By Robin Groom
Special to The Washington Post
Sunday, February 19, 2006; D07

Toward winter's end.

The Folger Shakespeare Library's "Acquisitions Night," an annual benefit for its collections, is at the Folger. Tickets: $100. Call 202-675-0324 or visit http://www.folger.edu/acqnight .

The Equal Justice Foundation Auction, which benefits American University's Washington College of Law public interest law internships, is at the college. Tickets: $5. Call 202-274-4075.

The D.C. Independent Film Festival's opening night offers screenings at the Avalon Theatre of "My Tiny Universe"; "She's, She's, She's a Bombshell," an animated film; and "Washington Bureau," a documentary. A reception follows at Busboys and Poets. Film only: $10. Post-reception only: $20. Film and post-reception: $25. Call 202-537-9493 or visit http://www.dciff.org .

"Rhapsody in Red: A Night at the Moulin Rouge," a benefit of the Alexandria Chapter of the American Red Cross, at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport features entertainment by Peaches O'Dell and her Orchestra. Tickets: $200. Call 703-549-8300, Ext. 203 or visit http://www.alexandriaredcross.org .

The YMCA Camp Letts Equestrian Center live auction is at the Camp Letts dining hall in Edgewater, Md. Tickets: $15 ($25 per couple). Call 410-919-1423.

Three Dog Night and Sister Sledge are the entertainment for the Best Friends Foundation's gala at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel. Tickets: $400, $500 and $1,000. Call 202-478-9686.

Lidia Matticchio Bastianich of the cooking show "Lidia's Family Table" is keynote speaker at Les Dames d'Escoffier Washington Chapter's fifth "Salute to Women in Gastronomy," an all-day event at Montgomery College in Rockville. Tickets: $75. Call 202-973-2168.

The Official Oscar Night party at the American Film Institute's Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in Silver Spring benefits First Star, an organization that serves abused and neglected children. Tickets: $75 ($85 at the door). Call 202-293-3703, Ext. 101 or visit http://www.firststar.org .

"Oscar Night Live," a fundraiser for the D.C. Independent Film Festival, is at the Goethe-Institut Washington. Tickets: $10 and $15. Call 202-537-9493 or visit http://www.dciff.org .

Hexagon's 2006 beneficiaries, Capital Hospice and Hospice Caring, are hosts of "La Grande Soiree" at the French Embassy. The evening features entertainment by the Clambaked Trio, a performance of the Hexagon Exclusive Revue, gourmet buffet, open bar, silent and live auctions, and admission to a Hexagon show. (The show, "You Only Run Twice," is March 3-25 at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Georgetown.) Soiree tickets: $175. Call 202-333-7469, 703-531-6208or 301-869-4673.

The D.C. Independent Film Festival's special fundraiser for "Unwinking Gaze," a work in progress on the Dalai Lama, is at the Gala Theater-Tivoli. Meet the filmmaker and see a 20-minute clip. Donations requested. Call 202-537-9493 or visit http://www.dciff.org .

The 14th annual Arena Stage benefit for its educational programs for young people offers a pre-performance dinner and awards ceremony at the Mandarin Oriental for guests purchasing $400 tickets, followed by a performance at Arena's Kreeger Theater of "The Pundit Whodunit: The Case of the Political Puzzle" with a VIP cast. Tickets: $200 and $400. Call 202-554-9066, Ext. 266.

Everybody Wins! D.C., a children's literacy and mentoring program, hosts its 11th annual Celebration Gala at the Capital Hilton. Tickets: $150. Call 202-347-9467 or visit http://www.everybodywinsdc.org .

The National Council of La Raza's Capital Awards gala at the National Building Museum honors Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), House Majority Leader John A. Boehner and Ernesto Alejandro Schweikert of Radio Tropical (KGLA). Tickets: $350. Call 800-311-6257.

Debra L. Lee, chairman and CEO of BET Holdings, will give the keynote address at the Frederick B. Abramson Memorial Foundation reception at the Corcoran Gallery of Art. The foundation provides scholarships to D.C. high school graduates who are going to four-year colleges. Tickets: $100. Call 202-828-5120.

The 30th anniversary celebration of the International Center for Research on Women, a reception at the Kennedy Center with music by a National Symphony Orchestra string quartet and dinner, honors Susan Berresford, Philip H. Knight, Pfiriael Kiwia and Ashok Dyalchand. Tickets: $250. Call 202-797-0007.

The American Association of People With Disabilities Leadership Gala at the Capital Hilton honors John D. Kemp, Megan O'Neil, Anisha Imoff-Kerr and Barbara J. Easterling. Tickets start at $125. Call 703-556-6330. The TTY number is 703-556-0448.

The American Enterprise Institute will honor historian David Hackett Fischer at its annual dinner at the Hilton Washington. Tickets: $500 (must be purchased in advance). Call 202-862-5880.

The Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance's fifth annual Food and Wine Tasting is at the National Press Club. Tickets: $150. Call 800-225-6872 or visit http://www.tsalliance.org .

The D.C. Independent Film Festival benefit for the New Orleans Film Festival -- dinner is included -- is at the Goethe-Institut Washington. Tickets: $25. Call 202-537-9493 or visit http://www.dciff.org .

The Cancer Research and Prevention Foundation's Spring Gala is at the National Building Museum. Tickets: $600 and $1,000. Call 703-519-2103.

