Summer is in full swing and there’s so much to celebrate. We are highlighting our friends who are hosting some worthwhile events for your enjoyment this weekend. We are also geeked to have new summer merch now available online!

COMMUNITY
All Purpose Studio is a vintage lifestyle boutique in the Capitol Hill neighborhood known for its unique finds and event activations highlighting the creative community of D.C. This Saturday, July 11th, All Purpose will be kicking off their summer series of events from 12-5pm, titled The Shade. Enjoy a thoughtfully curated marketplace including food, DJ sets, portrait photography, refreshments and more!

The event is free and open to the public. For more details and to RSVP, visit: The Shade.

All Purpose Studio
1445 Constitution Ave NE, Washington, DC 20002
Saturday, July 11 from 12-5pm

Our friends at Purple Patch are saying farewell to their streatery that has served the community so well over the last 5+ years.

This Sunday, July 12th, at 4pm swing by to say goodbye but stay for the good vibes and great food as we celebrate one last toast to the streatery for a big celebration and community gathering with friends and pamilya.

Purple Patch
3155 Mt Pleasant St NW, Washington, DC 20010
Sunday, July 12 at 4pm

CULTURE
Olivia Bruce makes her curatorial debut titled afield. The exhibition explores what lies beyond the familiar; where experimentation, artistic evolution, and curiosity shape new ways of seeing.

Featuring works by:
Rama Alfarhk @ramaalfarkh.art
Jermaine jET Carter @jetcostudios
Bria Edwards @be.theartist
Aliana Grace @alianagrace
Omari Jesse @omari.jesse
Edwine Poku @edwinepokustudio

Opening Reception Saturday July 11th 5p — 9p
9215 51st Ave College Park MD

COMMERCE
In June, we celebrated Black Music Month and Juneteenth with a special lineup of goods commemorating both, at Soulveration’s Juneteenth Block Party. From Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter’s patriotic performances reclaiming the narrative of Black influence and identity in American culture during the tour’s sold-out dates in the DMV, to Gil Scott-Heron’s art activist roots in D.C.’s post-Civil Rights to Statehood movement of the 70s through the 80s whose legacy continues to inspire today.

We are happy to announce that these items are now available for purchase on our website, and we’ve provided our email subscribers with a special code to enjoy either FREE shipping or 15% OFF your purchase this month! Check out all the new drops as we celebrate all summer long!

Use code: SHIPFREE for FREE shipping or code: WELCOME for 15% OFF your order.

 

 

DMV Filipino Day Party: Your Tita’s & Tito’s Y2K Edition (more info)
Saturday, May 16, 2026 from 3PM - 8PM
Shipgarten | 7581 Colshire Drive, McLean, VA

Shop a selection of Fil-Am merch in celebration of AAHPI Month.

Chocolate City Experience (more info)
Saturday, May 16, 2026 from 4PM - 9PM
3935 Minnesota Ave NE, DC

Shop a curation of our D.C. centric, Home Rule, and Statehood merch.

Archive & Arrivals (more info)
Sunday, May 17, 2026 from 4PM - 8PM
Shanklin Hall | 2325 18th St NW, DC

Preview a selection of our luggage collection.

Sari-Sari Pop-Up Market (more info)
Sunday, May 24, 2026 from 12PM - 5PM
Metrobar | 640 Rhode Island Ave NE, DC

Shop a curation of our Fil-Am merch along with a selection of our D.C. centric, Home Rule, and Statehood merch.

Purple Patch AANHPI Heritage Month Celebration (more info)
Sunday, May 31, 2026 from 4PM - 10PM
Purple Patch | 3155 Mt Pleasant St NW, DC

Shop a selection of Fil-Am merch in celebration of AAHPI Month.

CELEBRATING D.C. EMANCIPATION DAY, CHAMPIONING STATEHOOD, AND A CALL TO ACTION

D.C. Emancipation Day commemorates the 1862 signing of the District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act by President Lincoln. The Act abolished slavery in the nation's capital, freeing over 3,000 enslaved people, eight months before the national Emancipation Proclamation.

