You’re invited to our garden gatherings, Harrison happenings, and more!
The U Street Neighborhood Association supports a wide range of programming in Temperance Alley — from ecology classes to local live music to writing workshops and more. All are welcome to host a public & non-commercial gathering in our shared backyard. We also co-host and promote various community events across the U Street Corridor, including at Harrison Recreation Center. Signing up for our newsletter is the easiest way to make sure you never miss out on an event.
Upcoming Events
Yoga in the Garden
All levels flow in the garden for our community donation-suggested classes with the beautiful greenery and open blue sky. Perfect for grounding and centering. Bring yourself, water, and a mat (we’ll have a few extra on hand).
Breathe Easy: Group Meditation
Our meditation community meets weekly to re-center, connect, and cultivate intentions. With a mix of guided, silent, and relational practice, we ground ourselves in presence and compassion. All levels of experience warmly welcomed.
Hosted by regulars and guests alike, bring a practice for the circle to share.
Honoring U Street as American History
We’re so excited to invite you to the second session of the Thriving Mindfully series hosted by our 2026 Artist-in-Residence, Ananda Leeke!
The second event in this series, Honoring U Street as American History, will take place on Wednesday, August 26th from 6:30-7:30 pm at Hamiltonian Artists, located at 1353 U St NW. Come share your love for U Street and contribute to a WIP community art project (to be displayed during the final workshop).
A little more about this event, participants will...
💭 Engage in a land acknowledgement ritual
😌 Be introduced to Thriving Mindfully, a heart-centered approach to being present with breathing and intention setting exercises
🎶 Listen to music
💌 Express and document their favorite U Street history makers, historical events, moments, buildings, movements, organizations, and businesses
All will be invited to discuss their vision in a sharing circle.
hosted by Ananda
Donation Harvest for Martha's Table
Our midweek harvest is donated to Martha’s Table through a long-running partnership with Farm the District. Join us every hump day at 7 to give back to the community. No experience necessary, we’ll teach you how to harvest.
hosted by Riley
Music in the Garden 🎶
Join the Garden plants and critters for an evening of home-grown music –– somewhere between a house show and barnyard jam. While tipping the bands is encouraged the event is free and open to all. Bring a blanket to sit on and snacks to share :)
produced by Lucy
Garden Volunteer Hours
Come get your hands in the soil with our partners at Farm the District (FTD), every Saturday throughout the growing season. Whether you’re a first-timer or returning veteran, all are needed to help tend to our shared backyard. There’s plenty of projects to keep all hands busy, including weeding, watering, composting, harvesting, repairing, crafting, and ongoing side projects. The Farm Leads will help you learn all about the tasks of the day, and you’re welcome to come & go as you please!
As always, we’ll also be giving an orientation tour for newcomers. Welcome neighbors!
No-Buy August Pt. 2
How can we reassess our relationship with consumerism? Try a No-Buy August (or Low-Buy August) challenge with a group of peers!
Earlier in August, we met to set personal goals to identify our true needs and resist overconsumption. Now, we’ll meet again to reflect on how the challenge went. If you couldn’t make the introduction meeting, feel free to still join in on the challenge yourself and meet us at the reflection!
Hosted by Claire
Curiosity World
Let’s rediscover our curiosity together! During this Sunday event, we’ll create curiosity critters, a representation of our innate curiosity. We’ll craft masks representing our critter while discussing what our critter needs and wants to thrive.
When we’re ready we’ll put on our masks, and as our critters we’ll take up space throughout the Garden to imagine a world that serves our curiosity rather than shuts it down. We’ll discover through play how our curiosities interact, shape each other, and become bigger!
This experience will be one part meditative discussion, one part DnD, and one part exercise in self-compassion. It culminates as a unique way to meet neighbors and get to know each other!
ALL ARE WELCOME, ESPECIALLY THE CURIOUS!
hosted by Leah, Dana, and Kunal
🍅 TOMATO TIME: A Tomato Potluck 🍅
It’s that time of year, y’all… when tomatoes are juiciest and ripe for the picking! Come bring whatever tomato harvest you have - from your personal garden, community garden, favorite market, trader joe’s… wherever makes sense - and let’s feast!
Please bring a tomato heavy (or inspired) dish or drink (alcohol-free) to the garden for us to all pass around! Items to compliment tomato dishes also welcome. Bring your dish labeled or label at the garden- we will have supplies for you to give her a name & note allergens!
