The remaining weeks of the briefest month of the year bring events dedicated to the local celebration of love, Dragobete, opportunities to pick the right mărțișore to gift on March 1, and love-themed music and film events.

Celebrate Dragobete

The Dimitrie Gusti Village Museum hosts every year a fair marking Dragobete, the Romanian celebration of love. Alongside artists and artisans, the museum will present at the event held on February 21 and February 22 the local traditions related to the beginning of spring. More on the program of the event, which includes folk music, a photography exhibition, and workshops for children, here.

Shop for mărțișoare

The last week of February is usually the time to buy mărțișoare, the little trinkets on the intertwined red and white threads marking the arrival of spring. Numerous fairs dedicated to this tradition, on which you can read more here, are held around the city. Some of the best known are the ones at the Romanian Peasant Museum, scheduled from February 25 to March 1, and the Dimitrie Gusti Village Museum, set for February 23 to March 8.

Re-discover classic Italian cinema …

Paolo Pasolini's The Gospel According to Matthew is part of the program of Il Cinema Ritrovato on Tour, the spin-off of the Bologna event showcasing restored, classic films and cinematic rediscoveries. The event will also pay homage to two actors who passed away last year: Claudia Cardinale, who can be seen in the lead role in Luchino Visconti's Sandra, and Udo Kier. More details on the Bucharest program here.

… or rom-com staples  

Love on screen week, a program of love-themed films from the 1980s, 1990s, and the 2000s, is on at Cinema Europa between February 24 and March 1. Among the films scheduled are When Harry Met Sally, Dirty Dancing, and Love Actually.

Tune in to fado, French melodies, and classical vibes

French singer Mireille Mathieu is scheduled to deliver a concert in Bucharest on February 22 as part of a concert celebrating her 60-year-long career, while Portuguese fado star Mariza returns to the capital for a concert on February 23. The concert, titled Echo of an Endless Spring, is built around fado as a universal language of emotion and is billed as “a celebration of femininity, melancholy, and inner strength.”

On Valentine’s Day weekend, the Bucharest National Opera (ONB) presents Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore on February 14 and Verdi’s Otello the following day, while Ion Dacian Operetta Theater scheduled Frederick Loewe’s My Fair Lady for February 14.

In its turn, Sala Radio also hosts this month a series of concerts featuring international musicians. On February 13, John Axelrod conducts the National Radio Orchestra for a program of works by Beethoven and Tchaikovsky, with pianist Giuseppe Guarrera as the soloist. Conductor Hyunsik Shin, winner of the Orchestra’s Conductor competition, will lead the National Radio Orchestra on February 25, with cellist Răzvan Suma as soloist. The program includes works by Prokofiev, A.G. Weinberger, and Beethoven. Towards the end of the month, on February 27, the orchestra, conducted by Timothy Redmond, will perform alongside pianist Alexandra Dariescu.

The Radio Folk Music Orchestra holds a Dragobete concert on February 15, and the Big Band Radio is scheduled to perform a Love around the World performance, featuring soloist Alice Francis, on February 19.

Try the Silent Book Club

The Bucharest chapter of the global community of readers holds its first meeting on February 22 at Seneca Anticafe. There's no assigned reading: those who want to take part bring their own book, and enjoy it alongside a cup of coffee or tea in the company of other bookworms. The first meeting’s keyword is “vibration,” and is meant as an invitation to wear an item referencing the book cover or its mood. Access is free, but a reservation is required. 

(Photo: Cristina Alexe/ Dreamstime)

editor@romania-insider.com