Five Reasons to Leave the House This Weekend

Chocolate photo via Shutterstock

Sweets
Harvard Square Chocolate Festival

Let all your problems from the work week float away this weekend during the fifth annual chocolate fest in Harvard Square, where local restaurants and businesses will offer various chocolate-y specials and discounts all weekend. Pro tip: Stop by Degugliemlo Plaza between 1 and 2 p.m. on Saturday for the sampling event, where Alden & Harlow, J.P. Licks, Sweet, and more will give out samples for free. Pace yourself, the Harvard Square chili cook-off is next week.

Sampling event is free, Saturday, January 24, 1-2 p.m., Deguglielmo Plaza, 27 Brattle St., Cambridge, harvardsquare.com.

Photography
“Under Astral Skies” at 555 Gallery

Star light, star bright, make “Under Astral Skies” something you see anytime before the stellar show at 555 Gallery closes in February. The collection features images captured by four different photographers that inspire cosmic wonder, from Corinne Schulze’s clusters of stardust to Christopher Wright’s star-filled landscapes. Jim Nickelson’s “Adventures in Celestial Mechanics” series shows every full moon over Maine through an entire year.

Free, on view through February 14, 555 Gallery, E. 2nd St., Boston, 857-496-7234, 555gallery.com.

Workout
Bar-re Hop at The Handle Bar and Simply Barre

After all that chocolate in Harvard Square, you might be feeling a little guilty. Get that New Year’s resolution back on track with a “Bar-re Hop” in Southie. This Sunday, The Handle Bar and Simply Barre are hosting a fitness double-header. Both will host hourlong classes—cycling at The Handle Bar and barre at Simply Barre. You can choose which comes first, and yes, there’ll be a break in between.

$35 includes complimentary tote bag and retail discount, Sunday, January 25, 1-3:15 p.m., The Handle Bar at 141 Dorchester Ave. and Simply Barre, 118 West Broadway, South Boston, handlebarcycling.com.

Sculpture
Christopher Abrams and Murray Dewart at Boston Sculptors Gallery

New this month at Boston Sculptors Gallery are works by Christopher Abrams and Murray Dewart. Abrams’s “Space/Craft” comprises small-scale sculptures reminiscent of sci-fi props and architectural models, which makes sense, since he used to be a carpenter. Dewart’s “Pulse of Morning” has influences from a variety of cultures, including Celtic, Mayan, and Tibetan traditions. His works range in size, medium, and tools as well, using welding and water-jets to work with steel, granite, bronze, and glass. “When the granite is rough-cut in the right way, you can still feel the mountain speak,” the BSG cofounder says.

Free, artists’s reception Saturday, January 24, 4-7 p.m., on view through February 22, Boston Sculptors Gallery, 486 Harrison Ave., Boston, 617-482-7781, bostonsculptors.com.

Food for Good
Super Hunger Brunch and North End CityFeast

If you read “fitness double-header” above and thought, “Nope, I’d still rather be eating,” then consider this: there are two charity food events happening this weekend worth your consideration. One is the Greater Boston Food Bank’s annual Super Hunger Brunch. Spend $25 to $50 on specially designed menus, and every dollar will translate into three nutritious meals for people in need. Participating restaurants include some of the best in Boston, including Rialto, Blue Ginger, 80 Thoreau, and more. Also this weekend is the 10th annual CityFeast, whose tagline is “dining out to conquer diabetes.” Shell out $150 for a five-course meal at any of 10 North End restaurants—Bricco or Strega, for example—and proceeds will benefit Joslin Diabetes Center’s High Hopes Fund.

Super Hunger Brunch: $25-50, Saturday and Sunday, January 24 and 25, more info at gbfb.org.
CityFeast: $150, Sunday, January 25, 6 p.m., more info at giving.joslin.org.