Photo by Diane Maas at Filicori Zecchini on 95th street and Broadway.
Valentine’s Day is coming up Saturday, and there are a few free events on the Upper West Side you should check out before you overpay for dinner.
If you want to show your children you love them, but don’t want to buy them an Xbox, take them to Barnes and Noble on 82nd and Broadway at 11 a.m. for Valentine’s Day storytelling with Elmo and friends.
The West Side Arts Coalition will hold a free poetry reading from 3 to 5 p.m at the Broadway Mall (inside the building on the North side of 96th and Broadway). “It takes place during the current “Musings and Meditations” photography exhibit.  The poetry reading is an open mic event, and will feature some of the members of the Riverside and Parkside poetry groups. Refreshments will be served.”
From 3 to 7 p.m., the Central Park Conservancy is hosting an ice festival, with carving, some free food and other events to celebrate its 35th anniversary. At 5 p.m., there will be a silent disco at the Bandshell: “It’s a dance party with headphones; you choose the music. Starting at 5:00 pm, two live DJs take the stage at the same time, playing 80’s, Top 40, and your favorite NYC artists. You choose the channel with your favorite music genre and dance the night away. The glowing, color-coded headsets show which music other partygoers are listening to, so you can dance along with your friends.” Learn more and register here (registration isn’t mandatory but it could help).
Another(pre-)Valentine’s Day event will take place tonight at Goddard Riverside-The Bernie Wohl Center: Writer’s-A-Go-Go presents a cabaret-style evening celebrating new writers with a festival of monologues, “The Many Faces of Love.”