Make this a Valentine’s Day to remember

Chocolates, flowers, jewelry and perfume? Mooning into your sweetie’s eyes (all the way to their deep, deep soul) through the candlelight? Done, and done to death. Make this Valentine’s weekend memorable with one of the following suggestions. Yes, symposia can be sexy! All events are free unless noted.

Baffled by the ways of love? Me too! Perhaps all will become clear at UW–Madison’s fifth annual Darwin Day celebration on Saturday, Feb. 13, at the Microbial Sciences Building. Scientists will discuss how evolutionary theory informs conservation efforts and shed light on behavior, including our own. Orchids, the Caribbean, hormones and the brain, and the tree of life are part of the day’s topics. Visit Darwin Day 2010 for details.

It’s unlikely the language of love (pitched any woo lately?) will disappear, but linguists estimate that by the end of the next century, fully half of the some 6,000 languages spoken on our planet will be extinct. A daylong symposium, “Language as Homeland,” features faculty and invited experts to explore language loss and maintenance on Feb. 13 at the Pyle Center. Visit Language as Homeland for more information.

There’s nothing like a dark movie theater to calm first-date jitters. Cinematheque, located in Room 4070 of Vilas Hall, will screen “Memories of Matsuko” at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 13. This 2006 film from Japan tells the story of Matsuko. Unlucky in life and love, she never stops dreaming of true happiness. Miki Nakatani won the 2007 Japan Academy Prize for Best Actress for her performance. Find more information at Cinematheque.

Love (lost, found, unlikely, forbidden and unrequited) is often a subject of songs. Hear this and more at the Union Theater with “An Evening of Broadway With Marin Mazzie, Jason Danieley and Four Seasons” at 8 p.m. on Feb. 19. Broadway vets Mazzie and Danieley are joined by Madison’s own Four Seasons Theatre Orchestra for an evening of favorites from the Great White Way. No singing along, please! Purchase tickets at the Wisconsin Union Theater.

For more classic songs, attend tenor James Doing’s faculty concert performance at 8 p.m. on Feb. 13 in Mills Hall, Mosse Humanities Building. Doing’s program, “Teaching Favorites,” includes songs by Handel, Scarlatti, Schubert, Brahms, Strauss, Copland and others. Visit the School of Music for information.

Score with Badger women. No, not that kind. Get your mind out of the gutter, already. The Badger women’s hockey team takes on Minnesota State at noon on Sunday, Feb. 14. Then at 6 p.m., the basketball team challenges Indiana. Both games are at the Kohl Center. Purchase tickets at UW Badgers.com.

Take your love to the wild side on a winter birding walk in the Arboretum, Feb. 14, 1 p.m. Cardinals, chickadees, nuthatches and woodpeckers are among the species wintering in Wisconsin. Visit the UW–Madison Arboretum for more information.

For romance and emotion, nothing can top the tenderness, power, nuance and swell from an orchestra, and the UW–Madison Chamber Orchestra consistently plays with maturity and professionalism beyond the tender years of its members. The orchestra will perform at 2 p.m. on Feb. 14 in Mills Hall. The program includes works by Mozart, Haydn and Schoenberg.

The concert features acclaimed horn player Bernhard Scully. After graduating from UW–Madison, Scully joined the Canadian Brass, toured 16 countries, and recorded four CDs. During his time with the Canadian Brass, he performed with the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and Detroit, Colorado, Vancouver, New Jersey and Toronto symphony orchestras, among others. He is currently principal horn at the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. Visit the School of Music for details.