Be Still My Beating Heart

Grab your honey, or just doll yourself up, and celebrate the many manifestations of love at one or more of these Valentine''s Day events:

JOHN XXIII AIDS MINISTRY''S CRYSTAL BALL, Friday Feb. 14 at 7pm at the Monterey Hyatt Regency. This gala dinner/dance features cocktails and a silent auction. Ticket are $75, with proceeds benefiting the agency''s work with local AIDS patients and their families. Call Amy at 655-1737.

EAGLE''S WING SWEETHEART''S DANCE, Friday Feb. 14 at 7pm at the Embassy Suites hotel in Seaside. Red Beans and Rice and The Blue Tones will get toes tapping at this annual Valentine Day''s dance, a fund-raiser for the Eagle''s Wing Children''s Sanctuary, a residential care facility for developmentally disabled children suffering neglect or abuse at home. Hors d''oeuvres and desserts, no-host bar, raffle and silent auction (win trips to Tahiti and Italy). Tickets are $30 at the door, or from Do Re Mi music stores. 646-2442.

LOVE AT THE AQUARIUM, Saturday Feb. 15 at 7pm at the Monterey Bay Aquarium on Cannery Row. The love-fest begins with a strolling dinner in the Outer Bay galleries from 7-9pm, with live music by Gary Regina. A DJ dance party kicks off at 8pm and goes until midnight in the aquarium galleries, with wine, chocolates and caricature artists; appetizers and bar drinks will be on sale. Dinner and party is $85; dance party alone is $45 with wine/$35 without; $5 discount for members. 647-6877.

PG ART CENTER PARTY, Saturday Feb. 15 at 8pm at the Pacific Grove Art Center on Lighthouse Avenue in PG. Dance Trax provides the music, hors d''oeuvres are free, a raffle and silent auction spice it up, and wine''s for sale at this annual fund-raiser for the Center. $12 members/$15 non-members; $20 a couple for members, $25 for non-members. Tickets at the Art Center (375-2208) or at Bookmark in PG.

NINTH ANNUAL EROTIC ART SHOW AND PARTY, Saturday Feb. 15 at 7pm at the Turf Club at the Monterey Fairgrounds. Uncle Jam is master of ceremonies at this annual art-and-performance fest. Doors open at 7pm, Jamaica does her belly dancing at 8pm, the 4 Bangers take the stage at 8:30 with their rhythm and blues, Ms. Byrne lights up the skies with her fire-dancing act at 9:30, Inbalance plays rock ''n roll at 10pm, and then the awards presentation begins at 11pm. Erotic prizes given out throughout the night. Tickets are $13 at the door, $10 in advance at Terri''s Secrets in Salinas and Ambiance Fashions in Monterey. 899-1007.

thursday 2|13

V-Day

THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES Eve Ensler''s prize-winning production composed of first-person vignettes, most of them hilarious, some of them heart-breaking, is being put on this weekend as part of a worldwide initiative called V-Day, a global movement to stop violence against women and girls. The movement began in 1998 in New York City, bringing together many women performers in a celebrity staging of The Vagina Monologues. It''s since become a yearly tradition in theaters throughout the country. A portion of the weekend''s proceeds will be donated to local non-profits.

8pm today through Saturday. CSU Monterey Bay''s World Theater, Sixth Ave. $15 general public; $10 CSUMB staff/faculty and seniors; $5 students with I.D. Free parking in lot 28. 582-4580.

friday 2|14

Here''s Stanley

EYES WIDE SHUT Before he died, Stanley Kubrick called Eyes Wide Shut "my best film ever." That''s quite a declaration coming from the director and producer of Dr. Strangelove, 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Shining, and A Clockwork Orange among others. And then his final film (if you don''t count AI) was almost unanimously panned by critics. Weigh in on the debate this weekend as the Monterey Peninsula Friends of C.G. Jung explore cinemaesthesia, described by John Dotson as a "changing state of awareness." "Eyes Wide Shut: Cinemaesthesia and the Artistic Farewell of Stanley Kubrick," begins Friday evening with a short documentary by Katharina Kubrick on her father''s making of The Shining. An Eyes Wide Shut discussion, will follow, and on Saturday, attendees will view the entire film. A talk on allusions between Eyes Wide Shut and AI (Artificial Intelligence) produced by Kubrick and completed by Steven Spielberg will complete the weekend.

7pm, Friday. 10am-3pm, Saturday. Both events at McGowan House, St. James Church, 381 High St., Monterey. $15, Friday. $35, Saturday. 649-4018.

