What’s going on in Pittsburgh this weekend, Feb. 12-15? Find out here. Know of a cool event? Email us. And no, it’s not lost on us that we landed on 14 things to highlight. Love is love, so make the weekend your own, and may the 14th be with you.
Thursday, Feb. 12: Friends and Lovers at Carnegie Museum of Art
6:30-9:30 p.m.
Take a cue from Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show, which displayed a powerful message seen around the world: “The Only Thing More Powerful Than Hate Is Love.” Join Carnegie Museum of Art to celebrate “love in all of its forms” and kick off Valentine’s Day weekend in the beautiful Hall of Sculpture. Explore the museum during love-themed tours, make your own artistic Valentine’s Day cards and experience mystical readings. Enjoy time with friends, loved ones and new crushes, sip curated Love Cocktails and nosh on sweets and snacks. Tickets.
Thursday, Feb. 12: A Galentine’s Celebration at The Funhouse at Mr. Small’s
7 p.m.
If you’re seeking Valentine’s Day fun that’s more a vibe than an obligation, Glow PGH is here to help. The collective is on a mission to create spaces “where women of all generations come together to dance, laugh and reconnect with their inner youthful selves.” With Cupid’s Day just around the corner, that means it’s time to … dance. Produced by Gina Falcettoni, the dance party in Millvale features music by DJ Jess 412 that will get you moving and feeling empowered. The goal is to “reimagine nightlife for 21+ women and femme-identifying” people with immersive, pop-up dance experiences that foster a sense of connection. Think of it as equal parts nightlife party, wellness experience and empowerment circle. Tickets.
All photos courtesy of the Pittsburgh Botanic Garden.
Thursday, Feb. 12-Sunday, Feb. 15: Hearts in the Garden at Pittsburgh Botanic Garden
Various times
Think there’s no reason to visit a garden during the winter? Think again! Make Mother Nature your Valentine while creating new memories at Pittsburgh Botanic Garden. The horticulture and conservation pros have been busy using natural materials to make handmade hearts and place them around the site’s 65 acres of gardens and woodlands. You’re invited to pick up a clue sheet and find them!
Bring along that special someone for a one-of-a-kind outdoorsy date, bundle up with the entire family or treat yourself to a solo day in nature. It’s the perfect chance to follow your heart and learn about wintertime in the garden. There’s even more to love, because the Hearts in the Garden program is offered at half price throughout February. Schedule and tickets.
Friday, Feb. 13: Stranger Valentine’s Gift Fair at Sparkle Dragon’s Magical Emporium
4-9 p.m.
Explore the Upside Down and add some retro vibes to your Valentine’s Day weekend. Head to Brookline where Sparkle Dragon’s Magical Emporium will transform into an 1980s-themed marketplace showcasing local artists, makers and collectors. Shop for eccentric wares and find one-of-a-kind gifts for every Valentine on your list. Find everything from vintage toys, games and comics, pagan items, and bath and body care products and much more. The free event features “Stranger Things”-style photo activities, Dungeons & Dragons Tarot readings, a meet and greet with Weird Paul and more. Information.
Friday, Feb. 13: Parent’s Night Out: Little Hearts, Big Adventures at Attack Theatre Studios
5-7:30 p.m.
Babysitters are indispensable, but what if your kids could dance the night away with Attack Theatre while you have a much-needed grownup date night? While parents enjoy a romantic dinner or an outing in the East End, kids will experience a memorable date of their own. Participants will get moving and creative with high-energy dance games, DIY Valentine’s Day crafts and imaginative play. The Friday night fun includes tasty snacks and festive music. Tickets.
All photos by Paul g. Wiegman.
Friday, Feb. 13: Valentine’s Night at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens
5-10 p.m.
Skip expensive dinner out and spend a night with your sweetie at one of the greenest buildings in the world — and one of the most romantic. While wandering leisurely through the historic glasshouse, lovebirds will be dazzled by views of the conservatory illuminated in bright red hues. Listen to heartwarming classical music echoing throughout the landmark and check out pink, purple and white blooms in the Orchid and Tropical Bonsai Show. Don’t be late, because the first 300 people to arrive will receive a free rose. Tickets.
