Location: H Street NE

Summary: With plenty of music and food from locals, the H Street Festival is a fantastic collection of all things DC.

The H Street NE neighborhood has transformed dramatically over the past ten years of development and its annual H Street Festival has come to become one of the cooler neighborhood events in DC, giving the growing number of new business a chance to attract new customers and showcase the transition of the area.

On September 11, thousands poured onto six blocks of H St to enjoy both the sights and sounds offered by the annual festival. Four stages were staggered along the festival, offering continuous live music and events. Besides the local restaurants opening their doors and offering up specials on food & drinks, plenty of other local DC restaurants and cooks occupied tents and grilled up an large variety of items to enjoy (our favorite by far was the BackYard BBQ tent’s pulled pork sandwich). Taylor Gourmet offered a hoagie eating contest and Dangerously Delicious Pies put on the equally challenging pie eating contest. Plenty of satellite bars dotted the street, but Smith Commons’s drink specials and and Biergarten Haus’s festive selections were some of the better choices available. Atlas Performing Arts Center put on the best shows of the day, featuring performers from their own organization, but also hosting other local talents.

Below is a slideshow of the pictures that we snapped. The H Street festival did a great job of showcasing the nieghborhood scene and, from the tesitmonies we heard from newbie attendees, have made  believers out of many newcomers to the strip of restaurants and businesses. If you somehow missed out on this event, mark it on your calendar for next year. Better yet, haul your ass to H Street NE and grab a drink/bite at one of the many great establishments in the area.

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As a quick note, we struggled with how to complete this post for a while. Usually, Hungry in DC likes to give an ample amount of context, description, and narration to the events that we attend to paint a broader picture of the experience. We ultimately decided that the pictures of the event spoke for themselves and there was little reason to add additional context. As a reader, let us know your thoughts on whether this is best approach or whether some captions with explanations would be welcomed. Thanks!