From NSO To Go-Go And Beyond

There is no single place you would ever be able to catch a performance by the National Symphony Orchestra followed by children's rocker Dan Zanes and quirky Oscar-nominated Mexican folk singer Lila Downs, clown/acrobat/slack-wire artist Jamie Adkins and the Suzanne Farrell Ballet, all capped off with a night of dancing to the music of go-go hero Chuck Brown.

Right?

Generally, that isn't your average day in Washington. But tomorrow the Kennedy Center's annual Open House Arts Festival brings together that exact melange of talent -- for free. The family-friendly event, marking the performing arts center's anniversary (No. 37, if you're counting), boasts 30 performances, but if you have to pick (and you do), here are a few worth checking out:

· Dan Zanes and Friends. The Grammy-winning children's musician is a former genuine article (frontman for Del Fuegos) who can now fill a venue the size of Strathmore with his diminutive fans. His latest album is "¡Nueva York!," a Spanish-language romp. How international. He performs at 1:45 p.m. on the South Plaza stage, right after the NSO's 12:15 performance in the Concert Hall.

· Jamie Adkins. The onetime San Diego street performer is now a full-fledged circus artist (he was once a member of Montreal's Cirque Éloize). He brings his show "Circus Incognitus," in which he juggles Ping-Pong balls with his mouth and uses two ladders as stilts, among other acts of derring-do, to the Family Theater. Shows at 12:15 and 3:45 p.m.; tickets are passed out for this event 30 minutes prior to showtime in front of the theater.

· Donald Knaack, "junk music" virtuoso. It seems the green movement has given percussionist Knaack a platform: No longer does he use mere junk as his instrument. Now it's " recycled materials." Knaack transforms trash bins and buckets, pans and cans into his own personal drum set. 1:45 and 5:15 p.m. in the Family Theater. Again, tickets are required and passed out 30 minutes before each show.

· Chuck Brown . Washington's own go-go godfather shuts it down with dancing at one of our favorite places at the Kennedy Center: the terrace, which overlooks the Potomac. Just a few weeks after the septuagenarian celebrated his birthday with a show at the 9:30 club (ticket price: $25), he's the headliner for Dancing Under the Stars, which starts at 8:30 p.m. (ticket price: $0). If you don't know how to dance to go-go, don't worry, instructors will be on hand beginning at 8.

Free. The Open House Arts Festival runs noon-8 p.m. Saturday. Kennedy Center, 2700 F St. NW. 202-467-4600. For a full schedule of Open House events, see Page 43 of today's Weekend section. For details, visit http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/festivals/prelude/openhouse.cfm.