Things to Do This Afternoon

Gossips rarely makes recommendations about where to go or what to do. I leave announcing upcoming events to Ellen Thurston, and reviewing them after they've happened to Seth Rogovoy. Maybe because falling snow and icy streets are now just recent memories or because I'm getting tired of my own four walls, today is an exception.

This afternoon, there is an open house at McDaris Fine Art, 623 Warren Street, where a collection of works by self-taught artists is being shown. The artists are "unrestricted by the academic conventions of art making," and their works "run the gamut from abstraction to representation. Some contain mysteries and distinctly psychological or emotional darkness. Some are humorous, narrative, and exuberant. Accessibility is part of their allure." The open house is from 4 to 6 p.m.

After you have experienced the "visionary, vernacular, outsider, folk art," head downstreet to Verdigris Tea & Chocolate Bar, 135 Warren Street, for a pre-Valentine's Day champagne and chocolate tasting. The chocolates are from Hudson's own Christopher Norman Chocolates, and the sparkling wines from Fairview Wines & Spirits. The tasting is from 5 to 7 p.m., and it's suggested that you bring your sweetheart. My sweetheart will have to stay home. There's a notice on the door at Verdigris that dogs may not enter.