Cheap dates

Tango lessons
Learn to tango tonight from 7:30 to 10 p.m. at H20 Lounge and Nightclub, 800 Water Street SW, Washington. Local master ballroom and tango instructors walk participants through the basic A to Zs of the tango. Singles or couples are welcome. No sneakers or baseball caps please.
After the lessons, enjoy an evening of South American tango music to test your dance skills.
The cost is $12.
For more information and reservations, go to www.thingstododc.com and select the "Dance Lessons" link in the left-hand column.

Country-western dance
The Northern Virginia Country Western Dance Association teaches and promotes Country-Western dancing.
The group hosts smoke-free, alcohol-free dances on the first, third and fifth Saturdays of each month for $12 per person.
The next dance is Saturday at Luther Jackson Middle School's cafeteria.
Dance lessons begin at 7:30 p.m., followed by open dancing from 8:30 until 11. The NVCWDA provides light refreshments.
Dances in August are: Aug. 16 at the Dance With Me Studio, Herndon; and Aug. 30 at Luther Jackson Middle School.
The group's Web site is www.nvcwda.org, which has directions to the dances and more information about the NVCWDA. More information is available by calling 703-339-8437.

Friendship Firehouse Festival
Friendship Firehouse Festival is Saturday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the historic Friendship Firehouse, 107 S. Alfred St., between Prince and King streets, Alexandria. Admission is free.
Sponsored by the Friendship Veterans Fire Engine Association, the festival celebrates the role firefighters have played throughout history and features antique and modern fire apparatus, craft booths, live music and displays by Alexandria merchants. Children get free fire helmets and balloons and can sit in the city's fire trucks.
Additionally, the Friendship Firehouse Museum offers tours, which highlight the Friendship Fire Company - known as "George Washington's Fire Company" - Alexandria's first fire company founded in 1774.
For more information, call 703-838-4994.

Railroad Days
Railroad Days at The Lyceum in Alexandria are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday. The event includes model HO gauge trains journeying through miniature towns, hills and valleys, with a state-of-the-art digital command system from The Potomac Division of the National Model Railroad AssociationThe event is free. This year, the event includes a hands-on Thomas the Tank Engine area for toddlers, Lego and hobby train displays and information from Whistle Stop Hobbies.
The Lyceum is at 201 S. Washington St.

Irish Festival
An annual Irish Festival is Saturday, noon to 7 p.m., at Waterfront Park in Alexandria sponsored by Ballyshaners, Inc.
The festival features Irish arts and crafts, Irish-American food and beverages, and all-day entertainment, including the City of Alexandria Pipes and Drums and the Washington

Scottish Pipes and Drums.
For more information, call 703-883-4686 or 703-237-2199, or go to www.ballyshaners.org.
"1776"
The Little Theatre of Alexandria, 600 Wolfe St., Alexandria, launches its 75th Season Saturday with the 1969 Tony Award-winning musical "1776," which recreates the public events and personal struggles that lead the Continental Congress to forge a new nation, making audience members witnesses to history.
Shows run through Aug. 23. Show times are 8 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday and 3 p.m., Sunday.
Tickets are $18 to $21.
For more information, call 703-683-0496, or go to www.thelittletheatre.com.

Civil War Weapons
Fort Washington Park, 13551 Fort Washington Road, Fort Washington, Md., is where volunteers in Civil War period uniforms demonstrate and explain the procedures used during the muzzle-loading era of American arms. A musket demonstration is at noon. Artillery demonstrations are at 1, 2 and 3 p.m.
Visitors can participate in a non-firing artillery drill after each artillery demonstration.
Families are welcome.
Park Admission is $5 per vehicle.
More information is available from Barbara Wadding or Bambi Sears, 301-763-4600.