Comedy, music, fashion and more.

By John Staton StarNews Staff

Comedy: Laugh Your Sox Off

A big comedy show is coming to Cape Fear Community College's Wilson Center Stage next weekend. Billed "Laugh Your Sox Off," it features well-known stand-ups and social media stars. Hosted by Wilmington comic Tone X, the lineup includes Red Grant, who made his name in the 1990s on such shows as HBO's "Def Comedy Jam" and is known for his distinctive laugh, gap-toothed smile and riffs on such cultural phenomena as Maury Povich's "You Are the Father" segment. Also on the bill is Atlanta comic John Whitfield, aka DC Young Fly, and Jess Hilarious, who's been seen on MTV, BET and elsewhere. Details: 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 10, at CFCC Wilson Center, 703 N. Third St., Wilmington. $40-$55, $100 VIP, plus taxes and fees. 910-362-7999 or CapeFearStage.com.

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Fashion: Poetry in Motion

An evening of spoken-word poetry, live music and a fashion show featuring the work of established and emerging designers. Presented by the Upperman African-American Cultural Center and the UNCW Black Student Union, Poetry in Motion will also have consultants doling out advice on clothing, makeup and more. Details: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 8, at the Burney Center, UNCW campus.

Opera: 'L’Elisir d’Amore'

New York's Metropolitan Opera continues its Live in HD series with a broadcast of "L’Elisir d’Amore," Gaetano Donizetti's comic opera about a lovestruck young man who resorts to a dubious love potion to charm the woman he's taken with. The opera can be seen locally during a screening coordinated by the University of North Carolina Wilmington's Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. Details: Noon Saturday, Feb. 10, at Lumina Theater in the Fisher Student Center, UNCW campus. $24, $20 OLLI members. UNCW.edu/OLLI

Dance: East Coast Shag Classic

With a bevy of beach music bands as well as shag dance instructors, demonstrations and competitions, next weekend's East Coast Shag Classic might make you feel like it's summer already. The music starts on Thursday night with the Band of Oz and continues Friday with Gary Lowder and Smokin' Hot and Saturday with Blackwater Rhythm & Blues and Steve Owens and Summertime. The Classic concludes on Sunday with a gospel brunch and the music of the Hill Family Band. Details: Feb. 8-11 at the Holiday Inn Resort, Wrightsville Beach. Individual tickets start at $20, hotel packages start at $329. Proceeds benefit Hope Abounds, a group that helps women and children navigate cancer diagnoses. 877-330-5050

Music: Martin-Loparits Duo

Pianist and University of North Carolina Wilmington music professor Elizabeth Loparits will team up with fellow pianist Maurícy Martin for a concert of music by J.S. Bach, Schubert, Dvorák, Brahms and more. Martin is the head of the piano department at the University of Campinas in Brazil. Details: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 8, at Beckwith Recital Hall in the Cultural Arts Building, UNCW campus. $6, free for UNCW students with valid ID. 910-962-3415 or UNCW.edu/music

Music: Heart & Soul

Following up on a successful Christmas concert to benefit DREAMS of Wilmington, singer Nicole Thompson and saxophonist Darryl Murrill will perform the weekend before Valentine's Day to benefit the Wilmington Boys Choir. Expect a mix of upbeat tunes from a variety of genres, including jazz, gospel and pop, all of them suitable for dancing. Details: 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 11, at St. Paul's Episcopal Parish Hall, 16 N. 16th St., Wilmington. $25, includes spaghetti dinner and beverages. 910-762-4578

Film: 'Wilmington on Fire'

Christopher Everett's riveting documentary "Wilmington on Fire," which was the hit of the 2015 Cucalorus festival, continues to do its work of educating the public about the 1898 massacre in Wilmington thanks to regular community screenings. If you've not yet seen "Wilmington on Fire," check it out on Saturday at St. Mark's Episcopal Church. The film, which was featured in The New Yorker, goes into depth about the violence of 1898 in the Port City, during which whites forced blacks from positions of power in government, killed others and forced others to leave town under threat of violence. Details: 5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 10, at St. Mark's Episcopal Church, 600 Grace St., Wilmington. $5 in advance, $10 at the door. 910-763-3858.

Wilmington on Fire fromWilmington on Fire onVimeo.

Family: Big and Small Family Ball

A Valentine's Day event designed for the whole family. The Big and Small Family Ball at the Children's Museum of Wilmington will provide all types of opportunities for family togetherness, including cookie decorating, crafts, dancing and face painting, not to mention burger and chicken sliders donated by Waffle House. Plus, you can document your good time at the event's photo booth. Details: 5-8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 10, at the Children's Museum of Wilmington, 116 Orange St., Wilmington. $9.75 per person, half-price for "weekday members," free for "anytime members" and children under 12 months. 910-254-3534 or PlayWilmington.org

Comedy: Adam Newman

Adam Newman is really funny, but he probably isn't the most romantic comedian out there. Which in a weird way makes him the perfect stand-up to play the Dead Crow Comedy Room's Valentine's Day weekend shows. Newman, who's been seen on "The Late Show with David Letterman" and has a one-hour special called "Fuzzies" streaming on Amazon, is more likely to talk about the charms of a film called "WolfCop" -- or unconventional ways to stop someone from choking, or being in a gay porno -- than he is about love. But that's OK. Sentimentality isn't that funny, after all. Details: 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Feb. 9-10 at Dead Crow Comedy Room, 265 N. Front St., Wilmington. $16 on Friday, $18 on Saturday. 910-399-1492 or DeadCrowComedy.com.

Music: Tallis Chamber Orchestra

Wilmington's Tallis Chamber Orchestra will drop into First Presbyterian Church on Sunday for the Music at First concert series. Music by Gluck, Rimsky-Korsakov and Frank Bridge is on the program, and Tallis will also play a new work by orchestra member Dan Sanchez, as well as "Concerto No. 3 for Horn and String Orchestra" by Alan Hovhaness with a solo from UNCW horn instructor Alex Williams. Details: 5 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 11, at First Presbyterian Church, 125 S. Third St., Wilmington. Free, with donations accepted.

Contact John Staton at 910-343-2343 or John.Staton@StarNewsOnline.com.