A cross-culture adventure

The calendar says it's still summer, but the passage of Labor Day puts us in a back-to-school frame of mind. Which is why we suggest exercising the gray matter (the right side of the brain, anyway) on an artsy outing with your very own teacher's pet.

Start Saturday afternoon with a reception at the Pucker Gallery celebrating the work of two very different Southborough artists who just happen to have celebrated their 50th anniversary this spring. Photographer B.A. "Tony" King will be showing "All the King's Horses," a sweeping tribute to his love of equines, alongside Judith Stoddard King's whimsical collage work in "Judy's Windows." Both artists will be present. 3-6 p.m. 171 Newbury St., 617-267-9473. www.puckergallery.com.

If it's a nice evening, wander to Boylston Street for a steak dinner on the patio at Abe & Louie's. Go for the bone-in filet mignon ($45) or the Tuscan aged prime sirloin with oven-roasted vegetables and cabernet demi-glace ($39). Perhaps grilled asparagus ($8) on the side? Dinner served 5 p.m. to midnight on Saturday. 793 Boylston St., 617-536-6300. www.abeandlouies.com

Then it's on to the Boston Playwrights' Theatre for the 8 p.m. show of "The Boys of Winter" (below). Written by Dean B. Kaner, Eric Small, and Boston-based Barry Brodsky, the play revolves around three hockey-playing youths confronting the prospect of going into battle in Southeast Asia. Parallels to veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are deliberate and inescapable. (Friday night's show is a benefit for Veterans for Peace and Iraq Veterans Against the War.) 8 p.m. (show runs through Sept. 21). $20. 949 Commonwealth Ave., 866-811-4111, www.bu.edu/bpt, www.boysofwinterplay.com.

Later that night, hold your honey close and think of that Vietnam-era slogan: Make love, not war.