In D.C. Dream Day, we ask our favorite people in the area to tell us how they would spend a perfect day in the District.

Angie Chamberland is the new general manager of 9:30 Club, a feat that felt like a pipe dream just a few years ago, when she first started working at the venerable music venue.

“This absolutely is my dream job and my happy place,” Chamberland says. “In a lot of ways, what I bring to the table seems to be working out very, very well for them as well.”

Chamberland worked with local bands in New Haven, Conn., before moving in 2010 to the District, where she spent time in various industries before diving back into music. She started out working the door of 9:30 Club and eventually moved up.

Considering she’s the GM of one of the nation’s most prestigious clubs, it’s no surprise that Chamberland’s day touches on music in some way. But her thoughts on which state is the pizza capital might surprise you.

I travel in from Alexandria, and one of my favorite [places] is actually next to one of [I.M.P.'s] venues. Down on the Wharf, next to the Anthem, is the District Doughnut shop. They have these fantastic huge doughnuts that are just absolutely delicious and very creative, and they have a super wide variety, so stopping there for coffee and doughnuts is an absolute must to get the day started.

And just across the way from that is Artechouse. I always like to check out their exhibits there — it’s a very smart presentation of these multisensory installations dealing with different themes or different topics. They just always have something worth experiencing and something so creative that it’s worth stopping even for just half an hour to walk through it and see what they’ve come up with.

From there, I would go over to H Street to the Joy of Motion dance studio there. They have a wide variety of classes, both sequential and just drop-in. You can take a Pilates class, you can take a ballet class, a jazz class, all sorts of stuff. So getting a little bit of a workout in the morning in a very dance- and music-oriented way is a great start to the day, I think.

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I always like to check out Shaw’s Tavern, which is a short walk from the 9:30 Club. They have a great menu; it’s a great atmosphere. The afternoons tend to be a little quiet, which makes it a nice place to relax a little bit, get something very delicious to eat, interact with their awesome staff and prepare for a busy afternoon.

Then I would head over to help out with the We Are Family DC foundation. That is an endeavor headed by Mark Andersen, who has a relationship with the 9:30 Club as well. They put together packages of shelf-stable food to deliver to low-income seniors in the area. So he puts together a group that will take the food donations, put together packages, and then delivers them to the elderly in the neighborhood. And I think that’s a fantastic service.

I’m a very big fan of the Smithsonian’s National Zoo. Any chance I get to walk through and watch the animals interact with each other a little bit, and get in some walking time and outdoors, would be a main stop for me.

From there, back to U Street to check out Big Planet Comics. I’m a very big comic book fan, and Big Planet is this tiny little shop right on U Street. They have a fantastic selection in a very small room, but they also do a really good job at showcasing some of the best off-the-radar finds. I always have a great experience going there, checking out their staff picks on the main shelf, and then seeing what else they’ve peppered in. That’s how I found some of my absolute favorite comic books — something I had never heard of was featured in the room, and it turned out to be a very great read. So I trust their displays.

I spent eight years in New Haven, Conn., which is the pizza capital of probably North America … depending on your source. The prospects of finding really great pizza after living in Connecticut or New York or any of those pizza capitals is a little difficult sometimes. But Andy’s Pizza, which is right across the street from the 9:30 Club, has met that bar and is one of the most delicious pieces of pizza that I’ve ever encountered.

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After pizza, I’m going to go to the DC Brau taproom and grab a quick drink there, soak in some of the atmosphere. They’re a great local brewery, and they sometimes put on some great music events as well. They’re just a wonderful presence in the city.

From there, I’m going to go back down to [the U Street corridor]. Next to the 9:30 Club is Atlantic Plumbing Cinema. It’s a kind of boutique movie theater. I like to go whenever I get a chance. It’s right next to the club, which is really convenient. But they always have a good selection of movies and sometimes go a little bit more in the independent direction, which is really nice. And then after that, I would head over to the 9:30 Club.

There have been so many different acts that have come through the 9:30 Club that are absolutely can’t-miss acts. And so it’s always hard to pin down a particular one, but I think the one I’m looking forward to the most coming up in April is going to be Godspeed You! Black Emperor [on April 24]. It’s this band out of Montreal that’s very atmospheric, very abstract, very instrumental. And they create this whole experience with some really talented projection artists and have just this incredible presence and incredible mood throughout their entire set. Their music is kind of abstract/avant-garde, but absolutely just stunning and impressive.

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