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Saturday

Halloween’s not quite here yet, but there’s no reason you can’t head out for a cheap night of pre-holiday fun. Tonight, the Morris Cafritz Center for Community Service hosts its annual Zircon Ball. Like the diamond, the zircon is a shiny, multifaceted gemstone that shimmers. The difference: I’ll probably never be able to afford a diamond. But a zircon—or its home-shopping-channel derivation, the cubic zirconium? Chaaarge it! Adorn yourself tonight with your gauchest not-so-finery; wear cheap stones aplenty. The only requirement for the ball is that you adhere to a simple code: the tackier, the better. Enjoy the flamboyantly overdone drinks, the karaoke contest, the laser-light show. And know that your excess will go for good; proceeds from the event will fund Cafritz Center projects, including a homeless shelter to be built in Northeast D.C. The ball drops at 9 p.m. at the District of Columbia Jewish Community Center, 1529 16 St. NW. $25. (202) 777-3269. (Natalie Davis)