Ten Great Dates
compiled by Amanda Rife
Girls Night Out
February 6, Murphys
A fundraising event to benefit the local Calaveras County Women’s Crisis Shelter, Girls Night Out features beauty treatments provided by local day spas and salons, a fashion show, games, wine tasting, and a cooking demonstration by Ironstone Executive Chef James Lehman, who also teaches Ironstone’s popular cooking classes. Donations of toiletries (such as shampoo, toilet paper, and diapers) earn you the chance to win prizes. 7-10 p.m. $35. Ironstone Vineyards, 1894 Six Mile Rd., Murphys, (209) 728-1251, www.ironstonevineyards.com
Souper Supper Fundraiser
February 6, Stockton
Tidewater Art Center and Gallery invites one and all to the Souper Supper and Auction benefit to enjoy dinner served by Tidewater artists and Board of Director members. Eight different soups will be offered, along with fresh bread, desserts, and fine wine, followed by a live auction featuring prizes like vacation getaways, dinners at local restaurants, and artwork from Tidewater artists. Each attendee will take home a bowl created by Tidewater potters, and all proceeds help Tidewater Gallery continue to offer exhibits and art classes to the local community. 5:30 p.m. $40 donation per person, tables of 8 may be reserved for $250. Scottish Rite Center, 33 W. Alpine Ave., Stockton, (209) 463-4033, www.tidewaterartgallery.com
Franc D’Ambrosio’s “Hollywood”
February 7, Tracy
Renowned Broadway singer Franc D’Ambrosio will be performing a tributary concert to some of Hollywood’s best music, such as “Singing in the Rain,” “Moon River,” “Danny Boy,” and “Enchanted Evening.” D’Ambrosio is most famous for being the “longest running Phantom,” in over 3,000 showings of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera. His latest show, appropriately titled “Hollywood,” spotlights the music that has been imortalized thanks to the silver screen. 8 p.m. $32-$53. Grand Theatre Center For The Arts, 715 Central St., Tracy, (209) 831-6TKT, www.atthegrand.org
Architecture in Art
Through February 11, Stockton
In the middle of the LH Horton Jr Gallery’s promising 2008-09 exhibition series is “Architecture in Art,” featuring the sculptures of Randy Dixon and the paintings of Thomas Morphis shown together. Though different in medium and style, the respective artists share themes of architecture and structure—an experienced architect, Dixon’s sculptures are well-complimented by the strong framework forms found within Thomas Morphis’s paintings.Free. LH Horton Jr Gallery, Delta College, 5151 Pacific Ave., Stockton, (209) 954-5507
Rock Your Valentine
February 14, Lodi
Cupid has found his way to Oak Ridge Winery this Valentine’s Day for the Rotary Rocks! Your Valentine event. Sweep your sweetie off her feet with this elegant dinner featuring wines from local vintners and a fully stocked, no-host bar. Local blues and classic rock band Vine Dawgz will serenade the night away with music from classic artists such as Van Morrison, The Beatles, B.B. King, and Jimmy Buffett, to name a few.6 p.m.-12 a.m. $125 per couple. Oak Ridge Winery, 6100 E. Hwy 12, Lodi, (209) 518-1331, www.lodisunriserotary.org
Heartbreaker: A Live Rock Tribute to Led Zeppelin
February 14, Tracy
What better way to celebrate the day of love than by watching one of the greatest labors of love? Heartbreaker, a California-based tribute band dedicated to emulating the late and great Led Zeppelin brings three decades of solid gold to the Grand Theatre’s stage. Heartbreaker highlights some of the band’s best in this recreation of an actual Led Zeppelin concert, with classics such as “Dancing Days,” Black Dog,” and “Stairway to Heaven.” 8 p.m. $40. Grand Theatre Center For The Arts, 715 Central St., Tracy, (209) 831-6TKT, www.atthegrand.org
Wine and Chocolate Weekend
February 14-15, Lodi
This Valentine’s weekend, the twelfth annual Lodi Wine and Chocolate Weekend will have you hopping from one winery to the next, tasting the best Lodi wines and savoring various chocolate treats. Over thirty wineries will be hosting the event, with wine and food pairings, barrel tastings, live music, and a Wine Country Getaway to the person who finds the “Golden Ticket” (a la Willy Wonka). 11 a.m- 4 p.m. $35 in advance, $45 at the door, designated drivers attend for free. Participating winery maps available online. Various locations in Lodi, (209) 367-4727, www.lodiwineandchocolate.com
Pedaling Paths to Independence
February 21, Linden
Since 1949, the Community Center for the Blind has been hosting events to help “light the path to independence” for the visually impaired. A tri-county 100k and 50k bike ride (62 and 25 miles respectively), Pedaling Paths hopes to raise both awareness and funds. Both routes leave Linden and wind their own respective ways through vineyards and orchards, on flat country roads equipped with fully-stocked rest stops and lunch stations. Check-in at 8:30 a.m., all bikers must be on the road by 10:00 a.m.$35 before Feb. 8, $40 afterwards. Linden Elementary School, 18100 E. Front St., Linden, (209) 466-3836, www.communitycenterfortheblind.org
Cinema Italia
February 21-23, Stockton
The San Joaquin Film Society brings to Stockton yet another film event, this time in the form of Cinema Italia, a festival screening some of Italy’s finest filmmakers. Three feature films and six short films will be shown over the course of the weekend, with Silvio Soldini’s critically-acclaimed 2008 film, Days and Clouds, showing at the opening night Spring Gala. The gala will offer dinner from Cibo di Vino. Times vary, depending on day and film. Spring Gala begins at 6 p.m. $7-$9 per day, not including opening night. Empire Theatre, 1825 Pacific Ave., Stockton, (209) 943-7469, www.sjiff.org SJM
Chinese and Vietnamese New Year Parade
February 28, Stockton
Come rain or shine, the seventh annual Chinese and Vietnamese New Year Parade will tour over one and a half miles of downtown Stockton, starting at Sutter and Washington and ending on Lafayette Street. With lion dancing, marching bands, martial art displays, floats, and costumed entertainers, this parade will be bringing in the year of the ox in true cultural fashion. 12 p.m. Free. Sutter and Washington Streets, Stockton, www.stocktoncvnp.com
