1. Hop a Vespa and head to Hotel Rouge Thursday for the International Club of DC’s Italian happy hour from 6:30 to 9:30. For $5, the first 50 attendees receive free antipasti and Peroni beer—glasses cost $3 otherwise. Come ready to network, talk with your hands, and kiss on both cheeks. To purchase your ticket, click here.
2. How much would you pay to hear Thelonious Monk at the Smithsonian American Art Museum? Thursday at 6:30, you can catch him for free as the museum screens the 1988 documentary Thelonious Monk: Straight, No Chaser. Produced by Clint Eastwood, the film shows the world-famous pianist on tour, offstage, and in the studio. For more information, click here.
3. Learn how emotional intelligence is related to career success in a free seminar at the Center for Nonprofit Advancement (1666 K St., NW) Thursday from 6 to 8. Christie Lewis describes how recognizing your own feelings and those of coworkers—as well as motivating yourself and managing emotions—is just as important as a high IQ, if not more so.
4. Skate for a cause at Pentagon Row’s first annual Ice Skating Gala to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Thursday from 6 to 8. Enjoy live music by the Woodburn Road rock band, marvel at jugglers and stilt walkers, and witness a “human snow globe.” The event is free, and ice skates can be rented for $8. For more information, click here.
5. Ah, Latin America: salsa, sombreros, and . . . Shabbat? ¡Claro que si! Immerse yourself in Latin America’s Jewish culture as Sabor Latino presents Shabbat Around the World at the Sixth & I Historic Synagogue. Cantor Ramón Tasat kicks things off with a Shabbat service featuring music from Mexico, Argentina, and Spain, followed by a Latin buffet dinner. The event, $8 per person, is Friday from 5:30 to 8:30. For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.
6. The annual Iranian Film Festival is taking place at the Freer and Sackler Galleries, and Friday’s movie is Shirin at 7. The film is a series of close-up montages of 112 Iranian women’s faces (plus French actress Juliette Binoche) as they watch an adaptation of Shirin, a tragic Persian love story. Free tickets, limited to two per person, are distributed starting at 6 outside the Meyer Auditorium. Click here for more information.
7. Grab your tissues and get ready to wave goodbye to 4½-year-old giant panda Tai Shan at the National Zoo’s free Farewell Celebration Saturday from 11 to 3. In preparation for Tai Shan’s departure for China on February 4, the zoo is rolling out the bamboo carpet with a variety of giveaways and activities, including a Q&A with a “panda interpreter.” For more information, click here.
8. Art Whino celebrates the opening of the artist Cutthroat’s new politically charged stencil work, “Un Cachito de lo Nuestro” (“A Little Slice of Ours”) with a free reception from 6 to midnight. The artist’s work was heavily influenced by his journey across the Mexican border in search of a better life. For more information on the gallery and to see previews of Cutthroat’s work, click here.
9. Chaise Lounge performs a sultry mix of jazz standards with the fluttery vocals of Marilyn Older at the Kennedy Center’s free Millennium Stage on Sunday from 6 to 7. Tickets are distributed 30 minutes prior to showtime on a first-come, first-served basis.
10. Cap off your weekend by going to Maddy’s Bar & Grille Sunday for its free Grammy Party. The awards show starts at 8, but show up early to complete the bar’s Guess the Grammy game—the person who guesses the most winners receives a $50 gift certificate. Happy-hour specials ($4 rail drinks, house wines, and draft beers) run all night.
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