What's going on this weekend in Sioux Falls?

SIOUX FALLS — There's a Valentine's Day theme to the weekend from a jazz crooner to learning more about animals... um... mating habits. There's plenty to do this weekend around town.

As always, you can hit our calendar of events for the latest.

Jazz, classical, Christian and Johnny Holm among the weekend concerts

• Jazz singer Luke Carlsen is teaming up with the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra for a night of jazz standards at the Washington Pavilion at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11. Carlsen is a jazz singer-songwriter and an actor who has appeared on HBO’s “Perry Mason.” Songs being performed include “I Only Have Eyes For You” and “One For My Baby.” Tickets are $28-$58.
  
• World-class soloists Ilya Yakushev and Thomas Mesa bring their energetic and charismatic performance to the Washington Pavilion at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 9. Yakushev is known for his “musical pyrotechnics on the piano” and Mesa is an “engaging” cellist, according to the duo’s promotional material. Tickets are $35.
  
• The Felix and Fingers Dueling Pianos performs at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11, at The District. The interactive act brings together music and comedy and requests for an exciting night, with the proceeds benefiting the Champion Legacy Dance Academy. Tickets are $36 for single admission standing to up to $330 for a table of six.
  
• Christian musician Ben Fuller will perform at the annual Gift of Hope concert at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11, at O’Gorman High School. Fuller moved to Nashville in 2018 to pursue a career in country music after battling addiction and losing his best friend to a heroin overdose. He found his calling as a Christian musician after being invited to attend church. “By turning his testimony into songs, he has been rejuvenated with a new passion and mission,” according to his bio. Tickets are $35 to $60 and benefit the Lourdes Center (formerly known as Catholic Family Services).
  
• Referred to as the “human jukebox” by the Star Tribune, Johnny Holm and his band are performing at the El Riad Shrine at 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11, as part of the Valentine Bash. Holm’s website describes him as “the most entertaining performer today” with a show that is “dedicated to the fans.” Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at the El Riad Shrine office.

Contributed / Great Plains Zoo

Learn about how your favorite animals make love

Forget the birds and the bees, the Great Plains Zoo wants to educate adults on how monkeys, reptiles and mammals get it on with Woo at the Zoo: Mating, Dating and Copulating, at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 11.

Needless to say, this event is not for kids. The Zoo’s description of the event: “Romance can be wild in the animal world, and we’re here for it. Join the zoo team for an evening of shocking animal facts – and big laughs.”

Guests must be 18 years of age, and light appetizers and non-alcoholic drinks are included, with beer and wine purchasable for those over the age of 21. Tickets are $35 , and proceeds benefit conservation programs.

South Dakota-South Dakota State rematch

The last time the state’s two Division I college basketball programs faced off, it was all SDSU and then some. The Jackrabbit women doubled up the Coyotes 118-59 and the SDSU men beat USD 82-64. Six SDSU players scored in double figures in the women’s blowout, and the Jacks hit 17 3-pointers, a new program record. The team’s 118 points were one point shy of its single-game record.

It's safe to say both the USD teams could have used a mulligan, and they will get their chance at redemption on Saturday when both the men and women face off at different sites. The SDSU women, who are 13-0 in the Summit League, visit USD at 1 p.m., while the Jackrabbit men host the Coyotes at 6 p.m.

Bulls and Broncs

The Sioux Empire Fair Association is hosting two nights of bull riding and saddle bronc action at the W.H. Lyon Fairgrounds on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 10-11. The action starts at 7:30 p.m. both nights, with a mini-bulls event on Saturday night starting at 5:30. Tickets are $18 and $13 for children ages 6-12 and are $5 more on the day of the show. The Barn Flies will perform after Saturday’s event.

Good Night Theater Collective performs Tony Award-winning play

The Sioux Falls group of artists known as the Good Night Theater Collective has four shows coming to the Washington Pavilion through June, and the next one is this weekend as they perform the 2009 Tony Award-winning play “God of Carnage” on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Feb. 9-11. According to the show’s description: “When two 11-year-old boys get into a playground scuffle, their parents engage in a meeting of the minds that starts as a calm discussion and ends as, well … something of a rum-infused fiasco.” Tickets for the show, which will be in the Schulte Room at the Pavilion, are $20.

Second Sioux Falls-area Legislative Coffee this weekend

The South Dakota 2023 legislative session reaches its halfway point this week. If you want to learn more about the bills being discussed, head on over to the Chamber of Commerce Legislative Coffee at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 11, at Southeast Technical College. You can sure bring along your special someone, because a shared knowledge of current events and politics is very romantic.

Senators and representatives from districts 10 (northeastern Sioux Falls), 11 and 12 (southwestern Sioux Falls) have been invited to attend.