Wednesday, October 28
The DC Improv is combining comedy and good deeds for its 5th Annual Children’s Hospital Halloween Benefit and Collection Drive. The DC Improv Comedy School Cast will headline the event, during which the club will collect costumes, toys and Halloween-themed decorations to distribute to Children’s Hospital. Bring your Halloween merch and enjoy the improv team. All donations must be brand-new for disease and infection control. Doors open at 7, and the show starts at 8:30. Tickets are $15. Visit here for more information.

Thursday, October 29, through Sunday, November 1
The fourth installment of the series written by Jaston Williams and Joe Sears, Tuna Does Vegas premieres in DC at the Warner Theatre. Despite being a two-man show, the comedy revolves around 20 characters living in Tuna, Texas. Catch Williams and Sears, clad in dresses, purses and wigs, playing characters such as snotty Vera Carp and dog killer Pearl Burras. In this one, the small-towners hit Sin City.Tickets are $26 to $56. For show times, click here.

Monday, October 26
Halau Ho’omau I ka Wai Ola O Hawai’i! Find out what that means at the National Theatre’s Hawaiian Celebration, a night dedicated to the 50th state’s 50th birthday. Dancers, directed by Suz and Manu Ikaika, will perform both ancient and modern hula routines to Hawaiian music and chants. The show starts at 6 in the Helen Hayes Gallery, and free tickets are available 30 minutes before the show on a first-come, first-served basis.

Tuesday, October 27
A staple Washington event, the High Heel Race takes place in DC’s Dupont Circle the Tuesday before Halloween. Spectators gather on 17th Street between P and S streets, Northwest, to watch drag queens and other participants show off their outrageous outfits and teach onlookers a thing or two about running in heels. The race kicks off at 9, but bring your camera around 6—racers usually gather early for photo ops.

Wednesday, October 28
Poets Barbara Goldberg and Brian Brodeur come together at the Kensington Row Bookshop (3786 Howard Ave., Kensington; 301-949-9416) for a reading. Goldberg has published four books, coedited two anthologies, and won two National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships. Brodeur, a resident of Fairfax, has authored Other Latitudes and So the Night Cannot Go Without Us and runs the blog How a Poem Happens. The event starts at 7 and is followed by an open reading in which attendees can present one poem no longer than a page.

Monday: Halloween in Washington
This week is the lead-up to one of the most fun events of the year—Halloween in DC (and on a Saturday, to boot!). We've got everything you'll need to make this Halloween the greatest one yet, from a roundup of costume stores to a guide to Halloween parties to cheap costume ideas and lots more.

Tuesday: High Heel Drag Race
It's a Halloween DC classic—the Dupont Circle High Heel Race. Between 17th and P Streets, NW, hundreds of spectacularly-outfitted drag queens will parade up and down the street. At 9 PM, they'll race in their heels. Get there as early as 6 PM if you want to get a solid viewing spot. Looking for more Halloween events this week? Make sure to check out our guide.

Wednesday: Mad Men Into Modern Gentlemen
Long for the days when you could drink whiskey at work? When smoking a cigar in the office was the norm? When the cut of a suit mattered? We think you'll enjoy indulging in your nostalgia when Jason Tesauro, author of The Modern Gentleman: A Guide to Essential Manners, Savvy & Vice, teaches a series on how to be a "Modern Gentleman" at the Morrison House. Tonight, learn all you ever wanted about cigar and whiskey; there are three more classes in the series. $80, 7 PM; call 703-838-8000 to reserve a space.

An assassin lurking in the shadows, a shark in the water—that’s how Rahm Emanuel is described in the new documentary HouseQuake, which premiered at the E Street Cinema on Wednesday night.

The film—directed by Karen Price, daughter of Representative David Price—offers a behind-the-scenes look at the 2006 campaign and how Emanuel orchestrated one of the country’s most historic congressional elections. Price and her crew followed seven Democratic candidates: Heath Shuler, Tammy Duckworth, Baron Hill, Diane Farrell, Brad Ellsworth, Tim Mahoney, and Jerry McNerney.

In 2006, Democrats picked up 31 seats to seize control of the House, ending the “Republican revolution” that had reigned for 12 years. As President George W. Bush famously remarked, “It was a thumpin’.”

The think tank Third Way and Representative Chris Van Hollen hosted the premiere. Also in the audience were Representatives Price, Jerry McNerney, Baron Hill, and Ed Whitfield, and the Washington Post’s David Broder.

No other beer manages to be quite as contentious as a tall glass of pumpkin ale. Since the Colonial era, brewmasters have quarreled over pumpkin beer’s merits every October as the seasonal brew makes its annual reemergence. It’s all in the flavor, really: Some beer aficionados croon over the subtle hints of squash, while others pinch their nose at the cloying pumpkin-pie sweetness.

The story of pumpkin beer is as old as America. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin were all said to have experimented with it when English barley was too rare to procure. And the following bars are ready to continue the Founding Fathers’ tradition this month as they roll out new flavors fresh from the pumpkin patch.

Birreria Paradiso (2029 P St., NW, 202-223-1245; 3282 M St., NW; 202-337-1245)
At the Dupont Circle location, you’ll find Dogfish Head Punkin Ale, a hoppy beer with a clean, refreshing taste that bar manager Greg Jasgur says “you can drink a lot of.” A more traditional pumpkin ale, this beer harkens back to the olden days of pumpkin brewing. Meanwhile, on tap in Georgetown is Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale, which has a sweeter, spicier pumpkin-pie flavor, and Cape Ann’s Fisherman’s Pumpkin Stout, with a strong roasted flavor, fewer pumpkin-pie notes, and a taste of fresh pumpkin.
How much longer: Through October.
Price: $7 a pint.

1. Help celebrate the YWCA’s annual Week Without Violence campaign by learning how to fight. Starting at 6 on Thursday, men and women are invited to the Penn Quarter YMCA (624 Ninth St., NW) for a free one-hour self-defense workshop with Sara Salam. The class will cover both holistic and physical ways to channel fear into strength in order to confront attackers.

2. You’re young, ambitious, and working to change the world. Isn’t it time society gave something back to you other than a barely livable wage? Following the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network gala at the White House on Thursday, BlackFinn American Saloon is throwing an after-party for Washington’s young nonprofit workers and their friends starting at 6. A $5 donation is suggested at the door; Miller Lites are just $2, and glasses of house wine, Champagne, and rail drinks are $3. BlackFinn will provide free food. The networking is up to you.

3. The Bethesda-based Chic Physique fitness club is kicking off its grand-opening weekend with a free Friday-night Sexy Halloween Party at 7, followed by a free pole-dancing demonstration at 9 by Jessalynn Medairy, who teaches the gym’s Ooh La La Lap Dance classes. The fitness center is also offering free trial lessons from noon to 5 on Saturday and Sunday. Classes include Pole Tease, Lap Dance, FlirTease, and Hot Hips.

If you’re looking for comedy this week, you’ve come to the right place: The Bentzen Ball is bringing nationally recognized standup acts into town by the truckload for four days of comedy. We’ve already written about it here; you can also check out our interviews with performers Sarah Silverman, Patton Oswalt, Lizz Winstead, and Tig Notaro. Ticket prices range from $15 (for most one-time shows) to $110 (for a weekend pass). The festival runs October 22 through 25; click here for a full schedule.