1. Beer Week doesn’t officially get going until Sunday, but you can get started early Thursday night at Bar Louie with its local-beer competition. Starting around 7 PM, $5 will get you admission, beer samples, and a domestic draft. Representatives from Flying Dog Brewery, Hook & Ladder, and Holy Brew will be on hand to dole out samples of their best brews. Vote for your favorite, and the winner will make it to the next round. Other all-day specials include dollar sliders, Coronitas, and miniature Kobe-beef hot dogs.

2. Once a month, the Washington Post’s Going Out Gurus have a happy hour. Thursday, join the blog’s writers from 6 to 8 PM on the roof of the Clarendon Ballroom. Free Georgetown Cupcakes and other gratis eats are the main draw as well as a raffle to win two nights in Rehoboth Beach. Entry is free.

3. Head to the Spot Thursday night at 6:30 for the White Party. Wear white for a free cover, an open bar from 6:30 to 7:30, and drink specials the rest of the night. If you’re too cool to dress in white, the cover is $5 before 10 and $20 after.

4. You may be flyer than Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, but what can we say—the bug-eyed freak entertains. Catch one of Tim Burton’s first movies Friday at dusk as part of Rosslyn’s I Love the ’80s film festival at Gateway Park. Free.

5. Loved the ’80s but ready to move on with your life? Comcast is screening movies a bit more 21st century this weekend at Strathmore. Starting at 8:10 PM, catch The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Friday, The Dark Knight Saturday, and Kung Fu Panda Sunday. The movies are free, but donations are requested.

6. It’s already been three years since the Rock & Roll Hotel opened—celebrate this weekend with a plethora of free and cheap events, including the Flat Out! dance party Friday night (free), another dance party (free) and two shows Saturday (early show $7 in advance and $10 at the door, late show $8), and a beer-week celebration ($10) Sunday at 2 PM.

7. Anything goes at the Palace of Wonders. Saturday at 10 PM, the offbeat club and museum holds “The Dutch Oven Burlesque,” a show featuring stripteases, fancy cocktails, and who knows what else. Cover is $10.

8. DC9 has some of the best dance nights in town. Saturday join DJ Nitekrawler and guest Prince Paul (of the hip-hop outfit Handsome Boy Modeling School) for Moneytown. Come early for free rail drinks from 9 to 10. Cover is $10.

9. Spike’d Sundays at Capitol Skyline’s rooftop pool just got even better. This Sunday, the pool party goes all day, followed by Spike’d Cinema, featuring a screening of Anchorman. The movie starts around 8:15 PM, but come early—as in anytime after noon—for a free burger and drink specials included in the $10 cover.

10. Sunday’s the perfect time to dust off your yoga mat for Downward Dog Studio’s free yoga lesson from noon to 1.

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