The first of May is a double holiday in France: Residents will be celebrating May Day by handing out lilies of the valley for good luck, and probably celebrating Labor Day -- Le Fete de Travail -- with strikes and hopefully a march or two. May 1 is a government holiday in France, but thankfully the organizers of the Alliance Francaise's happy hours aren't taking the day off. Instead, they've organized the latest Soiree Carte Blanche at the Phillips Collection, showing artsy French videos and offering tours of the museum's exquisite collection of French paintings at 6:30 and 7:30. There's free food and a cash bar, and as usual, a DJ will spin electronic dance music for most of the night, but guests can bring their iPods and spin a three-song set. The best one -- as judged by the audience -- wins memberships to both the Phillips Contemporaries and the Alliance. Admission is $10 in advance from francedc.org or $12 at the door; members of the Phillips or the Alliance Francaise pay $4 less.

-- Fritz Hahn (April 2008)