MOVE OVER, MAGIC MIKE! There’s a new act in town, and these guys are willing to go all the way.

“The Full Monty,” a musical adapted from the 1997 British film of the same name, will expose itself at Riverside Dinner Theater through April 28.

“It’s a show that’s a lot of fun—a lot of laughs,” said Patrick A’Hearn, the show’s director. “People think that it’s just men stripping, [but] it’s much more than that.”

The musical tells the story of six men from Buffalo, N.Y., who are struggling to make ends meet. Jerry Lukowski is particularly desperate for money since he has been unable to make child support payments to his ex-wife since losing his job and is at risk of losing visitation rights to his son, Nathan.

Upon seeing the overwhelming response the local women have to a Chippendale’s striptease show, Jerry comes up with the idea to start a show of his own, but taking it a step further. He and his fellow unemployed men will go “the full monty.” That is to say, they won’t leave anything for the imagination.

Jerry and his best friend Dave Bukatinski set out to recruit men to join their act, bringing together an odd and hilarious collection of unlikely performers. As they prepare to premiere their show, each man must face his insecurities and anxieties—from body image issues to depression—with the help of the odd friendships that only the intimacy of sharing themselves so freely with each other could form.

A’Hearn believes that the show, as well as being comical and entertaining, speaks to more serious issues that anyone can relate to, especially dealing with unemployment in today’s economy.

The show also addresses such issues as materialism, homosexuality, fathers’ rights and suicide, all through the personal experiences of the characters.

“The Full Monty” is, however, first and foremost a comedy.

“I can’t stress what a fun show this is,” said Jeremiah Zinger, who plays the lead role of Jerry. “It almost reads like a long sitcom because the jokes are just nonstop.”

Zinger, who has toured nationally with the Broadway production of “The Full Monty,” said he never gets tired of the role.

“It’s one of the best male roles you could possibly get,” Zinger said.

He emphasized that the audience should come to the show with an open mind. Many people see that the musical is about male strippers and immediately write it off.

“The hardest thing about this show is to get guys to want to come and see it,” Zinger said.

“They don’t want to see guys take their clothes off, and I don’t blame them.”

However, according to Zinger, these guys are missing out on a show that is just as much for them as it is for the ladies. Zinger said that men have approached him after the performance to tell him that their wives dragged them along, but it turned out to be the best show they had ever seen.

Joining Zinger and the local actors onstage is a special appearance by actress Sally Struthers from “All in the Family” and “Gilmore Girls” fame.

Also a “Full Monty” veteran, Struthers plays the role of Jeanette Burmeister, a sassy, showbiz musician who coaches the boys in their striptease routines. Jeanette’s straightforward critiques both motivate and contribute to the guys’ mounting insecurities.

“I’m particularly fond of this show,” said Struthers. “You get to see a picture of each of the character’s lives They’ve all got problems in their lives. That’s what it’s really about, them taking their clothes off at the end is incidental.”

Struthers is very impressed with the performances of each of her costars.

“Sometimes people don’t recognize the talent they have locally,” Struthers said. “They’re brave. I don’t think I could do what they’re doing—taking their shirts off and walking around in their skivvies.”

Struthers is also excited that Riverside is employing a live six-piece band to accompany the performers.

“The audience is getting the full package and they’re getting it here—they don’t have to go to New York,” said Struthers.

And although it might be best to leave the kids with a babysitter for this one, there’s no need to fear an X-rated show.

“There’s nothing salacious,” said A’Hearn.

“It’s just fun,” Zinger said. “PG-13 at worst—there’s nothing in the show that you wouldn’t be watching on TV.”

Bridget Balch is a freelance writer and senior at the University of Mary Washington.

WANT TO GO

What: “The Full Monty”

Where: Riverside Center Dinner Theater, 95 Riverside Parkway, Falmouth

When: Through April 28. Thursday–Saturday evenings and Wednesday and Sunday matinées 

Cost: $55; student and senior discounts available.

Info: 540/370-4300;

riversidedt.com

Local artist Johnny Johnson paints a work called “Rising Above” in his downtown Fredericksburg studio. Some of his paintings will be featured in a show called “Community Artist Series: Johnny Johnson” at the Fredericksburg Area Museum from March 8 through June 10. / Peter Cihelka, The Free Lance-Star

BY ADELE UPHAUS–CONNER

When Johnny Johnson was a young boy, growing up in Vance County, N.C., his mother worked long daily hours as a domestic, and he was baby-sat by a neighborhood woman he called “Mamie Cook.” Mamie had been born into slavery and one of her earliest memories—when she was 4 or 5 years old—were of Union soldiers marching through her town at the end of the Civil War.

