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 music in the garden 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
Autumn Aid: A Mutual Aid Gathering to Support Friends in Gaza
Join Relevations, A7A, and friends for an afternoon of Autumnal Activities, talent sharing, art perusing, and general camaraderie!
Like many others in Gaza, we have three friends and their families who are in dire need of basic supplies like food, water, and camping equipment in order to survive the next few months. Anything you can give is impactful! Aid raised at this event will be split equally among these friends. This event is totally donation-based; like all Temperance Alley Garden events, you do not need a ticket or any funds to join this event.
Community Talent Showcase: 3:30-6:00 Do you know how to play an instrument, do a magic trick, recite all of the world's capitals? Then this is the perfect opportunity for you to showcase that skill in front of the non-judgemental, smiling faces of your community. You can sign up for a performance slot here: https://forms.gle/QefAwocsvHzLj2Vp8
Donation-based art fair: this event will feature 8 local vendors representing a variety of crafts from original paintings, crochet items, jewelry, and more! Free apple cider - Bring a thermos!
End of the day jam session: 6:00- 7:00 bring an instrument and play your heart out.
Parking is somewhat limited. We recommend taking non-car methods of transportation.
Accessibility info: There is no bathroom here. We recommend people use the bathroom at Trader Joe's, which is about a 5 minute walk away. There are no stairs to get to this venue, but the whole thing is grass and gravel ground, which may be difficult to traverse for some. What to bring: A blanket or chair to sit on. A thermos for apple cider. A snack. A good friend. An instrument, because there likely will be a jam session at the end.
Lunch Hours
WFH? Work close by? Bring your lunch to the Garden and chat with folks from the neighborhood!
Open lunch hours hosted by Nina :)
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.
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 beat the heat and give back to the community.
Gay's Garden Comedy Showcase
🌈 Calling all hoes and fruits! We’ve got BIG news!! Temperance Alley Garden is an ally no longer—welcome to Temperance Gay Garden! 🎉 Join us for Gays’ Garden, starring the funniest queers from the DMV and beyond!
🌟 Featuring acts seen at The DC improv, Hotbed and the Comedy Loft: Demi Andrews, Stacey Axler, Lucas Craig with host Netanel Hutman.
📍 Located around the corner from the U Street Metro (13th Street exit) 💸 Suggested donation: $10 :)
Hosted by Netanel
Garden Volunteer Hours
Come get your hands in the soil with our partners at Farm the District, 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, repairing, crafting, and ongoing side projects. Find a partner and choose your own adventure. And don’t forget to take home your share of the communal harvest.
As always, we’ll also be giving an orientation tour for newcomers. Welcome neighbors!
Backyard Games
Come one come all to play in our shared backyard. Feel free to bring lawn games, board games, or anything else you can dream up.
Creatives Clubs-giving
A potluck and creative meetup!
Hosted by Cory & Creatives Club DC
Garden Volunteer Hours
Come get your hands in the soil with our partners at Farm the District, 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, repairing, crafting, and ongoing side projects. Find a partner and choose your own adventure. And don’t forget to take home your share of the communal harvest.
As always, we’ll also be giving an orientation tour for newcomers. Welcome neighbors!
Creatives Club & Community Jam
Creatives Club and open songwriting hours are back in the garden this week. 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 Cory & Creatives Club DC
TAG-Along: DC Bike Party 🚲🎉!
Join garden friends as we meet up and roll together to DC Bike Party!
Grab your bike or bikeshare and tag along with us to this monthly social bike ride. We’ll congregate at Temperance Alley Garden during the midweek donation harvest before hitting the streets around 7:45pm. 🚲🎉🚲🎉🚲🎉
hosted by Zachary and 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 beat the heat and give back to the community.
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).
Garden Volunteer Hours
Come get your hands in the soil with our partners at Farm the District, 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, repairing, crafting, and ongoing side projects. Find a partner and choose your own adventure. And don’t forget to take home your share of the communal harvest.
As always, we’ll also be giving an orientation tour for newcomers. Welcome neighbors!
🎙️ Open Mic Night at the Garden
Calling all musicians, poets, comedians, and consumers of content! Come gather in the Temperance Alley Garden for an evening of community performances on the open mic lawn.
Performances of original works are especially encouraged! We want to see and support you in sharing your craft or explorations :) all experience levels, identities, and ages welcomed.
hosted by Swataa & Stephen
Creatives Club & Community Jam
Creatives Club and open songwriting hours are back in the garden this week. 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 Cory & Creatives Club DC
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 beat the heat and give back to the community.
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).
Lunch Hours
WFH? Work close by? Bring your lunch to the Garden and chat with folks from the neighborhood!
Open lunch hours hosted by Nina :)
Garden Death Cafe 💀
Gather in Temperance Alley Garden during the Day of the Dead for our second annual Death Cafe!
Death Cafe is a global movement facilitating thoughts and discussion about the often taboo subject of death. *please note that Death Cafe is not a grief support group*
Join us in a candle-lit, intimate, and informal gathering to discuss death while eating cake and drinking tea! There is not set agenda, objective, or specific theme — we are here to explore death together :)
hosted by Lyndsey
Garden Volunteer Hours
Come get your hands in the soil with our partners at Farm the District, 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, repairing, crafting, and ongoing side projects. Find a partner and choose your own adventure. And don’t forget to take home your share of the communal harvest.
As always, we’ll also be giving an orientation tour for newcomers. Welcome neighbors!
🎥 Movie Night: "Over the Garden Wall" 🍂🐸
Join us in the Garden to watch "Over the Garden Wall," a beloved, whimsical, fantastical, animated delight. Many folks rewatch this miniseries at this time of year to bask in its beautiful autumnal vibes. We'll do so together, streaming all ten 11-minute episodes.
