Bring your pets out for some sunshine, snacks, and butt-sniffing in the courtyard of the hotel. From 5 to 8 p.m., your pups can feast on free gourmet treats and fresh water while you sip cocktails and enjoy appetizers prepared by Jackson 20 Chef Jeff Armstrong. The biweekly event is a great way for you and your pets to meet the neighbors.

» Jackson 20 and Hotel Monaco, 480 King St., Alexandria; 703-549-6080.

Written by Express contributor Suemedha Sood

For Thai shopping, there are a few options in this area. Thai Market carries frozen seafood, including prawns, shrimp, squid, mackerel and other fish; pastes, including tamarind paste and curry paste; and canned goods like rambutans (the little, round, tropical fruits with red, spiky exteriors), lychee fruit and lotus root.

Nuts-and-bolts ingredients include kaffir lime leaves and coconut milk -- useful for Thai soups and curries -- as well as fish sauces, hot sauces and countless types of soy sauce necessary for pretty much every Thai dish. Also look for unique products such as frozen custard apples.

If Thai baked goods strike your fancy, head to the Bangkok 54 Oriental Foods Market in Arlington. There, you'll find freshly baked cookies, cakes and squares. They also sell freshly made sweet sticky rice with taro, wrapped in banana leaves; grilled skewered chicken; whole fried tilapia; and balls made of tapioca pearls and pork. Some items are labeled in Thai only, so if you're curious about what you might end up eating, don't be afraid to ask.

Inhabiting the Ark, Signature's smaller and cozier theater, the musical centers on the return of said black sheep, Jacques (Michael Minarik), to his French-Canadian family. Hoping to recapture a more innocent time, the globe-trotting photographer aims to rekindle an old flame, Laurie (Carrie A. Johnson).

Jacques, however, focuses more on his godson and nephew, Bibi (Jace Casey), a boy teetering on the cusp of adolescence whose changing voice has made him the target of schoolyard bullies. Jacques wants to show Bibi the world, starting by whisking him backstage at a burlesque show and getting the boy drunk and, later, aiming to take the boy to faraway photo shoots.

Since the May 1 deadline for meter installation has come and gone, they run the risk of getting slapped with a $1,000 fine if they're caught ferrying passengers without a meter. Now, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority has set June 1 as a deadline for all taxis servicing Reagan National Airport to hop on the meter bandwagon, WJLA reports.

Why travelers at National would have used a D.C. cab to get into the city from there is a mystery, since the fare to cross the Potomac from Virginia was officially $Arm, plus a $Leg surcharge under the zone system, but whatever. Soon, that, too, will be but an entry in the area's illustrious transit scrapbook.

» "Taxis Required To Use Meters at National Airport" [WJLA]

Photo of a D.C. cab with a meter by Katherine Frey/The Washington Post

All this alliteration is for a good cause: your ticket price goes to help a musician friend of theirs who was recently diagnosed with cancer.

» Jammin' Java, 227 Maple Avenue East, Vienna; Wed., 7 p.m., $20; 703-255-1566.

But the most unlikely place the band has appeared?

The set of ABC's "Dancing With the Stars."

"Its f---ing weird because I never really watched the show, but it felt like everyone around me does," saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist Ulises Bella said. "You work yourself up a lot for two minutes of work and you realize how important those two minutes are because millions of people are watching you. It's a surreal experience."

Ozomatli got the gig because of a familial connection — Justin "El Nino" Poree, who plays percussion and raps, just happens to know the show's orchestra pit guitarist — his dad.

So now that Bella's performed on the show, has he started watching regularly?

For tasty steamed dumplings, try the spiced scallop and crabmeat dumplings and the deluxe lobster dumplings. If you prefer fried versions, try shrimp or taro dumplings. Vegetarian sides, including Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce and sauteed bok choy in a garlic sauce, are good complements. And leave room for dessert. Nothing rivals the sweet fried sesame balls.

» Mark's Duck House, 6184-A Arlington Blvd., Falls Church; 703-532-2125.

Written by Express contributor Suemedha Sood

» State Theatre, 220 N. Washington St., Falls Church; 7 p.m., $22; 703-237-0300.

This eccentric band plays at the Birchmere tonight.

» Birchmere, 3701 Mt. Vernon Ave., Alexandria; 7:30 p.m., $35; 703-549-7500.

While the market will run monthly on the second Saturday through October (N. Fairfax and Stuart Streets), this kick-off event will feature a free concert by Exit Clov at noon. Good tunes and eggs 'n' bacon cuff links by independent vendors like Inedible Jewelry? 'Nuff said!