Free and Easy events

The Silk Road Dance Company performs tradional Persian dances with authentic costumes and music. (Courtesy of the Silk Road Dance Company)

This week, kick off the new season of "Lost" with a viewing party at a luau in Columbia Heights, learn what it was like to be a protester during student sit-ins, see art from the "Real World" house or enjoy free food, drinks and go-go at Zanzibar on the Waterfront.

Monday
'An Evening on the Silk Road' at the National Theatre
Thousands of years of dance are celebrated by the Silk Road Dance Company's lively productions, which feature the costumes and music from ancient Persia, Egypt and Uzbekistan.

Tuesday
'Lost' season premiere party at Social
To mark the final season premiere of the ever-weirder TV drama, the Columbia Heights lounge hosts a luau. (It's free to get in; you only pay if you want to partake of the tuna, Hawaiian-style dishes and multiple rum cocktails.) The show will be on all the TVs on the lower level with surround sound, and, crucially, the staff promises to enforce a strict "no talking except during commercials" rule once the episode is underway.

Wednesday
Suttle Waters Run Deep at Zanzibar on the Waterfront
Suttle Thoughts plays go-go, soul and jazz that's fun to dance to, even when the band covers top 40 hits like "Blame It on the Alcohol." Throw in free admission before 9 (see the Web site for details) and an open bar and free buffet between 7 and 8, and this happy hour should be an over-30 destination of choice. The band starts at 8.

Thursday
Drink and a Movie at the Black Cat
The Black Cat's movie night returns to the club's backstage with a screening of "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb." As always, there's a special $5 themed cocktail for the evening: The Festiva Bomb, a variation on the whiskey-and-Guinness concoction known as a Car Bomb.

Friday
Free for All Fridays at Roundhouse Theatre
On Friday afternoons through March 26, professional instructors teach beginner acting classes suitable for all age levels, from preschoolers to adults.

Saturday
Black History Month Family Day at the National Museum of American History
The all-ages festival includes performances of freedom songs from the civil rights movement (1, 3 and 5 p.m.), a puppet show called "Can You Spell Harlem?" (1:30 p.m.), crafts and "Join the Student Sit-Ins," a theater piece that shows how protesters prepared for 1960s sit-ins. (11 a.m., 2 p.m., 4 a.m.).

Sunday
'As Seen on TV' at Plan B Gallery
If you've seen an episode of the D.C. version of "The Real World," then you've seen these pop art paintings of presidents and the Statue of Liberty and the framed photos of local landmarks. For two days only, the 14th Street gallery is showing 30 pieces that hung in the MTV house during filming, all of which were created by local artists and all of which are for sale.

-- Fritz Hahn