1. Sangria lovers should head to Nando’s Peri-Peri for a happy-hour deal featuring 32-ounce pitchers of the stuff for $4.95. It runs from 4 to 7 every day at the Dupont Circle location and Monday through Friday in Chinatown. The promotion ends September 7.

2. We’re a tad annoyed that no one (we’re looking at you, Alejandro) told us about Blingo at Sticky Rice. Every Thursday night, the Atlas District bar hosts a bingo/white elephant mash-up game, where bingo players can win prizes and steal better ones from their opponents. The game kicks off at 11 and usually runs until 1 AM. Free.

3. The Arlington Cinema ’n’ Drafthouse has a good roster of second-run movies, including Land of the Lost, starring Will Ferrell, and Sacha Baron Cohen’s Brüno. Tickets are cheap—$1 to $5.50, depending on when you go—and you can enjoy table service during the films. Both are being shown Thursday night.

4. The Comcast Outdoor Film Festival at Strathmore wraps up Friday with a screening of Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa. Thursday night, it’s Slumdog Millionaire. The films are free, but donations to NIH Children’s Charities will be accepted. Movies start at 8:15.

5. Asylum in Adams Morgan is all grown up—the bar is celebrating its 18th birthday Friday night. To mark the occasion, bartenders will sling beers for 18 cents from 8 to 10 and for $1.80 from 10 to closing. A DJ will be on hand with dance tracks, and the local reggae band Lucky Dub will play at 9:30. No cover.

Kennedy Center Opera House

The Washington National Opera’s spring season begins with the Santa Fe Opera’s production of Benjamin Britten’s Peter Grimes March 21 through April 4. Set in an English fishing village around 1830, it’s the tale of a fisherman (Christopher Ventris) accused of murder and the schoolteacher (Patricia Racette) who believes in his innocence. For tickets ($45 to $300), call the WNO at 202-295-2400 or visit dc-opera.org.

The New York City Ballet’s appearances are always a treat. On the program March 4 through 8 are dances by Christopher Wheeldon, Peter Martins, and the ballet’s founder, George Balanchine. Jerome Robbins and Twyla Tharp’s “Brahms/Handel”—a light, satirical collaboration between the two greatest choreographers to combine modern dance, pop, and ballet—is also on the bill. For tickets ($29 to $99), call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org.

Kennedy Center Concert Hall

An eclectic lineup is heading to the Concert Hall, beginning March 1 with pianist Evgeny Kissin playing music by Chopin and Prokofiev. For tickets ($47 to $127), call the Washington Performing Arts Society at 202-785-9727 or visit wpas.org.

Wynton Marsalis is tooting his horn in more ways than one. The trumpeter is performing with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra March 16 and delivering the Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts and Public Policy March 30. For tickets to the concert ($42 to $87), call the Washington Performing Arts Society at 202-785-9727 or visit wpas.org. For free tickets to the lecture, visit americansforthearts.org/events.

Conductor Herbert Blomstedt leads the National Symphony Orchestra in music by Mozart and by Bruckner March 19 through 21. For tickets ($20 to $80), call the Kennedy Center at 202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org. Bass baritone Samuel Ramey and mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade perform March 25. For tickets ($42 to $87), call the Washington Performing Arts Society at 202-785-9727 or visit wpas.org.

Where can you shake your groove thing in Washington? We’ve found lots of dancing destinations, from posh clubs to skeevy dives.

Sweaty Workouts
Limbs fly on the second floor of Columbia Heights’ Wonderland Ballroom. Local DJs are a fixture on weekends, as are full-capacity crowds that often spill over onto the bar’s small stage.
Another consistently sweaty mess of dancing can be found every Friday night at the Liberation Dance Party at DC9. It costs $6 to get into the second-floor party, but the bar serves free rail drinks from 9 to 10:30.
The Red Lounge is an unmarked hot spot between U and V streets. It’s easier to find on weekends when the line is out the door. Make sure to stop by when the local DJ group Fatback spins.
Silver Spring’s Gallery Restaurant & Lounge is gaining a reputation for its late-night events Thursday through Saturday from 10 PM to 3 AM. DJs play house and techno on the downstairs dance floor.

