The Playlist — Things to do Feb 13-16, 2025

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A Note from the Instigator....

With an ice storm looming, events may be delayed or canceled so be sure to double check before heading out.

We are definitely counting down the days of winter, not just for some warmer weather, but also for the next edition of Press Play! One of the final bits of content we place is the calendar. Our Spring edition highlights events in March, April and May (with a little Fast Forward teaser of June through August) With that in mind, do you have an event we should know about? Submit it to our searchable online calendar here and it could get published in the mag, too!

Until next week, stay safe out there!

— Carlee, The Instigator

Frank Almond, former Concert Master of the Milwaukee Symphony will play Feb 15 in the Chemeketa Community College Theatre Auditorium. Scroll down for details.

Thursday Highlights

Savor a local experience at the Domaine 524 Winemaker Dinner — The Cozy Taberna and Domaine 524 will present the six-course meal which has been thoughtfully paired with complementary wines, enhancing the flavors and creating a truly unforgettable dining experience. 5 to 9 p.m. Feb 13, at The Cozy Taberna, 249 Liberty St NE #140. Starts at $198 per person. Click here for tickets.

Candlelight: Valentine’s Day Special brings you the magic of a live, multi-sensory musical experience themed around songs of love performed by Listeso String Quartet, 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb 13 in the Spinning Room at Willamette Heritage Center. Tickets start at $23. Click here for tickets.

Lacy Productions presents Booklover's Burlesque: Erotica Edition is the world’s sexiest literary salon which matches titillating, inspiring, and empowering book readings with burlesque, boylesque, and draglesque performances all in one show! Professional readers, actors, and/or local authors & writers read aloud a piece of poetry, fiction (from any genre), memoir, non-fiction, etc, which is then followed by a burlesque, boylesque, and/or draglesque performance inspired by the piece. Join us as we raise our glasses by sharing and interpreting classic and beloved erotica as only Booklover's Burlesque can! 7 to 8:45 p.m. February 13 at Salem's Historic Grand Theatre. 21 and older only. Click here for tickets.

Active B!tch Face is a comedy show featuring improv and stand-up that bites back at the patriarchy featuring stand-up and improv comedy by badass b!tches from right here in Oregon, 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb 13, at Infinity Room. $15 in advance; $20 at the door. 18+ show.

Salem Poetry Project has been canceled for the night due to pending weather. They will be back Feb 20.

Frank Almond in Concert

Take in a special evening of classical music's romance and passion with former Concert Master of the Milwaukee Symphony, Frank Almond, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, February 15, in Chemeketa Community College Theatre, Auditorium, 4000 Lancaster Dr NE, Building 6. Frank held the Charles and Marie Caestecker Concertmaster Chair in the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra for 25 years. At 17, Frank Almond was one of the youngest prizewinners in the history of the Nicolo Paganini Competition in Genoa, Italy, and five years later was one of two American prizewinners at the Eighth International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, which was documented in an award-winning PBS film. His extensive recording discography includes a wide range of repertoire on various labels that have garnered multiple Grammy nominations. Click here for tickets.

Dance

Ceili of the Valley Society hosts its Second Friday Céilí featuring live music and called dances so no experience and no partner are needed. There is a dance lesson at about 7:15, followed by live music from 8 to 11. And you don’t even need to dance — just go for a night of music! Bring water. 8 p.m. February 14 at VFW Hall, 630 Hood St NE. Tickets start at $10. Click here for more information.

Dance Some More

Rhythm & Flow and Side Hustle Bar presents R&BAE starting at 10 p.m. Saturday, February 15, at Side Hustle Bar 145 Liberty St NE Suite #101. Featuring sounds by Inferno + Friends + Special Guest Performances to be announced, with the best hits from the 2000’s, a full themed bar, free Y2K photobooth and more. Click here for info.

Open Skate

Traveling Wheelz hosts a Valentine’s Open Skate for all the public, 7:30 p.m. Friday, February 14 at The Mad House. For faster check in, visit www.travelingwheelz.com and have each skater sign the waiver. Have your confirmation email ready upon arrival. Theme dress is encouraged. If you bring your own skates they must be in good condition to protect the floor.  

A Mash-Up

Cherry City Roller Derby hosts My Bloody Valentine: A Mash-Up Double Header, beginning at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, February 15 at The Mad House, 1335 Madison St NE. This annual event features the league's friends from Concussion Roller Derby in bout 1 at 4:30 p.m. and Cherry City’s adult skaters in bout 2 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $12 in advance; and start at $15 at the door. Click here for tickets.

