Soul Crackers plays a free concert at St. Elmo and Norfolk Avenues in downtown Bethesda on Friday, Sept. 4. The show opens a long weekend packed with free arts events for residents.

The band performs as part of the Bethesda Urban Partnership's Summer Concert Series, which runs Friday nights from 6 to 8 p.m. through Sept. 18. The Bethesda Urban Partnership posted the lineup on X, inviting residents to the downtown stage.

A few miles west, Glen Echo Park's 55th Annual Labor Day Art Show opens with a reception Friday evening from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Spanish Ballroom. The show itself runs Saturday, Sept. 5, through Monday, Sept. 7, noon to 6 p.m. each day. Admission is free.

The Glen Echo Park Partnership for Arts and Culture, which presents the show, calls it one of the largest art exhibitions in the Washington, D.C., area. More than 500 artists from across the mid-Atlantic region will display and sell ceramics, glass, sculpture, painting, photography, jewelry, fiber arts, furniture and works on paper, according to the park's event page.

Everything on display is for sale, Time Out Washington DC noted. Visitors can reach Glen Echo Park from the Friendship Heights Metro station via Ride-On Bus 29.

Edith Graves, founder of Edith Graves, Art Advisor, LLC, is judging this year's awards. Cash prizes of $250 go to top works in the 2D and 3D categories. One artist will also receive the Park View Artist Award, which includes a solo exhibition in the Park View Gallery in 2027.

The Spanish Ballroom is not air-conditioned. Large fans will run throughout the day.

The art show also overlaps with the Global Rhythms festival at Glen Echo Park on Saturday, a free event featuring Latin music by the Capital Horns and Hungarian folk and contemporary dance, Bethesda Magazine reported.