SATURDAY, JAN. 21, 2012 >>>

1. At 10 a.m. The Grand Cinema will host a free screening of Astro Boy, a CGI-animated origin story for the legendary cartoon hero of the same name, who first appeared in Osamu Tezuka's 1951 futuro-Pinocchio manga comic. Westernized and sterilized, the still nipple-less, rocket-thrusting robo-kid now wears pants, flies without his classic theme song and name drops Asimov's law of robotics and Kant.

2. James Keeffe III will sign copies of his award-winning book, Two Gold Coins and a Prayer - The Epic Journey of a World War II Bomber Pilot, Evader and POW, which includes tales of his father's time in hiding in occupied Holland, from 1-3 p.m. at the Tacoma Costco.

3. Cindy Arnold from Live Paint will conduct free theater workshops Saturday afternoons from 1-3 p.m. in the Spaceworks Tacoma spot at 1314 Martin Luther King Jr. Way on the Hilltop, which Toy Boat Theatre once inhabited. The sessions are free and open to anyone who wants to read a script, perform an original piece, practice an audition monologue, or do improv and get friendly feedback.

4. If the names Ratched, McMurphy, or Bromden mean something to you, then get ready for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest at Paradise Theatre in Gig Harbor. And, if those names are unfamiliar, then it's definitely time you experienced the play, which is based on the Ken Kesey novel. While many people are likely familiar with the Academy Award-winning 1975 film (starring Jack Nicholson), less have probably experienced the play adaptation, which is not only a bit different, but arguably more poignant. It hit sthe stage at 7:30 p.m.

5. Offering music of the world, Vagabond Opera dabbles in sounds spanning the globe - from European cabaret, to Balkan belly dance, to Old World Yiddish theater and beyond. The six-piece troupe of out Portland will perform at 8 p.m. with Erev Rav inside the Olympia Ballroom.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music and DJs tonight

LINK: This week's freebies