Let’s mark the end of August in communion around one of our star players in the garden as Summer begins to tease her departure. Our tomatoes are still going strong - let’s celebrate!
hosted by Alexis
Monday Morning Musings
Start your week with a mindful moment of reset and reconnection at the Garden, every Monday at 8am!
Join us Monday morning to sip something warm, connect with neighbors, and ease into the day. We will have space for socializing and space for quiet reflection and journaling.
Drop in anytime. Bring a beverage, your breakfast, a journal, or nothing at all.
hosted by Zoe & Friends
TAG HouseKeeping Circle
Let’s get ready to Host!
Partner with a Stump Fellow to program your submitted event ideas for the month of SEPTEMBER. Anyone can join as we discuss garden event planning, budgeting, and partnerships. Your ideas and energy are more than welcome! Come early to mingle and brainstorm your ideas before submitting.
*HouseKeeping Circles happen at the end of each month, they are the functional meetings where we calendar events for the next month of programming, approve any new spending, and can vote to change any Garden policies if needed. These meetings have official minutes that keep a record of our decisions and are shared with the rest of the U Street Neighborhood Association for transparency.
TAG Cloudkeeping: build & explore our digital/local archive
Calling all archivists and hoarders! Are you curious about preserving memories for posterity or perusing collections of old? You're invited to help grow Temperance Alley Garden's digital/local archive at our first-ever Cloudkeeping circle. Since the Garden is a temporary nature space, its keepers have always been interested in documenting what happens here--to inspire future hosts and organizers of green spaces. We'll be introducing a new, home-grown tool that helps neighbors explore the TAG archives and we’ll work together to scan memories into the collection. Our goal is to put local memory in circulation (and prevent it from collecting dust under the proverbial bed).
Hosted by TAG Cloudkeepers (James, Kunal, Amy, Kendall, Chloe, & Aaron)
The Future of the U Street Community
We’re so excited to invite you to the third session of the Thriving Mindfully series hosted by our 2026 Artist-in-Residence, Ananda Leeke!
The third event in this series, The Future of the U Street Community, will take place on Wednesday, September 16th from 6:30-7:30 pm at True Reformer Building, located at 1200 U St NW. Come share your love for U Street and contribute to a WIP community art project (to be displayed during the final workshop).
A little more about this event, participants will...
💭 Engage in a land acknowledgement ritual
😌 Be introduced to Thriving Mindfully, a heart-centered approach to being present with breathing and intention setting exercises
🎶 Listen to music
💌 Express and document their vision of the U Street community in 10, 20, 30, 40, and/or 50 years…
🔍 Explore how they can use their presence, gifts, and expertise to create the future of the U Street community
All will be invited to discuss their vision in a sharing circle.
hosted by Ananda
The U in U Street Community
We’re so excited to invite you to the final session of the Thriving Mindfully series hosted by our 2026 Artist-in-Residence, Ananda Leeke!
The fourth, and final event in this series, The U in U Street Community, will take place on Wednesday, October 7th from 6:30-7:30 pm at True Reformer Building, located at 1200 U St NW. Come share your love for U Street and have a final chance to contribute to a community art project (to be displayed during the event)!
A little more about this event, participants will...
💭 Engage in a land acknowledgement ritual
😌 Be introduced to Thriving Mindfully, a heart-centered approach to being present with breathing and intention setting exercises
🎶 Listen to music
🔍 Explore how they can serve as mindful community stewards of the U Street community in the present
💌 Reflect on and share their intention for the U Street community
All will be invited to discuss their vision in a sharing circle.
hosted by Ananda
Monday Morning Musings
Start your week with a mindful moment of reset and reconnection at the Garden, every Monday at 8am!
Join us Monday morning to sip something warm, connect with neighbors, and ease into the day. We will have space for socializing and space for quiet reflection and journaling.
Drop in anytime. Bring a beverage, your breakfast, a journal, or nothing at all.
hosted by Zoe & Friends
Do you wanna play?
Play is universal. Every being benefits from play. I believe the very elements that make up life itself like to play!
