'Eye Candy' at Art Center; Renowned Cellist with HSO; Valentine Offerings Sweet (and Sour)

We could all use a bit of glitter and eye candy this winter – something to distract us from the mounds of white stuff. The Farmington Valley Arts Center in Avon presents Glitter Winter / Eye Candy, an exhibition of paintings by Camomile Hixon. Billed as a winter wonderland of iconic imagery with a futuristic pop glamour twist, the show opens Feb. 4 and runs through March 5 at the Fisher Gallery. An opening reception is Feb. 4 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

The Farmington Valley Arts Center is at 25 Art Center Court, Avon. For more information, visit www.artsfvac.org or call 860-678-1867. 

Truffle Love

Get an early start on a Valentine's Day gift by making truffles with the one you love. Farmington's Stanley-Whitman House presents an afternoon truffle-making workshop on Feb. 13. Heritage cook Judy Witzke will talk about types of chocolate before leading the class in the creation of a variety of truffles. 

Cost is $25 per couple for museum members; $30 per couple for non-members. Registration is required by Feb. 7. The program has sold out in previous years. The Stanley-Whitman House is at 37 High St., Farmington. For more information, visit www.stanleywhitman.org or call 860-677-9222.

Love Is a Battlefield

Valentine's Day is supposed to be about hearts and flowers and declarations of love. But this year, the Suffield Players explore another side of love and romance. The Suffield-based theater troupe presents Vicious Valentines: An Evening of Love-ly One Acts. Grouped under the heading "Love and War," the program consists of three comedies that highlight the never-smooth course of love. Two of the works are by Anton Chekhov: The Proposal is directed by Dale Facey, The Bear is staged by Josh Guenter. Rounding out the program is Wallace Acton'sMadame President directed by Kelly Seip.

Vicious Valentines runs from Feb. 10 through 12, 18 through 20, and 25 and 26. Tickets cost $17; $12 students and seniors. Curtain times are 8 p.m.; 2 p.m. for the Feb. 20 matinee. To reserve tickets, phone the box office at 800-298-6148 or 860-668-0837. Performances take place at Mapleton Hall, 1305 Mapleton Ave., Suffield. For more information, visit www.suffieldplayers.org.

 A Hartford Symphony Valentine

Debussy's dreamy Afternoon of a Faun, Sibelius' sensual Symphony No. 1 and Elgar's emotive Cello Concerto, performed by guest cellist Wendy Warner, add up to a Valentine's Romance concert by the Hartford Symphony. Romanian guest assistant conductor Mihaela Cesa-Goje conducts the Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, which Debussy described as "a succession of scenes through which pass the desires and dreams of the faun in the heat of the afternoon." Warner, one of the world's leading cellists, joins the orchestra for the Elgar, which is considered one of the most romantic pieces of all time. 

Concerts are Feb. 10 through 13 at the Belding Theater at Hartford's Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets range from $30 to $65. To reserve, visitwww.hartfordsymphony.org or call 860-244-2999. The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts is at 166 Capitol Ave., Hartford. For more information, visit www.bushnell.org. 

New Musical Workshopped at Playhouse

West Hartford's Playhouse on Park presents a workshop production of The Silver Whistle, a new full-length musical by Connecticut-based playwright Richard Chiarappa, who works at West Hartford's Kingswood-Oxford School. Chiarappa set his comic musical in an old age home full of flowers, crotchety seniors and an uptight minister. When a mysterious man named Oliver Erwenter enters the picture, things begin to change. Silver Whistle is an upbeat entertainment about growing old, finding love, and seizing the day.

Performances, presented in workshop format and directed by Whit Wales, are Feb. 5 at 8 p.m. and Feb. 6 at 2 p.m. The audience is invited to participate in a talk-back with the playwright and director after each performance. Tickets cost $15. Playhouse on Park is at 244 Park Road, West Hartford. For more information, visit www.playhouseonpark.org or call 860-523-5900 x10.