Wine and Roses on Wheels

WINE PASSPORT WEEKEND This self-drive tour of local wineries is part scavenger hunt fun-and-games, part outing in the countryside and (perhaps) part romantic quest. It includes a "passport," a map and (of course) a commemorative glass. Every tasting room in Monterey wine country (20 of them, anyway) will be poised; there will be fancy food and music along the way. For some couples, it will be exactly the thing. For some singles-it will give new meaning to the word "cruise."

All day Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Pick up map at participating wineries. $40 ($15 for designated drivers) includes all wine-tastings. 375-9400.

saturday 2|15

Get To Know These Guys

UNKNOWN JEROMES With their reggae/hip hop/jazz/ funk style flavored by seven musicians from seven very different backgrounds, the Unknown Jeromes have a sound like no one else. Come see what all the fuss is about this Saturday. (See story pg. 38.)

9pm. Sly Mc Fly''s, 700 Cannery Row, Monterey. 372-3225.

sunday 2|16

Sweet Melodiya

MELODIYA CHAMBER ENSEMBLE Members of the San Francisco Opera Orchestra make up this quartet of musicians who come together to make up Melodiya, known for their colorful and exciting sound. All born in Russia, these four musicians are unmatched in their musical pedigrees, having earned their stripes in their native land and here. Their style is an eclectic mix of sounds that will leave the audience breathless with works by Smirnov, Vitali, Rameau and Tock.

5pm. Carleton Hall, 400 West Franklin St., Monterey. $14 adults, $10 students and seniors. 384-1174.

Speaking and Painting Their Truth

CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY MONTH The Walter Lee Avery Art Gallery at Seaside City Hall is celebrating Black History Month all February long, highlighted by today''s art and performance reception. On display will be African sculpture from the collection of Lloyd Morain; Ruthie Watts'' exhibit from Monterey Bay Links; Sandra Gray''s collages, paintings and drawings of famous black personalities; modern art and mixed media by Khambrel Green; and acrylics and mixed media by Tanja Woodard. Long-standing NAACP activist Mel Mason will entertain with a spoken word performance, and refreshments are on tap for all.

3-5:30pm. Seaside City Hall, 440 Harcourt Ave., Seaside. Free. 899-6336.

I Hear A Symphony

MONTEREY SYMPHONY If you want a sampling of some of the finest operatic pieces the world has to offer without dealing with tricky things like plot, this is your concert. Symphony director Kate Tamarkin conducts excerpts from Madama Butterfly, La Boheme and other beautiful pieces. Japanese Soprano Kaori Sato and Cuban tenor Raul Melo lend their exquisite voices to these songs and others, with the orchestra playing overtures by Verdi and Tchaikovsky. There''s a preview luncheon on the Friday at Bernardus; for ticket prices and reservations call the Symphony office at 624-8511.

3pm today and 8pm Monday at Pacific Grove Middle School Auditorium, 835 Forest Ave., Pacific Grove. 8pm Tuesday at Sherwood Hall, 940 N. Main, Salinas. 624-8511.

wednesday 2|19

Connoisseur''s Fantasy

MASTERS OF FOOD AND WINE For five days beginning with tonight''s reception, the top names in the passionate world of food-and-wine-love converge at the Highlands Inn. Tonight''s opening reception is a gala of gastronomical (and oenological) delight-13 top-of-their-game chefs (this year including Bobby Flay of New York, Susan Spicer of New Orleans and Sherry Yard of Beverly hills) set up at stations spread throughout the Fireside Lounge, the Pacific''s Edge restaurant and the Surf Room. The idea is to wander, taste and sip as the sunset fades over Point Lobos and the stars come out. Participants have been known to pinch themselves to be sure they''re not dreaming.

6pm to 9pm. Highlands Inn, 120 Highland Drive (four miles south of Carmel). $175. 620-1234.

Your Eyes Look Lovely, My Dear

COLTON HALL CANDLELIGHT CONCERT Let''s face it, everything''s better by candlelight. So when the Kenny Stahl Trio hauls their flute, violin and cello down to Monterey''s historic Colton Hall, fires up the tapers and lets loose with the Haydn, Handel, Bach and Mozart, it''s enough to make a girl swoon. The city of Monterey started its Chamber Music series 13 years ago, and every year they bring in three to five different concerts. The free admission ($5 donation requested, but not mandatory) encourages families to bring their kids and introduce them to the finer things in life-pass the caviar, please.

8pm. Colton Hall, Pacific Street between Madison and Jefferson, Monterey. Free, donation requested. Reservations required: 646-5640.