Shepherd Park's November Runs Through Two Neighboring Georgia Avenue Storefronts

Where is the busiest event calendar within walking distance of Shepherd Park this November? It belongs to two shops that sit next door to each other in the 7300 block of Georgia Avenue NW.

Merry Pin is at 7350 Georgia Ave NW and Rowhaven Games is at 7348. Between October 29 and New Year's Eve, they have 27 dated events posted. The Parks at Walter Reed has two seasonal gatherings on its November calendar, a history walk and a holiday market. The plaza still matters a great deal. It hosts the big Saturdays and feeds you afterward. But the weekly routine of a Shepherd Park fall now begins at two neighboring doors on Georgia Avenue.

Two Shops, One Calendar

Rowhaven, a tabletop and trading card game store, announced its grand opening in PoPville for Saturday, August 22. Merry Pin calls itself a craft store, cafe, coffee shop and community space. Together their posted schedules cover nearly every week from now through the end of the year:

The schedules fit together. Merry Pin holds the Saturday mornings and the Sunday afternoons, and Rowhaven holds Thursday nights. Most weeks between now and the holidays have something on the block, and the two shops rarely compete for the same hour.

Merry Pin Runs Three Kinds of Programming

Merry Pin's events page sorts its activities into three formats, and knowing them makes the calendar easier to read:

• Make & Take is self-guided, craft cafe style. The shop provides the supplies and written instructions, there is no instructor, and you can drop in anytime during Make & Take hours.
• Workshops are led by an instructor in a classroom format. The fall garland session, the 1:12 scale wall shelf and the four-session Learn to Knit 101 are examples.
• Events cover trivia, movie nights and evenings like the Boozy Book Fair. Some are free, with RSVPs appreciated, and others are ticketed.

The Saturday Crafty Tales series is the steadiest item on the list. It meets at 10 a.m. every Saturday from Halloween through December 19, with most sessions built around a book or an artist, from Augusta Savage and Andy Warhol to Eric Carle. Merry Pin also keeps a separate page of kids' workshops and classes for families who want only that list.

One habit of the calendar matters if you are planning ahead. Merry Pin notes that once an event sells out, it no longer appears on the website. A missing listing does not mean the event was canceled. If the knitting series or a December Crafty Tales date drops off the page, it has most likely filled.

Rowhaven Owns Thursday Night

Rowhaven described itself to PoPville as "a space where people gather around games to connect, play thoughtfully, and belong," with board games, puzzles, card games, trading card games and books on its shelves. The store's listing on the official Wizards of the Coast store locator confirms it is running and shows its recurring event, Rowhaven Commander Night. It meets every Thursday at 6:30 p.m., costs $15, and has room for 30 players.

That schedule carries straight through the holidays, including Thanksgiving night on November 26, Christmas Eve on December 24 and New Year's Eve on December 31. The next session is Thursday, October 29, the same evening Merry Pin next door runs its Hand-Bound Hearth Brooms workshop at 6:30 p.m. For anything beyond Commander Night, check Rowhaven's own website.

A small note on names: Rowhaven's PoPville announcement called it a store "in Takoma Park," while its mailing address is 7348 Georgia Ave NW, Washington, DC 20012. Neighborhood lines blur along this part of Georgia Avenue, so the street address is the clearest guide.

The Parks Supplies the Big Saturdays and the Dinner After

The Parks at Walter Reed does not program by the week. It holds a few larger gatherings, and this year it added new places to eat that fit neatly around the smaller events on Georgia Avenue.

Two of the new kitchens share 1155 Dahlia St NW. PoPville reported in May that Cantina Paraiso, a Mexican restaurant, had opened in the former Jinya Ramen space. The reader tip it ran called the restaurant "another dining option alongside Juneberry Garage." Next came Slice & Pie, a pizzeria serving New York and Detroit styles. Eater DC's August openings roundup put its first day of sales on Tuesday, August 25, with a grand opening party set for September 8. PoPville's follow-up carried the shop's own message, "We are open!"

The Parks' two seasonal November gatherings are built for a full afternoon:

Walter Reed history walking tour, Sunday, November 15, 2 to 4 p.m. The developer's event page lists this date at $15 for Parks neighbors. Public tours are capped at 15 participants, and the group meets in the middle of Marketplace Plaza, 7175 12th Street NW, across from Whole Foods Market.

Holiday Market & Celebration, Saturday, November 21, noon to 5 p.m. The market is free and set up on Marketplace Plaza at the corner of Georgia Avenue and Dahlia Street NW. The event page promises local handmade goods, a "magical visitor," and holiday music from a Grinch DJ. For snacks it points to Whole Foods, The Charmery, Tropical Smoothie and Starbucks. The schedule and vendor list will be posted closer to the date.

Building a Weekend From Both Ends

Because the two calendars overlap so little, a single day can use both. Three weekends work especially well:

1. Saturday, November 14. Crafty Tales: Augusta Savage at Merry Pin at 10 a.m. Lunch at The Parks. Back to Merry Pin at 5 p.m. for the Boozy Book Fair: 90s Edition, then pizza at Slice & Pie on Dahlia Street.
2. Sunday, November 15. This is the one day the two calendars collide. Merry Pin's Make Your Own Fall Garland workshop and the Walter Reed history tour both start at 2 p.m., so choose one. Dinner at Cantina Paraiso works after either.
3. Saturday, November 21. Crafty Tales: The Life of a Crayon at Merry Pin at 10 a.m., then over to Marketplace Plaza when the Holiday Market opens at noon. You get the morning craft and the afternoon market without rushing either one.

Getting between the two spots is simple. The Parks says it is a 12-minute walk from the Takoma station on Metro's Red Line, and more than a dozen bus lines run along 16th Street NW and Georgia Avenue NW. Parking on campus is limited. The Marketplace garage near Whole Foods has entrances on Elder and Dahlia Streets, just off Georgia Avenue. Coming from the shops, walk down Georgia Avenue and you are at the plaza.

If you'd like a neighbor's view of the blocks around upper Georgia Avenue, from the newest storefronts to the streets around them, I'm always glad to talk it through with you. Jen Goroff is here when you're ready. Let's Connect.