Looking for fun events? Top 5 things to do around Tallahassee

Leap into February. The shortest month is a day longer this year, which is a good thing since it's jam-packed with music and fun.

The Railroad Square district is hopping for First Friday and Visit Tallahassee is opening its doors for a "First Friday Stop at The Station."

The 4th Bainbridge Jazz & Blues Festival fires up with 13 artists on numerous stages on Saturday in nearby Georgia and Grace Potter is on the road to The Moon for a show on Sunday.

Tallahassee's music community comes together Saturday for a celebration of life benefit concert for Kathryn Belle Long, who died last year.

Here's a roundup of entertaining events around Tallahassee, culled from emails, the Council on Culture & Arts online listings and elsewhere.

Memorial music: Celebration of life for songwriter Kathryn Belle Long benefits scholarship fund

FSU Fest: FSU gears up for Festival of the Creative Arts in February

1. Follow the road with Grace Potter

Fresh off the 30A Songwriters Festival in Walton County in mid-January, Vermont-raised singer-songwriter Grace Potter drives her Mother Road tour to town for a gig at The Moon, 1105 E. Lafayette St. Britney Spencer is the opening act.

Potter is touring for her fifth studio album, produced by her husband Eric Valentine, a multi-instrumentalist. Potter's cross-country road trip on Route 66 from California during the pandemic in 2021 was inspiration for "Mother Road," released in August, 2023. “Mother Road is a reframing of my understanding of my history,” Potter says on her website. Potter says the album title comes from a line from "The Grapes of Wrath," in which John Steinbeck refers to Route 66 as the “the mother of all roads…the road of flight.”

General admission is $40, reserved seats are $60 and VIP tickets are going for $185. Visit moonevents.com.

2. Head north for Bainbridge Jazz & Blues Festival

Bainbridge Jazz & Blues Festival enters its 4th year on Feb. 3 in downtown Bainbridge, Georgia, as the streets to downtown are closed to make room for the party, complete with jazz and blues acts on multiple stages.

"Add in craft beer and quality, made from scratch food. This is what you will find when you come to the Bainbridge Jazz & Blues Festival," Southern Philosophy Brewing founder and festival organizer Gallagher Dempsey told the Tallahassee Beer Society's Danny Aller.

The 4th Bainbridge Jazz & Blues Festival will showcase 13 artists performing throughout the day from 6 outdoor and indoor stages on Saturday. The free festival starts at noon and goes until midnight. VIP passes available. Parking available downtown.

Performers on the Main Stage include the Bill Peterson Trio with Avis Berry, Ben Flournoy, Damon Fowler and Johnnie Marshall. Other stages feature Jerry Thigpen Trio, Dirty Bird & the Flu, JC & the Backscratchers, Brian Hall & Joel Johnson, Jon Copps, Corey Hall Trio, Dabbit, Carlos Vega and Rachel Hillman.

3. Go coastal for St. Marks Wildlife Heritage Festival

Pinky may have moved on but there's always wildlife to see at the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge.

The Refuge's Wildlife, Heritage & Outdoors (WHO) Festival set for 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 3, at the Visitor's Center, seeks to "Connect People with Nature."

From wildlife exhibits and dog-hunting demonstrations, to turkey call contests and fly fishing or archery tutorials, this festival has a little bit of everything. Local food vendors and nature-based businesses are on hand, and the festival features live music and wildlife artwork from area artists.

Regular entrance fees apply and due to the wild animal exhibits, please leave your pets at home. Visit fws.gov.

4. Sauce Boss kicks off Mardi Gras season in Quincy

Quincy Main Street invites the community to celebrate Mardi Gras season with singer, songwriter, and chef Bill Wharton, “The Sauce Boss,” who is bringing his high-energy, gumbo-cooking, spicy, Blues show for the first time ever to Quincy, from 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 6, at the Quincy Garden Center.

Bill Wharton has been a popular North Florida musician since the 1980s and tours all over the U.S. Jimmy Buffett sang about Wharton in his song “I Will Play for Gumbo.” Wharton’s blues anthem, “Let the Big Dog Eat,” was part of the soundtrack in Jonathan Demme’s 1985 award-winning movie “Something Wild,” filmed in Quincy, Havana, and Tallahassee.

Wharton’s Liquid Summer hot sauce, made with datil peppers, spices up a big pot of gumbo while he plays his original tunes.

Big Papa’s Chophouse will be serving shrimp and grits prior to the Sauce Boss’ gumbo. Dinner, the Boss’ gumbo, beer and wine, non-alcoholic beverages, and dessert are included in the ticket price of $50. Tickets can be purchased at quincymainstreet.org.

5. St. Olaf Choir rings out at Trinity

The St. Olaf Choir, conducted by Anton Armstrong, will perform at Trinity United Methodist Church, 120 W. Park Ave., at 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 2, during its 2024 National Tour. Tickets are $35 and $10 for all students, available at stolaf.edu/tickets/choir or 800-363-5487.

For more than a century, St. Olaf Choir has set the gold standard for choral singing, performing for millions around the world.

Composed of 75 mixed voices, the St. Olaf Choir is hailed as one of the nation’s premier a cappella ensembles, renowned for its artistry and beauty of sound. The St. Olaf Choir is internationally renowned for its unique combination of advanced choral singing and a vast repertoire that includes sacred and secular choral standards, traditional hymns, new compositions, spirituals, and more.