“She remembered the soldiers’ shiny brass buttons,” Johnson recalled Mamie telling him. “And it was the only time she said she had seen white women cry.”

“I Am Somebody” painted by local artist Johnny Johnson.

Mamie had an old wind-up RCA Victrola, and she loved to listen to records of blues musicians like Blind Lemon Jefferson.

“I got so tired of winding up the Victrola and playing those records for her!” Johnson said. But today, when he’s sitting in his gallery at Art First in Fredericksburg, he listens to those very same mournful blues recordings.

“The blues were a way our African–American forefathers and -mothers could express some concerns about their plight,” said Johnson.

The early blues musicians explored their social consciousness through music, and Johnson explores his through art. Fifteen of his paintings, which touch on difficult themes such as black-on-black violence as well as comforting themes such as the power of familial love, will be on display at the Fredericksburg Area Museum this Saturday through June 10.

The exhibit is part of the museum’s Community Artist Series, which Chris Uebelhor, FAMCC’s director of collections and exhibitions, said is meant to provide another venue in which Fredericksburg’s talented local artists can display their work.

“Johnny has been here for quite a long time and he’s very much a staple of the community,” Uebelhor said. “He’s respected both locally and globally.”

Johnson said the paintings in this exhibit are different from what he’s done in recent years, which has been abstract or semi-abstract work inspired by his love of nature. However, as he marked the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation on Jan. 1, 2013, he found himself drawn back to the social commentary of his earlier work.

“I always have the theme in mind first,” Johnson said.

For instance, he’s been thinking about his father, who worked in the same mill for 45 years—from the age of 13. Despite the fact that he was so good at his job that he was always asked to train new workers, he never received a promotion.

“They would ask him to show this other man how to do something, and that was the only time he felt important, the only time he was in control of the situation,” Johnson said. “The only time he received the same hourly wage white people got was when the law changed and demanded that be the case.”

His father’s experience may have been the inspiration behind the painting Johnson calls “I’ve Been There, But I’m Tired.”

Recent incidents of gun violence may have informed a painting of a young boy titled “If I Grow Up.”

“It’s based on the fact that in some communities where a young person has had schoolmates killed in drive-by shootings, the question isn’t what do you want to be when you grow up, but if you grow up,” Johnson explained.

The paintings don’t simply depict segregation and divisiveness, however. A picture of a man and a woman coming out of a cotton field with their arms extended toward each other—almost like a high five, Johnson described—represents “rising above.”

He’s personally seen examples of rising above—even during the height of segregation—during his experience working on a farm as a youth.

“If there was something that needed to be done, the black and white farmers would get together to do it,” he said.

And a painting of a mother and child is a depiction of unconditional love.

“That’s also based on my own experience,” Johnson said. “My mother was just a gem and she gave me the way I love people.”

Johnson said he and his sons never end a conversation, even if it’s a short, perfunctory one about borrowing the car, without saying “I love you.”

“That’s the way we brought them up. They can readily say, ‘I love you’ without any difficulty,” he added.

While art has always been a part of his life and he does something art-related every day—whether it be painting, sketching or sewing a canvas—Johnson said he’s been most fulfilled by his career as a teacher.

He taught art at Walker–Grant and James Monroe high schools in Fredericksburg and was named Teacher of the Year by the state of Virginia in 1977, the first time an art teacher was so designated. He said he gets letters from former students that make him teary-eyed.

“I love people, so therefore art can’t come before doing things for people,” he explained. “I retired in 1991 and said I would paint 40 hours a week, but I haven’t done that yet. I’m 77, so I’m probably not going to start now!”

Adele Uphaus–Conner is a Fredericksburg-area writer.

WANT TO GO?

What: “Community Artist Series: Johnny Johnson”

Where: Fredericksburg Area Museum and Cultural Center, 1001 Princess Anne St., Fredericksburg

When: Opens Saturday, March 9, and runs through Sunday, June 9. Museum hours: Monday–Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday, noon to 5 p.m.

Special events:

On Saturday, March 9, from 1–3 p.m., children and families are invited to create their own works of art based on Johnson’s paintings.

On Tuesday, May 14, from 7–9 p.m., Johnson will discuss the artwork from the exhibition as part of the museum’s Evening with an Expert series.

A preview reception for museum members will be held on Friday, March 8, 7–9 p.m. To RSVP or to join the museum, contact mjohnson@famcc.org or 540/371-3037 ext. 400.

Cost: Museum admission is $7 adult; $2 student; under 6 free.