“On an adventure, brothers Wirt and Greg get lost in the Unknown, a strange forest adrift in time; as they attempt to find a way out of the Unknown, they cross paths with a mysterious old woodsman and a bluebird named Beatrice." link to trailer
Family friendly -- bring a warm bev and blankets! Total run time will be around two hours, starting promptly at 7pm.
hosted by Cory and Zachary
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 beat the heat and give back to the community.
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.
Queer Black Broadway Walking Tour
In this very special tour to celebrate LGBTQ History Month, Off the Mall Tours is partnering with the Rainbow History Project to bring you the Queer Black Broadway walking tour. The U Street Corridor was known as "Black Broadway" in its heyday of the early 20th Century. From the Prohibition Era to the Civil Rights Movement, it was also the center for social justice and fringe movements that fought to bring more opportunity for marginalized groups, including a secretive but active Queer community that was associated with the Harlem Renaissance, the Pansy Craze, underground crime worlds, and the wide world of entertainment. This 1.5 hour walking tour begins at Howard Theater and ends at Thurst Lounge, 2204 14th Street, which is DC's only queer black-owned bar! A portion of proceeds go to benefit the Rainbow History Project.
The Rainbow History Project’s mission is to collect, preserve, and promote an active knowledge of the history, arts, and culture of metropolitan Washington DC’s diverse LGBTQ+ communities.
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 HouseKeeping Circle
Our official calendaring meeting for the coming month of November. Bring any business you may have or partner with at Stump Fellow to program your submitted event ideas.
Anyone can join as we discuss garden event planning, budgeting, and partnerships. Your ideas and energy are more than welcome!
*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.
Lunch Hours
WFH? Work close by? Bring your lunch to the Garden and chat with folks from the neighborhood!
Open lunch hours hosted by Nina :)
Embodying The Elements: Exploring Nature with Movement
Join Sisi SoulShine of Soul Shine Theater Garden at Temperance Alley for a playful dance workshop to move your body and connect with the nature that surrounds us.
Through dance and movement, we will listen to ourselves, actively reflect on our relationship to nature, and embody various natural elements: roots, water, fire, trees etc…
You will be guided by Sisi SoulShine while also having the space to generate your own unique movements through practices of self consent, boundaries, and improvisation. You do not need any previous dance experience, only the desire to explore, learn, dance, and the commitment to connect to your body. While in shared space, we will celebrate each other and embody play and joy as ways of collective liberation.
An optional RSVP to our free workshop is here. Please consider supporting Soul Shine Theater Garden with a donation at the gate.
🎃 Pumpkin Carving Party
It’s our FOURTH ANNUAL PUMPKIN PARTY!
Costumes are encouraged for this 2-hour rolling event. We’ll have snacks, candles, and limited extra supplies, but please make an effort to BYOP (Bring Your Own Pumpkin) and any stencils/tools you might need. We’ll also have supplies set up for pumpkin painting if that’s more your speed.
(Plus the Garden’s turning 4 !!!! Let’s celebrate with cake 🎂)
hosted by the Garden Stewards
Garden Volunteer Hours
Come get your hands in the soil with our partners at Farm the District, 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, repairing, crafting, and ongoing side projects. Find a partner and choose your own adventure. And don’t forget to take home your share of the communal harvest.
As always, we’ll also be giving an orientation tour for newcomers. Welcome neighbors!
Music in the Garden! ft. Adams Morgan Folk Collective
Featuring Julien Xuereb, SqueazyE, & the Adams Morgan Folk Collective !!!
Julien Xuereb is a solo french guitarist and singer. He has released two albums of original music and also enjoys revisiting french and American classics. His music often blends elements of several genres, such as classical, jazz, rock, middle eastern music, and of course, french chanson. You can follow him on Instagram and Facebook @julienguitar, and he regularly releases videos on his YouTube channel.
@squeazy_e is a DC-based alternative accordionist whom writes and performs original works, stylistically influenced by traditional European accordion music. SqueazyE plays various venues around the city, capturing audiences with his lyrical story telling.
@adamsmorganfolkcollective is an aggregation of musicians based in DC, brought together by their love for eclectic musical styles and instrumentation. As a group of multi-instrumentalists, their original songs and lyrical motifs are woven together for a unique take on traditional folk music.
Join the Garden plants and critters for an evening of home-grown music –– somewhere between a house show and barnyard jam. While tipping is encouraged, the event is free and open to all. Bring a blanket to sit on and snacks to share :)
produced by Stephen
TAG-Along: Kostume Karaoke at Solly's
Let's celebrate Halloween season at Kostume Karaoke at Solly's!
Join your fellow Temperance Alley friends after the U Street Neighborhood meeting and Creatives Club for a fun night out near the garden belting karaoke at the longtime neighborhood favorite bar. Bring your own costume or you can use the provided options –– it'll be a blast!!
hosted by Stephen
Creatives Club & Community Jam
Creatives Club and open songwriting hours are back in the garden this week. 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 Cory & Creatives Club DC
USNA Fall Quarterly Meeting
Join the USNA for our quarterly membership meeting, where we work towards a more neighborly U Street. We’ll discuss the possibility of extending our lease at Temperance Alley and hear updates from our committees on Public Safety and Harrison Park. Feel free to bring any proposals or agenda items of your own.
Our neighborhood association exists to: promote social welfare in the Greater U Street Historic District; enhance a sense of pride in the community; improve and beautify the local environment; provide educational opportunities for children; provide planning services and advice; and act as an information gathering and dissemination vehicle for the neighborhood.
Whether you’re new to U Street Neighborhood Association or interested in becoming more active, all are welcome to gather ‘round the organizing table at our local non-profit bar, The Saloon.
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, Twitter, Google Calendar, and iCal.