Save the Date: You can tap toes, show puppy love, have a laugh

What’s the best kind of music?

Music that you can dance to, of course. But it always helps if that music comes packed with nostalgia, as well. Enjoy tunes that harken back to American jazz standards from legendary musicians such as Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington and Dave Brubeck at Swing, Swing, Swing! American Jazz Orchestra Classics at 3:30 p.m. Jan. 28 at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 426 E. Fourth Plain Blvd., Vancouver; $30, free for students 18 and younger who are accompanied by a paying adult. The concert features clarinetist Michael Kissinger and his Jazz Quartet, and the George Fox University Jazz Orchestra playing such songs as “Over the Rainbow,” and “What a Wonderful World.” 360-906-0441 or www.bravoconcerts.com.

Ever felt lonely on Valentine’s Day? Imagine how dogs feel. Puplandia Valentine’s Shopping Extravaganza from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 3 at the Oaks Park Dance Pavilion, 7805 S.E. Oaks Park Way, Portland, is a great place to find a gift to show your pooch how much you care. Browse the 50 vendors selling glass art, dog soaps, dog toys and treats, or participate in the silent auction. But don’t leave without snapping a photo with your dog at the puppy-kissing picture booth. Proceeds from the silent auction benefit dogs cared for by Puplandia Dog Rescue. www.facebook.com/events/155453938408765.

Magenta Theater returns with another play that’s sure to tickle your funny bone. The latest production, “Jeeves Intervenes,” begins its run at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 9 at Magenta Theater, 1108 Main St., Vancouver; $20 to $22. Luckless playboy Bertie Wooster concocts a plan with friend Eustace Bassington-Bassington to fool their meddling relatives so Wooster can escape his marriage and Bassington-Bassington can ditch his job. The play has 7:30 showtimes Feb. 9, 10, 15, 16, 17, 22 and 23; 2 p.m. Feb. 17 and 24. 360-635-4358 or www.magentatheater.com.

Bird, bird, bird is a word. Enjoy fun, interactive activities related to birds at the Second Saturday At The Water Center: Love Your Backyard Birds from 1 to 3 p.m. Feb. 10 at the Water Resources Education Center, 4600 S.E. Columbia Way, Vancouver; free. This Second Saturday is a great way to prepare for the Feb. 16 through 19 backyard bird count, where seasoned and beginner bird watchers are encouraged to tally the numbers of birds they see, and record where they saw them. Children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian for Second Saturday. 360-487-7111 or www.cityofvancouver.us/publicworks/page/second-saturday-water-center.

This competition is almost like the musical reality shows that flood TV such as “American Idol” or “The Voice,” except it includes local talent competing for the chance to grace one of the biggest stages in Clark County. At the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s Young Artists Competition at 1 p.m. Feb. 11 at Trinity Lutheran Church, 309 W. 39th St., Vancouver, you can watch nine of the area’s best young musicians square off in piano, strings and winds/brass competitions for the chance to perform with the VSO and Maestro Salvador Brotons in June. The competition is free to the public. 360-695-1221 or www.vancouversymphony.org.

You don’t have to travel down South to partake in Mardi Gras. Just hustle across the bridge to Portland. The free, family-friendly Portland Mardi Gras Parade, which starts at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 13 at Victoria Bar, 4835 N. Albina Ave., and goes down Mississippi Avenue in northeast Portland, includes all of the traditional pageantry as well as a kids and adult costume contests. www.portlandmardigras.com/2018-parade-details.

Dance your way into the past at the annual Sweet Heart Dance from 7 to 10 p.m. Feb. 10 at Pearson Air Museum’s Historic Hangar, 1115 E. Fifth St., Vancouver; $25 per person. The dance is dedicated to Allied veterans of World War II, workers of the Kaiser Shipyard, and men and women on the home front. The VanPort Jazz Band will provides tunes, and the Eatery at the Grant House will sponsor a no-host bar. Dressing in U.S. and allied WWII uniforms and period dress is welcomed. Funds raised at the dance support the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site. 360-816-6216 or www.friendsfortvancouver.org.