February is full of expat-interest event for Istanbulites. From comedy and dance nights to panel sessions, expats living in Istanbul will have a taste of different sorts of entertainment.

Jan. 30- Spoken Word performances in Istanbul

Every Tuesday evening, an English-language open mic event entitled Spoken Word Istanbul takes place at Arsen Lüpen in Beyoğlu from 8:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. This is an opportunity for everyone and anyone to take the stage for a maximum of six minutes to perform anything from music, poetry, storytelling or stand-up.Dubbed the one and only multicultural performance scene in town, this event series as well as time slots to perform are extremely popular, so come early, especially as today, will be a very special tribute event celebrating Spoken Word Istanbul's formation in which performers will be sharing the many ways in which Spoken Word Istanbul has influence their lives.

Feb. 2- Comedy Roast of Teymour: A Fundraiser for Istanbul

On Friday, Feb. 2, Istanbul&I will be hosting some of the city's up-and-coming comedy performers to perform a very special comedy roast in honor of Teymour Ashkan, the founder of the international youth community dedicated to making a social impact. Organized by Omar Mohammad and held at Istanbul&I's center in Tophane, a half dozen or so stand-up comedians from all over the world will be performing in English with all proceeds from the event going to help Istanbul&I's volunteer activities, which include, charity events, language speaking clubs and an educational talk series. The event will take place between 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Feb. 2- Home for the Holiday Winter Party by Yabangee

On Friday, Feb. 2, Yabangee will be hosting a "Home for the Holiday Winter Party" at Balkon Restaurant, a venue with spectacular views from their enclosed terrace located in Asmalı Mecid, which will take place from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. Yabangee, which started out as a website geared toward informing foreigners in Istanbul of events and doling advice, has now branched out into hosting a series of events that works to bring together the city's expat community. Doors open at 9 p.m. and there will be DJ music and a reasonably-priced menu of world fare.

Feb. 2 to 4- Istanbul Social Dance Marathon

The first-ever Istanbul Social Dance marathon will be taking place this weekend from Feb. 2 to 4 at the Silence Hotel Convention Center in Ataşehir. There will be social dancers from 47 different countries offering workshops throughout the day and dancing at parties held throughout the night. A great opportunity to get your start in social dancing by learning a variety of Latin styles, such as kizomba, bacchata and salsa as in addition to advanced there will also be beginners workshops.

Feb. 4- Istanbul&I Talk: Youth, Culture, and Strategic FuturesOn Sunday, Feb. 4 Istanbul&I resumes its talk series tackling the topic of "Youth, Culture and Strategic Futures." Speaking will be Adam Bensaid, a senior cabinet manager at the Islamic Conference Youth Forum for Dialogue of Cooperation and a founder of the High East Initiative. With a background in Political Science, Security Studies and Strategy, Adam works on policy and strategy in a number of fields affecting youth throughout the Muslim world. The talk will take place at Istanbul&I's center in Tophane from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Feb. 6- Yabangee Trivia Night at Sanat Nevizade

On Tuesday, Feb. 6, Yabangee will be holding the ninth edition of their "Trivia Night" series, which pits teams of maximum six members together to test their knowledge in an entertaining quiz that will take place in English. This trivia night will be held at a new location Sanat Nevizade in Beyoğlu. Doors will open at 7 p.m. and the quiz takes place from 8 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. There is a TL 10 ($2.6) entry fee for the quiz and prizes will be given to the top three teams. No cellphones or laptop are allowed to be used during the game and teams will be organized for participants who arrive alone or in smaller numbers.

Feb. 7- Open House at American Research Institute in Turkey

The Istanbul branch of Friends of ARIT (American Research Institute in Turkey) will be holding an open house on Wednesday, Feb. 7 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in honor of their new locations. After decades of operating out of Arnavutköy, FARIT has now joined forces with Koç University by way of being housed in their Anatolian Civilizations Research Center in Beyoğlu. This will be a great opportunity to learn about the upcoming scholarly activities that will be on offer such as tours and lectures for members as well as to join the organization whose proceeds go to support their Ph.D. fellowship program.

Feb.9- Standup Turkey Premiere at BKM Mutfak

Standup Turkey is set to be the latest English-language stand-up comedy show series, which will host its first event on Fri. Feb.9 at BKM Mutfak in Beşiktaş. Organized by stand-up comedian Taha Ercoşkun, there will be eight young up-and-coming comedians from the U.S., Egypt, Syria and even Bolu. Tickets are available on Biletix and the show starts at 8 p.m.

Feb. 11- Istanbul&I Talk: Our Journey to EntrepreneurshipOn Sunday, Feb. 11, the Istanbul&I talk series resumes with "Our Journey to Entrepreneurship" an opportunity to hear first-hand experiences in hackathons and program accelerators as well as to become informed of upcoming projects in relation to entrepreneurship. The talk will take place from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Istanbul&I's location in Tophane.