Celebrated annually since 1866 on April 16th, it became a public legal holiday of the District in 2005.

While the day is one of celebration it is also one of awareness, accountability, and action for the autonomy of D.C. to self govern and its citizens to have equitable representation in our democracy.

We honored the day by attending a special occasion honoring Anise Jenkins – an American activist in the D.C. Statehood movement and  executive director of Stand Up! For Democracy in DC (the original Free DC organization).

Held in Bundy’s Secret Garden at the Go-Go Museum, the event recognized Jenkins for her long standing leadership and activism, giving her flowers while she’s still here. A panel of elders and present day torch bearers also spoke to the importance of carrying on the mission of the movement through educating ourselves and the youth, non-cooperation through direct civic and political engagement, collective effort, strategic organizing, and leveraging all of our skills, talent and passion through community activism. This is the legacy of work that has for so long been led by Anise Jenkins.

The event concluded with a live music performance by youth GoGo band Next Gen Krank and a call to action on May Day, Friday, May 1st.

MAY DAY - A Call to Action:
The movement for a Free D.C. is mobilizing! We’ll be joining them alongside a coalition of organizations, advocacy groups, and fellow D.C. residents onFriday, May 1, 2026 – DC refuses to cooperate: No work. No school. No shopping. Get ready, get organized, and join the day of action. Together we’ll make it clear that DC’s workers, our communities, and our political power are worth fighting for — and anyone who comes for those will have to come through us.Make the pledge and learn more at MAYDAYDC.ORG.

May Day Noon March and Rally
12:00 PM - 2:00 PM Location: Washington Monument (map)
The highlight of the day. Meet us at the Washington Monument at 12 PM — and bring your Crew.

May Day Evening Concert 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM Location: TBA
This powerful day of action will conclude with some celebration and joy. This concert and speaking event will be a chance to dance, organize, and celebrate the beauty and power of DC’s people, workers, and communities.

Vintage Vinyl & Friends Pop-Up
Sunday, April 19, 2026 from 12PM - 6PM
Wishing Wellness, 406 Fifth St NW, WDC

We’re excited to pop-up alongside Blú– Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee, Rhythm Lingo Vinyl Records, and our hosts, Wishing Wellness Dispensary.

Shop a curation of our D.C. centric, Home Rule, and Statehood merch, grab some coffee, and a little something to put in the air before heading over to the D.C. Emancipation Day celebration happening just a short distance away at Freedom Plaza.

We’ll be offering discounts on our merch so you can represent at the upcoming May Day rally and march on Friday, April 1st!

For more information and to  RSVP visit (Vintage Vinyl & Friends)

APRIL POP-UP SCHEDULE

Blossom Block Festival: (more info)
Saturday, April 11, 2026 from 12PM - 7PM
Sycamore & Oak, 1110 Oak Drive SE, WDC

We’ll be releasing some new drops in addition to our curation of D.C. centric, Home Rule, and Statehood merch!

Vintage Vinyl & Friends Pop-Up (more info)
Sunday, April 19, 2026 from 12PM - 6PM
Wishing Wellness, 406 Fifth St NW, WDC

Shop a curation of our D.C. centric, Home Rule, and Statehood merch before heading over to the D.C. Emancipation Day celebration.

Bebots Brunch (more info)
Sunday, April 26, 2026 from 1PM - 7PM
The Hall on H St, 1250 H St NE, WDC

Shop a curation of our H Street NE merch, as well as our selection of Fil-Am merch just in time for AAHPI Month!

The historic H Street NE corridor of Washington, D.C. was established in 1849 and quickly became a major commercial hub and working-class community in the early 20th century. The arrival of horse-drawn streetcars in 1871 is largely credited with the area's surge in development during the late 19th century and thus the inspiration for our H Street Carriage Car capsule.