Info: 540/371-3037; famcc.org, johnnypjohnson.com.

Don’t be surprised to see Justin Moyer (stage name E.D. Sedgwick) wearing a dress when his band Edie Sedgwick hits the stage at this weekend’s Fredericksburg All Ages show at Read All Over Books. But then again, don’t be surprised if he isn’t wearing a dress. He decided a few years ago he doesn’t need to dress in drag for people to pay attention to his music, but he reserves the right to do it anyway.

Edie Sedgwick started blasting out soulful punk rock ’n’ roll as a two-piece in 1999 until Moyer was diagnosed with epilepsy and could no longer drive. Moyer continued making music as a solo artist, and the drag persona of E.D. Sedgwick was adopted to add an eye-catching gimmick to the solo act. However, it wasn’t the only gimmick (and Moyer is more than willing to use that term).

Edie Sedgwick started out writing and performing songs about celebrities: Paris Hilton, Angelina Jolie, Rob Lowe, Macaulay Culkin.

“It was this hokey, jokey thing for a while,” Moyer said of the drag and the celebrity tributes. “We did it just for a laugh. People were writing really serious songs about politics. And not that that isn’t important to me, but it’s not what I wanted to write about.”

He said the celebrity-rock gimmick got old and now it’s a bit of a free-for-all as far as songwriting is concerned.

“It doesn’t have to be, ‘OK, I’ve got these lyrics, what celebrity could this be about? Ben Affleck or Jennifer Lawrence, whoever just won an Oscar,’” Moyer said. “It can be about what’s in my heart.”

But maybe there are still some celebrities in his heart.

“If I want to write a song about Adrian Brody, I could,” he said.

Moyer has been in contact with the family of his band’s namesake—the late actress and former Andy Warhol “It Girl” Edie Sedgwick. What he hasn’t had is contact with any of the celebrity subjects of his songs.

“I suppose it would be interesting if Macaulay Culkin called and challenged me to a duel over something I said in a song,” Moyer said. “Who wouldn’t want to be challenged to a duel by Macaulay Culkin over honor or something?”

All Moyer has ever really wanted is to leave an impression on the audience.

“I always try to get that [WTF] reaction,” he said. “They might not like my band, but they’ll remember it.”

Edie Sedgwick and Moyer himself are products of the D.C. music scene and members of the Dischord Records family. Moyer said that being a part of that scene is something special because everyone is more than just a musician.

“We’re engaged with the world,” he said. “I don’t think that’s necessarily cool, but it’s important.”

Edie Sedgwick has been touring locally for the last few months behind the November 2012 Dischord release “We Wear White,” and they will be hitting the West Coast this Spring. But Moyer, who has toured around this country and plenty of others, said he would be just as happy staying close to home.

“I’d rather play once a month in Virginia in every town in Virginia,” Moyer said. “It keeps you in shape. You have to be like a boxer or a marathon runner.”

The band has recently gone through some personnel changes, and Moyer said he’s excited for the FAA show because they will be playing as a trio rather than a quintet.

“It’s always fun and interesting to play music with fewer people, to see what songs work and which don’t. And we can all fit in the same car.”

The show may be one of the last Fredericksburg All Ages events to be hosted at Read All Over Books, which recently announced it was closing its doors. Janus Chidester, vice president of FAA, hopes the new tenants will allow them to continue holding events, or that a new venue will welcome them.

What: Edie Sedgwick with The Cosmonauts, Atoms Apart and Amarise Carreras

Where: Read All Over Books, 307 William St., Fredericksburg

When: Saturday, March 2, at 7 p.m.

Cost: $5

Info: fredericksburgallages.com; ediesedgwick.biz

Ryan Brosmer is also named after a celebrity.

The Harlem Globetrotters are all about breaking boundaries.

Earlier this week, the world-famous basketball troupe announced that select members would be traveling to shoot a reality television basketball segment in North Korea. Oh, and Dennis Rodman will be joining them, too.

Clearly no places or tricks are off-limits for the Globetrotters. This theme appears to carry over to its 2013 “You Write the Rules” tour.

The Harlem Globetrotters will play the Verizon Center in D.C. on Saturday at 1 p.m. They will also hit the court at the Patriot Center in Fairfax on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.

The “You Write the Rules” tour is about as interactive as it gets. Before a game, the Globetrotters let fans vote for a wacky, unique rule. Among the choices are a four-point shot line, the addition of an extra basketball and a penalty box where steaming Globetrotters can be sent throughout the game.

