Need a romantic date idea for Valentine’s Day? Macon has you covered

There’s a lot to do this February and more opportunities to get out and about than there have been in a long time.

And there’s a lot to love with Valentine’s Day nearing on Feb. 14.

A number of arts, entertainment and fun get-out and about offerings are below and some have a Valentine flavor.

To start, consider a glass heart-making class Saturday that has become an annual event ahead of Valentine’s at Startup Studios, 1055 Riverside Dr.

Appropriately for the season, Startup Studios was begun by a young couple, Bryan and Yen-Ting (Chiu) Beck – artists in love, as it were.

Bryan is from Florida and Yen-Ting from Taiwan. The two met as graduate students at Southern Illinois University where he focused on glasswork and she on ceramics.

“We were both in the same year and in the same building so we saw each other around,” Yen-Ting said. “We saw each other in passing but I guess by the second week we started dating.”

Right off, Bryan said he knew he wanted to meet Yen-Ting.

“I had seen her,” he said. “I was on the phone with a friend who actually happened to be from Macon and I told them there’s this cute girl from Asia I’m going to try to date.”

The dating was successful and the two ended up a couple for four years before getting married. After graduating, they decided to move to Macon and open a studio.

“We moved to Macon in 2017, opened Startup, then within a year, in 2018, we got married at the courthouse downtown,” Bryan said. “We had dated for four years, moved to Macon together, started a business together – it made sense.”

Despite COVID, Startup has continued successfully with gallery space, artist space, shows, classes and other activities including hosting a regular comedy night. For a while during the worst of the pandemic, Storytellers of Macon met there – or at least on property outdoors behind the studio – and the two had the chance to tell the tale of how they met.

The 3:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. classes on how to create colored glass hearts have become an annual mainstay and there are only a few slots left for this year. Hurry if you want in. If you don’t make it, there’s always next year and there’s more Saturday at Startup for Valentine.

Think date night.

“We have what we call Glassblowing Date Nights at 6:30, 7:30, 8 and 9 p.m.,” Bryan said. “It’s for two people, any two people, who want to spend some quality time together learning the ancient art of glassblowing. Each gets hands-on instruction making a drinking glass or a stemless wine glass.”

Plus, if glass work isn’t appealing, there are ceramic mugs and textured plate classes going on Saturday, too. Interested? Scheduling and information are at Startup’s event calendar at www.startupstudios.art.

If looking ahead to make plans for Valentine’s Day itself, there are plenty of special offers around and among them, what could be more romantic than dinner and an evening at the symphony?

The Macon-Mercer Symphonic Orchestras’ third concert of the season is Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day, at the beautiful Grand Opera House and features Tchaikovsky’s Overture to Romeo and Juliet and Symphony No. 4. Show organizers say it’s considered Tchaikovsky’s greatest compositional work.

Also on the program is double bassist/composer Xavier Foley who will perform “For Justice and Peace,” a work co-commissioned by Carnegie Hall and the Sphinx Organization.

The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. Student tickets are free with ID. Otherwise, they’re $20 and $30. Make arrangements and get more information at www.thegrandmacon.com.

Now a quick look at a few other coming events:

• Feb. 4, 6:30 p.m.-7 p.m.: Pop-Up Wildlife Encounter presented by Museum of Arts and Sciences at Prince Park on Poplar Street at First Friday’s Family Fun Zone. See a native Georgia species up close and learn all about it. Free. www.masmacon.org
• Feb. 7, 7 p.m.: McDuffie Young Artist Concert presented by the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings at the Bell House, 315 College St. Short programs by emerging student artists are free and on a first-come, first-seated basis. www.mcduffie.mercer.edu
• Through Feb. 13: Macon Little Theatre, 4220 Forsyth Rd., presents “The 39 Steps,” a spy novel turned Alfred Hitchcock film and laugh-a-minute-comedy with Monty Python stylings. www.maconlittletheatre.org
• Feb. 7-25: “Pink Poodle Parade” Exhibit presented by The 567 Center for Renewal, 456 1st St., featuring painted poodles and other original artwork by local artists in conjunction with the Think Pink Committee and Cherry Blossom Festival. Free. www.the567center.org
• Through Feb. 25: Indistinct Murmurs by sculptural artist Kirsten Stingle presented by Wesleyan College at the Cowles Myles Collier East & West Galleries, 4760 Forsyth Rd. Stingle’s hand-built porcelain figures have a special emphasis on the communication tools of gesture and expression to cut through individual isolation. Free. www.wesleyancollege.edu
• Feb. 10-20: “All Shook Up,” presented by the Perry Players, 909 Main St., Perry, Ga. It’s 1955 and into a square little town in a square little state rides a guitar-playing young man who changes everything and everyone. www.perryplayers.org
• Feb. 8, 6 p.m., Backpacking for Beginners presented by Ocmulgee Outfitters, 565 Poplar St., An in-person introduction to backpacking basics. Free, registration not required. www.ocmulgeeoutfitters.com
• Through Feb. 12: “Yellow,” the current show presented by the Middle Georgia Art Association at the Middle Georgia Art Association Gallery, 2330 Ingleside Ave. Admission is free during gallery hours. (478) 744-9557

For First Friday events and information, check out www.facebook.com/ntmacon and www.facebook.com/downtownmacon.

Don’t forget, the Macon Civic Club’s variety revue “Walking through Sunshine” continues through Saturday. Check it out at www.thegrandmacon.com.

Contact writer Michael W. Pannell at mwpannell@gmail.com.