10 Things Going on in Cleveland this Weekend (February 7 – 9)

Most likely, you're not still in contact with your childhood friends. It's a sad reality of life. In the Japanese animated film Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day, director Tatsuyuki Nagai explores the reconnection of a group of childhood friends torn apart by the death of a friend. The deceased friend appears to the friends and cannot pass on to the other side until they figure out why she came back. This tortured and touching film features your standard variety of wide-eyed, spiky-haired anime characters amidst beautifully detailed scenery. The film screens today at 2 p.m. at the Cedar Lee Theatre. Tickets are $15. (Stoops)

The MIX series at the Cleveland Museum of Art aims to do something new every month, served with a side of music and cocktails. This month’s theme is “Create." There will be a cooking demonstration by Cleveland chef Douglas Katz, an original composition created and played by Baldwin Wallace students, and painting demonstrations you can participate in. You can even design or write a page for Miser Magazine. Oh yeah, and did we mention cocktails are involved? The festivities start at 5 tonight and run until 9. Admission is $7 in advance and $9 at the door. (Trenholme)

On Feb. 7, 1964, the Beatles came to the States and became an overnight sensation. Their appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show broke all kinds of records and just about everyone in the country instantly knew the names of the Fab Four. Today, downtown Kent pays tribute to the Beatles with the two-day Kent BeatleFest. The event marks the 50th anniversary of Beatlemania with free performances by Beatle and British Invasion tribute acts. The bands will play tonight at 12 downtown clubs. Admission is free. Tomorrow night, the tribute act Hard Days Night performs at 8 at the Kent Stage. Those tickets are $15. (Niesel) kentbeatlefest.com.

Erin Foley brings her sardonic wit to the Grog Shop tonight; she’s actually pretty funny. Anything is on the table for her, and her often harsh yet hilarious takes on matters concerning her health, gluten-free diets and everyday life will make you genuinely laugh. She’s appeared on Conan and Chelsea Lately and was recently named to their list of favorite female comedians. She also makes Jim Carey-like faces. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 on the day of the show, and it all starts at 7:30. (Liz Trenholme)

A noted voiceover artist who can be heard in more than 50 TV shows and movies (including the SpongeBob SquarePants movie, for which he provided the voice of many characters), Joshua Seth is also a famous illusionist. His one-man show Beyond Belief: An Intimate Evening of Psychological Illusion arrives tonight for a month-long run. According to the press release hyping his appearance, the show “combines thought reading, magic and some good old-fashioned showmanship to create an atmosphere of mystery and laughter that will absolutely astonish you.” We’ll see about that. The show takes place tonight at 7 and 9:30 at Playhouse Square’s Second Stage. Tickets are $22. (Niesel)

Running outside in the winter sucks. You’ve got the snow. You’ve got the ice. You’ve got the cold. So the 12th annual Tackle the Tower stair climb provides a good fix for running addicts. The event, which takes place this morning at 8:45 at Galleria & Tower at Erieview, features both a fun walk and a timed run up some 37 flights of stairs. Participants can compete in teams too. Registration costs $20 in advance, $25 on the day of the race. (Niesel)

Sure, it's easy to go on autopilot when shopping for a woman on Valentine's Day. You can just buy chocolate, flowers and jewelry. Done. But what about men? Men want to be shown love, despite their rough and tumble exteriors. Today at Mahall's from noon to 6 p.m. check out the Manly Mart Valentine's Show. Does your sweet dude have a sweet beard? Get him a beard trimming kit. Does he have artisanal alcoholism? Pick him up a brewing kit. Get all these things and more, including comics, records and other hand-made goods. While you're there, Mahall's will be open for bowling, drinks and food. (Stoops)

Visible Voice tends to host quirky authors and musicians, but tonight’s reading should be a blast for lovers of Cleveland history and the bizarre. Local author Alan F. Dutka has written a book called Cleveland Calamities which is exactly what it sounds like — a history of all the awful geological and meteorological disasters visited upon Cleveland. No more generic sports tragedies here. This shit is bizarre: A pseudo tidal wave once pounded the Lake Erie shore from Bay Village to the Pennsylvania border! A phantom ice age caused scientists to predict that glaciers would return to Cleveland! A river burned! Mayflies swarmed downtown by the millions! Citizens hurled rocks at volunteer firefighters! This stuff is awesome. Come out to Visible Voice in Tremont tonight for the reading and conversation with the author between 6 and 9 p.m. And dive into this book. We’ve taken a pass through it ourselves and it’s insane. (Allard)

The founder of the famous Julliard String Quartet, Robert Mann is virtually a legend in chamber music circles. He's the subject of the new documentary Speak the Music: Robert Mann and the Mysteries of Chamber Music. In the film, the 93-year-old Mann discusses his career and delves into the "dark side" of life as a leading classical musician who often engages in heated debates with colleagues. The movie makes its local debut at 1:30 p.m. today at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Tickets are $9. (Niesel)

What’s left to say about this carcass of a Cavs’ season? Anthony Bennett scored 15 points in his only decent outing to date and it’s hard to even call it a silver lining, seeing as he continues his crusade to average more personal fouls per game than points. While seeing rotation minutes in the Cavs’ nationally televised loss to the lowly New York Knicks on Jan 30, Bennett committed three fouls and scored four points (on 1-6 shooting). This team simply cannot shoot. Jarret Jack is awful. Just awful. Dion Waiters is streaky and unloved. Kyrie Irving is extremely pouty. Andy Varejao is injured. Luol Deng has had his smile and his jumper beaten out of him by (what seems to be) peer pressure. We could go on and on. Cavs play the Grizzlies tonight at 6 and the Kings at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the Q for the final two games before the All-Star break. Let’s hope the time off next week allows them to do some soul-searching. Tickets start at $10. (Allard)