1. This week marks your last chance to grab some popcorn and catch the free DC Latin American Film Showcase. On Thursday, E Street Cinema will screen Proyect Grey—a Salvadorian film about a camping trip gone awry—at 6:30 and at 8:30, The Maid, which explores class issues in modern Chile. Tickets are first come, first-served and are distributed one per person 30 minutes prior to the film.

2. Tucked as it is between the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Commerce in the federal dictionary, it’s easy to overlook the US Department of Bhangra. Dedicated to bringing a hot monthly Indian dance party to Washington, its employees work at Bossa on Thursday night, keep odd hours (10 PM to 2 AM), and require very little funding (an $8 cover). For more information, visit Bhangra’s official Web site.

3. Winner of the Torpedo Factory Art Center’s 2009 Open Exhibition Opportunity, artist Renee van der Stelt will showcase ten large sculptures and drawings that resemble satellite images of Earth at the gallery on Friday from 6 to 8. This free exhibit is accompanied by an artist’s talk at 7.

Monday, November 2
The Cabral/Truth Circle hosts “Stories of Hope and Struggle,” a film and panel discussion about the plight of Haitian women, at Busboys and Poets at 14th and V streets, Northwest. The film Poto Mitan: Haitian Women, Pillars of the Global Economy profiles five Haitian women whose stories shed light on their country’s hardships. York College assistant professor of African American studies and anthropology Mark Schuller, who produced and co-directed the film, will lead a panel discussion. Event starts at 6.

Tuesday, November 3
In Mexican culture, the souls of the dead visit their living friends and family in the beginning of November. National Geographic Live! (1600 M St., NW; 202-857-7700) will screen La Ofrenda: Days of the Dead, a 50-minute film that shows the runs of Mitla, the gateway to the underworld, according to Mexican Indians. Produced by Lourdes Portillo and Susana Muñoz, the 1989 movie also explores the Latino community’s Day of the Dead traditions in California. Noon.

1. You can take the edge off at McFadden’s from 4 to 7 each weekday, when all beers and appetizers are half off. If you’ve had a tough week in the office, you can up the ante with the bar’s Get Bombed Thursdays, where all beers, vodka flavors, and everything on McFadden’s new Bomb Menu are 50 percent off. Between chicken wings, fried mozzarella sticks, and popcorn shrimp for $5 or less, you can afford to drink on a full stomach.

2. A new season of American Idol is almost upon us. You can test your own auditioning skills at Logan Circle’s 1409 Playbill Café, where Monday and Thursday karaoke, which kicks off at 9:30, is encouraged by $4 pints of Bass Ale and select vodka and rum drinks.

3. Pre-game for Halloween by heading to Policy on Thursday for the free Just the Tip Halloween Throw Down. Five DJs will spin, beers are $3, and shooters cost $4. The party starts at 9:30. Come dressed to frighten.

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.

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.