“I’ve been working on that four-point shot,” said rookie Ariel “Mighty” Mitchell, who is now in her second month of being a Globetrotter. “I usually only shoot one-or-so per game, but I hit it 35 to 40 percent of the time. Some of the guys can really knock it down.”

Miss Mitchell is making a little bit of history herself on this tour. On Saturday, she will become the first woman Globetrotter in 20 years to hit the nation’s capital. On top of that, she is only the 12th female player on the Globetrotters’ roster in the team’s 87-year history.

“It really is an honor being a part of such a legendary organization,” said Mitchell. “We not only get to be a role model for the little boys out there, but for the little girls, too. Having a female on the roster really tells the kids that anything is possible and to never give up on your dreams.”

Mitchell started playing basketball when she was just 7 years old. She went on to play high school ball in her hometown of St. James, La., and later received a scholarship to play for Dillard University in New Orleans.

When it came time for Mitchell, who is now 23, to either make the jump to the WNBA or pursue other endeavors, she went with her heart.

“The most rewarding part about all of this is having the little girls come up to me and tell me that I inspire them,” said Mitchell. “I had the choice to really make a positive impact. I always encourage the kids to stay around positive people and positive things will happen. And, of course, school is first!”

Just because Mitchell is a lady, doesn’t mean the Globetrotters—or their opponents—take it easy on her.

“They see me as one of the guys out there,” she laughed. “I am definitely on the same playing field.”

America’s most lovable losers, the Washington Generals, usually play against the Globetrotters. In the Generals’ 60-plus year history, they have only defeated the Globetrotters a handful of times.

This year, they’ve changed names and are ready to battle as the “International Select.”

“Yeah, they’ve changed names,” said Mitchell. “But, we are still undefeated against them.”

Just because the team is undefeated against its nemesis, doesn’t mean the team just sits back and relaxes.

“We put in a lot of hard work,” said Mitchell. “We work out just like they do in college and in the pros we have dunking, passing and dribbling drills and get game-ready.”

To Mitchell, entertaining her fans and leaving a lasting, positive mark is just as important as the game of basketball itself. So far, she’s off to a pretty good start.

“When I leave the Globetrotters one day, I want to leave a great legacy,” said Mitchell.

“I want to leave as a great player and be remembered as a strong woman.”

Jesse Scott is a freelance writer and Fredericksburg native. Email him at jesserobertscott@gmail.com.

Friends of ours didn’t get quite the reaction they were seeking recently when they told my wife and me about a great, new Mexican restaurant they’d discovered. We thought they were enthusing over yet another of those assembly-line burrito parlors. Not a new Mexican place, they clarified, but a “New Mexican” place—Mateo’s Santa Fe Café—in Dumfries, about three miles off Interstate 95.

A favorite of ours, Southwestern food is a burro of a different color. The cuisine of New Mexico—the land of blue corn tortillas, posole (hominy stew) and sopaipillas (fried pastry)—is a blend of Spanish, Mexican and Pueblo Indian influences. A couple of years ago we spent a week in Santa Fe, where we never came close to having a bad meal  or a bland one, for that matter.

The first question you’re met with at a New Mexican eatery, even before “Table or booth?” is “Red or green?”—referring to red or green chile sauce. If you respond, “Christmas,” it means “Give me both.” New Mexican chiles, indescribably richer and smokier in flavor than most others, are sometimes known as Hatch chiles for the Southern town most famous for their harvest. The sauces they inspire find their way onto foods from omelets to burgers, and everything in between.

Matthew Valdez, chef–owner of Mateo’s, which celebrates 10 years in business this summer, knows his reds from his greens. A native of New Mexico, he’s done a fine job of re-creating the Santa Fe experience in his establishment by hanging Native American art on its stucco walls, playing flamenco guitar music on the sound system and scattering teal- and cayenne-colored throw pillows throughout.

Our server, Amy, suggested we start off with sangria, it being Wednesday and, thus, half-price wine night. It was hard to argue with that logic. Complimentary thin, crispy chips and piquant salsa augured well for the rest of the meal. Also, at Amy’s urging, we ordered queso fondido—mozzarella cheese melted with chorizo and fresh-roasted ancho-chile peppers, served with warm flour tortillas—that alone was worth the trip.

For entrées, we enjoyed tequila-marinated chicken—a chicken breast in a sweet cilantro–tequila sauce, along with homemade mashed potatoes and sautéed fresh vegetables—and a platter of flautas (think taquitos), chicken and Jack cheese rolled in corn tortillas, flash-fried and served with guacamole, pinto beans and rice.

