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
Juneteenth at Harrison 🏀 3rd Annual Celebration
Join us for the 3rd Annual Juneteenth Celebration at Harrison Recreation Center, a family-friendly gathering honoring Black culture, liberation, and community.
This day-long event will feature a vibrant mix of activities, including a boxing exhibition, a spirited basketball tournament, live GoGo music, and sets from a local DJ. Community partners such as Hostels Guild, U Street Main Street, Long Live GoGo, FREE DC, and others are coming together to bring the block to life.
In addition to performances and sports, you’ll find vendor tables and local resource booths offering information, inspiration, and neighborhood pride. Whether you’re coming for the music, the games, or the good company, all are welcome to celebrate freedom and fellowship in the heart of U Street.
SUMMER SOLSTICE 🌞 & Shabbat Potluck Celebration!
Summer is officially here as the sun reaches it’s northernmost point in our sky. On the longest day of the year we’ll gather in the Garden for a sunset potluck & Shabbat!
Activities include a celestial time-keeping demonstration, letter writing reflection, and solstice art creation. Plus an open mic will be stationed on the lawn for any and all aspiring poets, musicians, and spoken word performers.
Folks are encouraged (but not required) to bring food and drink to share — as well as any Solstice rituals that they’d like to lead. Our Shabbat potluck is generously supported by OneTable!
>>please RSVP here<<
Hosted by Gabi 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, harvesting, repairing, crafting, and ongoing side projects. Find a partner and choose your own adventure. And don’t forget to take home your portion of the harvest.
As always, we’ll also be giving an orientation tour for newcomers. Welcome neighbors!
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).
hosted on rotation by local instructors
TAG-Along to #BELONGCENTER
TAG-Along to the Belong Center’s Social Connection Corps Activation at Kbird DC (1333 P Street NW). We’ll meet up at the Garden from 6-6:15 before heading over to the event together. Join other Gardeners to cross-pollinate our community with the Belong Center.
See eventbrite for event details.
Led by Gabi
Summer Poetry Share
Let’s slow down and let newfound Summer feelings, observations, smells, and desires simmer through reading and writing poetry. Come with an offering of seasonally-inspired poems – original pieces and dear favorites welcomed.
The evening will be divided into three parts:
Root: Get rooted through poetry sharing of offerings
Stem: Take quiet time to let inspiration transport through you
Bloom: Share the fruit of our labor
An invitation from Mary Oliver to pay attention, to fall down into the grass, to kneel down in the grass, to be idle and blessed.
hosted by Maggie
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.
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 Cory & Creatives Club DC
Music in the Garden: Pride Edition 🌈
This month we are featuring Bamboleo & Eyefish Ink!!
First Act : Bamboleo makes pleasing musical sounds for all creatures and most plants. we let the tempo wobble a bit, let the melody float. breath! bop! enjoy?
Second Act : Eyefish Ink is a psychedelic shoegaze band that started in 2023 when Simon Santodomingo and Genesis Arocha merged their musical projects. “Of Space and Time” their most recent EP, is Out Now. Eyefish Ink is an ever increasingly collaborative project with the other members, Ross MacDonald, Miles Johnson and Rainor Dale. (Bass, Drums, Guitar, respectively)
Join the Garden plants and critters for an evening of home-grown music –– somewhere between a house show and barnyard jam. While tipping the artists is encouraged, the event is free and open to all. Bring a blanket to sit on and snacks to share :)
produced by Swataa
Pride Sleepover
🏳️⚧️🦄🏳️🌈
Imagine being able to experience the sleepovers of childhood in the fullness of all your identities! All are welcome, but trans and queer sleepover guests are at the center. Activities will include: DIF (do your friend's) hair, makeup, and nails; gender affirming photo posing; playful and consentful truth or dare; dress up (bring the outfits you want help with); and gossip (ask for advice on your flirtatious texts and dating profiles). Wear your PJs and bring a plushie if you want!
hosted by Milo and Sally
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, harvesting, repairing, crafting, and ongoing side projects. Find a partner and choose your own adventure. And don’t forget to take home your portion of the harvest.
As always, we’ll also be giving an orientation tour for newcomers. Welcome neighbors!
Secret Garden: A Golden Hour Art Show
Join friends from 5PM to sunset on Saturday, June 28th for an evening nestled in the garden, featuring a curated art showing, live music, and powerful spoken word performances. Enjoy light refreshments and soul-stirring connection as we gather in support of the Sex Worker Advocacy Coalition (SWAC).
As the day softens into dusk, come celebrate resilience, creativity, and the movement to decriminalize sex work.
hosted by Lazima
TAG HouseKeeping Circle
Our official calendaring meeting for the month of July.
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! 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.
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).
hosted on rotation by local instructors
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.
Song Circle 🎶
Come share your voice in community!