Pedro the prehensile-tailed skink animal ambassador. Photo courtesy of the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium.
Green-winged macaw animal ambassador at Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium. Photo by Clare Grant.
Friday, Feb. 13: Animal Instincts Valentine’s Cocktail Hour at the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium
7-9 p.m.
Find love, romance and frisky fun under the sea during this 21+ cocktail hour event. Dive into Valentine’s Day weekend at the aquarium, where attendees will be treated to a “humorous, adults-only presentation revealing the intimate secrets of animal mating.” Discover how animals find love in the wild — on land, under the sea and even in the air — from mating battles to subtle courting rituals. Make new friends during small animal visits, bid in the silent auction and vie for raffle prizes. Whether you’re looking for the perfect first date or something casual with the besties, this is the perfect chance to mingle, flirt and sip around the aquarium. The event includes heavy appetizers and a cash bar. Tickets.
Step Afrika! Photo courtesy of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.
Friday, Feb. 13: Step Afrika! at the Byham Theater
7:30 p.m.
Honor Black History Month with this signature work by the world-renowned company, Step Afrika! serving as inspiration for the production is the iconic 60-panel painting, “The Migration Series” (1940-41), created by American painter Jacob Lawrence. Interpreting Lawrence’s imagery, colors and motifs, the award-winning dance company shares the remarkable story of “African Americans moving from the rural South to the industrial North to escape Jim Crow, racial oppression and lynchings in the early 1900s.”
Founded in 1994 by C. Brian Williams, the dance company is the world’s leading authority on the art form of stepping. Performances blend percussive dance styles practiced by historically African American fraternities and sororities with traditional African dances and and contemporary art forms. You have only one night to experience their pulsating rhythms, agile techniques and heart-pounding intensity. Each performance is unique, weaving songs, storytelling, humor and audience participation. Featured at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History & Culture with the world’s first stepping interactive exhibit, the company also promotes stepping as an educational tool for cross-cultural exchange. Tickets.
Photo courtesy of the Society to Preserve the Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka.
Friday, Feb. 13: Galentine’s Day Love Letters with Maxo Vanka at the Frick Environmental Center
6-8 p.m.
Writing and art have long been used as vehicles for expressing love, friendship and connection. Join the Society to Preserve the Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka and Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy when they team up to host this community-based Galentine’s Day workshop. Explore the current “Gift to America 2.0” exhibition featuring contemporary artists in dialogue with works by Croatian muralist Maxo Vanka (1889-1963) and then head into the classroom to make one-of-a-kind cards to send to loved ones or cherish as keepsakes. You’ll make new friends while celebrating love and belonging, being inspired by nature and nurturing creativity. Snack on traditional Croatian cookies and refreshments to keep those creative juices flowing. Tickets.
Photo courtesy of Kamin Science Center.
Friday, Feb. 13: 21+ Night: Seductive Science at Kamin Science Center
6-10 p.m.
Explore the sexy side of science with your crush, partner or BFF as you celebrate love in its myriad forms. Heat up your Valentine’s Day Eve with curiosity-arousing activities showcasing “the science behind seduction and attraction” and speed up your dating game with five floors of exhibits. Explore the anatomy of pleasure, make a delicious date night dessert during cooking demonstrations, and sip decadent, Valentine’s Day-themed cocktails. Take a dance lesson to learn new moves, enjoy stargazing at Buhl Planetarium and discover if aphrodisiacs really work. Tickets.
Saturday, Feb. 14: “Faces of Civil War Nurses” opening reception at the Andrew Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall
1-4 p.m.
A new exhibition opening this weekend at the “Carnegie Carnegie” shares the rarely heard stories of women who served as nurses during the Civil War. Get a behind-the-scenes glimpse into their “resilience, sacrifice and humanity” with this traveling exhibit presented in partnership with Military Images magazine and the National Museum of Civil War Medicine. Don’t miss the free opening reception in the Lincoln Gallery featuring a talk by author and historian Ron Coddington.
