In the middle of February, which is also Black History Month, there are many ways people can honor this observance, now in its 100th year. An evening of free roller skating in Dorchester is one, and an Afrofuturist “Cosmic Roots” fashion show is another. Also this weekend, a Lunar New Year celebration and a traveling opera production. Those events and more, below.
Thursday, Feb. 19
Here’s one for the youths: In celebration of Black History Month, the Boston Center for Youth and Families has organized a roller skating night for young adults ages 17 and under. The event will be held at the Chez Vous Roller Skating Rink in Dorchester, and DJ music will bring lively energy to the space. From 5-8 p.m., families and friends can join this free program that will foster community and cultural pride.
Friday, Feb. 20-Sunday, Feb. 22
ArtsEmerson presents “The Things Around Us,” a one-person show written and performed by musician, writer and artist Ahamefule J. Oluo. Uluo shares songs that offer “uncanny stories about strangers, acquaintances, and friends,” blending humor and trumpet playing. This production is the third part of a trilogy that Oluo created, coming after the autobiographical works “Now I’m Fine” and “Susan.” “The Things Around Us” premiered in 2024 at Portland Institute for Contemporary Art’s Time-Based Art Festival and moved on to La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club in New York in 2025. Tickets for this 90-minute show start at $27.50.
Saturday, Feb. 21
Celebrate the Year of the Horse at Peabody Essex Museum. From 10:30-11:30 a.m., Gund Kwok, the first Asian women’s lion and dragon dance troupe in the United States, will regale audience members with a performance. From 1-4 p.m., visitors will have the opportunity to decorate red envelopes, known to be symbols of good luck and fortune in traditional Chinese culture. Throughout the day, attendees can also tour Yin Yu Tang, a 16-bedroom house that was built in China’s Huizhou region in the 18th century and relocated to the museum’s campus in the 1990s. Tickets to the museum are $35 for adults.
Saturday, Feb. 21
The Multicultural Arts Center in Cambridge is hosting “Cosmic Roots,” a fashion show featuring runway presentations and live dance, but it’s also a vibrant party “rooted in Black creativity, ancestry and futurist imagination.” There will also be a vendor marketplace with jewelry, art, hair and beauty items, and so much more. With a live DJ keeping the beats pulsing all night (from 8-10 p.m., to be exact), it’s a celebration that’s not to be missed. Tickets cost $30.
Through Saturday, Feb. 21
Boston Lyric Opera holds its “Opera on Tour” production every year with the intention of piquing the interest of younger audiences. The organization presents the comedy “Daughter of the Regiment” by Donizetti, the story of a girl who spent her life growing up in a military regiment. Before hitting the mainstage in April, the show travels to Boston Public Library branches in South Boston, West Roxbury, the North End, East Boston and more neighborhoods. Performances are free and open to the public.