oz. citrus- & ginger-infused grappa or Cointreau (Cointreau adds orange tones to the drink without being overly sweet like Triple Sec or Grand Marnier.)
» 1/4 oz. spice-infused simple syrup (Use any combination of spices — cardamom, cloves, white pepper, star anise, bay leaves — to infuse equal parts water and granulated white sugar. Heat 2 cups each sugar and water in a saucepan until sugar dissolves, stir in spices and let steep. Shake all ingredients with ice in a shaker. Strain into highball glass filled with fresh ice. Top with bitter lemon soda and garnish with a fresh orange slice.)
» Dash Fee Brothers' orange bitters (Fee Brothers' bitters are available locally at Pearson's and Ace Beverage; there are also several online sources.)
» Bitter lemon soda (Dino's Scott Palmer likes the Fever Tree brand) (Fever Tree Bitter Lemon soda is available at several locations including Connecticut Ave. Wine & Spirits. Commercial brands like Schweppes or Canada Dry will work in a pinch.)
CREATIVE COSTUME? CHECK. Fake cobwebs and bowls of candy? Check and check. Halloween cocktails for your big bash? You might need some help with that. Area restaurants and bars are offering Halloween and fall cocktails, and some local mixologists have advice on how to make cool Halloween drinks at home.
TenPenh has the most elaborate Halloween cocktails, as Brennan Adams has three special drinks — the Jack O'Lantern (a persimmon cocktail served in a pumpkin filled with dry ice), Candy Corn (it doesn't taste like the ubiquitous treat but is made with sake and orange, and layered to look like the waxy little bites) and Candy Apple (spiced apple cider with a stick of cotton candy). The $10 cocktails are available through Saturday.
"When you go towards fall, with heavier foods come brown liquors, like scotch, bourbon and dark rums," Adams said, adding that herbs and spices are popular for fall beverages. "I take a cooking approach to cocktails and go for balance. ... I also use blood oranges, which go well with brown liquors."
Continue Reading "Drinks Chilled, Or Chilling?: Halloween-Inspired Cocktails" »
THIS WEEKEND: The father of the modern detective story and author of timelessly unsettling short fiction is claimed by his hometown of Baltimore. But Edgar Allan Poe visited Virginia in 1849.
Actor David Keltz re-creates Poe's visit with a reading of stories and poems on Friday and Saturday. As it's the 200th anniversary of the author's birth this year, expect an enthusiastic crowd ready to get spooked by the great man himself — and perhaps his ghost will drop by as well.
» Lyceum, 201 S. Washington St., Alexandria; Fri. and Sat., Oct. 30 and 31, 8 p.m., $15, 703-838-4994, Alexandriahistory.org.
Photo courtesy Tom Radcliffe
ONGOING: What better time than Halloween weekend to sink your teeth into Synetic Theater's dark, sexy and dramatic "Dracula"? The local company uses its signature blend of theater and dance to tell Bram Stoker's eternally resonant story of the bloodsucking count, his adversaries and his victims.
» Rosslyn Spectrum Theatre, 1611 Kent St., Arlington; through Nov. 15, $40-$45; 800-494-8497, Rosslynva.org.
Photo courtesy Graeme B. Shaw
THIS WEEK: The Palace of Wonders has always seemed a little out of place in Washington. Burlesque, belly dancers, sword swallowers — it's just so weird. But the good news is that there's one day a year when weird is encouraged, and it's almost here.
Spend Thursday night with Legs Malone and RunAround Sue at the "Sugar Shack Burlesque Halloween Show." Break it down with Shortstaxx, the MC, on Friday night at "The Tilted Torch Spook-o-rama." Saturday night (Halloween) will be the "New York Nightmare on H Street Halloween Burlesque Show," and will feature Kenny Law, NYC's Ms. Tickle and Peekaboo Pointe's Fastest Tassle-Twirler from East to West.
Be sure to make the happy hours from 6 p.m.-8 p.m. for some cheap beer and rail drinks before the show!
» The Palace of Wonders, 1210 H St. NE; Thu., Oct. 29, 9:30 p.m., $10. Fri., Oct. 30, 10 p.m., $10. Sat., Oct. 31, 9 p.m., $20; 202-398-7469.
SATURDAY: Feel like classing up your Halloween this year? Look no further than Synetic Theater's Vampire's Ball in Arlington.
Following a performance of "Dracula," this theater is throwing a gala at the Rosslyn Spectrum Theater which will feature a vampire-inspired fashion show, drinks and a DJ set by resident composer Konstantine Lortkipanidze.
Prizes will be given out for the most macabre and daring costumes, so bring your A-game.
» Rosslyn Spectrum Theater, 1611 N. Kent St., Arlington; Sat., Oct. 31, "Dracula" at 8 p.m., Vampire's Ball follows; $75; 800-494-8497. (Rosslyn)
Written by Express' Sarah Mimms
Photo courtesy Graeme B. Shaw
Addison Road