In this 4-part play series we will be exploring play through imagining how water, air, earth, and fire cultivate joy. Every play session we will play like the elements, give playful offerings to the elements, and play with the elements. My biggest hope is through being both serious and silly about play we will be able to see the endless ways we can incorporate more play into our lives. We need more playful, imaginative, vibrant and whole people in this world; so be prepared to get weird, be free, and have fun!
hosted by Mali
Garden Volunteer Hours
Come get your hands in the soil with our partners at Farm the District (FTD), every Saturday throughout the growing season. Whether you’re a first-timer or returning veteran, all are needed to help tend to our shared backyard. There’s plenty of projects to keep all hands busy, including weeding, watering, composting, harvesting, repairing, crafting, and ongoing side projects. The Farm Leads will help you learn all about the tasks of the day, and you’re welcome to come & go as you please!
As always, we’ll also be giving an orientation tour for newcomers. Welcome neighbors!
TAG Movie Night!
Join us for a serene summer night watching a family-friendly movie at the garden. Show up right at 7pm to vote on what we’ll watch!
Options include:
• The Boy and the Heron
• Ferngully
• Detective Pikachu
• … or something else you’d like to suggest
Hosted by Zoe & Tyler
CANCELLED: Creatives Club & Community Jam
Come gather for some productive artistic time together while the garden is blooming around us. Bring a project you're working on, your instrument of choice, or just come socialize with fellow creatives. Some basic art supplies will be provided.
Hosted by Jordyn & Creatives Club DC
Snail Mail Night
Press pause, slow down, and write some snail mail to your loved ones!
Plenty of pens, colored pencils, postcards, paper and envelopes will be provided; a limited number of stamps will also be provided. Feel free to bring any additional materials to jazz up your mail.
Hosted by Claire
Donation Harvest for Martha's Table
Our midweek harvest is donated to Martha’s Table through a long-running partnership with Farm the District. Join us every hump day at 7 to give back to the community. No experience necessary, we’ll teach you how to harvest.
hosted by Riley
Breathe Easy: Group Meditation
Our meditation community meets weekly to re-center, connect, and cultivate intentions. With a mix of guided, silent, and relational practice, we ground ourselves in presence and compassion. All levels of experience warmly welcomed.
Hosted by regulars and guests alike, bring a practice for the circle to share.
Yoga in the Garden
All levels flow in the garden for our community donation-suggested classes with the beautiful greenery and open blue sky. Perfect for grounding and centering. Bring yourself, water, and a mat (we’ll have a few extra on hand).
Monday Morning Musings
Start your week with a mindful moment of reset and reconnection at the Garden, every Monday at 8am!
Join us Monday morning to sip something warm, connect with neighbors, and ease into the day. We will have space for socializing and space for quiet reflection and journaling.
Drop in anytime. Bring a beverage, your breakfast, a journal, or nothing at all.
hosted by Zoe & Friends
CAMP TAG: FUN(DRAISER)
Relive the magic of summer camp right here in the neighborhood. Spend an afternoon making DIY crafts + s’mores, playing your favorite field games (with water games to beat the heat), and much more.
All proceeds support the U St Neighborhood Association, proud steward of Temperance Alley Garden (TAG). Rain date: August 16, 10am–1pm
Hosted by Sarah & Shira
Garden Volunteer Hours
Come get your hands in the soil with our partners at Farm the District (FTD), every Saturday throughout the growing season. Whether you’re a first-timer or returning veteran, all are needed to help tend to our shared backyard. There’s plenty of projects to keep all hands busy, including weeding, watering, composting, harvesting, repairing, crafting, and ongoing side projects. The Farm Leads will help you learn all about the tasks of the day, and you’re welcome to come & go as you please!
As always, we’ll also be giving an orientation tour for newcomers. Welcome neighbors!
Encore Screening: Showing Up
This screening makes up for the interruption of the July 23 screening due to technical difficulties.
Grab a chair and a blanket and join us for a free outdoor screening of Showing Up, a film about art and relationships presented by Filament and Living Room.
A sculptor preparing to open a new show must balance her creative life with the daily dramas of family and friends in Kelly Reichardt’s vibrant and captivatingly funny portrait of art and craft.
Filament is a new screening initiative building an audience for independent and art films in Washington DC.
Living Room is a neighborhood space in Mount Pleasant to drop in, spend time, and make art. We offer drop-in hours, workshops, and community events. Our goal is simple: make creativity part of everyday life. At Living Room: making is accessible, connection is natural, and art becomes part of how we gather.
Thanks to A24 for making the screening possible.
Hosted by Kunal Duggal, Filament, and Living Room.
U Street Movie Night: Zootopia 2 @ Harrison Park
Grab a blanket and join us for a screening of Zootopia 2 as part of the U Street Movie Series at Harrison Park!
