On Friday evenings, Boston Public Market — the year-round local-food hall by Haymarket — trades its grocery bustle for craft tables. Two after-work workshops share the bill: a sip-and-stitch session hosted with spice merchant Curio, pairing easy needle-and-thread work with something good to drink, and a date-night class where couples paint each other’s portraits in watercolor.

The painting session is the crowd-pleaser: an instructor walks the room while you and your partner — or a friend, nobody’s checking — attempt each other’s likeness, with all materials provided and one ticket covering the pair of you. Results range from flattering to deeply humbling, which is the point. And since it all happens inside the market, you can build a whole evening out of it: dinner from the vendors, a drink, and a portrait you’ll either frame or hide.