FRIDAY, JAN. 21, 2011 >>>

1. Third Friday of the month means it's Beat Boxxx night featuring the best '80s New Wave, funk, hip-hop, freestyle and early house tunes - and righteous videos, too. This Friday, DJs Chris Savenetti and dAb will man the decks beginning at 9:30 p.m. inside the Tempest Lounge.

2. Katy Evans and Athena Hitson present Peanut Butter Space Jam - a group art exhibition featuring portraits rendered in oils, ink, acrylic and enamel on glass, and linocut print by Robert Evans, Chuck Knigge, and Audra Laymon - held at the new arts venue the Space (729 Court C, Tacoma ) from 5-11 p.m.

3. The Varsity Grill in downtown Tacoma will host their biggest beer event of the year - their annual outdoor Ice Block Party - from 5:30-8:30 p.m. Meet the brewers and/or beer experts of winter brews, taste at least nine winter beers, eat, listen to music and wine prizes.

4. Fiddle us this: What's the difference between a fiddle and a violin? A violin has strings and a fiddle has strangs.  So there ya go - can't remember who first said it, but it's an entire musical genre, an entire manner of thinking, an entire way of life all neatly summed up in one little word.  Don't believe it? Check out the 6:30 p.m. Olympia Community Bluegrass Music show at Olympia's First Christian Church and find out just how much of a difference one little letter (re: musical attitude) makes. It's a community fundraiser for The Thurston County Food Bank.

5. Tacoma Little Theatre's production of Frost/Nixon is suitably sparse. As with the interviews themselves, the centerpiece throughout the bulk of the show is simply a pair of chairs set up for a television interview. In lieu of a backdrop there is a series of screens that project, in turns, actual news clips and a live feed of the interview conducted on stage. The production hits the stage at 7:30 p.m. Read our review of the show here.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: New movies open today

LINK: Concert go on sale today