Skating in Canal Park. Photo by Azeez Bakare on Flickr.

We’re having a holiday party to celebrate another year of writing about the people and places that make the DC area great. Join us next month in Navy Yard to celebrate!

On Monday, December 12 from 6 to 8 pm, we’ll be at Il Parco, the new Italian restaurant inside Canal Park. Meet contributors and readers, enjoy drinks and Il Parco’s famous Neapolitan-style pizza, and watch the action in the adjacent ice skating rink. (Maybe Matt’ Johnson will show us some moves!) If you plan on coming, please RSVP here.

Il Parco is located at 200 M Street SE, one block from the Navy Yard Metro station (Green Line). The DC Circulator Navy Yard-Union Station line stops one block away at M Street and New Jersey Avenue, Metrobus routes A9, P6, and V4 stop across the street, and the W9 is a few blocks away on South Capitol Street. There’s also a Capital Bikeshare station at M Street and New Jersey Avenue.

This year, we’ve held happy hours in Chinatown, Court House, Mount Rainier, 14th Street, Silver Spring, Edgewood, H Street NE, and Adams Morgan. Where should we go next year? Let us know.

Once you’ve got our happy hour on your calendar, plan ahead for a few other great events coming up!

Tuesday, November 29: Lee Highway in Arlington is getting a face lift. Take part in the planning process at one of two meetings next week, a daytime meeting at 12:30 pm at 1920 North Highland Street and a nighttime meeting at 6 pm at 5722 Lee Highway.

Wednesday, November 30: Did you know that virtually all of Greater Greater Washington’s posts come from volunteer writers? Blogging is a powerful way to share what you know, and we want to teach you how to do it! We’re running a blogging workshop to teach you the basic fundamentals any post should have, how to pick an engaging topic, and more! It’s from 6:30-8:30 pm at Arlington Central Library (1015 North Quincy Street). Please RSVP here!

Wednesday and Thursday, November 30 and December 1: Planners behind the Purple Line are working hard to involve local artists to help make stations unique. Have an idea to share with the artists? You can meet and talk to them next week! The meeting in Montgomery County is next Wednesday at 51 University Boulevard East and the one in Prince George’s County is next Thursday at 5051 Pierce Avenue in College Park. Both meetings are at 6:30 pm.

Thursday, December 1: Do you live in Ward 6, and do you want to celebrate it? Join Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen for the 10th Annual Ward 6 Brickie Awards at The Apollo (600 H Street NE) at 6 pm, where he will honor the people, places, and organizations that make Ward 6 unique. RSVP here.

Friday, December 2 through Tuesday, December 6: The Four Mile Run Valley in Arlington is taking the time to envision its future. There are four opportunities to weigh in on the design, the first being this Friday, December 2, from 7 pm to 9 pm at 3939 Campbell Avenue. There is also a design workshop on Saturday from 9 am to 1 pm at 3500 23rd Street South, open studio sessions from Sunday through Tuesday at 2700 Quincy Street, and a closing event on Tuesday from 7 pm to 9 pm at at 3500 23rd Street South.

Calendar: Beyond what we’ve highlighted here, there are many other worthwhile events across the region. Check out more great events in our events calendar:

Do you know of an upcoming event that may be interesting, relevant, or important to Greater Greater Washington readers that should go to our events calendar? Send it to us at events@ggwash.org.

Dan Reed (they/them) is Greater Greater Washington’s regional policy director, focused on housing and land use policy in Maryland and Northern Virginia. For a decade prior, Dan was a transportation planner working with communities all over North America to make their streets safer, enjoyable, and equitable. Their writing has appeared in publications including Washingtonian, CityLab, and Shelterforce, as well as Just Up The Pike, a neighborhood blog founded in 2006. Dan lives in Silver Spring with Drizzy, the goodest boy ever.

Claire Jaffe was born in DC and now lives in the U Street area. She is a University of Michigan graduate and currently works at Coalition for Smarter Growth. On her off time, Claire can be found biking the street of DC or exploring the many green spaces throughout the region.