The to-do list

"Utopian North Park" will be part of an exhibit at Art Produce Gallery on Saturday, Feb. 6. Photo by Lynn Susholtz.

Art

Urban Legends: No one is debating that North Park is changing, but whether you view the transformation as the beginning of a new epoch or a decline into something unrecognizable, you owe it to yourself to check out Art Produce Gallery’s (3139 University Ave.) new exhibition, The Future Imperfect of Cities, Landscapes and Dreams. On view now, the show addresses complex questions about the future of the neighborhood through a multimedia showcase of urban plans and art created by New School of Architecture instructors Deborah Foster, Leslie Ryan and Philipp Bosshart, as well as their students. Together, they idealize through art and design a utopian revision of a neighborhood about which everyone seems to have an opinion these days. The opening reception goes from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 6. www.artproducegallery.com.

Talento donna: Anna Zappoli was born and educated in Italy but has been exhibiting work in San Diego for more than two decades. Her paintings are a striking blend of classic and modern influences—her triptych “Uneven Babe,” for instance, exhibited last year at San Diego Art Institute, had a Roman Gothic feel with a twist of abstract expressionism. The Garden of Mythos: Abstraction in Collaboration with Nature, Zappoli’s latest collection of oil-on-canvas works, is the opening exhibit at the new Swift Gallery, located at 2820 Roosevelt Road, Building 201, at the NTC Promenade at Liberty Station in Point Loma. The opening, from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Feb. 5, coincides with the launch of the monthly NTC Friday Night (for more about the event, see www.ntcfoundation.org). Zappoli’s work will be on display through April 2.

Fashion

Viva la (handmade) revolution: Remember when you were young and you would make stuff? Like, in elementary school, when you would glue macaroni to construction paper and feel really proud of the fact that you made something with your own two hands? That’s how the artists and designers behind The Handmade Revolution feel all the time. They hand-make everything from clothing to paper goods, most of it from recycled materials. From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 6, the entire collective will display their wares at a Valentine Trunk Show at The Yellow House on B (2940 B St. in Golden Hill). There’ll also be music, drinks and snacks, so you’ll be more than satisfied while you shop. www.thehandmaderevolution.blogspot.com.

Dance

From Russia with love: Sure, you could book a flight to Russia to see the Moscow Festival Ballet. But with the economy the way it is, you might as well see them right here in San Diego. Good thing this ballet company is familiar with traveling: They’ve toured throughout Europe and Asia, and this weekend, they’ll cross the 6,160 miles from Moscow to San Diego with their tutus and pointe shoes to perform two perennial favorites: Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty, classic tales that translate beautifully to the stage. They’ll perform Swan Lake at 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 5, and Sleeping Beauty at 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 6, both at the Balboa Theatre (868 Fourth Ave., Downtown). $39-$69. www.sandiegotheatres.org.

Music 

Irish eyes are rolling: Yoga One Studios introduces the Irish rock duo The Guggenheim Grotto with the most discordant of comparisons: “Crosby, Stills & Nash” from the Union-Tribune and “Radiohead and The Beatles” from the Boston Herald. Really, the duo from Dublin is best described as what it is: Bog standard Irish indie (in the best possible way), somewhere between compatriots Damien Rice and Snow Patrol. TGG’s latest album, Happy the Man, debuted at the top of the iTunes folk chart in October, and now the band’s playing Yoga One (1150 Seventh Ave., Downtown) at 7:45 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 10, mere days after the record hits the real stores. $25. www.yogaonesandiego.com, www.myspace.com/guggenheimgrotto

Wonder-ful cause: In the subject line of her e-mailed announcement, San Diego musician Latanya Locket promises that her Stevie Wonder Tribute concert going down at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 6, at Horton Plaza’s Lyceum Theatre will be “awesome.” Well, the proof’s always in the pudding, but there are no better ways to start down the path to awesomeness than by playing “Superstition” (one of the most awesome records ever made) and raising money for fine-arts programs in local schools. This benefit concert does the latter; we can only assume it’ll do the former. Locket has assembled members of Old Man Hands, Breakastra, Psydecar, Trunk Fulla Funk, Karl Denson Trio and Wise Monkey Orchestra for this effort, and there’ll be a complimentary wine bar at the ready when the doors open at 6 p.m. $25, $20 for students, military and children. www.lyceumevents.com.

Photography

Invite only: An “invitational” usually sounds redundant, since, except for maybe Banksy, rarely do artists hang work where they’re uninvited. But for the Museum of Photographic Arts’ State of Mind: An Invitational, the word describes a sophisticated nomination process on par with the Democratic Party’s delegate system. Forty photographic professionals nominated up to four California artists each—98 in total, which were then whittled down to 21 by MoPA’s sharpest eyes. Although all the work is contemporary, the mediums range from 19th-century “wet collodion” to three-dimensional collage. The exhibition opens to the public on Saturday, Feb. 6, and runs through June 6 at the museum in Balboa Park. www.mopa.org.

Special events

History lesson: Too few people know that San Diego was once called the Harlem of the West—indeed, before the dance clubs and pricey restaurants, Downtown was full of jazz clubs and cool hotels that put up talent like Louis Armstrong, Jellyroll Morton and Billie Holiday. At 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 6, the San Diego Historical Society hosts a Black History Month Celebration featuring the Black Storytellers of San Diego. Using old photographs, documents and objects from the historical society’s archives, performers will “weave together intricate and engaging stories” about a past that should be embraced and not paved over. The event is free with paid admission to the Museum of San Diego History in Balboa Park. www.sandiegohistory.org