Date Night Comedy

Date Night: A Comedy Dating Show For Couples (and anyone) features a variety of improv, stand-up comedy, and interactive games that give you and your date the chance to win prizes.  Hosted by Tina Hogstrom & Tony Meyer, and featuring Amanda Lynn Deal. 8 to 9:30 p.m. February 14, at Salem's Historic Grand Theatre. Tickets are $15 (Single Admission) or $25 Date Night Package (2 Person Admission). Click here for tickets.

Sexy Talk

This Valentine's Day, let's talk about sex, baby! Come enjoy a steamy stand-up comedy show where hilarious comics riff on audience questions about sex, love, and relationships. Audience members will be able to anonymously text their spicy questions before and during the show. Featuring Amanda Lynn Deal (Willamette Week's Funniest 5), Rachelle Cochran (Willamette Week's Funniest 5), Billy Chambers, Tina Hogstrom, and Juan Denmark! Hosted by Tony Meyer and Jane Malone. 9:30 p.m. Friday, Feb 14, at Infinity Room. Tickets are $15 in advance; $20 at the door for this 21 and older show. 

Make your Perfect Wine

Celebrate Valentine’s Day with a sweet and zesty adventure! Explore the perfect harmony of sugar and acidity as you blend sweeter and drier Rieslings to create your ideal flavor profile with our winemakers. This experience promises to be both fun and educational for both the beginner and professional. How sweet will your Riesling be? 12 to 4 p.m. Feb 14 at Vitae Springs, 3675 Vitae Springs Rd S. $50 Click here to register.

Visit Lovecraft’s Library

Market of the Strange hosts Lovecraft’s Library, where you can celebrate reading with strange and unique artists and crafters, plus several independent authors from the PNW. Pick up a new book to cozy up with during the chilly weather, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, February 16 at Salem Convention Center. $5 entry fee. Purchase here.

Day of Love

Common People Yoga hosts Day of Love Feb 14 featuring free classes all day long plus an afternoon pop-up from 3 to 5 p.m. featuring local small women-owned businesses.

A Quest for Dinosaurs

Jurassic Quest is the world’s largest, most popular Dino event with unique and exciting experiences for the whole family.  Make pter-iffic memories playing with adorable baby Dinos, excavating fossils, or even training a raptor while being surrounded by behemoths like sky-scraping Spinosaurus and, the King himself, Tyrannosaurus Rex, February 14-17 at the Oregon State Fairgrounds. Click here for more info.

Crafting Family History

As part of Salem Reads, make family history more colorful at Genealogy and Genograms, a drop-in style crafting program. 2-4 p.m. Feb 15 in the Collaboration Studio at Salem Public Library. 

Game On 

Salem Capitals Basketball host the Pink/Black Scrimmage, 3 p.m. Feb 16 at The Salem Armory, 2310 17th St NE, where you can check out the final group of players looking for a roster spot on the 2025 team. What better way to do a final assessment than a live game situation. The game will run like any other with referees, food concessions, merch booth, camera crew, games, dancing – and of course the post-game high fives, photo ops, and autographs.

And don’t forget….

Salem Reads, the community-wide reading project that invites everyone in Salem to read the same book, take part in discussions, and enjoy related programs, hosts a Writing Contest: Exploring Identity and the first, second, and third-place stories will be published through Press Play Salem. Entries are being accepted through February 17 at cityofsalem.net/library. Click here for more info. 

This weekly newsletter is free...because we want you to get out and play!

Coffee helps keep us going... ☕ and every sip is appreciated! ❤️ 

This weekend at Salem Cinema...

MUSIC

Salem Philharmonia Orchestra presents Rediscovering (Marie) Jaëll featuring Diane Chaplin, cello, 7 p.m. Saturday, February 15 and 2 p.m. Sunday, February 16 at East Salem Community Center, 1850 45th Avenue NE. The orchestra will perform:

  • Bizet – Jeux d’enfants – Petite Suite
  • Jaëll – Cello Concerto in F major
  • Mozart – Symphony No. 38 (“Prague”)
  • Rimsky-Korsakov – Capriccio Espagnol

There will be a free preconcert talk 45 minutes prior to each show. Tickets are $30 adults; $20 seniors and college students; and free for youth up to age 17. Click here for tickets.