Chinese New Year at Children's Museum

On Feb. 5, West Hartford's Children's Museum welcomes the Chinese New Year, the year of the rabbit, with a program of special activities. Featured, of course, are the rabbits in the museum's Wildlife Sanctuary. Professional storyteller Ellie Toy of Middletown presents tales about China and the moon (the latter because the Chinese New Year is a lunar holiday, one that occurs on the first New Moon of the year on the Chinese calendar). Lantern craft, and red bean cakes, the traditional food of the New Year, add to the fun.

Cost of the event is $8; $7 museum members. Pre-register at events@thechildrensmuseum.org or call 860-231-2824 ext. 44. The Children's Museum is at 950 Trout Brook Dr., West Hartford. Visit www.thechildrensmuseumct.org. 

Beam Me Up, Scottie

Star Trek Live, an interactive stage show based on the Star Trek franchise beams into Hartford's Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts for two performances. The show combines cutting edge special effects, audience interaction, and exploration of real Space Age technology.

Star Trek Live performances are Feb. 4 at 10 a.m., Feb. 5 at 2 p.m. Tickets start at $12. The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts is at 166 Capitol Ave., Hartford. For more information, visit www.bushnell.org or call 860-987-5900. 

Sartorial Splendor and Birthday Cake at Hill-Stead

Clothing from the 1830s to the 1930s is the focus of Off the Rack: 100 Years of Men's and Women's Fashion, an exhibition of period fashion at Farmington's Hill-Stead Museum. Drawn from the family collections of the Popes and Riddles, former owners of the Hill-Stead, as well as private donors, it includes such gems as a jackets created for Theodate Pope Riddle by Lucille (Lady Duff) Gordon, one of the leading fashion designers of her time. Off the Rack runs through May 31 at the museum. 

Also at the Hill-Stead this week, Feb. 6 brings the celebration of the 144th birthday of Theodate Pope Riddle, architect and founder of the Hill-Stead. The event runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and includes self-guided tours of the estate starting at 11 a.m., live music at 2 p.m., and birthday cake at 2:30 p.m.

Admission is $10; $9 seniors, $8 students, and $5 children ages 6 to 12. Members and children under 6 are free. The Hill-Stead is at 35 Mountain Road, Farmington. For more information, visit www.hillstead.org or call 860-677-4787.

Englehart: Drawing Fire at the Twain House

Editorial cartoonist Bob Englehart has been provoking ire and poking fun at newsmakers on the pages of The Hartford Courant for three decades. On the occasion of his 30 years at the paper, the Mark Twain House presents Drawing Fire: Bob Englehart's 30 Years at The Hartford Courant, an exhibition of 25 of his original drawings.  

The exhibition runs runs February 3 through May 1. An opening reception is scheduled for Feb. 3 at 5:30 p.m. At 6:30 p.m., Englehart discusses his work in a talk that will feature some of his unpublished cartoons, some on-the-spot drawing, and fan mail. Snow date for the reception and presentation is Feb. 10.

Tickets cost $15. Phone 860-280-3130. The Mark Twain House & Museum is at 351 Farmington Ave., Hartford. For more information, visit www.marktwainhouse.org or call 860-247-0998.

Rashaad Newsome Exhibition at Atheneum

Rashaad Newsome, a multidisciplinary artist whose works have been featured in the Whitney Biennial, headlines a solo show in the Matrix Gallery at Hartford's Wadsworth Atheneum. Rashaad Newsome / Matrix 161 includes video, collage and wall sculpture pieces that combine classical and popular themes ranging from rap music, black youth, and pop culture to medieval heraldry. Several of Newsome's collage works contain images resembling a coat of arms. "They started with a trip to Europe," he told Time Out New York. "I was looking at a lot of the architecture there, including the coats of arms that appear on buildings. Heraldry is a way of assembling symbols of power. I thought about how that would work for black youth culture. A modern-day translation would be bling. So some of the most recognizable aspects of these collages pull from heraldry and the body ornamentation associated with the hip-hop community. I’ve almost always lived in urban communities, and magazines about the culture were a big influence for me. In my work I’m trying to create my own language that everyone can understand and see themselves in."

Rashaad Newsome / Matrix 161 runs from Feb. 3 through May 1. The Wadsworth Atheneum is at 600 Main St., Hartford. For more information, visit www.wadsworthatheneum.org or call 860-278-2670.