Related Links:

• 100 Best Restaurant Countdown
• Valentine’s Day Guide
• Events Calendar
• Happy Hour Finder
• Valentine's Parties Where You Don't Need a Date
  

Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday

Thursday, February 12: If you’re an early riser, and a presidential history buff, you might want to head to the Lincoln Memorial this morning at 8 for Abraham Lincoln’s Birthday Celebration. Officials will be reading remarks to celebrate the bicentennial of Honest Abe. The Gettysburg Address will also be read.

Head to the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria this evening for Second Thursday Art Night—and today it’s heart- and Valentine’s-themed. Browse the open studios, chat with artists, go on a heart-themed scavenger hunt, hear live music, and enjoy refreshments. And, aww, the first 300 guests tonight will receive a flower. 6 PM; free. Get more Valentine’s ideas for art lovers with our date itinerary.

Do you Twitter? (And if you do, you should totally be following The Washingtonian on Twitter.) If you’re a fan of the pithy Web-based messaging network, head to the DC Twestival tonight at Local 16. This social meetup of area Twitterers (and anybody else who wants to come) is being held to raise money for Charity Water, a group bringing potable water to developing nations. Tickets are $10 in advance, $15 at the door. 7 PM.

Vegan? Or thinking about going that way? You might want to head to the Science Club tonight for the monthly meeting held by DC Vegan Drinks, a group “interested in sharing veganism and advocating for animal rights.” 7 PM; more details are on the group’s Facebook page.

We call this dance the Hot Mess. Look familiar?

SALSA

Habana Village offers salsa lessons Wednesday through Saturday. Wednesday and Saturday nights are targeted at beginners, while Thursday and Friday are advanced. The charge is $10 per person.

Monday is salsa night at Lucky Bar, with monthlong progressive lessons at 8 followed by a dance party. Lessons are free, but a strict dress code excludes sneakers, hats, and baggy pants.

Salsa nights at the Clarendon Grill, every Monday from 7 to 9, are among the more popular in the area. Beginners’ lessons are at 7, intermediate/advanced at 9. Following the lessons, there’s an open dance-floor party with a DJ or musical group. Cover charge $5.

Zanzibar on DC’s Southwest waterfront has free salsa lessons every Thursday from 7 to 8, and there’s a $5 cover charge to enter the club.

You might also like . . . Recession Deals at Restaurants | Happy Hours on Saturday and Sundays

Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday

Thursday, November 20: The third Thursday of November marks the release of the 2008 Beaujolais Nouveau harvest—and French law says the bottle can’t be corked before then. The anticipation is killing us, so we’ve rounded up a few local spots that will toast the special occasion.

You’ll get a French happy hour mixed with music and art tonight at the Phillips Collection’s Soiree Carte Blanche event. Bring your iPod to join in a music-mixing contest with a great prize: a free series of classes at the Alliance Française and a Phillips Collection membership. The fun, food, and Frenchiness gets started at 6 PM; admission is $12 at the door.

Friday, November 21: The National Museum of American History is finally reopening after months of delays. Celebrate its newly renovated digs at a ribbon-cutting ceremony this morning from 8:30 to 10. A grand-opening festival commences at 10 and continues throughout the day and weekend. Jazz, blues, classical, and Latin music will be played, and actors will recreate important scenes from American history, including the creation of “The Star Spangled Banner” and sit-ins during the Civil Rights movement. Visit americanhistory.si.edu for details.

Free Seats

Free Night of Theater: Theaters including Arena, Shakespeare, and Round House are taking part in a Free Night of Theater on October 16, when a limited number of tickets will be available for each. There will be additional shows with free seats at participating theaters October 9 through November 23. Tickets are available at the League of Washington Theatres Web site, lowt.org, beginning October 1 at noon.

Monday Night at the National: All Monday-evening performances in the Helen Hayes Gallery of the National Theatre are free. Tickets are available half an hour before showtime. Free tickets are also available for the Saturday Morning at the National Theatre series for children. 1321 Pennsylvania Ave., NW; 202-783-3372; nationaltheatre.org.

Kennedy Center Millennium Stage: Free concerts every evening at 6. No tickets required; kennedy-center.org.

Student, Senior, and Military Discounts

Almost all theaters offer these types of discounts. Especially good ones are at the National Theatre, Kennedy Center, Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Open Circle Theatre, and Zemfira Stage. Check with individual theaters for details.