Elizabeth Tuten and Sarah Netland will share simple call-and-response songs that are easy to learn. All voices, all levels of experience are welcome. Come as you are.
hosted by Ray
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.
Rituals of Rest
Please RSVP if you can make it!
Let’s gather to discuss personal and shared practices of rest. For me, the Garden is a holy place of rest—a place where I can unwind, breathe deeply, and be in community. Similarly, I find rest and joy in the Jewish rituals of Shabbat, which inspired this gathering :)
I'm excited to learn about your rituals, spaces, and practices of rest... what makes you feel rested? Is rest, or are your rituals, tied to a faith, culture, hobby, or none of the above? What are some of the similarities and differences we observe across different expressions of rest? These are some of the questions we'll explore :)
We’ll have snacks, and feel free to BYO dinner.
hosted by Yael
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).
hosted on rotation by local instructors
Vocal Improv Playshop
In the spirit of play and tapping into our authentic voices, we'll be exploring spontaneous sounds and improvised vocals using some games and expression techniques. No singing experience or talent is necessary, just bring yourself, a water bottle and your open mind!
hosted by Sally
Music in the Garden! (+Open Mic) ft. Pat Smith & Shaman Jones
Rescheduled from 5/30, with an added Open Mic from 6-7pm.
Featuring local singer-songwriters Pat Smith and Shaman Jones. Our pre-show OPEN MIC will run from 6-7pm for any musicians, poets, & artists who’d like to share their talents!
Born and raised in Cheverly, MD. Pat was introduced to music at an early age. At 19, Pat made a life-altering decision to enlist in the U.S. Navy, choosing to serve aboard a Ballistic submarine. His time in the Navy profoundly shaped his perspective, both as an individual and as an artist. The solitude and isolation of submarine life became a fertile ground for songwriting. Pat will be releasing his first album entitled "Functioning?" this summer, with singles from the album already available on streaming platforms.
Shaman Jones is a singer-songwriter from Cheverly, MD. His music is a piano-based mix of classical, rock, folk, and RnB, which can be likened to the works of Tori Amos, Ben Folds, and Fiona Apple. Shaman seeks to create lyrical narratives which are equal parts confessional and contemplative. His most recent project, “Variations on a One-Night Stand”, is a collection of modern folk songs which explore the complex emotional landscapes of different types of relationships.
Join the Garden plants and critters for an evening of home-grown music –– somewhere between a house show and barnyard jam. While tipping the artists is encouraged, the event is free and open to all. Bring a blanket to sit on and snacks to share :)
produced by Swataa
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, harvesting, repairing, crafting, and ongoing side projects. Find a partner and choose your own adventure. And don’t forget to take home your portion of the harvest.
As always, we’ll also be giving an orientation tour for newcomers. Welcome neighbors!
Creatives Club & Community Jam
Come through for music and muses!
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
Mending Workshop: Break Up with Fast Fashion
Join us for an evening of hands-on learning and mindful mending. In this beginner-friendly workshop, we’ll share simple tips and tricks to help you extend the life of your favorite clothes—saving money and reducing waste along the way. Learn how to patch holes, hem pants, sew on buttons, and explore basic tailoring techniques that will have you falling back in love with your wardrobe.
All skill levels welcome, sewing materials provided (feel welcome to bring any if you have some)! Optional: bring an item of clothing to practice on.
hosted by Shira, Emily, and Shosh
TAG-Along: DC Bike Party!
Join garden friends as we meet up and roll together to DC Bike Party's June 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 7:50pm. 🚲🎉🚲🎉🚲🎉
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 beat the heat and give back to the community.
Strawberry Moon Meditation & Art Ritual
It’s the Full Strawberry Moon!
Let’s gather for a guided meditation and ritual rooted in lunar wisdom. We'll follow with a hands-on art project you can take home to remind you of your practice.
Our meditation community meets weekly to re-center, connect, and cultivate intentions. All levels of experience warmly welcomed.
Hosted by Rachel, Sarah, and Savannah
Silent Disco Ecstatic Dance
***please bring headphones for this event and plan to arrive no later than 7:45pm***
Ecstatic Dance is free-form, music-inspired movement (dance!) in a safe space with no judgement. We practice to allow our bodies to move however they’d like (including even just lying down) which makes space for liberating joy.
From 7:30-8:00, we’ll have time to get to know each other and the Garden. Around 8, we’ll begin the practice—please arrive before then so that you don’t interrupt the dancing!
We will provide an optional playlist and an explanation of ecstatic dance to guide your experience. Please bring headphones and a device for listening to music (like a smart phone). We also recommend wearing comfortable, weather- appropriate clothing and bringing a water bottle.
