1. Blow out your hair, don your tightest Ed Hardy T-shirt, and get ready for a situation at Tabaq Bistro’s Jersey Shore viewing party on Thursday. Pulsing house music will give you a chance to beat up the beat, while $5 cocktails, $4 Heinekens, Amstels, and Coronas, and $8 Jägerbombs could make you feel like you got Snookied in the face. The no-cover event starts at 9, with a dance party following the show.

2. Join host Avi Lewis in a free-forum discussion sponsored by Al Jazeera’s English-language programming at Busboys and Poets on Thursday as he focuses on international politics one year after President Obama took office. The free program runs from 6 to 8, and audience members will get a chance to meet reporters from Al Jazeera.

3. The Honfleur Gallery is opening its newest exhibit, “Stories,” on Friday from 7 to 9. The collection showcases photographs by NBC News producer Antoine Sanfuentes, the Today show’s Ann Curry, and photographer/development worker Deborah Terry to raise awareness and funds for relief efforts in Africa.

4. Clock out of work and do good on Friday by attending the Our World Our People Haiti Benefit featuring Tabi Bonney at the Warehouse Loft (411 New York Ave., NE). For just $5 starting at 8, eight acts will open for Bonney, with all proceeds going to the American Red Cross’s relief efforts in Haiti.

5. The Iranian Film Festival is back and in full swing at the Freer and Sackler Galleries this weekend. There will be two films on Saturday (at 1 and 3) and two on Sunday (at 2 and 7). For the lineup and more information, click here.

6. Swivel those hips, raise that lip, and do your best to fit into a white body suit at the National Portrait Gallery’s “Elvis Is in the Building” costume contest. This family-friendly event includes a screening of Viva Las Vagas and a guided tour of the museum’s new Elvis exhibit. For a full schedule of activities, click here.

7. Town Tavern is blowing out the candle on its Big Top One Year Anniversary Party on Saturday starting at 8. The bar will offer complimentary appetizers and an open bar from 8 to 10, followed by fellas dressed up as superheroes performing circus acts with popcorn and corn dogs for sale. Revelers are encouraged to wear party attire to the free event. To attend, RSVP here.

8. Richmond: capital of the Confederacy, tobacco headquarters of the state, and . . . hotbed for salsa music? That’s right. Bio Ritmo, a Richmond-based groove-salsa outfit, will play the Rock and Roll Hotel on Saturday with West African group Cheick Hamala and Funk Ark starting at 8:30. Tickets cost $10

9. Spend your Sunday at St. Ann’s Church (4001 Yuma St., NW) listening to the music of Whitacre, Wadsworth, and Barber as the Washington National Opera Chorus presents a concert to benefit the American Guild of Musical Artists relief fund. American Shaker and folk string arrangements will be featured as well. Admission is free, though patrons are encouraged to make a donation. The concert lasts from 4 to 5:30.

10. As if the National Zoo weren’t already an ideal place to take your kids, the park is hosting the CityDance Ensemble on Sunday from 11 to 1 at its Visitors Center Auditorium. The troupe will present “Jungle Books,” an adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s classic. Tickets ($7) can be purchased here.

Subscribe to Washingtonian
Follow Washingtonian on Twitter 

More>> After Hours Blog | Arts & Events | Happy Hour Finder | Calendar of Events