The national tour of the new musical comedy The Addams Family, based on the bizarre and beloved family of characters created by legendary cartoonist Charles Addams, will make its Boston premiere February 7-19, at the Shubert Theatre.

The Addams Family, which began performances in March 2010 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre and ran through December 2011, immediately became one of Broadway’s biggest hits, described as a “classic, full-tilt, fast paced, old-fashioned musical comedy!” and “A glitzy-gloomy musical entirely worthy of the macabre drawings by Charles Addams.”

Tony Award nominee Douglas Sills and Sara Gettelfinger star as Gomez and Morticia. The principal cast also includes Tony Award nominee Martin Vidnovic as Mal Beineke, two-time Tony Award nominee Crista Moore as Alice Beineke, Blake Hammond as Uncle Fester, Pippa Pearthree as Grandma, Tom Corbeil as Lurch, Patrick D. Kennedy as Pugsley, Brian Justin Crum as Lucas Beineke and Cortney Wolfson as Wednesday.

The Addams Family features an original story and it’s every father’s nightmare. Wednesday Addams, the ultimate princess of darkness, has grown up and fallen in love with a sweet, smart young man from a respectable family, a man her parents have never met. And if that weren’t upsetting enough, she confides in her father and begs him not to tell her mother. Now, Gomez Addams must do something he’s never done before: keep a secret from his beloved wife, Morticia. Everything will change for the whole family on the fateful night they host a dinner for Wednesday’s “normal” boyfriend and his parents.

For tickets and more information, call 866-348-9738 or visit www.citicenter.org.

International recording artists, the Counting Crows, will perform at the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization's major fundraising gala of the year. (Photo courtesy of Pam Sullivan)

On Saturday, February 11, there’s only one place in Boston where you can catch the Counting Crows up close and personal, enjoy delectable food prepared by Boston’s top chefs and support the nation’s oldest mentoring program all at the same time.

“Big Night 2.0,” Big Brothers Big Sisters organization’s major fundraising gala of the year, has a whole new look for 2012: a new venue, new theme and a guaranteed incredible experience.

For the first time ever, the event will be held at the legendary House of Blues with special musical performances by international recording artists the Counting Crows and Grammy Award winning soul artist Raphael Saadiq.

This year’s “Rock the Casbah” theme will turn the venue into a Moroccan oasis complete with satins, silks and sundries while guests will be mesmerized by belly dancers and snake charmers.

The traditional incredible Big Night food experience, with a one-of- a-kind menu prepared by a team of celebrity chefs led by Michael Schlow, remains the same.

After 13 phenomenally successful years and more than $20 million raised, the Big Brothers Big Sisters event committee and co-chairs Joe Ayoub (Robinson & Cole, LLP) and Tim Dibble (Alta Equity Partners) considered the best way to take Big Night to the next level.

“We think this will be the biggest Big Night ever,” said Joe Ayoub, “It was exciting to re-imagine an already terrific experience and hopefully, inspire new guests to join us in supporting transformative change in our community’s children.”

Committee members include: James Athanasoulas, Rick Grinnell, Phill Gross, Jeff Leerink, Martin Mannion, Paul Margolis, Peter Monaco, Frank Petz, and the Event Founder Jim Pallotta.

The Counting Crows will perform their signature hits including “Mr. Jones,” “Round Here” and “Accidentally in Love,” which received a 2004 Academy Award nomination for the film “Shrek 2.” The band has sold more than 20 million albums worldwide.

Raphael Saadiq, the breakout solo artist and former member of the 80′s soul trio Tony! Toni! Tone will open the show. This seasoned performer is also a celebrated producer and collaborator, having worked with stars including John Legend, Joss Stone, Lenny Kravitz, Stevie Wonder and Mary J. Blige.

The fun begins at 6 p.m. at The House of Blues located at 15 Lansdowne Street, Boston. For tickets and more information, call 617-956-0237 or visit www.bignightboston.com.