Saturday Música: Garreson — “Born and raised among the blue mountains of Oregon, music has been a life long love of mine. my Grandfather was legendary country singer and songwriter Monte Garrison, who gave me my first guitar and taught me how to play it. Over the years, I’’ve drawn inspiration from his many songs, as well as artists such as Bonnie Raitt, Aretha Franklin, Mavis Staples, Roy Orbison, and Stevie Nicks.” 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Feb 15 at Cória Estates, 8252 Redstone Ave SE.

Molly & Wyatt — soulful acoustic duo, 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb 15  at  West Hills Vineyards, 4785 Salem Dallas Hwy NW

An Evening with Mike Love — Mike Love is a musician devoted to revolution through sound. Born in O’ahu, Hawaii to a family of musicians, Mike has used music as a conversation for as long as he can remember. He comes from a unique convergence of influences, yet all are bound by their common ambition to inspire positive change in the world. He releases his music independently on his own Love Not War Records label, and his sound, while rooted in the spirituality and message-based music of roots reggae, fuses a variety of influences including progressive and classic rock, soul, blues, flamenco, jazz, classical, and more. E.N Young & Imperial Sound will open the show. 8 p.m. February 15, at Salem's Historic Grand Theatre. Tickets are $33 for this all ages show. Click here for tickets.

On Stage

The Man in the Ceiling

Bridgetown Conservancy presents The Man in the Ceiling, with music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa and book by Jules Feiffer, directed by Vincenzo Meduri. 12-year-old Jimmy Jibbett wants to be a world-famous cartoonist. His father disapproves, his mother is clueless and his uncle writes flop musicals. Who can Jimmy turn to for inspiration and hope?  Maybe The Man in the Ceiling can lead him to his true destiny. On stage February 13-16 at The Verona Studio Theatre in the Reed Opera House. Click here for tickets.

Far Away

Willamette University Theatre presents Far Away — This hour-long futuristic nightmare envisions a world where the promise of violence broods and nothing is to be trusted. Written by the celebrated author of Top Girls and Cloud Nine, this innovative work consists of three brief scenes. In the first, a young girl spending her first night in her new guardian's house witnesses a bloody slaughter. Next, the girl, now grown, is spending her first day working in a hat factory. There, she and a young man concoct funny and elaborate hats that are to be worn for a horrific purpose. In the final scene, the boy and girl, now wed, are seeking refuge from a global conflict – even the animals are on one side or another.

On stage 7:30 p.m. Feb 13-15, 19-22 and 2 p.m. Feb 16, 22-23 in Putnam Studio at the M. Lee Pelton Theatre, Willamette University. Cost: $9 to $15. Click here for tickets. 

Arsenic and Old Lace

Pentacle Theatre presents Arsenic and Old Lace — Don’t miss your chance to see this classic comedy, which is filled with hilarious mayhem, sinister twists and unforgettable characters, on stage through February 22 at Pentacle Theatre, 324 52nd Ave NW. Tickets are $20–$41. Discounts available for students & Oregon Trail Card holders. Click here for tickets. Click here for our Press Play story.

Tune In for Theater

Tune in to KMUZ Theatre Talk and learn all about what’s on stage in the mid-Willamette Valley at 9 a.m. the first and third Friday of the month on KMUZ Community Radio at 100.7 and 88.5 FM, also on KMWV-FM-Dallas at 98.3 HD2, and streaming worldwide at KMUZ.org and on the KMUZ mobile app. Plus catch KMUZ Theatre Talk episodes anytime — wherever you get your podcasts.

Plus Explore Art

Salem Reads art exhibit on display through March 1 in the Art Hall @ Salem Public Library.

Such as...

  • Nationally recognized mixed-media artist Brenda Mallory: The North Star Changes at Hallie Ford Museum of Art, 700 State St | 503-370-6855, willamette.edu/arts/hfma
  • Nancy Floyd: For the Love of Trees at Hallie Ford Museum of Art, 700 State St | 503-370-6855, willamette.edu/arts/hfma
  • New Energy: New Work by M. Shoki Tanabe and Adam Zeek at Level 2 Gallery on the Second Floor at Salem Convention Center | 503-589-1700, oregonartistsseries.com
  • Salem Reads Art Exhibit in the Art Hall at Salem Public Library
  • Erotica: An Exhibition to Arouse at Salem on the Edge, 156 Liberty St NE | salemontheedge.com
  • For the Love of the Pacific Northwest featuring work by 20 plus artists at the AiA Gallery, 444 Ferry St SE | AiAArtGallery.org

Click here for a full list of what's on exhibit this February.

Got an event? Submit it here.