The dishes, with their vivid colors and clean and simple presentations, looked great and tasted even better. Though we’d somehow both managed to order things that obviated the red-or-green question, we couldn’t have been more pleased with Mateo’s service, ambience and food. However, the proof of the pudding would be their sopaipillas (which means “bread soaked in oil” and not “pillows” as some would have it). We each ordered one and shared a tres leches cake, a sponge cake soaked in condensed, evaporated and whole milk. Topped with caramel sauce, the  tres leches was a keeper. The square-shaped  sopaipillas, though tasty, were a little on the heavy side, more akin to Indian fry bread than the ineffably light, pillowy, triangle-shaped confections we’d become accustomed to in the Land of Enchantment.

Even if the most evocative pillows at this Santa Fe-style eatery are of the decorative variety, it’s still great to know we can satisfy our craving for fresh, flavorful New Mexican food any time we want—at Mateo’s—where it’s “Christmas” every day of the year!

What: Mateo’s Santa Fe Café

Address: 5081 Waterway Drive, Dumfries

Payment: Major credit cards accepted

Info: 703/670-7477; mateossantafecafe.net

Hours: Monday: closed; Tuesday–Thursday: 11 a.m.–9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday: 11 a.m.–10 p.m.; Sunday: 9 a.m.–9 p.m.

Prices: Soup and starters: $4–$10.90; Entrées: $10–$20; Kids menu: $6; Beer, wine and mixed drinks available

The Scoop: Family-friendly, good service, nice ambience and tasty from-scratch New Mexican food, about 35 minutes from Fredericksburg.

Kurt Rabin: 540/374-5000 | krabin@freelancestar.com

There was a moment during Tuesday’s Mike Auldridge tribute concert at The Birchmere when four Dobros were struck simultaneously mid-song by four masters of the instrument.

The sound started out as a jolt of chaos, like someone pouring a box of marbles into an open grand piano. But within one second, that tinny jangle bent into a beautiful gospel chorus. One second later it settled into an insistent, angelic sigh. Then it was gone, and each Dobro wove its way back into the song from whence it came.

It was a spontaneous sound—a momentary epiphany in the midst of an otherwise stellar evening of music. It was the sort of moment that made Auldridge, who died in December, a legend in the music world and a transcendent figure in bluegrass.

The Dobro—an acoustic, resophonic guitar played with a slide—is usually associated with bluegrass music these days, although it’s fairly rare even in that setting. The fact that anyone plays it at all these days is a testament to Auldridge, who gained fame with The Seldom Scene and made the instrument too beautiful to ignore.

You might not realize it, but you are living in the golden age of the Dobro. Some instruments seem to have their moments—saxophones in the ’30s and ’40s, electric guitars in the ’60s, synthesizers in the ’70s and ’80s—and Dobros have been shining bright for more than a decade now. Few instruments can deliver the emotional punch a Dobro provides, with its constantly bending blue notes and an uncanny ability to both mimic and enhance a person’s voice. Alison Krauss, perhaps the greatest pop singer we have, has done some of her best work alongside the Dobro of Jerry Douglas.

Douglas, an Auldridge disciple, led the tribute to his musical hero at The Birchmere, a venue in Alexandria  that owes its existence, in part, to the musical innovations and drawing power of Auldridge.

Over the course of nearly four hours, about two dozen regional and national bluegrass and folk legends played for the spirit of their friend and inspiration, and there was always at least one Dobro on stage. Douglas, Rob Ickes, Sally Van Meter, Fred Travers and Jay Starling took turns pulling cries and wails out of one of the few instruments capable of expressing loss in a human tone.

As tear-jerking as the Dobro can be in capable hands, it can also turn into a fireball of manual dexterity, spitting out notes like a flamethrower. Douglas is, perhaps, the best to ever pick a Dobro—he’s Charlie Parker to Auldridge’s Lester Young—and it was hard to resist gasping at the musical turns he navigated.

But each Dobro player had moments just as compelling, whether they were underlining a forlorn vocal or popping up to land stinging jabs between fiddle runs and guitar breaks.

The full power of the Dobro was realized in the hands of Auldridge, himself a student of bluegrass Dobro pioneer Josh Graves. Others have taken those advances and built their own styles and careers, adding links to the chain of influence that continues to grow.

On Tuesday, five Auldridge Dobro disciples faced loss and their own inevitable mortality. Each of them did their best to channel their hero, using the precious seconds they had available to pull music and emotion out of a wooden box and some strings.

It seemed they had all learned the same lesson from Auldridge: When a moment is all you have, make it sing.

