This Week in Geek: Amalthea, Atreyu, and Artemis

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

Today

• Author Appearance - Peter S. Beagle at AFI - Silver Spring, MD - 4:00PM
• Do not panic.There are more showings. Today at 7:15 is sold out, but if you can’t make this afternoon on such tight notice, there’s always Saturday at 11:05AM. Check the “Longer Term” section at the end of this article for more details.

Stunning art by SteakandUnicorns
The Last Unicorn is © Peter S. Beagle

Wednesday

• Movie - Never Ending Story outdoor movie night - Frederick, MD - 8:30PM
• Family-friendly movies (aka total geek nostalgia classics) are being hosted by Family Meal in Frederick. The parking lot opens at 6:00 for those who want good parking, and there’s live bands before the show. This means you have some time for BBQ and a beer before lip syncing your way through the movie with your friends or family.

Thursday

• MST3K - RiffTrax Live: Starship Troopers - Link has locations - 8:00PM
• So, if you’re not familiar with RiffTrax, you’re one of today’s lucky ten thousand and here’s a link to get you started. Basically, it’s the MST3K writers and performers continuing their mission of making horrible movies bearable through their comedic commentary. This event’s movie is Starship Troopers, which shockingly has a positive score on Rotten Tomatoes.
• Theatre - Neverwhere - Washington, DC - 8:00PM
• Thursday is opening night for Rorschach Theatre's adaptation of Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere, and if you can make it this Thursday, Friday or Saturday afternoon you may be able to get into one of the "pay-what-you-can" show previews. Neverwhere runs through mid September, and there's still time to pitch in for their Kickstarter. It has some pretty sweet perks, including discounted tickets.

Friday

• Burlesque - Clash of the Tit-ans - Washington, DC - 8:45PM and 11:00PM
• Valentine Candy Burlesque is flooding the Black Cat with all the glory and splendor of the deities that you should all have learned either through Latin and Lit classes in school, or because you forgot to stop at the end of the fantasy shelf as a young child and began just checking out everything folklore and mythology related. With the “beastly” Reverend Valentine presiding, it should be an event to make Artemis blush.

Props for not saying "Tesla" to promote a steampunk event.
(promotional image from Mab Just Mab's site)

Saturday

• Sideshow - A Night of Wonders - Washington, DC - 8:00PM
• Hawked as “P.T. Barnum meets H.G. Wells” full of steam-power and that nostalgia that so many of us have for the past that never was and their vision of a future that would never be. At an event like this, it’s not required that you gear up (heh, get it? Ah, clockpunk puns) but costuming is enthusiastically encouraged. Sideshow, cabaret, and music that should get your cogs spinning. RSVP on the FaceBook event page.

Longer Term

• Beer - DC Beer Week - Washington, DC - now through Sunday, August 18
• “Each other man put up a pound, and we drank until we couldn’t lift a glass to drink another round!” (Here’s the youtube link to Darby O’Gill, for those who haven’t set up a drinking station on Pandora/Spotify/Other). For those of you who like a neatly organized drinking schedule, the events are posted on the site above or the unofficial site here. For those who like riding the whims of the Twitterverse, keep a lookout on their account. Beyond that - it’s a week of beer and events. Beer. Week. Truth in advertising. Now get out there, go have a pint, and wait for all of this to blow over.
• Pure Awesome - Great Films of the 1980s - Silver Spring, MD - now through September 14
• Originally, we noticed this event because Friday at 8:15PM and Saturday at 11:30AM and 7:00PM AFI is showing Raiders of the Lost Ark. Thankfully, this meant scrolling past The Last Unicorn show times. Yes, Indiana Jones is amazing, and everyone playing the new Tomb Raider probably needs a fix. However, The Last Unicorn showing includes the appearance of the book’s author, Peter S. Beagle. The showtimes are today at 4:00PM (the evening show is sold out), and Saturday at 11:05AM.

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.