This year’s black-tie event, which begins at 6:30 p.m. at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Boston, will be emceed by WCVB-TV5′s Susan Wornick, Bianca de la Garza, JC Monahan and David Brown, and features delicious tastings from the Francis Ford Coppola Winery, Double Cross Vodka, Harpoon Brewery, and Asana, with chef stations and desserts by BiNA Osteria, Cakeology, Grafton Street, Island Creek Oysters, Morton’s The Steakhouse Back Bay, Pain D’Avignon, Russell House Tavern and Temple Bar.

Thanks to sponsor support, 100% of event proceeds will help the Needham-based Ellie Fund fight breast cancer and ease its effects on hundreds of local patients and family members across the Bay State.

For more information, visit www.elliefund.org/Oscars2012.

The Norman B. Leventhal WALK TO THE SEA is a one-mile walking tour that encompasses four centuries of Boston history.  There are eight stops along the way, with illuminated glass panels displaying images, maps and a brief history of each particular location.

Now you can enrich your experience of the WALK TO THE SEA on your mobile or wireless device.  As you visit the panels, you can deepen your understanding of each location by viewing more maps and historical photographs while listening to how Boston’s transformation shaped the place where you are standing. 

The WALK TO THE SEA is always free for visitors.  Guests can also access the virtual tour from their home computer or view it at the Norman B. Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library.  Downloadable maps, images and other content continue to be directly available on the Walk’s website, www.walktothesea.com.

The Norman B. Leventhal WALK TO THE SEA begins at the Massachusetts State House on Beacon Hill and ends at Long Wharf, passing many historic landmarks on its one-mile path through the bustling center of Boston’s downtown to the harbor, among them: King’s Chapel, Government Center, Old State House, Financial District, Custom House and the Rose Kennedy Greenway.

The path was developed in collaboration with the Norman B. Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library.  The Map Center is committed to developing innovative uses of maps and geographic materials to engage people’s curiosity about the world, thereby enhancing their understanding of geography, history, world cultures, and citizenship. 

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino dedicated the WALK TO THE SEA in 2008, and welcomes the addition of the virtual tour; “Our City’s rich history attracts millions of visitors each year and the Walk to the Sea has been a fantastic addition; this free virtual tour will bring more life to the Walk for the thousands of tourists, students and history enthusiasts from all around the world.” 

For more information and to access or download the Walk to the Sea website and free virtual tour, guests should visit www.walktothesea.com.

The soiree will once again feature Boston’s finest chefs for a food tasting like none other in the new Art of the Americas Wing.

Guests will enjoy an evening of gourmet dishes inspired by the delectable taste of ginger and prepared by some of Boston’s most renowned chefs, including Joanne Chang, Jose Duarte, Gordon Hamersley, Jacky Robert, and Jasper White.

Proceeds benefit Joslin Diabetes Center’s AADI, which strives to enhance the quality of life and health outcomes for the rising number of Asian Americans living with diabetes, as well as working with Joslin in their commitment to finding a cure.

At this year’s event, Joslin Diabetes Center will honor Chef Wesley Chen of Lotus Blossom Cuisine and local architect Been Wong for their contributions to the AADI’s mission and the Asian American community.

For tickets and more information, call 617-732-2512 or e-mail Kevin.Hudson@joslin.havard.edu.

The evening will bring the feeling of the French Quarter into the heart of Boston’s Back Bay. The event will include a New Orleans dinner buffet, live music and dancing, and auction prizes. Guests are encouraged to come in festive Mardi Gras attire, including masks if desired.

All of the proceeds from the event benefit The Friends of Copley Square. To purchase tickets, or for more information, visit www.friendsofcopleysquare.org.

New England’s premier winter boating event is held at the state of the art Boston Convention & Exhibition Center (BCEC). The Progressive Insurance New England Boat Show has grown into the Northeasts’ largest Boat Show, attracting thousands from the New England Seaboard. The show fills 300,000 square feet with hundreds of the newest boats from the region’s top dealers, along with a wide selection of marine accessories and special features – creating a marine marketplace and boater’s paradise like no other!

Have a need for speed? See powerboats of all makes and models for cruising, fishing, wakeboarding and all the watersports!