This free, family-friendly outdoor movie series has been a U Street summer tradition since the early 2010s, presented by Friends of Harrison Recreation Center and the U Street Neighborhood Association to celebrate the musical and culturally diverse roots of the Greater U Street Corridor.
Bring your own seating, arrive early for music and community before the show, and settle in as the sun goes down for a night under the stars 🌃.
hosted by Kelsye, Brittany, and the U Street Neighborhood Association
TAG-Along: DC Bike Party!
Join garden friends as we meet up and roll together to DC Bike Party's August ride!
Grab your bike or bikeshare and tag along with us to this monthly social bike ride. We’ll congregate at Temperance Alley Garden during volunteer harvest hours before hitting the streets around 7:45pm. 🚲🎉🚲🎉🚲🎉
hosted by Stephen
Donation Harvest for Martha's Table
Our midweek harvest is donated to Martha’s Table through a long-running partnership with Farm the District. Join us every hump day at 7 to give back to the community. No experience necessary, we’ll teach you how to harvest.
hosted by Riley
Breathe Easy: Group Meditation
Our meditation community meets weekly to re-center, connect, and cultivate intentions. With a mix of guided, silent, and relational practice, we ground ourselves in presence and compassion. All levels of experience warmly welcomed.
Hosted by regulars and guests alike, bring a practice for the circle to share.
Native Plant Tea Talk and Taste!
Join us in the Temperance Alley Sanctuary rewilding project to explore the flavors of our native plants. We'll be tasting a variety of teas and dishes prepared with foraged ingredients as we discuss the history and tradition of plants as food and medicine. We also welcome you to bring a foraged tea or dish.
The Temperance Alley Sanctuary is a community rewilding project of the Temperance Alley Garden – a place to quiet down, to observe, and to cultivate reciprocity between ourselves and the land. We welcome you to join in rewilding this urban lot to bring back native biodiversity, a time capsule of DC’s Indigenous history, and an ecological classroom to practice community land stewardship.
Bring a reusable cup for teas (hot and iced) and any foraged dishes you'd like to share.
hosted by Joe
Yoga in the Garden
All levels flow in the garden for our community donation-suggested classes with the beautiful greenery and open blue sky. Perfect for grounding and centering. Bring yourself, water, and a mat (we’ll have a few extra on hand).
TAG StoryKeeping Circle
Our dedicated time for reflective listening to all that’s budding within the Garden ecosystem. The rearview mirror where stories from the previous month can be shared in community. Bring a TAG story to share or discover one based on the evening’s prompts.
StoryKeeping Circles are held on the middle Monday of each month. All are welcome to participate fully.
hosted by Josh & Aaron
![[POSTPONED] Holding Big Tech Accountable: Tech Policy 101](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f63eb36d20b7f5d2ec4927f/1785301870476-SUPISJ00CG4WOB7NJVWI/IMG_5702.jpeg)
[POSTPONED] Holding Big Tech Accountable: Tech Policy 101
Deleting the apps, trying month offline, organizing phone-free gatherings — personal strategies like these are a great way to push back against the extractive, attention-sucking design of Big Tech platforms. But what about through law? Can policy actually hold these companies accountable and is there any hope?
Join the Attention Sphere for a panel and Q&A digging into the history and current state of tech policy: from decades of fights over privacy and surveillance to today’s battles over social media and AI. We’ll talk about what’s worked, what hasn’t, and what’s actually possible from here.
Guest Speakers:
~ Adam Billen, Co-Executive Director of Encode, where he’s helped pass laws like the TAKE IT DOWN Act and push state-level AI regulation across the country.
~ Zamaan Qureshi, co-founder and Director of Campaigns and Policy at Design It For Us, where he leads the youth-led fight for safer social media and tech accountability.
~ Ava Smithing, Founding Partner at The Attention Studio, working on nonpartisan policy solutions to build a healthier, less extractive tech ecosystem.
~ Kara Williams, Counsel at the Electronic Privacy Information center where she leads state & federal privacy, ai and social media policy.
Hosted by Kendall
Monday Morning Musings
Start your week with a mindful moment of reset and reconnection at the Garden, every Monday at 8am!
Join us Monday morning to sip something warm, connect with neighbors, and ease into the day. We will have space for socializing and space for quiet reflection and journaling.
Drop in anytime. Bring a beverage, your breakfast, a journal, or nothing at all.
hosted by Zoe & Friends
Self-Portrait Painting with Ellie Dries
Letting go of perfectionism through self portraiture.
