Something Jazzy
Wynton Marsalis returns to Kalamazoo
A regular guest artist in Kalamazoo, Wynton Marsalis returns on
Feb. 1 for a performance with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.
This big-band evening is set for 7 p.m. at Chenery Auditorium, which was built in 1924, during America’s Jazz Age.
The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra tours the world with a vast repertoire, playing works by legends such as Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie and Benny Goodman and new music by the group’s own composers and arrangers.
Tickets for the local concert are $25 to $65 and available at jazz.org/the-orchestra/jlco-on-tour.
Something Artsy
Two events for art lovers
February features weekend attractions for fans of hot glass and of hot deals on original art.
The Blue Heat Glass Art Gala & Auction will give glass lovers a chance to bid on glass art creations in live and silent auctions, watch glass-blowing demonstrations, dine on hors d’oeuvres, sip cocktails and listen to live music.
This fundraiser for Glass Art Kalamazoo is set for 7–10 p.m. Feb. 21 at the organization’s studio in Suite 100 of the Park Trades Center. Early-bird tickets, through Feb. 7, are $70. After that, tickets are $80. They can be purchased at glassartkalamazoo.org/event/blue-heat-2026.
The annual Garage Sale Art Fair, scheduled for 9 a.m.–4 p.m. Feb. 28 at the Kalamazoo County Expo Center, features artists selling overstocks, seconds and supplies. If you’re looking for good deals on original art, this is an event for you. Admission is $5, cash only. Find information at theguild.org/fair/garagesaleartfair.
Something to Love
Many options for celebrating Valentine’s weekend
Valentine’s Day is on a Saturday this year, which means you and yours can celebrate all weekend with everyone you love, or at least those you like a lot. There are plenty of local events to choose from.
Downtown’s Crawlspace Comedy Theatre, now with bar service, will stage a Galentine’s Day Improv Comedy Show on Feb. 13, followed by We Need a Hero: An Improvised Valentine’s Adventure on Feb. 14. Both shows are at 7:30 p.m. at Crawlspace, 315 W. Michigan Ave. Tickets are $2 to $15 and available at the door or crawlspacecomedy.com.
The Kalamazoo Mall will sport chainsaws and other tools for Ice in the Zoo, with displays and demonstrations of the wintry art of ice sculpture, from noon to 4 p.m. Feb. 14. More information is available at tinyurl.com/iceinzoo.
You can sing and skate your heart out at the Millennium Park Ice Rink’s Valentine’s Day Skate, which will feature love songs and ballads to guide your glides. This all-ages event is set for 5–8 p.m. Feb. 14.
The Chinese American Association of Greater Kalamazoo celebrates culture and love with a Feb. 14 gala called Love Meets Tradition: The Lunar New Year & Valentine’s Day Celebration. It’s planned for 6 p.m. at Chenery Auditorium, and there will be special gift boxes for attendees. Tickets are $16 to $52 and available at Pacific Rim Foods, 229 W. Kilgore Road, or at cagk.org.
Music lovers can shake off the midwinter blues at a Winter Blues Series concert on Feb. 15 at Shakespeare’s Pub. Chris Canas plays from 2-4 p.m., followed by Detroit Blu from 4-6 p.m. A donation of $8 is suggested.
Something Moving
Enjoy and support dance students
Western Michigan University dance students will perform works by WMU Dance Department faculty member and guest choreographer Peter Chu at their annual Winter Gala Dance Concert.
The performances are set for 7:30 p.m. Feb. 13 and 14 and 2 p.m. Feb. 14 and 15 at WMU’s Gilmore Theatre Complex. Tickets are $22, or $19 for seniors and $7 for students, and are available at wmich.edu/dance/events/winter-gala-2025.
At 6 p.m. Feb. 14, you can support the students at a Toast for the Talent fund-raiser put on by WMU’s Partners in Dance. Information on giving levels and tickets is available at wmich.edu/dance/partners.
Also in February will be a student-produced concert by the student organization Ebony Vision, showcasing choreography and dance by students of color. Perform-ances are at 7:30 p.m. Feb 27 and 28 and 2 p.m. Feb. 28 and March 1 in Dance Studio B of the Dalton Center. Tickets are $15, or $7 for students, and available at wmich.edu/dance/events/ebony-vision.
Something Historical
Black history lessons available this month
There’s plenty to learn about the essential contributions of Black Americans every month of the year, but this month there are many local events highlighting Black history.
You can enjoy the poetry and storytelling of Tasleem Jamila Firdausee, author of From Mississippi Clay to African Skies, at 6 p.m. Feb. 2 at the Eastwood Branch of the Kalamazoo Public Library.
Sewing cryptic messages into the fabric of handmade quilts was a creative way of communicating during the Underground Railroad era. You can learn more about this at The Hidden Messages in Quilts, set for 6 p.m. Feb. 4 at Portage District Library. Registration is required by calling 329-4544 or visiting portagelibrary.info.
Author Candacy Taylor will discuss her nonfiction work about traveling while Black, Overground Railroad: The Green Book and the Roots of Black Travel in America, at 6 p.m. Feb. 6 at the Air Zoo.
The Kalamazoo Abraham Lincoln Institute’s annual Lincoln Day event will feature Jonathan White, author of Unlikely Collaborators: Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, and the Promise of America. The event, which includes a silent auction and dessert, runs from 6–8 p.m. Feb. 7 at The Desenberg, 251 E. Michigan Ave., Suite 108. Admission is free, but registration is required at kalamazoolincolninstitute.org.
Maurice Imhoff discusses his book The1st Michigan Colored Regiment: Free Men Who Fought Slavery at 6 p.m. Feb. 9 at the Eastwood Branch of the Kalamazoo Public Library.
Finally, David Anthony Taylor shares his experiences preserving African American history and genealogy in a presentation titled The Black Pearls of Genealogy at 6 p.m. Feb. 12 at Comstock Township Library.
Something Outdoorsy
Enjoy Michigan’s chilly season
Don’t let the weather keep you indoors this month — there are birds to watch, hikes to take (even after dark!) and, to really keep you warm, three running events.
The Kalamazoo Nature Center hosts a Winter Adaptation Walk at 2 p.m. Feb. 7 and a Discover KNC Guided Hike on the Prairie Pathway trail at 2 p.m. Feb. 28. Registration for each event is required by calling 381-1574 or visiting naturecenter.org.
The Kellogg Bird Sanctuary invites you to celebrate winter birding on a free guided bird hike at 11 a.m. Feb. 14 and to help collect data as you count birds for science at the Great Backyard Bird Count from 10 a.m.–3 p.m. Feb. 15. For more information, go to birdsanctuary@kbs.msu.edu.
Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery hosts two events on Feb. 7: a free Beginning Birding Walk at 9 a.m. and an evening one-mile Lantern Lit Walk at 6 p.m., followed by hot cocoa and a bonfire. More information is at michigan.gov/dnr/places/v-centers/wolf-lake.
The Portage Winter Blast Half Marathon, 10K and 5K events let you warm up through your own exertion. The events begin at 8 a.m. Feb. 22 at Loy Norrix High School. Register at tinyurl.com/winterblastrun.