Bonus event: First Friday at the Station

Leon County Tourism/Visit Tallahassee, in partnership with Domi Station and COCA, is hosting an event at 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 2, called "First Friday Stop at the Station," at 914-918 Railroad Ave.

In celebration of Black History Month and Valentines Day, the event will feature local artists highlighting African American vendors including Marie’s Jams and Jellies, hand poured candles by Perfect Synergy, Decadent Delights cupcakes and DJ Demp‘s honey lollipops, keychains, and honey.

There will be live music at both the Visitor Center and Domi Station, as well as shopping and refreshments. The Visitor Center will feature the Longineu Parsons and Michael Bakan Global Tones Duo and at 6 p.m., the Capital Battery Drum Line will perform.

Bonus event: Fire Festival at Tall Timbers

The Red Hills Fire Festival aims to increase awareness and understanding of prescribed fire as a safe way to apply a natural process, ensure ecosystem health, sequester carbon and reduce wildfire risk across the southern pine forest.

The festival will be held from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 3, at Tall Timbers, a nonprofit research station and land conservancy, off County Road 12 just south of the Georgia-Florida border (13093 Henry Beadel Drive).Weather permitting, the event will include a live prescribed fire demonstration with this year’s honorary prescribed fire ignitor, WCTV Meteorologist Mike McCall. More than 30 exhibits will be at the festival highlighting wildlife and science activities.

Dining out: Take a look: 14 romantic restaurants to consider for Valentine’s Day dining

OTHER EVENTS

American Legion Hall: Local bands will come together at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 3, at the American Legion Hall 229 Lake Ella Drive, with friends and family to celebrate the life of Tallahassee songwriter Kathryn Belle Long, who died 2023. The celebration will begin at 5:30 p.m. with Pharaohs of Funk and a candlelight procession from the Gazebo and around Lake Ella. Doors for the Legion Hall will open at 6 p.m. for a benefit concert featuring some of Tallahassee's favorite bands and Kathryn's friends: Revival, Lil' Grizzly Boogie Band, The New 76ers, and Raisin' Cane. Suggested donation is $25. Visit https://CelebrateKathryn.eventbrite.com.

Blue Tavern: Tommy Hoople's Delta Ringnecks crank up happy hour at Blue Tavern, 1206 N. Monroe St., from 5-7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 2, that's followed at 8 p.m. by Dabbit Trio. The acoustic trio features Kendrick Jacobs on upright bass, Reo Morris on percussion and David Rodock on guitar and vocals. $5 cover. 1st Saturday Swim with Bluegill Bill runs from 5-7 pm. and features Bronwyn "Bramble" Chelette, host of the monthly bluegrass jam at the Blue Tavern. Next up at 8 p.m. is guitarist Pat Puckett, with special guest musicians. $5 cover.

Conor Churchill plays happy hour from 5-7 p.m. Tuesday, followed at 8 p.m. by Bluesday Tuesday with Corey Hall. $5 cover. Get happy from 5-7 p.m. Wednesday with Tallahassee singer Kelly Goddard, followed at 8 p.m. by Open Mic Night. Mes Amis gets jazzy from 5-7 p.m. Thursday with Andrea Stanley (violin), Laura Gayle Green (upright bass), and Stephen Hodges (guitar). Free Jazz Five Buck Thursday kicks in from 8-11 p.m. with Longineu Parsons Trio.

Great Oaks Pub at Southwood: R&B Duo Rick Christian (keyboards) and Bobby Jett (drums) will be performing in the Great Room from 6-9 p.m. Friday Feb. 2, at the pub at 3750 Grove Park Drive. This duo plays hits from all ages with a blues/jazz flare. Full bar and restaurant. Call 850-942-4653 for reservations. No cover.

926 Bar: We the Kings, and alternative rock band formed in Bradenton in 2005, is on its Alien Invasion tour with a stop at 926 Bar and Grill, 926 W. Tharpe St., on Sunday, Feb. 4. Doors open at 6 p.m. with show at 7 p.m. Guests artists include 408 and Medians. Tickets are $24 advance, $27 day of show. On Thursday, Feb. 8, Connor Kelly & The Time Warp w/ Sofia Camille, Bench Warmer, On the Edge head to 926 Bar. Doors open at 8 p.m., show at 8:30 p.m. $13 advance, $15 day of show.

Odes to Dance: A celebration of the 90/60/20-year anniversaries, as the FSU School of Dance celebrates 90 years of dance classes at FSU and 60 years of dance degrees from 5–6:15 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 3, Nancy Smith Fichter Dance Theatre, School of Dance, 130 Collegiate Loop. This year also marks 20 years since the founding of the Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography. This is the first performance of a new work involving faculty and students in dance, music, poetry and a collaboration with the FSU-headquartered National High Magnetic Field Laboratory.

Souper Celebration: The Friends of Franklin County Public Libraries is hosting their annual Soup, Bread and Book Sale with delicious homemade soups, freshly baked artisan breads and baked goods, vintage books, art and more from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 3, at the Carrabelle library. This event will also feature live music from the Ukulilies and displays from local artists. The proceeds support the local library programs in Eastpoint and Carrabelle. More info friendsfcpl.com.

Have an event coming up? Email details to limelight@tallahassee.com.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Top 5 things to do around Tallahassee this weekend.