Discomfort Zone

See Special Agent Galactica perform Sept. 27 during the Ganymede Arts GLBT Fall Arts Festival, Church Street Theater, 1742 Church St. NW. 202-390-1502. http://www.ganymedearts.org. $15, students $10.

Go to the races! Capitol Raceway, Capitol Raceway Road off Route 3 in Crofton. 410-721-7281. http://www.capitolraceway.com. Admission price varies.

All the News That's Fit to Sing

"I'm safety-zone girl," Lesli Foster tells me with a straight face. It's a little tough to believe given that she banters live on air as a WUSA (Channel 9) news co-anchor twice every weeknight in front of tens of thousands of viewers.

"You don't see your audience, and you're not getting feedback from them instantly," insists Foster, 33. Fair enough. Still, she has agreed to be thrust in front of a live crowd for karaoke at Cafe Japone in Dupont Circle.

There's no stage at the restaurant, so Foster, who looks downright sassy in an off-the-shoulder number and is much smaller than I thought (she sits on a pillow when she's in front of the camera), simply stands up when her song comes on, grabs the mike from the sushi bar and starts singing, occasionally peeking at the lyrics on the teleprompter two feet away. Despite her nerves (and without an ounce of liquid courage), she choreographs her own dance moves and works the drunk and drunker crowd through not one but two songs ("Girls Just Want to Have Fun" and "Stop! In the Name of Love"). And she sounds good.

Would she do it again? Well . . . probably not. Foster also agrees that you grow when you do something you find uncomfortable. But even though she enjoyed karaoke ("when it was over," she adds), I got the feeling that if she had another weekend pass from her husband and 2-year-old daughter, the Bethesda resident wouldn't trade in her Saturday brunches and days in the park for another chance to expose her melodic jugular. E v er.

Tune in to watch Foster live (but not in front of a crowd) at 6 and 11 p.m. on WUSA (Channel 9).

Sing karaoke! Daily at 9:30 p.m. Cafe Japone, 2032 P St. NW. 202-223-1573. No cover, but there's a $15 minimum per person for food and drink.