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Dates on a Budget
Valentine’s Day Guide
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More Restaurant Weeks
Thursday, January 28: More than 40 domestic- and import-car manufacturers will show off their newest makes and models for car enthusiasts at this weekend’s Washington Auto Show. This year’s show will highlight alternative fuel with a 65,000-square-foot display on the latest innovations in electric, hydrogen, clean-diesel, natural-gas, and advanced-petroleum technology. There’ll also be celebrity appearances and family activities. Click here for more information.
Head to K Street Lounge tonight for its Help4Haiti fundraiser, which will donate money to Partners in Health. Speakers include Senator Mark Warner. A $20 donation will get you a drink. 6 to 8.
The Bethesda/Chevy Chase Restaurant Week kicked off January 25 and goes through the end of the month. Assaggi, Lebanese Taverna, Grapeseed, and Rock Creek will serve $12 two-course lunches; Tavira, M Café, Lia’s, and Black’s Bar & Kitchen will serve $15 two-course lunches (weekdays only); and a number of places have $30 three-course dinners. Click here for the list of participating restaurants.
Don’t deny it: You’ve probably seen Center Stage, the awesome/terrible film about a class of students at New York’s American Ballet Academy. This weekend, Julie Kent, who played Kathleen Donahue, comes to the Kennedy Center to dance in the American Ballet Theatre’s Romeo and Juliet. 7:30. Get more information and tickets ($29 to $99) here.
Friday, January 29: The annual Iranian Film Festival is taking place at the Freer and Sackler Galleries, and tonight’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. Tickets, limited to two per person, are distributed starting at 6 outside the Meyer Auditorium. Click here for more information.
Warm up on these cold winter days with a rum tasting at the Alliance Française de Washington. Tonight, a $40 ticket will get you a lesson on the creation and history of plantation rums from the Caribbean, plus lots and lots of rum tastings. 6:30; get tickets and more information here.
Have fun in a real-life winter wonderland at Pentagon Row’s Ice Skating Gala. Besides the ice skating, there’ll be street performers, live music, and a human snow globe. All proceeds from skate rentals benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Adults $8, Children under 12 $7, skate rental $3; 6 to 8.
Any fans of improv comedy should head to the Harman Center tonight for a performance by the Upright Citizen’s Brigade. The legendary improv troupe’s will perform at 7:30 and 9:30 (ditto for Saturday). Get tickets ($20) here.
Saturday, January 30: Just in time for the Super Bowl, Rosa Mexicano is offering a free cooking class on gourmet tailgating as part of its Real Men Cook festival. Participants will tackle fried cheese sticks, spinach dip, chipotle beef nachos, Mexican hot dogs, and other finger-licking snacks. The class begins at 10 AM. For reservations and information, call 202-783-5522.
Shoulder pads! Crimped hair! Neon! All that you love about the ’80s will be on full display tonight at the Argonaut on H Street, Northeast, during Temptation, an ’80s dance party. 10 PM.
Alright, guys, it’s time to whip out your aprons and impress your dates for Valentine’s Day. And Art and Soul is here to help. Today, there’s a special Valentine’s Day cooking demo where you’ll learn how to cook a multi-course meal (shrimp bisque, roasted duck). Noon to 2; $50. Sign up here.
Grab your tissues and get ready to wave goodbye to Tai Shan, the 4½-year-old giant panda, 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 session with a “panda interpreter.” For more information, click here.
Several local organizations are coming together at the Park at Fourteenth to host a happy-hour fundraiser for Haiti. Donations from $10 to $25 will be accepted, and there are opportunities to donate more if you’d like to be a sponsor of the event. Get more information and RSVP here.
Sunday, January 31: Head to the Dulles Expo Center for the Sugarloaf Crafts Festival, a juried fine-arts-and-crafts show (it starts Friday and goes through today). More than 300 artists and crafters will sell everything from blown glass to designer clothing. Tickets are $8 and are good for all three days; children under 12 are free. Friday and Saturday 10 to 6, Sunday 10 to 5.
The Haiti benefits continue. Tonight, it’s Music Helping Haiti at the Rock & Roll Hotel. Honor By August, Laura Tsaggaris, Todd Wright, and more will play. Doors open at 5. $12.
Cap off your weekend at Maddy’s Bar & Grille Sunday for a free Grammy Party. The awards show starts at 8, but show up early to complete the bar’s Guess the Grammy game—winners will receive a $50 gift certificate. Happy-hour specials ($4 rail drinks, house wines, and draft beers) run all night.
We love the fuzzy blend of punk and rockabilly from the all-female trio Those Darlins. Hear it for yourself tonight when the group plays the Black Cat backstage. 9 PM; $10.