Lean out of perfectionism and into acceptance through painting/drawing yourself. This workshop will guide you through creating a self portrait that reflects your inner world and introduces you to the joys of distorting your own image. I will show examples of artists I love, along with my self portrait paintings and comics to spark ideas of what would make a cathartic and expressive portrait for you.
No drawing or painting experience required.
I will provide acrylic paint and pens and multiple surface options but you’re welcome to bring your medium of choice.
hosted by Ellie @elliepaintsforyou and Alexis
Scrap to Sculpture: Make Your Own Wire Flower!
Repurpose scrap to make beautiful sculptures! In this workshop, you’ll learn to combine wires, basic masking tape, and paint to make funky floral sculpture that sits on your head!
hosted by Zoe & Lief
Garden Volunteer Hours
Come get your hands in the soil with our partners at Farm the District (FTD), every Saturday throughout the growing season. Whether you’re a first-timer or returning veteran, all are needed to help tend to our shared backyard. There’s plenty of projects to keep all hands busy, including weeding, watering, composting, harvesting, repairing, crafting, and ongoing side projects. The Farm Leads will help you learn all about the tasks of the day, and you’re welcome to come & go as you please!
As always, we’ll also be giving an orientation tour for newcomers. Welcome neighbors!
CANCELLED: Play Jam
Chance of thunderstorm ⛈️ we’ll see you next time!
Welcome to Play Jam! A casual space to enjoy clown and improv exercises for the experienced and new :)
Improvisational theater is an unplanned, spontaneously and collaboratively created experience that exists only in the present moment. A moment that ends as quickly as it starts, like the flame on a match.
Play Jam will be a series of Improv games and warm-ups that help us be present in the moment. It will culminate in a 10-minute montage where we can take what we learn in the warm-ups to create an experience that will never be made again.
Temperance Alley Garden is the perfect host; much like Improv, Temperance exists in a temporary space, it may not exist forever, but that does not mean the stories it tells or the relationships it fosters are not meaningful. Both Improv and Temperance teach us to truly savor the moment, pay attention, actively listen, and most importantly, engage with each other and the land we’re on.
hosted by Kunal
POSTPONED: U Street Movie Night: Zootopia 2 @ Harrison Park
Grab a blanket and join us for a screening of Zootopia 2 as part of the U Street Movie Series at Harrison Park!
This free, family-friendly outdoor movie series has been a U Street summer tradition since the early 2010s, presented by Friends of Harrison Recreation Center and the U Street Neighborhood Association to celebrate the musical and culturally diverse roots of the Greater U Street Corridor.
Bring your own seating, arrive early for music and community before the show, and settle in as the sun goes down for a night under the stars 🌃.
hosted by Kelsye Adams and the U Street Neighborhood Association
Creatives Club & Community Jam
Come gather for some productive artistic time together while the garden is blooming around us. Bring a project you're working on, your instrument of choice, or just come socialize with fellow creatives. Some basic art supplies will be provided.
Hosted by Jordyn & Creatives Club DC
U Street Community Meeting
Join the U Street Neighborhood Association’s next community meeting on Thursday, August 6, at 6–7:30pm, at Harrison Baseball Field [map].
What’s on the docket:
🏙️ U Street Business Improvement District
Learning about the proposal to create a BID for the U Street Neighborhood and share your feedback with our ANC representatives. If successful, this would be the most substantial investment our community has seen in recent memory (almost $3 million).
🎨 Arts & Culture
Reviewing the U Street Neighborhood Association’s new artist-in-residence program and planned installations of new public artworks.
💸 Fundraising & budget approvals
Checking in with our ongoing fundraising campaign and allocating resources for Temperance Alley Garden’s fall programing plus upcoming artist-in-residence workshops.
After the community meeting, stick around for the first U Street Movie Night in over a decade featuring Zootopia 2! As always, let us know if there’s anything you’d like to add to our agenda. Thanks for neighboring with us.
Donation Harvest for Martha's Table
Our midweek harvest is donated to Martha’s Table through a long-running partnership with Farm the District. Join us every hump day at 7pm to give back to the community. No experience necessary, we’ll teach you how to harvest.
Hosted by Riley
Stay in the U
Sign up for the U Street Neighborhood Association’s monthly newsletter, and we’ll keep you posted on upcoming events and neighborhood happenings. You can also subscribe to our Instagram, Google Calendar, and iCal.