Your 5-minute guide to the best things to do in Charlotte | Feb. 10-16
Friday, Feb. 10
Gather your crew and head to the Valentine’s Day Ladies Night event at Carolina Scoops Ice Cream. Readings with Crissy will be on hand to offer 10-minute tarot card readings customers for $20 each. 5-8 p.m. 105 Dover St., Pineville. bit.ly/3JsySqG
Explore the connections between Jim Crow Laws and the Nazi Nuremberg Laws, the social construct of race and its historical impact on Blacks and Jews, and identify practical responses to combat antisemitism and racism today at Soul Food Shabbat. Register ahead of time. Dinner is included. It’s free for Queens faculty, staff and students; $23 for community members. 5:30-7 p.m. Claudia Belk Room in the Levine Center for Wellness on the Queens Campus, 2201 Wellesley Ave. bit.ly/3jyRhYl
Celebrate your love of Charlotte with a Valentine’s Day weekend stroll through the Rail Trail Lights exhibit along the Rail Trail in South End. Artwork is illuminated at dusk nightly. On Friday and Saturday nights, select locations will host family-friendly programming including live music from 6-8 p.m. at the Atherton Mill Plaza. The installations will remain up through Sunday, Feb. 19. Free. Multiple locations. bit.ly/3HH3v9F
Find a reservation for Valentine’s Day at a Charlotte area restaurant. If a luxurious restaurant meal is on your sweetie’s wish list for a holiday date night, you can choose from more than 20 spots on our curated list of places to eat in the Charlotte area with Valentine’s Day prix fixe meals and other options. Prices and locations vary. bit.ly/3Hti9SV
Saturday, Feb. 11
Grab your gal pals and sample wines while you snack on charcuterie at The Historic Robertson Homestead’s ‘Gal’entines Day Wine Tasting. After the tasting five options, you’ll get a full glass of your favorite wine. There are multiple time slots available, starting at 1 p.m. $55. 2871 Oak Park Road, Rock Hill. bit.ly/3HBU9go
See the works of a master artist at “Picasso Landscapes: Out of Bounds.” The exhibit will include some of Picasso’s greatest landscape compositions from his early days in art school, up until his death in 1973. The show will be on display through May 1. Special exhibit tickets are $25 for adults, and $20 for senior citizens, college students and teachers. Admission is free for children between the ages of 5 and 17. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Mint Museum Uptown, 500 S. Tryon St. bit.ly/3DvHxF0
Spend the afternoon sampling craft beer from more than 40 local breweries and snacking at the Queen City Brewers Festival. The event benefits Project Life Movement, a Charlotte nonprofit that matches stem cell and bone marrow donors to patients. Tickets are $60, which include a beer glass, tastings throughout the session and food samples. The first 250 people ticketed are invited to enter at noon; 1-4 p.m. afterward. Grady Cole Center, 310 N. Kings Drive. https://qcbrewfest.com/
Meet like-minded people and get with involved with advocates for clean energy and carbon-reducing strategies at a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Climate Leaders meet-up at Birdsong Brewing. The event will include a coalition of 14 environmental groups working on goals in the Queen City. Free. 3-7 p.m. 1016 N Davidson St. bit.ly/3lki4rP
Watch “Talk to Me,” the story of Ralph “Petey” Greene, an ex-con who became a popular talk show host and community activist in the 1960s. The Black History Month screening event — sponsored in partnership with the Charlotte Area Association of Black Journalists — will include a panel discussion on the state of Black radio, moderated by Mary C. Curtis, national columnist at Roll Call, and including Francene Marie Morris, public affairs director at Beasley Media Group and KennethLee of WFAE news. $8. 7 p.m. Independent Picture House, 4237 Raleigh St. bit.ly/3JRrk1a
Get a glimpse at one of the best teams in the NBA at Spectrum Center — and no, we’re not talking about the cellar-dwelling Charlotte Hornets. Denver center Nikola Jokic, who is averaging a triple-double per game for the Western Conference-leading Nuggets, will be the main attraction here. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. Tickets start at $22. 333 E. Trade St. bit.ly/3RJgFat
Groove along to rockabilly, country and classic sounds — think Johnny Cash, Luke Combs, CCR and the Stones — with the local band Driftwood Duo at The Hideaway LKN. The new neighborhood lounge recently opened in Cornelius. Free admission. 8:30-11:30 p.m. 20910 Torrence Chapel Road, D7, Cornelius. bit.ly/3UxkMH9
Sunday, Feb. 12
Watch the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs battle it out in Super Bowl LVII at a Charlotte area restaurant or bar. The game will air at 6:30 p.m. on FOX, and CharlotteFive has gathered a list of places you can view the game while enjoying food and drink specials. bit.ly/3WRIOx2
Visit a former church where enslaved people worshiped, cemeteries and a home bombed during the Civil Rights era during the Queen City Tours Charlotte Pilgrimage event, which recreates the 1998 Interfaith Pilgrimage that began near Boston and ended in West Africa. The original event’s goal was to re-trace the Middle Passage and make stops to pray for racial healing and atonement for slavery. $18 - $37. 1:30 pm. Sundays and 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Monday-Saturdays. The three-hour tours are ongoing 7 days a week in February, so check for time and date availability to purchase tickets. Tours depart from The Market on 7th Street at 224 E. 7th St. https://charlottepilgrimagetour.com/
