FRIDAY
Festival: The Yaarab Shrine Center in Atlanta hosts the 34th annual Groundhog Day Jugglers Festival, which brings jugglers and fans together for three days of gravity-defying fun Feb. 3-5. Most events are free for spectators, including the competitive performances late-night cabaret at 10 p.m. Feb. 4, $5; registration $20 for festival participants.
Stage: The 2010 Tony Award winner for best musical, “Memphis,” comes to the Fox Theatre. Check out our interview with one of the show’s authors, David Bryan, and our review. It continues through Feb. 5.
Music: Hollyfest IV is the latest installment of an annual celebration of music from Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper, marking the anniversary of the plane crash that claimed their lives on Feb. 3, 1959. It begins at 9 p.m. Feb. 3 at Star Bar in Atlanta’s Little Five Points.
Music: Celebrate one of Georgia’s greatest poets at the Sidney Lanier 170th Birthday Recital. With Candace Keach on flute and Marty Willet portraying Lanier, with an introduction by Paul Hudson. 8 p.m. Feb. 3 at Oglethorpe University’s Lupton Hall.
Stage: Jon Ludwig’s “Space!” takes audiences on a galactic journey of scientific facts and pure fantasy from Jon Ludwig. The cosmic journey continues through March 11 at the Center for Puppetry Arts.
Stage: “Red” is John Logan’s dramatic portrait of abstract expressionist painter Mark Rothko. The Theatrical Outfit production will preview Feb. 3 and opens Feb. 4. It continues at the Balzer Theater at Herren’s in downtown Atlanta through March 11.
Stage: Atlanta Shakespeare Company offers its annual Valentine to Atlanta with a production of“Romeo and Juliet.” It runs through March 8 at the New American Shakespeare Tavern.
Stage: The Henry Players present Arthur Miller’s witch-hunt drama “The Crucible” at the Henry County Performing Arts Center in McDonough Feb. 2-5.
Stage: Moscow seems like a fairytale to 20-year-old Annie, an American in search of her roots. But when the lines between Russian fairytales and Annie’s reality start to blur – and then vanish – things get dicey in “Fairytale Lives of Russian Girls.” It opens Feb. 3 at the Alliance Theatre and runs through Feb. 26.
Comedy: “Last Comic Standing” winner Josh Blue, whose comedy often centers on living with cerebral palsy, comes to the Punchline Feb. 2-4.
Stage: “Coming Apart” is a romantic comedy about a couple, both successful writers and both claiming to want a divorce, even though they don’t. It’s presented by the Polk Street Players Feb. 3-18 at the Stellar Cellar at St. James’ Episcopal Church in Marietta.
Dance: Known for experimental pieces that mix dance, theater, music and spoken word, the Joe Goode Performance Group’s latest work, “The Rambler,” tells the story of a wandering soul and his impact on those around him. Catch it at 8 p.m. Feb. 3 at the Ferst Center for the Arts on the Georgia Tech campus.
Dance: Roswell City Dance presents its Winter Concert at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 3 and at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Feb. 4 at the Roswell Cultural Arts Center.
Stage: In the Actor’s Express production “Next Fall,” 20-something Luke, who believes in God, is deeply in love with the slightly older Adam, who believes in everything but. When a tragic accident interrupts their perfect life, Adam must turn to Luke’s friends and deeply religious family for support — and answers. The show continues through Feb. 11 at the company’s stage in the King Plow Arts Center.
Stage: Théâtre du Rêve revisits its popular 2011 production, “The Red Balloon,” inspired by the classic French film, which comes to life with puppetry, live music and more. It continues through Feb. 12 at 7 Stages in Little Five Points.
Stage: A couple wakes up in a cottage surrounded by water in “A Body of Water,” but they don’t know who they are. The show continues at Aurora Theatre in Lawrenceville through Feb. 12.
Stage, music: The Stage Door Players pay tribute to one of America’s best loved entertainers with “My Way, A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra.” It runs through Feb. 12 at North DeKalb Cultural Arts Center in Dunwoody.
Exhibition, religion: “Passages” is a traveling exhibition of the world’s largest private collection of rare biblical texts and artifacts. It continues at the Perimeter Expo in Dunwoody through May 13.
History: “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing: How the Apollo Theater Shaped American Entertainment” is a multimedia exhibition that spotlights the New York City landmark’s powerful impact on the entertainment business. It continues through March 4 at the Atlanta History Center.
