Good news for all you Tibetan mastiff owners out there: the 132nd Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show will include your breed for the first time this year. The second-oldest annual sporting event in the United States (behind the Kentucky Derby) takes place at Madison Square Garden February 11–12. Over the show’s history, luminaries including a Russian czar, a German emperor, and an English queen have competed — as dog owners, we mean, not contestants (although we have seen pictures of the czar...). westminsterkennelclub.org

Humans are 60 percent water, Earth is 75 percent water, and certain American beers seem to be 100 percent water. The first two facts are on display at the American Museum of Natural History in Water: H2O=Life, an exhibit that takes an in-depth look at our most precious natural resource and its future. A combination of live and interactive displays challenges visitors on their knowledge of our No. 1 life-sustaining resource. amnh.org

The Brandy Library in Manhattan’s Tribeca neighborhood comes equipped with leather chairs, brown paneled walls, and one of the world’s finest collections of brandies and other distilled spirits. Monday night is live jazz night, and throughout the year, the Library holds seminars on particular spirits. At Tasting Fridays, blenders and distillers offer a sip of their latest wares. And Single Malt Saturdays offer a chance to sample the latest single malts. brandylibrary.com

No food says “I love you” better than chocolate, which means there’s a lot of love at the Great Lakes Science Center February 9–May 4, as Chocolate: The Exhibition traces the food’s 2,000-year history. The story begins in Central America with the Mayans and the Aztecs, who used cocoa seeds like money. Developed by Chicago’s Field Museum, with support from the National Science Foundation, the touring show explores the ecology, economics, and enduring appeal of chocolate. Continental is the official airline of the Great Lakes Science Center. greatscience.com

Nothing in February accompanies chocolate better than flowers, and the Cleveland Botanical Garden has just the thing. The annual exhibit Orchid Mania, where hundreds of specimens fill the exhibition space with lush colors and scents, is on display February 9–March 9. This year’s theme focuses on the orchid’s seductive allure and the horticultural passions the flower has long aroused. cbgarden.org 

Karamu House hosts the Ohio premiere of Al Letson Jr.’s explosive drama Julius X, February 1–24. Set in Harlem in 1965, this contemporary tragedy fuses music, hip-hop dance, and slam poetry to track the civil rights activist’s rise to power and the turmoil that followed his death. karamu.com

Erin Patak and members of the Houston Ballet

The winter repertory program running February 21–March 2 at the Houston Ballet is a grab bag of dazzlers. The show, Gershwin Glam, includes Tchaikovsky’s Serenade, with romantic choreography by George Balanchine; Swansong, with tap-dance choreography and costume design by Christopher Bruce; and an ode to the Broadway musicals of the 1940s, from Houston Ballet creative director Stanton Welch. The entire company participates in the last segment, set to George Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F. Continental is the official airline of the Houston Ballet. houstonballet.org

Getting There: All the destinations covered in “Go Explore” can be reached by flying Continental Airlines. To book your vacation, contact Continental Airlines Vacations at covacations.com.