Weekend Events: Punkin Chunkin, FotoWeek and fallFRINGE

WASHINGTON – With Halloween behind us, it’s time to take the spider webs and ghost decorations down and smash the pumpkins.

That’s right — it’s perfectly OK to smash your pumpkin this weekend at the annual Punkin Chunkin. That, plus a calendar full of arts, crafts, cooking and performance events are all happening this weekend, Nov. 1-3.

How far can you launch a pumpkin? Well, it’s too late to register, but you can watch others put their chucking machines to the test at the annual Punkin Chunkin festival and competition.

In addition to pumpkins flying through the air, Punkin Chunkin will also have a chili cookoff, a pageant and fireworks. Everything takes place Nov. 1-3 at Royal Farms in Bridgeville, Del.

The D.C.-area’s photography festival, FotoWeek DC, kicks off Nov. 1 with a launch party at the National Geographic Museum. Events, discussions, workshops, exhibitions and contests will continue through Nov. 10 at venues throughout the area, including the National Portrait Gallery. Many of the FotoWeek DC activities are free.

It may feel like the FRINGE festival just came to a close, but if you’re craving more alternative live performances, you’re in luck: FRINGE is back for the fall. From Nov. 1- Nov. 17, fallFRINGE will showcase more than 13 shows and 80 individual performances at three venues in D.C. Plus, the Fort will be open for socializing and beverages.

On Nov. 2, Heyser Farms and Great Shoals Winery are teaming up to celebrate cider at the Pumpkin Gully Apple Cider Festival in Silver Spring, Md. The day-long festival at Heyser Farms will have sweet draft hard pumpkin cider and draft hard apple cider, plus barbecue, face painting, pumpkins and apples.

If you prefer to work out your mind this weekend, the Arlington Puzzle Festival may be the event for you. Games involving logic, words, numbers and thinking will be held at the Central Library from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 2. The festival will also include speakers and a sudoku tournament.

Get a head start on holiday shopping this weekend at the annual Washington Craft Show Nov. 1-3 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. Expect ceramics, jewelry, mixed media, leather, wood and furniture, among other categories of art and home goods.

Not ready to say goodbye to Halloween and Day of the Dead? The Smithsonian’s American Art Museum will host a Day of the Dead family-friendly festival on Nov. 2 from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Visitors will be able to explore the museum’s new exhibit, “Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art,” and will be invited to watch a performance and participate in craft activities.

If you feel like getting out of town and heading east, OysterFest will take over St. Michaels, Md., on Nov. 2 at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. Of course oysters will be the main focus, but attendees can also expect children’s activities, boat rides, cooking demos and live music. OysterFest runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Metropolitan Cooking and Entertaining Show comes to D.C. this weekend, bringing celebrity chefs, cooking demonstrations, tastings and more. The show will be in town Nov. 2-3 and will take place at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.

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