Visual art: The High Museum of Art explores some of the highlights of the art of the 20th century with “Picasso to Warhol: Fourteen Modern Masters.” The show runs through April 29. See our review.
Stage: A husband’s efforts to deny his visit to the Moulin Rouge lead to mistakes and plausible presumptions in “The Ladies Man,” a Theatre in the Square production of a play based on a French farce by Georges Feydeau. See our review of the show. The show continues through Feb. 26.
SATURDAY
Performing arts: Piccadilly Puppets presents a puppet show, “Once Upon a Time in China,” to benefit the AFLAC Cancer Center at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. The performance honors the memory of Carol Daniel Klein, the long-time Director of Piccadilly Puppets. The tale of an Emperor who wants to provide a future for the land he loves, and the peasant boy who helps him, will be presented at 11 a.m. Feb. 4 at the Landmark Diner Side Lounge on Roswell Road in Atlanta.
Music: Jazz vocalist Sophie Milman brings her torchy style to Ferst Center for the Arts at 8 p.m. Feb. 4.
Music: Atlanta Baroque Orchestra and Georgia Tech Chamber Choir combine forces for “Songs of War and Peace, Ancient and Modern.” It includes Handel’s rarely-performed sacred choral cantata, “Dixit Dominus,” based on Psalm 110, and the premiere of Jerry Ulrich’s new choral piece for period instruments, “Lucem Pax”, based on Psalm 46. Wanda Yang Temko, soprano, and Terry Barber, counter-tenor, are featured soloists. There are two performances, one at 7 p.m. Feb. 4 at First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta, and one at 3 p.m. Feb. 5 at Roswell Presbyterian Church.
Performing arts, benefit: “Swirling Soiree: An Evening of New Dances, Great Finds, and Tasty Eats” combines performance, a reception and a silent auction to benefit Georgia Ballet. It happens at 7 p.m. Feb. 4 at the Murray Arts Center in Kennesaw.
Film premiere: Atlanta’s own musical family trio Laughing Pizza will celebrate the debut of its first concert film with an event at the Georgia Aquarium. Red carpet begins at 11 a.m. Feb. 4; screening at noon.
Nature, exhibition: “Wildlife Rescue” explores the efforts of everyday people dedicating their lives to helping animals survive in this interactive exhibition. Discover how waterfowl are being saved from oil spills, how orphaned elephant calves and baby orangutans are being raised and released back into the wild and more. It opens Feb. 4 and continues through May 6 at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History
Festival: Heirloom’s Lawrenceville Rubber Stamp and Paper Arts Festival begins at 10 a.m. Feb. 4 and 11 a.m. Feb. 5 at the Gwinnett County Fairgrounds in Lawrenceville.
SUNDAY
Stage: 11 years after his sold-out run of “The Gospel of John,” Brad Sherrill returns to Marietta’s Theatre in the Square with “Red Letter Jesus,” which brings new life to Jesus’ words as written in Matthew, Mark and Luke. Previews are Feb. 5 and 7, and the show continues through March 4.
Visual arts: “The Art of Golf” explores 400 years of golf through paintings, drawings, and photographs, including objects from the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, as well as the largest collection of Bobby Jones portraits ever assembled. It opens Feb. 5 and runs through June 24 at the High Museum of Art.
Visual arts, design: “Stories in Form: Chair Design by the Portfolio Center” spotlights works created as part of Portfolio Center’s course “Modernism: History, Criticism and Theory,” which explores design history as a catalyst for new design ideas. It opens Feb. 5 and runs through June 3 at the Museum of Design Atlanta.
Music: Northside Drive Baptist Church’s Music on the Hill series continues with string trios by Beethoven, Dohnanyi and Ramirez at 3 p.m. Feb. 5.
Music: Looking for a cultural alternative to that other Bowl? Check out the Bach Bowl, which will offer Bach concertos from pianists Keiko and William Ransom and organists Tamara and Timothy Albrecht, and a performance by the Vega String Quartet. It begins at 4 p.m. Feb. 5 at Emory University’s Schwartz Center for Performing Arts.
This marks the first weekend of Black History Month, so check out our look at some of the arts and cultural events that celebrate the contributions of African-Americans, happening this weekend and through the month of February.