Aretha Franklin is the featured entertainer at the NABOB Communications Awards Dinner at Marriott Wardman Park. Honorees: Maya Angelou, Etta James, Robert Johnson, Alicia Keys, S. Epatha Merkerson and Albertina Walker. Tickets: $600. Call 202-463-8970 or visit http://www.nabob.org .

The Cosmopolitans cocktail dance for singles over 40, a benefit for the American Cancer Society and other charities, is at the Torpedo Factory Art Center. Tickets: $45 ($50 at the door). Call 703-522-5344 or 703-379-6137.

The PEN/Faulkner tribute to Raymond Carver on the 30th anniversary of his short story collection "Will You Be Quiet, Please?" -- with Richard Ford, Jayne Anne Phillips, Joy Williams and Tobias Wolff -- is at the Folger Shakespeare Library. Tickets: $15. Call 202-544-7077.

Lionel Richie and Dennis Miller are the featured performers at the Leukemia Ball at the Washington Convention Center. Tickets: $1,000. Call 703-960-1100 or visit http://www.leukemiaball.org .

The Metro D.C. Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) annual Honors Gala and Silent Auction (an online auction is offered also for the first time; visit http://metrodcpflag.cmarket.com ) is at the Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill. Tickets: $150, $250 and $500. For tickets call 800-494-8497 or order online at http://www.boxofficetickets.com/pflag . For information call 202-638-3852 or visit http://www.pflagdc.org .

"Shoot for the Moon," the 13th annual Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center scholarship auction, is at the National Air and Space Museum. Tickets: $25. Call 202-633-4629.

Art Uncorked!, the Wolf Trap Foundation and Broadway Galleries art auction and wine tasting, is at the Center for Education at Wolf Trap. Proceeds benefit Wolf Trap's education programs. Tickets: $75. Call 703-255-4030.

The D.C. Independent Film Festival Closing Night event offers screenings at the Avalon Theatre of "Charlie's Party" and "Wentworth." A reception follows at Busboys and Poets. Film-only tickets: $10. Post-reception only: $20. Film and post-reception: $25. Call 202-537-9493 or visit http://www.dciff.org .

"Lest We Forget," the 34th Annual Whitney M. Young Jr. Memorial Gala, a benefit for the Greater Washington Urban League, is at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel. Honorees: Retired Army Gen. Julius Becton, George M. Ferris Jr., Dorothy I. Height, D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, Marian Wright Edelman, the Rev. Walter Fauntroy and Mayor Anthony A. Williams. Tickets: $250. Call 202-265-8200.

The American Ireland Fund's 14th National Gala at the National Building Museum honors Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.), Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and John J. McDonnell Jr. Tickets: $1,000. Call 301-229-0064.

A St. Patrick's Day party to benefit D.C. Rollergirls is at the Grog & Tankard. Tickets: $10 cover paid at the door. Call 804-909-2757 or visit http://www.dcrollerderby.com .

The National Kidney Foundation of the National Capital Area's 17th annual Casino Night is at the Sphinx Club. Tickets: $125 ($200 if you also want to participate in a Poker Showdown). Call 202-244-7900, Ext. 11 or visit http://www.kidneywdc.org .

"Under Brittany Skies," the first Gala Fantastique fundraiser of the Maryland Institute College of Art, is at the college's Brown Center in Baltimore and benefits the college's artist residency program in Rochefort-en-Terre, France. Tickets: $200. Call 410-225-2300.

The Golden Gala at the Kennedy Center, a celebration of the Washington National Opera's 50th anniversary, features performances by Placido Domingo, other opera stars, and many others. A dinner follows. Concert and dinner tickets start at $1,000. Call 202-295-2431. Concert-only tickets: $50-$250. Call 202-295-2400 or visit http://www.dc-opera.org .

The Larry King Cardiac Foundation benefit at the Ritz-Carlton Washington honors Tim Donahue, Joe Robert and Amol Bapat. Entertainment: Patti LaBelle, Vanessa Williams and Wayne Brady. Tickets: $1,000. Call 866-302-5523.

The Montgomery Hospice 25th anniversary gala is at the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center. Tickets: $250. Call 301-921-4400 or visit http://www.montgomeryhospice.org .

"There's No Place Like Home," the Volunteer Emergency Families for Children 10th annual gala, is at the Hilton McLean in Tysons Corner. Tickets: $95. Call 800-756-6167.

The Washington Women's Chorus cabaret auction and fund-raising gala is at the Friendship Heights Village Center in Chevy Chase. Tickets: $25. Call 202-244-7367 or visit http://www.washingtonwomenschorus.org .

The Daffodil Ball Leesburg, a benefit for Capital Hospice, is at the River Creek Club in Leesburg, featuring music by Bob Jenets Upfront with a reception, silent auction, dinner and raffle of a Volkswagen Jetta (raffle tickets: $100). Tickets: $175. Call 703-531-6207.

"Bacchus in the Springtime," the Alexandria Choral Society silent auction and reception, is at Grace Episcopal Church in Alexandria. Tickets purchased by March 22: $15 ($25 per couple). Tickets at the door: $20. Call 703-548-4734 or visit http://www.alexchoralsociety.org .

The March of Dimes Gourmet Gala at the National Building Museum offers a seated dinner preceded by a celebrity chef cook-off featuring Sens. Byron L. Dorgan (D-N.D.), Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) and George Allen (R-Va.), and many others. Tickets start at $750. Call 703-556-4336 or visit http://www.marchofdimes.com/metrodc .

The National Parks Conservation Association Salute to the Parks Dinner at the National Building Museum honors Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and historian and author James M. McPherson. Tickets start at $250. Call 703-761-1505.