Does the dreary New England winter have you feeling down? Join the Amherst College Outing Club as they rise to new heights, scaling Pioneer Valley's indoor rock walls one handhold at a time. Equipment and transportation will be provided and beginners are welcome. All you need to bring is a set of comfortable clothing. (To reserve a spot, contact Marina at mweiss08@amherst.edu. Wed., 6 p.m., Pond 209. No admission charge.)

Spend the evening rolling dice and sipping champagne with Lady Luck this Friday night at "Casino." Mingle with professors as they deal your winning hand while serving ice-cream and pouring champagne. With free ice-cream sundaes, champagne and great music from The Blue Nomads and DJ Tal, everyone is a winner. All proceeds from the event go to Educate! for sponsoring refugees and underprivileged nationals in Uganda and Rwanda to attend school. (Fri., 9 p.m., Valentine Dining Hall. Admission charge unannounced.)

Experience the terror of the apocalypse and the grace of redemption as Buckley resounds with the instruments and voices of 180-odd members of the Amherst College Symphony Orchestra and Choral Society (conducted by Mark Lane Swanson, with assistance from Rob Lane '05; Choral Society preparation by Mallorie Chernin and Rachel Dunham '05). Returning to Amherst for Gustav Mahler's five-movement work, Resurrection, are soprano Stephanie Dawn Johnson and mezzo-soprano Kimberly Gratland James. (Sun., 7 p.m., Buckley Recital Hall. No admission charge for Amherst students.)

Explore African American identity, history and misrepresentation with a visit to the "exhibits" of The Colored Museum, a play written by acclaimed Broadway director, producer and playwright, George C. Wolfe and directed by Aida Mbowa and Rochelle Calhoun. The provocative satire, part of a series of events commemorating Black History Month, examines what it means to be an African American. (Fri. and Sat., 8 p.m., Rooke Theater, Mt. Holyoke College. No admission charge.)

Editors' DVD Pick of the Week

Before he took on the role of Gotham's dark knight in Batman Begins (2005), Christian Bale headlined Equilibrium (2002). Set after a Third World War, the nation of Libria, as envisioned by writer/director Kurt Wimmer, is the classical example of a dystopian society. Governed by an all-knowing Father (Angus MacFadyen), emotions and expressions in any shape or form, are banned and suppressed via a behavior-altering drug, Prozia II. Clerick John Preston (Bale) is a Grammaton, an elite law enforcement officer tasked with punishing "sense offences." Upon failing to take his daily allotment of Prozia, Preston finds there is more to the world, and experiences its richness to the beat of techno music and the rattle of gunfire.