Live music and dancing in VMFA’s Marble Hall kelps add some heat to Richmond’s cold January and February. (Photo by Travis Fullerton, © 2009 Virginia Museum of Fine Arts)

Kick off your weekend early – and add some heat – at Art After Hours Winter at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

Tickets are on sale now for the series, which is presented every Thursday night from 6 to 9 p.m. Jan. 14 through Feb. 25.

“Adding the word ‘winter’ to the name of the series signals a ramping up of one of VMFA’s most popular events,” says Art After Hours organizer Patricia Jagoda. “We’ll also be presenting an Art After Hours Fall series in October and November.

“Art After Hours is such a crowd-pleasing event because it’s got live music, art tours, dancing, poetry readings, wine tastings, gourmet pizza and specialty drinks, and a Friends of Art silent auction of art by regional and national artists – all centered in the beautiful surroundings of the VMFA Marble Hall.”

The Recliners, presenting music from the 1920s through the 1960s plus newer songs, will be featured at the first Art After Hours Winter event Jan. 14. “This group from Austin, Texas, takes the familiar ‘lounge sound’ and zooms off into galaxies that Frank Sinatra, Tom Jones and Engelbert Humperdinck never imagined,” Jagoda says.

“The Recliners really swing, plus they add in a generous shot of bossa nova and cha-cha rhythms.”

Also featured Jan. 14 will be a poetry reading by Gregory Kimbell, a master’s degree student in poetry at Virginia Commonwealth University, where he teaches and is president of the Graduate Writers Association.

Bistro Twenty Seven will present a $50 gift certificate to the winner of a weekly drawing at each Art After Hours Winter event.

Series tickets to all seven events are $60 (members $48). Single tickets are $10 (members $8). Single tickets may be purchased online by clicking here. Series and single tickets are available at VMFA Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. or by telephoning (804) 340-1405. (Members’ tickets are available only at VMFA; limit two per event; members must show VMFA membership card when making purchase.)

Art After Hours Winter tickets are not refundable or exchangeable. Parking for the event is available in the museum’s deck at Sheppard Street and Stuart Avenue for $3 (members free with membership card). Click here for parking information.

Media sponsors are Comcast Spotlight, Mix 103.7, and Style Weekly.

Here is the lineup for Art After Hours 2010.

January 14
MUSIC: The Recliners, with post-modern power-lounge sounds
WINE, BEER AND SPECIALTY COCKTAILS: Virginia wines are featured, plus specialty cocktails from our expert mixologists
FOOD: Gourmet pizza, and fruit and imported cheese plates
POETRY at 6:30 & 7 P.M.: Gregory Kimbell
TOUR at 7 & 7:30 P.M.: Take a special 20-minute “Art à la Carte” tour of the museum’s galleries
FRIENDS OF ART SILENT AUCTION: View and bid on works of art by local and regional artists.

January 21
MUSIC: MoDebree, with soulful, gritty blues
WINE, BEER AND SPECIALTY COCKTAILS: Italian wines are featured, plus specialty cocktails from our expert mixologists
FOOD: Gourmet pizza, and fruit and imported cheese plates
POETRY at 6:30 & 7 P.M.: Sandra Beasley
TOUR at 7 & 7:30 P.M.: Take a special 20-minute “Art à la Carte” tour of the museum’s galleries
FRIENDS OF ART SILENT AUCTION: View and bid on works of art by local and regional artists

January 28
MUSIC: Blues Flash, with electric jump blues
WINE, BEER AND SPECIALTY COCKTAILS: Shiraz and Syrah wines are featured, plus specialty cocktails from our expert mixologists
FOOD: Gourmet pizza, and fruit and imported cheese plates
POETRY at 6:30 & 7 P.M.: Caroline Cahill
TOUR at 7 & 7:30 P.M.: Take a special 20-minute “Art à la Carte” tour of the museum’s galleries
FRIENDS OF ART SILENT AUCTION: View and bid on works of art by local and regional artists

February 4
MUSIC: Gayle McGehee and the Nocturnes, with eclectic lounge music
WINE, BEER AND SPECIALTY COCKTAILS: Light wines are featured, plus specialty cocktails from our expert mixologists
FOOD: Gourmet pizza, and fruit and imported cheese plates
POETRY at 6:30 & 7 P.M.: Tarfia Faizullah
TOUR at 7 & 7:30 P.M.: Take a special 20-minute “Art à la Carte” tour of the museum’s galleries
FRIENDS OF ART SILENT AUCTION: View and bid on works of art by local and regional artists

February 11
MUSIC: The Lost Souls, with Americana pop rock
WINE, BEER AND SPECIALTY COCKTAILS: French wines are featured, plus specialty cocktails from our expert mixologists
FOOD: Gourmet pizza, and fruit and imported cheese plates
POETRY at 6:30 & 7 P.M.: Kate Greenstreet
TOUR at 7 & 7:30 P.M.: Take a special 20-minute “Art à la Carte” tour of the museum’s galleries
FRIENDS OF ART SILENT AUCTION: View and bid on works of art by local and regional artists

February 18
MUSIC: The Michael Clark Blues Band with blues classics, rhythm-and-blues and rock
WINE, BEER AND SPECIALTY COCKTAILS: Syrah and Shiraz wines are featured, plus specialty cocktails from our expert mixologists
FOOD: Gourmet pizza, and fruit and imported cheese plates
POETRY at 6:30 & 7 P.M.: Laura Davenport
TOUR at 7 & 7:30 P.M.: Take a special 20-minute “Art à la Carte” tour of the museum’s galleries
FRIENDS OF ART SILENT AUCTION: View and bid on works of art by local and regional artists

February 25
MUSIC: Crown Vic with alt-country rock
WINE, BEER AND SPECIALTY COCKTAILS: Bordeaux wines are featured, plus specialty cocktails from our expert mixologists
FOOD: Gourmet pizza, and fruit and imported cheese plates
POETRY at 6:30 & 7 P.M.: Cynthia Grier Lotze
TOUR at 7 & 7:30 P.M.: Take a special 20-minute “Art à la Carte” tour of the museum’s galleries
FRIENDS OF ART SILENT AUCTION: View and bid on works of art by local and regional artists

Tickets Now on Sale at VMFA, Online and by Phone.

– The information above was provided by Suzanne Hall at the VMFA