On stage

Irish evening: Howard County Poetry and Literature Society (HoCoPoLitSo) will present its 25th annual Evening of Irish Music and Poetry at 8 p.m. Feb. 7 at Jim Rouse Theatre for the Performing Arts at Wilde Lake High School, 5460 Trumpeter Road, Columbia. Irish poet Ciaran Carson will read from his work, and Irish music, song and champion step-dancing is planned after the intermission. Tickets are $25 by mail. Send check and self-addressed stamped envelope before Feb. 1 to HoCoPoLitSo, 10446 Waterfowl Terrace, Columbia 21044. Tickets can be purchased by credit card for $26. To purchase by credit card: 410-730-1802, and press 2, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. 410-730-7524 or 301-596-6183 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, or www.HoCo PoLitSo.org.

"Annie Get Your Gun": Toby's Dinner Theatre of Columbia, 5900 Symphony Woods Road, will present the Irving Berlin musical Annie Get Your Gun through Feb. 16. Doors open at 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, at 5 p.m. Sundays and at 10:30 a.m. for matinees. Tickets are $22.50 to $41. Reservations are required. 410-730-8311.

Concert

Jazz in shadows: The Friends of the Baltimore-Washington JAZZfest will sponsor its first Thursday jazz event, "Jazz in the Shadows," from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Jan. 2 at the Silver Shadows nightclub, 5550 Sterrett Place, Columbia. The William Goffigan Trio will perform. Admission is $10. 410-730-0111.

Pianist, cellist: The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the University of Maryland and the Embassy of Israel will present Israeli-Arab pianist Saleem Abboud Ashkar and Israeli cellist Inbal Megiddo at 8 p.m. Jan. 9 in the Joseph and Alma Gildenhorn Recital Hall. On the program are works by Boccherini, Shostakovich Bach and David Popper. Tickets are $25; $5 for full-time students with ID. Discounts are available for seniors and groups. 301-405-ARTS or www.clarice smithcenter.umd.edu.

Visual Arts

Maryland artists: The Montpelier Cultural Arts Center, 12826 Laurel-Bowie Road, Laurel, is showing the 12th annual Patuxent Art League's Juried Exhibition of Maryland Artists through Sunday in its Main Gallery. Resident artists Jennifer Berringer and Melissa Burley are in the Resident Gallery, and a show of photographs by Ann Krumrein -- titled Earth Teach ... -- is in the Library Gallery. The center's "All Hung Show," open to Maryland and District of Columbia artists, will open Jan. 4; the reception will be from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Jan. 10. Artists bring work on Jan. 2 and everything that fits will be hung. The show runs through Jan. 15. 301-953-1993.

Exquisite details: Hollingsworth Art Gallery at Patuxent Research Refuge's National Wildlife Visitor Center, 10901 Scarlet Tanager Loop, Laurel, is showing watercolor, gouache and egg tempera paintings of nature's microenvironments by Kurt Plinke this month. Wildlife paintings by Barbara L. Buck will be shown Jan. 1 to Jan. 31. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily. 301-497-5760.

Hawaiian flowers: Artists' Gallery in the American City Building, 10227 Wincopin Circle, Columbia, is showing The Colors of Spring: Hawaii's Flowers, photographs by Jerry Weinstein, through Jan. 3. The gallery's "Annual All-Member Show" will open Jan. 6. A reception is planned from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Feb. 7, with a drawing for a free lunch for two at Copeland's restaurant in Columbia. The show will run through Feb. 28. Gallery hours are from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturdays. 410-740-8249.

Classes

Winter classes: The Howard County Center for the Arts, 8510 High Ridge Road, is accepting registration for its winter classes for children, teens and adults. Drawing, watercolor and acrylic painting, art for home- schoolers, cartooning, ballet, jazz and hip-hop are among the offerings. Most run for 10 weeks. Classes begin Jan. 14. Drop-in model studios for drawing and painting are available on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. 410-313-2787.

Scholarships

For freshmen: The Howard County Arts Council will award a minimum of $5,000 in scholarship funds to Howard County students entering college in the 2003-2004 academic year to earn a degree in the arts. The awards, which will be at least $1,000 each, may be used for tuition and fees only. Applications, which are available from the Arts Council or at www.hoco arts.org, must be postmarked or hand-delivered by Jan. 22. 410-313-2787.