GIN AND BITTER Theatre One performs Donald L. Coburn’s Pulitzer Prize winning play “The Gin Game’’ under the direction of Peg Holzemer. The bittersweet comedy focuses on the interplay between two nursing home residents during a series of gin games, until all the cards are on the table.
Alley Theatre, 133 Centre St., Middleborough; Sunday, Jan. 15 and 22, 2 p.m.; also Friday-Saturday, Jan. 20-21, 7:30 p.m.; $20, seniors, students $18, cash at door.
BEACH HOGS The Drowned Hogs dip themselves into the frigid Atlantic at Nantasket Beach to raise money for Wellspring Multi-Service Center, a regional organization providing both emergency and long-range services. Before the noontime swim, a costume contest takes place at 11:30 a.m. After the swim the 10th Annual Soup & Chowderfest gets rolling at 12:30 p.m. at the Nantasket Beach Resort.
45 Hull Shore Drive, Hull; Saturday, Jan. 28, 12 p.m.; registration fee $10, chowderfest tickets $15; www.drownedhogs.org.
PICTURES AND WORDS In a creative blend of the visual with the art of the word, 24 poets respond to 24 works of art in a program entitled “Visual In-Verse.’’
Plymouth Center for the Arts, 11 North St.; Sunday, Jan. 15, 1 p.m.; free, www.ptaow.com.
GREEN LAND Natasha Andjelic and Shavaun Towers of Towers/Golde Landscape Architects speak on their award-winning “Green Landscapes for Water and Wildlife’’ design at the Water Watch Lecture Series. The state’s Division of Fish and Wildlife said their landscape designs benefit native wildlife and water through use of a wildflower meadow, butterfly garden, no-mow areas, and rain gardens to capture stormwater.
South Shore Natural Science Center, 48 Jacobs Lane, Norwell; Wednesday, Jan. 18, 7 p.m.; free, www.southshorenaturalsciencecenter.org.
SUNDAY STROLL The South Shore Natural Science Center also hosts a “Sunday Stroll’’ on its grounds, free with regular admission, on Sunday, Jan. 15, noon-1 p.m. And a day of hands-on exploration into the pleasures of the season on Monday, Jan. 16, 11-3.
48 Jacobs Lane, Norwell; $5 adults and children, free under 2; www.southshorenaturalsciencecenter.org.
MANY BENJAMINS Actor J.T. Turner presents a family-friendly performance of “The Adventures of Benjamin Franklin,’’ printer, author, inventor, ambassador, and patriot. Turner weaves history and humor into his depiction of Franklin, one of the world’s greatest statesmen and thinkers, often called “the First American.’’
The James Library & Center for the Arts, 24 River St., Norwell; Sunday, Jan. 22, 3 p.m.; $18, $10 students, www.jameslibrary.org.
ART BOOKS Scituate Arts Association’s Art Matters Book Club discusses a novel about the subject of John Singer Sargent’s famous portrait, “Madame X,’’ a work whose bold pose and provocative dress stunned the Paris Salon. Gioia Diliberto, author of “I Am Madame X,’’ recreates from limited historical information the story of Virginie Gautreau, the New Orleans beauty who fled to France during the Civil War.
52 Curtis St.; Tuesday, Jan. 17, 1:30; call 781-545-2816 to register.
ART CLASSES Scituate Arts Association is also offering a range of “Winter into Spring Classes.’’ Winter I term classes begin the week of Jan. 23 and run through the week of Feb. 24. Offerings include an ongoing watercolor group taught by Mary Beth LoPiccolo and an opportunity to “Learn the Basics’’ with Bob Beaulieu.
Among classes offered for children, Front Street Gallery artist Linda Pedersen teaches a Phone Photography course through Scituate Recreation.
Ellis House, 709 Country Way; for information and sign-up, see www.scituateart.com.
LUCKY PAIR With acoustic guitar and fiddle in hand, Howie Newman and Joe Kessler, who call themselves “Knock on Wood,’’ play well-known rock covers and funny original songs suitable for all ages. A former sportswriter for the Patriot Ledger, Newman performs his baseball songs including “It’s the End of the Curse and We Know It,’’ an R.E.M. parody. Kessler has performed with Morphine, Jimmy Page, and Robert Plant.
Ventress Memorial Library, 15 Library Plaza, Marshfield; Saturday, Jan. 21, 2-3 p.m.; free.
SING LOW The Providence-based indie folk band The Low Anthem consists of Florence Wallis on vocals and violin, Bryan Minto on guitar, Jeff Prystowsky on drums, and Ben Knox Miller on vocals and guitar. The band recently recorded “Eyeland,’’ a studio album members describe as “night noise, smatterings of murmur, moon shade, and a calliope of autumn foliage.’’
The Spire Center, 25 ½ Court St., Plymouth; Saturday, Jan. 21, 8 p.m.; $20, www.spirecenter.org.
LOVING WORDS The poetry series “For the Love of Words’’ presents Thea Iberall, performance poet and playwright, at Easton Community Access Television studios.
50 Oliver St.; Thursday, Jan. 19, 7 p.m.; limited seating, e-mail Rich Berg at beachchair@verizon.net.
DELTA BLUES Award-winning delta blues duo Paul Rishell and Annie Raines combine Rishell’s earthy singing and pungent, knowledgeable guitar style with Raines’s soaring vocals and fierce harmonica work. Renowned bluesman Pine Top Perkins called their music “so good it hurts.’’
Old Ship Parish House, 107 Main St., Hingham; Saturday, Jan. 21, 8 p.m.; $15 door; www.oldshipchurch.org/coffeehouse-off-the-square.html.
Send information about events at least two weeks in advance to Robert Knox at rc.knox2@gmail.com.