By the 1930s -1950s, H Street NE was a competitor to downtown DC, featuring bustling theaters, restaurants, and the city's first Sears Roebuck store. Electric streetcars traversed the route, carrying over 3 million passengers monthly before being replaced by buses in 1949. After the Riots of 1968 the area faced serious decline and divestment. 

Fast-forward to modern day, the District initiated the "Great Streets" plan in the early 2000s, leading to the H Street NE streetcar returning in 2016 but ultimately suffering the same fate as its predecessors, being replaced by buses in 2026.

This is Chris Cardi’s ode to H Street’s original form of public transit and how transportation continues to shape the only area we’ve called home in D.C. Use code: STREETCAR for free shipping on your order good through April 30, 2026.

THE D.C. STATEHOOD MOVEMENT IS BLACK HISTORY

D.C. statehood is deeply rooted in Black history and the fight for racial justice, originating from the systematic disenfranchisement of Black residents after they gained political power in the 1860s. Following a brief period of black male suffrage, Congress stripped the heavily Black population of voting rights in 1874 to prevent Black political influence. For the next 80 years, DC residents lacked even the right to vote for president, a restriction that remained in place until the passage of the 23rd Amendment in 1961.

“In Chains 400 Years … And Still in Chains in D.C.!” flyer for Free D.C. Movement.(1966), James Forman Papers, Library of Congress. 

In the mid-1960s, this milestone toward self-governance was driven by the efforts of the Free DC movement, co-founded by Marion Barry, the first chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). Free DC mobilized students and organized acts of civil disobedience to protest the lack of representation for D.C. residents. Working in tandem with the Civil Rights movement these efforts resulted in the DC Home Rule Act being signed into law. The Act created a local government for Washington, DC. granting residents the ability to elect a mayor and council; however, Congress retained the power to overrule local legislation and DC residents remained without a vote in Congress.

Although the Act paved the way for the election of Walter Washington and later Barry himself as DC’s first Black mayors, it fell short of granting full rights to the city's residents. The fight for D.C. statehood is viewed as a continuation of Black resistance, aimed at achieving full citizenship, local autonomy, and ending congressional oversight of a largely Black city. Despite gentrification, D.C. remains a crucial center of Black political culture, with statehood advocates aiming to turn the nation's capital into the first primarily Black state.

It is this history and ongoing movement for liberation that is the inspiration of our City State of Mind capsule collection. This collection is our way of advocating for racial justice, equal representation, Black political power, and D.C. Statehood. 

RESOURCES:

• A History of Free D.C. - Free D.C. Project

• D.C. Wins Home Rule - Dr. MLK Jr. Memorial Library

• Why Statehood for D.C. - Statehood Commission

To our subscribers, enjoy a 28% discount on all City State of Mind capsule collection styles. Use code: BHM. 

Offer valid now through March 4th. Visit www.chriscardi.com.

BLACK HISTORY MONTH 2026: SOUL & SUBSTANCE

H STREET BRIDGE FOAM TRUCKER

This year we introduced new additions to our H Street NE capsule collection at our pop-ups leading up to the festival. Now we’re making those items available online, starting with our H Street Bridge Foam Trucker Snapback.

Inspired by the H Street Bridge NE (Hopscotch Bridge), constructed in 1977; the bridge carries H Street NE over the railroad tracks behind Union Station and into the neighborhood corridor.

The trucker cap spells out in all caps ”H STREET” in an arch reminiscent of the bridge, nesting above “NORTHEAST D of C” as the bold graphic typeface at center front. Available in blackboard, citrus, neon-lime, pimento, and purple.

There’s no place like H Street NE!

Cardi Calendar Sept. 18 and 19:

Upcoming Pop-Ups + Community Fun

Where to find us this week! We’ll be poopin’ up with our Statehood capsule at Extended Play and our H Street NE capsule at Bullfrog Bagels and Binge. We look forward to welcoming you.