Unveiled last year at the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum in Washington, D.C., the exhibit features portraits and stories that pay tribute to the 20,000 women who risked their lives and endured grueling conditions while serving as nurses during the war. Visitors will encounter life-size portraits of 20 of these “intrepid pioneers” on view through May 9. Materials in the exhibit also explore how “women quickly broke down social conventions in caring for the sick and wounded, risking both disease and the brutal realities of war as they shaped the future of nursing and redefined the role of women in American society.” Information.
Saturday, Feb. 14: Love Potion No. 13 at the Quantum Theatre Warehouse
7-10 p.m.
Quantum Theatre is putting a sizzling new spin on its Q Ball just in time for Cupid. Get lucky in love, when the homegrown company helps us thaw out after the winter storms. Step inside the event’s secret “Theatre-for-Two,” featuring six immersive experiences. As attendees are drawn into the theatrical action, they will “join small groups of voyeurs spying on each scene in this interactive, theatrical peek at the many aspects of love.” Between scenes, patrons will be treated to savory snacks and decadent drinks from Black Radish and Lo Bar, and a curated auction featuring a few exclusive experiences.
Staged at Quantum’s North Side warehouse, the “intoxicating event” features performances by Tami Dixon and Tony Bingham. Directed by Alex Ungerman, the vignettes were written by acclaimed playwrights Morag Shepherd and Matthew Ivan Bennett. Not a fan of big crowds? You’re in luck because this exclusive night is “strictly limited to just 66 lucky patrons.” Tickets.
Saturday, Feb. 14: Pittsburgh Honky Tonk presents Heartbreak Hotel at Spirit Hall
7 p.m.-2 a.m.
Country music and tough love converge at Spirit when the Pittsburgh Honky Tonk crew presents this special “Heartbreak Hotel”-themed dance party. Put a swing in your step and a spark in your heart with live music by Pittsburgh country band, The Steel Cowboys, plus special surprise guests. Let your heart feel all the feels as you join line dancing lessons, peruse vintage vendors and sip specialty drinks. Led by musician Jon Bindley, the homegrown honky-tonk series is billed as the Burgh’s “only place for regularly scheduled live and authentic country-western music.”
But wait, there’s more: Each ticket includes access to the official Lodge after-party from midnight to 2 a.m., featuring country karaoke, burlesque dancers and a live dating game show. Snag a VIP Singles Ticket for discounted drinks and singles-only mingling from 6 to 7 p.m. before doors open. Tickets.
Photo courtesy of the Heinz History Center.
Sunday, Feb. 15: President’s Lecture: The Adventures of Young George Washington at the Heinz History Center
2 p.m.
Honor Presidents’ Day by exploring how Western Pennsylvania helped shape the legacy of the country’s first president. Join Heinz History Center President and CEO Andy Masich for this engaging lecture about George Washington’s early life, explorations and career. During the talk, The Adventures of Young George Washington, Masich will “reveal Washington’s loves, battles and missteps on the wild Pennsylvania frontier during the days before the American Revolution.” Before the lecture, attendees can visit the center’s two related exhibitions, Clash of Empires and My America: An Illustrated Experience on the fifth floor. The free program is part of the history center’s yearlong commemoration of the U.S. semiquincentennial, marking the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, in partnership with America250PA. Information.
9 more things to do this weekend
Thursday, Feb. 12: Bingo Bash at Global Links, 6-8 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 12: Valentine’s on the Moon, Baby at Spirit, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 12-Sunday, Feb. 15: Ondrej Psenicka in 52 Lovers at Liberty Magic, various times
Friday, Feb. 13, & Saturday, Feb. 14: Valentine’s Day High Tea at The Café at the Frick, 11 a.m. & 1 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 13: “Romero & Juliet” at the Greer Cabaret Theater, 7 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 13: Valentine’s Eve Singles Mingle at Pittsburgh Brewing Co., 7-10 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 14: Valentine’s Day Brunch with Soul Pasta at Acclamation Brewing, 11 a.m .-2 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 14: Cozy Femme DJ Nights featuring DJ Sauce Queen at The Ripple, 6-10 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 14: Second Saturdays with Paul Thompson Trio at The Space Upstairs, 8-11 p.m.
For more things to do with NEXT, don’t miss our February Event Guide, NEXT in the Gallery series and Date Night series.
February 5, 2026February 5, 2026