Do you like to ride with the wind? The Progressive Insurance New England Boat Show offers dozens of sailboats from skiffs and one design dinghy racers to Coastal Cruisers. All rigged and ready for your inspection!

The show also has more than 250 exhibits of the latest in marine accessories to stock up on everything from the newest navigational equipment, hardware and galleyware for your boat.

www.newenglandboatshow.com

Widely hailed as one of the best new Broadway plays, Time Stands Still is the story of Sarah and James, a photojournalist and a foreign correspondent, who are reeling after a recent brush with death while on an assignment. Will their relationship of nearly a decade be more threatened by a traditional go at domesticity than the roadside bombs of Baghdad?

lyricstage.com

Disney On Ice Dare to Dream visits Boston from Friday, February 17 to Sunday, February 26 at the TD Garden.

This brand-new ice spectacular featuring scenes from Tangled; The Princess and the Frog; and Cinderella, visits Boston from Friday, February 17 to Sunday, February 26 for 18 performances at the TD Garden.

Get tangled up in the newest thrilling show to hit the ice, Disney On Ice presents Dare to Dream. Experience Disney’s hilarious hair-raising escapade, Tangled; as Rapunzel, her unlikely companion, Flynn, and Maximus, embark on a uproarious journey that takes adventure to new lengths!  Boogie to the best of the bayou with Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen in a magical, musical journey that all begins with a fateful kiss. And fanciful dreams become reality as Cinderella meets her Prince Charming, with a glass slipper fit for an unforgettable fantasy come true. All you favorite princesses take to the ice in a spectacular finale at the ultimate Disney Princess event of a lifetime! Experience the beauty, sparkle, and spirit when Disney On Ice presents Dare to Dream in Boston!

www.tdgarden.com

For its 34th Season the Big Apple Circus dares you to Dream Big! It’s an All–New Show, where the World’s Greatest Circus artists are presented under an intimate Big Top, and no seat is more than 50 feet from the ring! Let your imagination soar and summon the most amazing acts — A juggler with a suit to fit his sweet feats of fancy handiwork! A mechanical doll who comes alive in a sinuous balancing act! Spirited horses, frolicsome dogs, and a capybara and porcupine to perk up the sawdust party! Audacious acrobats who astound with athletic grace! Comical conjurors with magical moments of grand illusion! The aerial daring of the trapeze flyers! A singing Ringmistress and the Big Apple Circus Band creating the ringing melodies of memories to last! And Grandma!! Yes, Grandma, apogee of comical aspiration and mirthful joy in her Farewell Season with the circus.

www.bigapplecircus.org

Children and their families are invited to “Celebrate China!,” a complimentary afternoon of celebration and exploration of Chinese culture, at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Boston on Saturday, March 10, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

As a continuation of the partnership that formed between Mandarin Oriental and the Peabody Essex Museum, the prestigious museum will bring its shared Oriental heritage to the hotel for a day full of festivities and celebration that will be free to the public.

The Oriental Ballroom will be transformed to showcase China’s history and cultural marvels. Adults and children alike can immerse themselves in the nation’s culture with a variety of educational activities and exciting experiences, including:

• Creating a whimsical folding fan or a colorful paper lantern.
• Listening as storyteller Li Min Mo shares special stories about Chinese culture.
• Learning the significance of Tai Chi.
• Experiencing a lion dance performance.
• Experimenting with the technique of Chinese brush painting after viewing a demonstration by artist Yahong Shenthen.
• Discovering the flavors of China by tasting an assortment of hot and iced teas (for adults and children), as well as Mandarin oranges.
• Exploring Chinese culture further with a selection of Chinese-themed books available for purchase from Barefoot Books.

“While Boston is our home, we are immensely proud of our Oriental heritage,” said Mandarin Oriental, Boston’s General Manager, Susanne Hatje. “We are grateful for our longstanding relationship with the Peabody Essex Museum and its shared vision of bringing the historic and artistic traditions of the Orient to Boston.”

“As an educational institution with one of the nation’s most comprehensive Asian art collections, it is our responsibility to shine a light on this extraordinarily vibrant culture,” added Dan Monroe, Executive Director and CEO of the museum. “We look forward to sharing our extensive resources with children, parents and the Boston community.”

“Celebrate China!” is free and open to the public. To learn more, call 617-535 8888 or visit www.mandarinoriental.com/boston.

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.