Jonas Beals: 540/368-5036 | jbeals@freelancestar.com

Last year, on an ordinary afternoon in rural Texas, Kacey Musgraves headed out to a ranch with her songwriting pals Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne. The three were looking to write a country song, and the Lone Star State—with its wide-open expanses and small, dust-colored towns—seemed like a good place to summon up the muse.

They sat down with their guitars, strummed a few chords and got to work. Hours later, “Merry Go ’Round” was finished.

“The song kind of wrote itself after we wrapped our brains around what we wanted to say,” Musgraves explained last week, in the midst of the first leg of her winter tour with Little Big Town. “It was inspired not only by the small communities that I grew up with in Texas, but also the way some people seem to settle for things when they’re scared to leave their comfort zones, which creates a cycle of regret.

“It wasn’t meant to point a finger,” she added. “It was meant to observe.”

Released in September, “Merry Go ’Round” paints Musgraves as a different kind of country artist, the kind who tackles common subjects like small-town life without resorting to ham-fisted, patriotic clichés. Her characters are sad and desperate, trapped in dead-end marriages with their high school sweethearts and reliant on a number of distractions—from Mary Kay cosmetics to pot—to get them through the day. “Merry Go ’Round” is an anti-anthem, but that hasn’t stopped the song from being one of the biggest tunes on country radio.

Next month, after playing the 9:30 Club with Little Big Town, Musgraves will hit the road with Kenny Chesney. Joining one of Chesney’s annual summer tours is a big honor, and a chance to follow in the footsteps of previous openers like Miranda Lambert and the Zac Brown Band. It’s also an opportunity to promote her major-label début, “Same Trailer Different Park,” which comes out three days after the tour’s kickoff show.

“We started working on it a year ago,” she said of the album, which she also co-produced, “and I could probably keep shaping it for another year. It’s time to let it go and let it live, though. This album is about where I was at this time in my life, what I was inspired by, what I was doing and what I was feeling and what kind of music I was making.”

Like “Merry Go ’Round,” “Same Trailer Different Park”—which takes its title from the song’s pre-chorus—embraces certain country traditions while turning others on their heads. The track list is eclectic, moving from sad-eyed ballads to brassy rave-ups to plaintive folk songs. Musgraves wrote or co-wrote every song on the disc, a rarity in a world of country singers who source their material from ghostwriters.

“The label had some slight hesitation with “Merry Go ’Round” being the first single,” she admitted, pointing to the marijuana reference in the song’s chorus, “but I pushed for it. I said, ‘Let’s put something out that makes people feel something.’ I did think it might anger a couple of people, but that’s a good thing  because if you try to be everybody’s cup of tea, you’re just going to be boring.”

Andrew Leahey is a musician and freelance writer who is hooked on Mary Kay.

As waves of warmer air periodically waft through the area, an expectation of the coming spring is coupled with an almost nostalgic appreciation for the unique treasures of nature in the waning winter.

This month,  Belmont and Fredericksburg Parks and Recreation are pleased to share those treasures in an array of family activities, ranging from hikes to crafts and exploration sessions.

BE ONE WITH NATURE

Nature education specialist Linda Bailey describes the wonders of the annual Winter Tree Trek at the Motts Run recreation area:  “In a hardwood forest with the leaves off the trees in the winter, there is a radically different feel. The woods in winter present a beautiful palette of shapes and structures.”

This Sunday, master naturalist Harry Puffenberger will  introduce families to that wonderland of nature as he guides the hike along one of the park’s many trails. Along the way, he’ll  show how  to identify trees by studying their bark. He will reveal how a bud’s scars on trees’ twigs register the year-by-year growth of a tree, point out evidence of wildlife from the clues they leave on and around trees, and sitecq as a verb here the nests of squirrels and birds that are hidden in the leafier seasons.

“There is so much going on in the woods. It won’t be long until the sap will start rising and the buds will begin to burst,” said Bailey. “It’s the quiet before the cacophony of spring!”

Nature education assistant Mimi Dempsey will further explore the secrets of nature with children at Motts Run with her winter and spring sessions of the Home-school Nature club, held monthly from February through May.

This month’s workshop will begin with a fascinating exploration of owl pellets, revealing the birds’ diet and the unique qualities that enable them to hunt their prey.

Subsequent sessions will introduce participants to an amazing spectrum of color and sizes of bird eggs, dip-netting for treasures at the lakeshore and the basics of camping.

Dempsey has also designed a special program for 4- to 6-year-olds, “Seed Secrets,” where they will discover the fascinating potential of a seed and its development. Participants will also plant a seed that they can take home to nurture and grow.

