This Week in Geek: Masquerade! Burning Glances, Turning Heads

A showcase of this week's finest geek and geek related activities for the week. Mark your calendars.

Friday

• Masquerade - Tuxedo & Burlesque Masquerade Ball - Washington, DC - 8:30PM
• The Mansion on O Street is hosting these masquerades as monthly Living Social Exclusive events, and it sounds like some living social vouchers floating around if you search. The cost includes a martini or champagne, a chocolate fountain, dancing, kissing booth photo-op, and a treasure hunt. Now, keep in mind this is The Mansion on O, which we've listed in our off-the-beaten-path recommendations - the one with hidden rooms and secret passages - that alone makes it worth hunting down tickets.

Do masks risk revealing what they intend to conceal?
(gorgeous photography by Celia Chamizo)

• Masquerade - DC's 17th Annual Summer Masquerade Ball - Washington, DC - 9:00PM
• The DCSMB claims to be the biggest summer event in DC, and with three DJs, three dance floors, and five balls as they take over Dupont Circle. The theme this year is the Emerald City. There is a dress code. First, of course, would be your mask or facepaint (or both! Create your "true face" beneath the mask!), and anything in theme including liquid latex, leather, body paint, or Burning Man gear. Full rules are on their official page.

Longer Term

• Free Art! - Artscape 2013 - Baltimore, MD - Friday through Sunday
• Artscape is back for it's 32nd year and gotta say, it is looking snazzy. This is the largest free arts festival in America with over 350,000 attendees. There are hundreds of artists, exhibitions, concerts, performance arts, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, street theater, and just about everything else you could dream up. Wander from tent to tend and let the experience wash over you or use the program to plot out a precise course. Or grab their app and combine the two as you get up to the date info on the main and fringe events.
• Comic-Con - SDCC - San Diego, CA - Thursday through Sunday
• Yes everyone, it's that time again. When you're either about to burst making your way through the rest of your workweek before rocketing off to the joyous event... Or you're the rest of us, sitting here alternating between muting Twitter and quietly following along in envy. Enjoy the hell out of it, you lucky bastards. Keep your eyes to the YouTubes for incoming panel videos.

Such a serene view of Pennsic XXXVIII
(photo by Craig Hatfield)

• SCA - Pennsic War 42 - Slippery Rock, PA - The next two full weeks
• We've said a lot about Pennsic and at this point, like SDCC, you're either packing up the pavilion and getting ready for "land grab" or you're not. It's intimidating to try and jump into such a large event, and there's quite a bit of culture and jargon after 42 years (troll, land grab, the Swamp, the Serengeti). With over 10k attendees from around the world and the generally stunning SCA hospitality, rumor has it the war is actually less intense than the party scene.

Cosplay, Street Performers, and Garb all fall under the "masquerade" umbrella, right? 

Did we miss something? If you have an event you’d like to promote that isn’t on this list, leave a comment or email us. Other weekly recurring events are listed on our website (such as Rocky, CCG tournaments, crazy themed happy hours). For more information, check out the calendars at DC Geeks.