Monday, Feb. 13
Pick up seasonal doughnuts for Valentine’s Day at Milkbread in Davidson or Plaza Midwood. The flavors are red raspberry and Meyer lemon with a red raspberry glaze. $3 for a single; $17 for a half-dozen; or $33 for a dozen. 624 Jetton St., #110, Davidson or 1431 Central Ave. bit.ly/3X2sf1y
Participate in a tasting with fellow red wine lovers at “A Taste of Love Making in Red” at The Cocktailery. Wines will be paired with sweet and savory tastes, and the experience with Brion Cephus will explore all the hues of red wine from rose and light to heavy bodied reds to frothy, fizzy, racy and sparkling reds. $90. 2000 South Blvd., Suite 430. bit.ly/3x3sQWf
Tuesday, Feb. 14
Stay in your leggings and head out to Eleven Lakes Brewing’s Sweatpants Social on Valentine’s Day. The holiday celebration will include themed music bingo, $5 pink beers, prosecco flights and Crumbl Cookies. Free admission. 6:30 p.m. 10228 Bailey Road, #201, Cornelius. bit.ly/3WGvefV
Take a walk through Lovers Lane in JF Moore Park and take pictures with your sweetie among the hand painted hearts, festive lighting and a supersize picture frame — all set up by the Mooresville Downtown Commission in partnership with the Mooresville Public Arts Committee. You can even play some tunes on the public piano. Free. 691 S. Broad St., Mooresville. bit.ly/3x0nfju
Wednesday, Feb. 15
Check out Men of Change: Power. Triumph. Truth., which profiles Black male icons in America, at the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts+Culture and Levine Museum of the New South. The exhibit highlights revolutionary men including Muhammad Ali, James Baldwin, Ta-Nehisi Coates, W.E.B. DuBois and Kendrick Lamar, whose journeys have altered the history and culture of the country. The traveling work from the Smithsonian will remain on display through March 12. Free. Gantt at 551 S. Tryon St., and Levine Museum at 401 South Tryon St. https://bit.ly/3fNnyZm and https://bit.ly/3fMUUId
Reaffirm your love for ABC’s most rhythmic reality show when Dancing With the Stars: Live! 2023 Tour comes to Ovens Auditorium on the heels of Valentine’s Day. Former “Bachelorette” star Gabby Windey is co-hosting the event. 8 p.m. Tickets start at $79.50. 2700 E. Independence Blvd. bit.ly/3Xbxax7
Thursday, Feb. 16
Make three themed Galentine’s Day cocktails while you learn about the history behind them and sip with friends at Billy Sunday’s Cocktail 101 Class - Galentine’s Day edition. $55. 8:30-10 p.m. Billy Sunday Charlotte, 1115 N. Brevard St., Unit 1. bit.ly/3RnFpos
Find community to pass the time while you knit at at Mooresville Library’s Knitting Group. Free. 1-3 p.m. Mooresville Public Library’s Selma Burke Room. 304 S. Main St., Mooresville. bit.ly/3RALoGG
Mark your calendar
Honor the memory of Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man killed while running in Georgia, during a Together We Stand partner event. NoDa Brewing, Divine Barrel Brewing, Omega Sports Park Road and Fleet Feet Charlotte will partner with Together We Stand NC to host Maud 2.23: Stand Up to Racism and Hate and Courageous Conversations from Feb. 18-25. The week will begin with a 12 p.m., 2.23-mile run beginning and ending at NoDa Brewing, followed by a Courageous Conversations session at 1 p.m. Registration is $29. 2921 N. Tryon St. https://www.strongerandfasterdurham.com/
Treat yourself on Sunday, Feb. 19 with Galentine’s Day brunch at Billy Sunday. The menu from AVA Pizzeria includes waffles; smoked salmon bagel with onion, cream cheese, dill, capers; Potayto/potahto/tomayto/tomahto, a seared gnocchi with tomato fonduta and cherry tomatoes; and Greek yogurt parfait. Price will vary, as items are a la carte, but it’s $5 to get in — and a mimosa is included with your ticket. 11 a.m-2 p.m. 1115 N. Brevard St., Unit 1. bit.ly/3RJ9hw2
Order your tickets to see Mina Starsiak Hawk of HGTV’s “Good Bones” on Feb. 25 at the Charlotte Home + Remodeling Show, which returns to The Park Expo and Conference Center from Feb. 24-26. Show hours will be from 10 a.m.-8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 10 a.m. -5 p.m. on Sunday. Adult. tickets are $12 at the door and $10 online; children 12 and under are free. All seniors (60+) will receive free admission on Friday, Feb. 24; and Sunday, Feb. 26 is free for all active and retired military, fire, police and EMT personnel with valid ID. On-site parking is $10; cash and credit card will be accepted. 2500 E. Independence Blvd. bit.ly/3Bvvx5B
Plan ahead and get tickets for the upcoming Rich & Bennett St. Patrick’s Day pub crawl on March 11. Check-in from noon-3 p.m. The cost starts at $20 at prepay events or $25 online — including a custom green t-shirt — and the event goes on rain or shine. RichAndBennett.com.
Buy tickets for the R.O.A.R. female leadership symposium. The day-long event Friday, March 31 at the Statesville Country Club features dynamic female leaders that will encourage women to Resound, Outshine, Actualize and Revolutionize their lives, featuring guest speaker Jane Jenkins Herlong. Tickets are $85 per person for chamber members and $110 for non-chamber members. 116 N. Center St., Statesville. bit.ly/3gnfhMJ
Celebrate Cheerwine at the 2023 Cheerwine Festival in Salisbury on May 20. Groove out to local and national bands while you enjoy Cheerwine-inspired food and drinks, then browse arts and crafts vendors and kids’ activities. Free. Noon-10 p.m. Downtown Salisbury. bit.ly/3wbqRyR
Theoden Janes contributed to this article.