Hosted by MK & Cassie
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).
hosted on rotation by local instructors
The History of Our Neighborhood, Revealed Through Architecture
The DC Preservation League was founded as Don't Tear It Down in 1971 when the Old Post Office building on Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, was slated to be demolished. Community members came together to save it and soon other buildings across the District were being preserved. The DC Preservation League was established with the mission to preserve, protect, and enhance the historic and built environment of Washington, DC. Their work continues today through many initiatives— for example, check out their newly launched efforts to track buildings designed by African American architects.
We’ll hear from Zachary Burt, Community Outreach and Grants Manager for the DC Preservation League, He is the staff liaison for the Landmarks Committee and the Government Affairs Committee, and works with the Historic Districts Coalition. In addition to his work on historic landmark nominations, Zach manages DCPL’s Preservation Initiatives Grant Program and the DC Historic Sites website and cellular phone app. He holds a B.S. in Political Science from the University of Utah and an M.A. in Historic Preservation from Goucher College. Zach is passionate about DC’s rich history, culture, and architecture, and loves exploring the city’s many neighborhoods.
Everyone is welcome! Please RSVP here to join us.
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
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, harvesting, repairing, crafting, and ongoing side projects. Find a partner and choose your own adventure. And don’t forget to take home your portion of the harvest.
As always, we’ll also be giving an orientation tour for newcomers. Welcome neighbors!
Month Offline Exhibition 📴
Month Offline welcomes you to a gallery and graduation party with the 17 members of our inaugural cohort!
These brave doomscrollers switched to a dumbphone for the whole month of May, and participated in weekly creative challenges related to the smartphone-shaped hole in their lives. They explored themes like Communication, Navigation, and Boredom as they time traveled to the 1990s. At this closing exhibition, the Month Offline cohort will share what their experience was like, showcase the art they created along the way, and invite you to join the next round of the program, coming to U Street in July.
This is (of course) a phone-free event—you'll be asked to secure your device in a lockable Yondr pouch. Call 1-844-OFFLINE to learn more.
hosted by Aaron, Josh, and Grant
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.
Reimagining Work: Peer Support Circle
Have disability, grief, or burnout shifted your ability to keep up with the demands of a full time work schedule? Were you laid off by DOGE? Are you intentionally disengaging from hustle culture? Then this is the group for you!
Join us in the garden for a lightly facilitated peer support circle to share about your experiences, exchange information, and connect together. Community will get us through these hard times!
hosted by Milo and Ray
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).
hosted on rotation by local instructors
Early Bloom: Garden Gathering and Cafe
Come start your day in good company at the garden!
Join us Tuesday mornings in the garden 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. Plus maybe some movement exercises?
Drop in anytime between 7:30–8:45am. Bring a beverage, your breakfast, a journal, or nothing at all.
Hosted by Coriander & Cassie
Cloud Watching Club ☁️
Cloud Watching Club is all about appreciating the sky while letting the clouds roll by! Our chillest gathering of the month, we'll simply open the gates for sunset viewing in our “big sky preserve”. Bring your favorite cloud poetry, or cloud-inspired art to share.
hosted by Aaron and Shira
Embodying The Elements: Rooting in Wild Faith
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 our ROOTS…
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.
Please consider supporting Soul Shine Theater Garden with a donation at the gate.
DC Natives: Pollinator Plant Giveaway & Info Session
DC Natives is launching a pilot project in the Logan Circle/U Street area to help restore vital pollinator habitats and beautify the neighborhood!
At this event, DC Natives will bring and give away pollinator plants native to the region, as well as soil and containers. Recipients should be based in the neighborhood and willing to commit to daily watering, providing 6 hours of sunlight, and pesticide-free care. Beyond the plant giveaway portion, this event is designed to inform about pollinator species and how locals can make a difference in our community's environmental efforts.
Enjoy light snacks while gaining knowledge on habitat restoration, supporting the food chain, and boosting environmental awareness.
hosted by DC Natives – a community-driven organization focused on creating pollinator habitats in outdoor spaces owned & cared for by volunteers
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, harvesting, repairing, crafting, and ongoing side projects. Find a partner and choose your own adventure. And don’t forget to take home your portion of the harvest.
As always, we’ll also be giving an orientation tour for newcomers. Welcome neighbors!
Sonic Soiree with DC Audio and Radio
It’s a Sonic Soiree!
Join the DC Audio and Radio community for a listening party. Think film screening – but for audio and sounds instead of the moving pictures. This event will feature a curated set of short audio stories, radio pieces, found/lost sounds, sound art, and music around the theme: NATURE!
Together with the Temperance Alley Garden – we’ll be listening to stories about the natural world, the harmony of nature, and the great outdoors.
hosted by Thomas
Dong Stick Qi Gong
Earlier start time for this week only!
16 slow movements with a bamboo stick will give you special stretching for the upper body and balance exercises for the whole body. Doing this in the Garden will connect you with sky and earth and gives you a good start into the day.
Just show up before you go to work! No special clothing is required.
Hosted by Gertrud
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.