Boston Ballet’s nationally-acclaimed Citydance program celebrates its 20th Anniversary this year. The ten-week program takes place at Boston Ballet’s 19 Clarendon Street headquarters.

Citydance is one of Boston Ballet’s signature education programs and the largest provider of free dance education to Boston Public Schools. The program reaches more than 2,500 students each year and has reached more than 60,000 students in its 20 year history.

Established in the fall of 1991, Citydance is a scholarship dance program offered to third-grade students in the Boston Public Schools. Designed to educate and introduce public school children to a variety of dance forms, Citydance offers students from all backgrounds access to quality arts education and experience with the art of dance. With its broad scope and commitment to excellence, Citydance has become a model dance education program for institutions across the country.

For more information about Citydance, visit www.bostonballet.org.

The Modern Theatre at Suffolk University presents “An Evening with Bob Rafelson” on Tuesday, February 21 beginning at 7 p.m.

Rafelson is a director, producer, and writer of such celebrated films as Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, The Postman Always Rings Twice, The Black Widow, and the popular television series The Monkees. He will screen and discuss selections of his work.

The Emmy-winning and Oscar-nominated filmmaker will be joined onstage by Robert Brustein, a Suffolk University Distinguished Scholar-in-Residence and National Medal of Arts Recipient. This event is presented as part of the Department of Communication and Journalism’s Suffolk Cinema Series.

The Modern Theatre at Suffolk University is located at 525 Washington Street in Downtown Boston and is the newest performance space in the Theater District.

The grand facade of the historic theater, Boston’s first designed specifically for showing movies, has been painstakingly restored and reconstructed as part of the Modern Theatre and residence hall development.

For tickets and more information visit www.moderntheatre.com.

Children rehearse a traditional lion dance in preparation for the upcoming Chinese New Year celebration. (Photo courtesy of the Gund Kwok Cubs)

On Saturday, January 14 we are invited to visit Franklin Park Zoo and celebrate the “Year of the Dragon” from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Franklin Park Zoo staff are delighted to be working with local community partners to present a day of dance, arts and crafts, learning and fun to celebrate the Chinese New Year. Throughout the day, visitors will have the opportunity to watch traditional dances, including a lion dance, listen to music and storytelling and learn more about Chinese culture.

Children and adults can participate in a variety of arts-and-crafts activities ranging from Chinese calligraphy to plum-blossom painting and making Chinese lanterns.

Participating partners include the Winchester School of Chinese Culture, Chinese Cultural Connections, MIT China Cares, Tian Yue Academy of the Arts, and the Gund Kwok Cubs, a children’s dance troupe.

The Franklin Park Zoo is located at One Franklin Park Road in Boston.

For more information, call 617-541-LION or visit www.franklinparkzoo.org.

Visitors enjoy the "Grand Tasting" at a previous Boston Wine Expo at the Seaport World Trade Center. (Courtesy photo)

Founded in 1991 by the Boston Guild of Oenophilists, the Boston Wine Expo is one of the most well known and respected wine events in the country, and we are told that the upcoming 2012 weeklong celebration will be bigger, bolder and better than ever.

From its headquarters at the Seaport World Trade Center and the Seaport Hotel, the Boston Wine Expo 2012 will extend its reach into the city for special events, vintner dinners and gala celebrations.

Boston is a foodie’s paradise, and the seventh largest wine market in the nation. To honor this historic region’s passion for food and drink, the Boston Wine Expo is an entire week of festivities celebrating wine, food and culture from the greatest wine-growing regions of the world.

Beginning Monday January 16, wineries will host exclusive Vintner Dinners at some of the city’s most enticing restaurants. Many local favorite restaurants will provide the opportunity for guests to taste creative pairings of food and wine as they learn about each.

Saturday and Sunday’s “Grand Tasting” features wines from four regions of the world, as well as food and wine pairings from more than 40 restaurants. Ticket admission covers all wine and food samples, and allows consumers to enjoy two Chef Stages showcasing demonstrations from celebrity chefs including Christopher Coombs of Deuxave, Antonio Bettencourt of 62 on Wharf, Vittorio Ettore of Bistro 5 and Patricia Yeo of Om Restaurant & Lounge.

