10 Cool & Mostly Free Things To Do If You're Sticking Close to Home

First in a continuing series about  awesome social distance activities in DC to keep you entertained during the outbreak and inspired to keep daydreaming about your next adventure in the Nation's capital.

We've all had to adjust to the new "normal" over the last few days as the impact of the Coronavirus Crisis has continued to spread. For some, this means sticking closer to home than usual.

While catching up all the movies in your Netflix queue is a solid option, we've come up with 10 out-of-the-box ways for you to take entertain yourself and still take advantage of the great things DC has to offer.

1. DC Environmental Film Festival
The folks behind the annual Environment Film Festival -- the world's largest -- moved quickly to move the in-person screenings that were scheduled at over 20 venues to a virtual space. Select shorts, features and Virtual Reality movies from the festival will  be available online, March 12 - 22. Some of the films are free, others will be available for a fee.

2. Stream movies from the DC Public Library
Membership has its privileges--a D.C. library card gets you access to thousands of movies, TV shows, stand-up specials, documentaries, and children’s shows through three platforms: Access Video, InstantFlix, and OverDrive. Membership has another cool perk: access to hundreds of movies from the Criterion Collection. Browse by director, filtering by Ingmar Bergman, Akira Kurosawa, Federico Fellino, and other greats. Or give yourself a film education by going through the collections, from “silent films from Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd” up to “art cinema of the 1980s and 1990s.”

3. Discover a new local band
If you want to get to know local musicians better, the Hometown Sounds podcast is a great way to get introduced to a variety of District artists.  Featuring only locally made songs, HS is showing the world how DC rocks so download the podcast to your tablet or smartphone and rock out!

4. Listen to a book from the DC Public Library
Avoid endlessly checking websites for updates on the virus and catch up on your reading. The DC Public Library  has a large catalog of audiobooks and ebooks available through its Libby app. Whether you like romance, Westerns, history, humor, classics, self-improvement, sci-fi or mystery and suspense, all you need is your library card to download immediately. Note: wait lists can be lengthy for popular titles. 

5. Binge movies about DC
its epic backdrops of monuments and memorials, plus all of the scandals and intrigue, DC is a great city; no wonder so many movies are set here. Few movies show the real DC, but there are some great ones that have been filmed in, or are set in and around the District, so microwave some popcorn and enjoy a DC-themed binge movie night. 

6. Get to know DC’s creative movers and shakers
Along with policy-makers, DC is home to a thriving community of creatives and makers. Recorded at the Full Service Radio station in the lobby of the Line Hotel DC, get to know some of the local movers and shakers influencing the city’s arts, music, food, and fashion.

7. Have a concert in your living room 
At DIVE, located in the basement of the Darlington House in DuPont Circle, the show will go on. Per their website, "We intend to allow our booked musicians to play at DIVE regardless if we have any patrons or if we are even open to the public. Performances will be live streamed and we will provide Venmo or other transactional information for the performers so that our viewing community can tip, purchase merchandise or otherwise support our performers."

8. Play board games
Sure, it's pretty old school in the age of X-Box, but playing board games offers nostalgic comfort in these chaotic times. Winners Corner on P Street, NW sells board games, as does independent, Mom-owned game store Labyrinth in Capitol Hill, which is offering "curbside latex glove service" and is considering delivery service.

9. Keep calm and stay fit
You're probably already wearing yoga or athleisure pants so put them to go use at an online yoga class. Brookland's Bluebird Sky Yoga will start streaming its lunchtime yoga class via Facebook Live on March 16. It's free though if you have the means, you can give either a $10 community donation or pay the $19 drop-in fee via a link provided during the class. Follow the group on Facebook and Instagram for updates.

10. Dine in and support local restaurants
With tourism down in DC and more people raiding groceries stores to eat at home, local restaurants are really taking a hit and are looking for ways to bridge the gap. Many participate with delivery services like DoorDash and others are exploring to-go options, so skip a Crockpot meal and order in from a local restaurant. Your order could literally help them keep their doors open and their staff paid.

Curious? There's more!

• 10 Ways to Be a Tourist in Your Own Town