HOW SWEET IT IS The city of Salem gives Valentine’s Day a great big hug.

It’s all about chocolate and shopping next weekend. To enhance the experience, more than 20 ice sculptures can be viewed downtown.

The 14th annual Salem’s So Sweet Chocolate and Ice 2016 Festival is hosted by Salem Main Streets, the Salem Chamber of Commerce, and Destination Salem.

The event kicks off with a chocolate and wine tasting from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Feb. 5 at the Colonial Hall at Rockafellas, 227 Essex St. Tickets are $25 per person.

Restaurants throughout the city feature chocolate offerings on their menus, including desserts, cocktails, and inventive sauces.

Many downtown businesses offer chocolate samplings and discounts throughout the weekend, including Valentine’s Day deals on jewelry.

Ice sculptures are on the themes of The Friendship, Mad Hatter, and more. During the evening of Feb. 7, the sculptures will be illuminated.

New this year is a small skating rink at the Museum Place Mall fountain on Essex Street, complete with hot chocolate, from 5 to 8 p.m. Feb. 6, and noon to 4 p.m. Feb. 7.

The Salem Trolley offers rides around the festival route — weather permitting — during the day for a discounted price. Pickup locations are the Visitor Center at Pickering Wharf, and near Rockafellas on Washington Street.

Call 978-744-0004 or visit salemmainstreets.org.

SONGS OF LOVE David Roth and Bernice Lewis return to The Linden Tree Coffeehouse in Wakefield with “Songs From the Heart for the Season of Love’’ on Feb. 6.

Roth is a singer, songwriter, recording artist, workshop leader, and instructor. He’s worked full time in music for more than two decades.

Lewis has performed at festivals, coffeehouses, colleges, and concert halls for almost 40 years and has released a half dozen CDs. She’s also a published poet, producer, and educator.

The show begins at 8 p.m. at the Unitarian-Universalist Church, 326 Main St. Tickets are $20; $10 for age 13 and younger.

Call 781-246-2836 or visit lindentreecoffeehouse.org.

SCULPTING A FUTURE An exhibit of work by Irina Okula and her students at The Governor’s Academy in Byfield will be at the school’s Wilkie Performing Arts Center Feb. 5 through March 5.

Last year, Okula won a top prize in sculptural ceramics at a Smithsonian exhibition in Washington.

Locally, her work can be seen at Lexicon Gallery in Magnolia, Walsingham Gallery in Newburyport, and Exeter Fine Crafts Gallery in Exeter, N.H.

Students exhibiting sculptural ceramic work include Brandon Benson, Milan Gary, Paul Holloway, Hillary Scheintaub, Anna Smith, and Drew Trotman.

An opening reception for “Mentor and Proteges’’ is 6 to 7 p.m. March 5. Governor’s Academy is at 1 Elm St. in the Byfield section of Newbury.

Call 978-499-3230 or visit govsacademy.org.

ART MEETS LIFE “The Painted Lady & The Glass Man: A Modern Fairytale’’ will be presented at The Loading Dock Gallery in Lowell Feb. 3 through Feb. 28.

It is the creation of painter Tracy Levesque, and glass artist Peter Zimmerman.

“The show is a love story,’’ said Levesque. “It’s inspired by an original fairytale we wrote together about a man who falls in love with a painting of a beautiful woman and must transform in a number of ways in order to be united with her.

“We loved this concept because art is all about transformation and we’ve really had the opportunity to show this through our creations.’’

The exhibit explores and re-creates common folklore and fairytale themes.

“We wanted to revisit that magical world and share it through our artwork, ’’ Zimmerman said,

A reception is 5 to 7 p.m. Feb. 6, followed by a talk with the artists at Western Avenue Studios, 122 Western Ave., Lowell.

There also will be music by Bucky Fereke & The Pony Express, and a silent auction supporting Miracle Providers NorthEast, which raises money to benefit local children and families affected by HIV and AIDS.

Call 978-656-1687 or visit theloadingdockgallery.com.

Wendy Killeen can be reached at wdkilleen@gmail.com