A local farmer’s market and Cyber Café will feature live tweeting and attendee polling of the wines available at the Expo.

The educational series has been extended to offer three days of seminars featuring top winemakers and industry experts including keynote Kevin Zraly, as part of the 2012 Seminar Program.

Consumers and trade can explore a range of topics such as “The One Hour Wine Expert” with Zraly, “Explore the Crus of Beaujolais” with Domaine Louis Jadot, “Get to Know Amarone” with the Wines of Masi, “Armand de Brignac Champagne Experience” and “The Tuscan Gem: Ornellaia Vertical Tasting.”

Continuing its 20-year track record of philanthropy, the Boston Wine Expo 2012 will benefit Tufts Medical Center’s Summer Camp Scholarship Program and other local charities. In all, more than $1,051,000 has been donated to charity courtesy of the event’s founders – the Boston Guild of Oenophilists, Inc.

For tickets and more information, call 877-946-3976 or visit www.WineExpoBoston.com.

On Saturday, January 21, the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology invites us to a special collaborative performance with Behind the Mask Theatre and puppeteer Margaret Moody of Galapagos Puppets. Participants will meet the Monkey King and the Laughing Buddha while celebrating the Chinese New Year with puppetry, storytelling, and masks.

The family fun takes place from 2 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. in the Geological Lecture Hall, Harvard University, 24 Oxford St., Cambridge.

For more information, call 617-495-2269 or visit www.peabody.harvard.edu.

The website www.TalkingFish.org continues to provide insight into the scientific, economic and social aspects at work in New England’s fisheries. The site honors the starring role that fishing has played in New England’s cultural and economic heritage. The folks behind the blog support our fishermen and want to ensure that our fisheries and coastal communities flourish for generations to come.

We are told that in order to foster direct connections between readers and the people involved in the seafood industry, they have created a brand new feature called “Ask an Expert.” In it, TalkingFish.org interviews chefs, retailers, fishermen, policymakers and others who are involved in managing, catching and preparing New England’s fish.

Max Harvey, Seafood buyer, Jasper White's Summer Shack, Cambridge, MA (Photo credit: Jasper White's Summer Shack)

Left to right: WBZ-TV news anchor Lisa Hughes, author Dennis Lehane and WHDH-TV investigative-reporter-turned-author Hank Phillippi Ryan were among the VIPs at the "Hometown Authors Reception" recently held at the Hotel Commonwealth to benefit the ReadBoston non-profit organization. (Photo by John Harrison)

On December 5 the Hotel Commonwealth hosted a “Hometown Authors Reception” to benefit ReadBoston. Mayor Thomas M. Menino joined some of Boston’s top authors at the reception where guests were able to purchase books directly from their favorite writers and have them personally inscribed.

The holiday party also included a special performance by Bill Janovitz of the Boston band “Buffalo Tom.”

This year’s featured authors included: Dennis Lehane, Ben Mezrich, Mary Ann Esposito, Amy Traverso, Erin Murray, Joseph Finder, Casey Sherman, Michael Blanding, Andrew Rimas, Victoria Abbott Riccardi, David Becker, Marianne Leone Cooper, Hank Phillippi Ryan, Bill Martin, Dr. William Henderson, and Jef Czekaj – just to name a very few.

Launched by Mayor Menino in 1995, ReadBoston’s mission is to ensure that every child in Boston can read at grade level by the third grade. ReadBoston, through many resources, helps children learn to read so that in the future they can read to learn. Boston is proud to be one of the first cities in the nation to launch a city-wide effort to help children learn to read.

ReadBoston, through many partnerships with city organizations, funnels resources, innovative programs, books and best practices into Boston neighborhoods.

For more information about the organization, call 617-918-5289 or visit www.readboston.org.