Rather stay home and make a great margarita? Check out our video recipe from the folks at Oyamel on how to make their signature margarita.

Monday, May 5: Lima Lounge (1401 K St., NW) gets in on the Cinco de Mayo action with free salsa lessons, free drinks for women from 9 to 11 PM, and free admission for the evening. The fun starts at 6 PM.

Georgetown spot Mie N Yu (3125 M St., NW; 202-333-6122 ) is hosting Tequila Five Ways, a tequila-cocktail lesson. From 5:30 to 7, learn how to create five different tequila drinks, as taught by one of the restaurant’s sommeliers. Tickets are $35.

Silver Spring spruces up for a Cinco de Mayo celebration that takes over Ellsworth Drive this evening. From 5 until 9, Austin Grill (919 Ellsworth Dr.) will host a “Mexican beer garden” as well as crafts and raffles.

UPDATE

The Rock and Roll Hotel (1353 H St., NE; 202-388-7625) has $3 Coronas and a special South of the Border food menu tonight. A DJ will spin reggeaton jams all night, and—oddly enough—a guitar signed by the Canadian band Sum 41 will be given away. 7:30 to 9:30.

• Cinco de Mayo at Velvet Lounge (915 U St., NW; 202-462-3213) translates to $2 Tecates and $4 shots of Jose Cuervo. Also, reggae band Nayas performs, and I&I Vibrations, a group of local DJs, spins. Show starts at 9:30.
 

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Thursday, May 1:
• The Redwalls, whose sound has earned the Chicago quartet comparisons to the Beatles, play at DC9 in support of their latest, self-titled album.

Friday, May 2:
• The Kills are at the Black Cat tonight. The band’s track “Sour Cherry,” featured on Gossip Girl, is nothing short of sleazy, sexy, and bitchin’—just like Blair Waldorf herself.

Members of These United States and Le Loup sing together on stage.

Remember when we were blown away by a few DC bands who played down at the South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas? We’ll, we’ve snagged those very same bands to come into Washingtonian.com and do a live chat with us (and you!). Jukebox the Ghost, These United States, and Le Loup (or members thereof) will take your questions today at 2 PM.

Want to know their secrets to musical success? Their thoughts on the flourishing DC music scene? What life on the road is really like for an up-and-coming band? Ask them anything. If these groups’ lively music and charismatic stage presences count for anything, their answers are going to be pretty great.

Like we said, the bands will chat today at 2 PM, but you can submit your questions in advance right here.

Monday, April 28: Filmfest DC
The focus of this year’s Filmfest DC is on films from or about Latin America. Monday night, La Zona, which looks at class clashes in Mexico City, screens at Regal Cinemas Gallery Place (701 Seventh St., NW; 202-393-2121). More than 70 features, documentaries, and shorts from around the world are being shown as part of this annual festival. Get more information and schedules here.

Tuesday, April 29: Free Ice Cream!
Ben & Jerry’s is celebrating 30 years in the ice-cream business by giving away free cones. Click here for more details.

Wednesday, April 30: The History Boys
If you haven’t already, check out Joy Zinoman’s staging of Alan Bennett’s The History Boys at the Studio Theatre (1501 14th St., NW; 202-332-3300). The play explores issues such as integrity, the right to an elite education, favoritism, and homosexuality. Check out our review and get details here.

Cork's custom-tailored champagne cocktail.

The Spot: Cork wine bar; 1720 14th St., NW; 202-265-2675; corkdc.com

The drink: a summer Champagne cocktail composed of sparkling ginger wine, lychee liqueur, Campari, and lemon juice. There’s no name for the drink because it was custom-tailored, as are all cocktails created by Cork’s ambitious mixologists. I requested a sparkling-wine cocktail to fit with the 80-degree temperatures, and this is what I received.

The price: $10

First impression: Dazzling. Peach-tinted bubbles prop up the curl of lemon rind that floats atop the flute. Once you lose the mesmerized stare and take the first sip, a perfumed flavor swirls among the refreshing ginger wine. Notes of citrus slip in, too. It’s calming and thirst-quenching amid the bustle and ever-swinging door of Cork’s scene.

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Takoma Park’s vintage boutiques may get most of the buzz in the suburbs, but serious bargain hunters and vintage lovers would do well to take Metro’s Red Line in the other direction and check out Bethesda’s lengthy roster of secondhand shops as well. We recently spent an afternoon exploring Bethesda’s bargain haunts and came home with a hefty load of cool vintage finds.

Hometown darlings Thievery Corporation, along with a slew of other great bands, are scheduled to perform at the Outernational Festival at Merriweather Post Pavilion on June 28. (Other bands include TV on the Radio, Ladytron, Turntables on the Hudson, and Federico Aubele.) Buy your tickets tomorrow at 10 AM here.

The Breeders are back! The talented rock band, started in 1988 by Kim Deal of the Pixies, is probably best known for the hit “Cannonball,” but it’s just released a new album and is eager to show off the songs. The band will be at the 9:30 Club on June 11, and tickets are sure to sell out. They just went on sale today, so get yours here.