SHOW YOUR ARTISTIC SIDE

Children and their parents can continue their exploration of the winter wonders of nature at the Belmont estate, which will offer a creative “Preschool Palette” program and a “Woodland Hike.”

The Preschool Palette is a monthly program offered for children ages 2 to 5,  and includes a story time with a featured picture book as well as a visit to galleries, a garden walk and a craft session that will carry out the story’s theme.

February’s activities will center on Kate Messner’s “Over and Under the Snow.” The children’s book  presents a fascinating look at the woodland creatures—from bears to hares and bullfrogs—that burrow beneath the snow’s surface for a cozy winter retreat. They’ll be looking for warm and cool colors in the galleries’ paintings, and then try their hand at creating their own winter landscape.

“Not all 2-year-olds have the ability to express their emotions verbally, but they can do that through art,” said education manager Michelle Crow–Dolby who designs and conducts the sessions. Preschool Picassos will be working with artist-quality watercolor paper and paints and exploring techniques of masking and pigment dispersion to create a scene of white birches and snow that is sure to awe their parents and grandparents.

TAKE A HIKE

Families will also have an opportunity to explore the real-world winter landscape in the “Woodland Hike” throughout the estate’s property. Visitors will wend along a Belmont trail, through grasslands and down to the river shore with a guide, who will highlight both natural features and historic sites along the way, including remnants of an old canal that once powered mills in Falmouth, the wall of an ice pond of yesteryear and the pipes that once conducted water to a pump house.

“Families can walk along the streams and river in the quiet of the woods, just minutes from Fredericksburg’s downtown streets,” said Skip Smith, one of the master naturalists who conducts the hikes.

“The Woodland Hike is a wonderful, gentle way to introduce children to hiking and there’s always something new to discover,” said Belmont’s site preservation manager, Beate Jensen. “It’s so important for children to have an experience in nature in a real dimension, not just the virtual reality of today’s technology. Families can step back, turn down the volume and just listen to nature.”

MOTTS RUN NATURE CENTER

6600 River Road, Fredericksburg.  540/372-1086; fredericksburgva.gov. (preregistration required)

Winter Tree Trek, Sunday, Feb. 17, 3–4 p.m. Ages 6– adult. $4.

Homeschool Nature Club, Mondays, Feb. 18, March 18, April 15 and May 20.  1–2:30 p.m. Grades 1–5 (adults must accompany children under 10). $30 for all four sessions.

Seed Secrets, Wednesday, Feb. 20, 9:30-10:30 a.m. Ages 4-6. $6.

GARI MELCHERS HOME AND STUDIO AT BELMONT

224 Washington St., Falmouth. 540/ 654-1015; GariMelchers@umw.edu.

Preschool Palette: Over and Under the Snow, Feb. 21–22 and 26. 10–11 a.m. Ages 2–5. $8 per child; $5 members.

Woodland Hike, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2 p.m. Participants should wear study footwear. Free.

Collette Caprara is a local writer and artist.

“IDENTITY THIEF”   (R)

2.25 out of 4 stars

MELISSA McCARTHY, JASON BATEMAN, ROBERT PATRICK, ERIC STONESTREET

The fact that this did $35 million box at the box office in its first week proves that movie fans think Melissa McCarthy is funny, and they’re right.

But maybe not in this movie. She and Jason Bateman are funny at times, but most of the movie fails to match those scenes.

It’s a symptom of what’s wrong with Hollywood these days—movies that are interesting or funny in short stretches, but ultimately fail because of poor, nonsensical writing.

The premise here is just fine: Bateman plays a struggling Denver dad whose life is turned upside down when his identity is stolen by a crazed Florida woman (McCarthy).

Her identity thief is a hoot at first, like when she battles Bateman after he arrives in Florida to get his life back.

But once they start a road trip back to Denver, things get silly. How silly? Well, there is some cartel gunfire and a scene involving a snake down the pants.

But the worst offense may be a last-minute attempt to   try to make it all sweet and meaningful. Please pick one message and stick with it.

McCarthy was so funny because they let her be extreme. While there are some extreme moments in this film, there aren’t enough of them.

Rated R for sexual content and language. 112 min.  [MC, RA, RF]

 “SIDE EFFECTS” (R)

2.5 out of 4 stars

JUDE LAW, ROONEY MARA, CHANNING TATUM, CATHERINE ZETA–JONES

Because of Jude Law and Rooney Mara, this movie works well enough to make it worth seeing.

But the story that director Steven Soderbergh starts out with—the dangerous effects of antidepressants—is soon enough dropped.

Law plays a psychiatrist whose patient kills her husband, possibly because a drug had her sleepwalking.

His life tumbles into a free-fall as he gets some blame and delves deeper into his patient and her history.

Despite the shifted focus, Law and a good supporting cast make it a suspenseful tale with interesting twists.

Rated R for sexual content and language. 112 min.  [MC, PV, RA]

There’s more to do this Valentine’s Day than exchange greeting cards and heart-shaped boxes of chocolate. Here are some ideas to make your holiday sweet:

CELEBRATE WITH WINE AND DESSERTS

Ingleside Vineyards’ Valentine-themed event, “A Taste of Wine and Chocolate,” pairs their wine with chocolate in what they call “an elegant and educational chocolate experience.”

Ingleside is teaming up with a small chocolate boutique that hand-makes all their confections.

Marketing director Chris Flemer said the event is perfect for couples, but also fun for groups of friends and anyone who is interested in pairing food and wine.

The event has been offered for three years, and Flemer said this year will be a smaller, more intimate gathering with only 50 spaces available.

The Feb. 9 event costs $45 per person and reservations are required. A snow date for the event is set for February 16.

Join Old House Vineyards on Feb. 9 and 10 from noon to 5 p.m. for their “Valentine’s Fondue.”

Their annual event allows patrons to eat fondue by the fire, along with Old House Vineyard’s wines.

Admission is $30 and includes fruit and cake for dipping.

A LOCAL VALENTINE’S DAY GALA

Fredericksburg Counseling Service’s “Sweet Side of Life” returns for the sixth year on Feb. 8, from 8 to 11 p.m.

The evening will include big band music, dancing, hors d’oeuvres, gourmet desserts and a silent auction at the Fredericksburg Hospitality House.

Executive director of Fredericksburg Counseling Service Marci Bartley described the event as “a gala with outstanding food. It’s a chance to get really dressed up and go out, which doesn’t happen in our area very often.”

Tickets are $50 and all proceeds go toward the organization.

“The support from the gala will help us keep our doors open,” Bartley said. “Especially with shrinking state budgets.”

VISIT AN HISTORIC HOME

The Fredericksburg area has no shortage of historic sites. Visiting them is a great way to discover something new about the area and to uncover the great love stories of early America.

Montpelier, in Orange County, is a perfect spot to take your valentine. The grounds have ample walking trails through an old-growth forest and large gardens.

In the house, see where James Madison wrote the Constitution and learn about what his life with Dolley was like after retirement.

According to the Montpelier website, the Madisons were unlike other couples of the founding era—they rarely spent time apart from each other. Neither James nor Dolley traveled abroad and, with the exception of Dolley’s brief stay in Philadelphia in 1805 for an ulcerated knee and Madison’s select trips traveling without his wife, the Madisons were always together.

Dolley wrote in a letter to James in 1805, saying, “The letters of my beloved Husband are allways a cordial to my heart.”

WASHINGTON D.C.

Tired of Fredericksburg? Travel to Washington, D.C. for a Valentine’s Day out-of-town.

The National Museum of Crime and Punishment has a “Crimes of Passion” exhibit running Feb. 14 through 16.

Upon entering, staff will handcuff couples together to view the regularly featured exhibits and the special Crimes of Passion exhibit, for which information is placed throughout the museum.

The museum’s website explains that “Couples will indulge their dark side with true stories such as the ‘Valentine’s Vampire,’ all while being bound to one another during this unique Valentine’s Day experience.”

Tickets are $45 and include the handcuffed museum tour, one pair of souvenir handcuffs ($1 more to upgrade to furry handcuffs), and a Valentine’s Day treat.

To take a more traditional romantic route in the city, try ice skating at the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden Ice Rink.

On Feb. 14, the ice rink will host another in their continuing DJ series. DJ Stylus will be spinning ’80s R&B, boogie and Valentine’s Day slow jams. (The rink is open daily through mid-March, weather permitting). Admission is $8 for adults and skate rental is $3.

RICHMOND

If you prefer to visit the state’s capital for Valentine’s activities, try the CHOCOHOLIC! 2013 event at the Science Museum of Virginia on Feb. 7 at 7 p.m.

The event is billed as “Central Virginia’s largest chocolate sampling event.” For $50, visitors can sample treats from local chocolatiers, bake shops and other vendors.

Also in Richmond, visitors can relive ’80’s romance with Molly Ringwald at Richmond CenterStage.

The “Night of Jazz with Molly Ringwald” features the actress as jazz singer. Performances continue from Feb. 14 through 17. An album by Ringwald is due to be released this spring.

Lindley Estes: 540/735-1976 | lestes@freelancestar.com