Archive for the ‘theatre’ Category
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Cheap Date Ideas for Valentine’s Day
Okay, love it or hate it, February 14th is fast approaching in the city of Vancouver. Pete and I haven’t figured out our plans yet, but we have compiled this list of options so far. Over the next couple of days, I’ll keep adding to the list. If you have some good cheap date ideas for V-day, post a comment.  Let’s spread the love.
Vancouver Date Night Looking for Cheap Dates for Valentine’s Day
Idea #1: Sweet Heart Serenade at the Rio Theatre
I love how this sounds. “A unique Valentine’s night event for sweet hearts of all ages! Acoustic performances by Said The Whale and Jasper Sloan Yip, followed by a special screening of The Princess Bride.” How fun is that? I do like the Princess Bride. A definite option.Idea #2:  Tenor Nights at Ciao Bella Restaurant and Piano Bar
If you love opera, then mark these dates on your calendar Feb 12, 13, and 14 For only $59 (which includes dinner) Tony Caruso (vocals) and Glen Stevenson (piano) give you a show that is easily worth $200. Tony’s voice is so pure that you will get shivers. The two gig regularly at Ciao Bella so make it a plan to see them before fame knocks.Its sister restaurant Le Bistro de Paris is also having a 5 course dinner menu for $69.  Le Bistro de Paris
Idea #3: St. Valentine’s Day Massacre at the Vancouver TheatreSports League
VTSL has it annual Massacre Tournament with cut throat improv competition by teams from Atlanta, Calgary, Orlando, Bellingham and Seattle. It’s going to be bloody funny. Shows Feb 11, 12, 13 and 14th.
Idea #4:Â Vancouver Aquarium Valentine’s Sleepover
Okay, this one isn’t cheap but it sounds cool. When else do you get a chance to sleep with the fishes…unless you are in trouble with the mob. On Feb 12th. Need to Register ahead, $121 ($110 members)
Sleeping with Fishes at Vancouver Aquarium Info
Idea #5:Â Art of Loving teaches a Creative Kissing class on Feb 14th.
It is always good to learn new skills.
Idea #6: Contact  Partner Yoga and Thai Massage
Okay, this is super awesome. Each 2 hour yoga workshop includes a half hour of Thai Massage (which couples do on each other) Only $40/couple. They have date night classes happening regularly throughout town and classes on Feb 11 and 12.
Contact Partner Yoga on Facebook
Idea #7:Â CIBC Lunarfest and snacking.
We are big fans of just roaming around the city, eating street food and one cool idea is to wander CIBC Lunarfest (until Feb 13th). Open daily between 4pm-11pm at the Vancouver Art Gallery Plaza
Okay…that is the list so far….any more ideas?
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Clova Theatre
We are thrilled to have our first guest post from our good friend Ken Hamer. Ken was telling us about his great cheap date night find and we insisted he write it up! He highly recommends a visit to the Clova Theatre and here’s why:
 I highly recommend the Clova Cinema in Cloverdale ( 5732 176th St, Surrey. ) It’s a bit of a drive from Vancouver, but worth every kilometre.
Clova Theatre on CinemaTour.ca
Tribute.ca Movie Listings for the Clova Theatre
It’s an old-fashioned stand-alone single screen cinema, built in 1947. It looks like it, but it has been well kept, and is clean and comfortable. It lacks the art deco architecture of the Hollywood (on W Broadway) but more than makes up for it in a bunch o’ ways.
First, most nights they have a double feature — 2 movies for less than the price of 1. Second is the admission price — adults are $5 on Tuesdays and 8$ the rest of the week. Better still, that’s only for the first person in the group; the remainder are all $1 less.
Next is the concession. Not only are the prices less than you’d pay at a 7-11, they are less than you’d pay at Safeway. And they have a good selection beyond the usual stuff. Things like juice and bottled pop if that’s your preference, incuding Diet 7-Up. Recently they’ve added hot dogs.
Best thing about the concessions though is that if you bring your own containers you get super discounts on both popcorn (real butter) and fountain drinks. The only rule is that the containers cannot be larger than the cinema’s own “large†sizes, but experience suggests the rule isn’t rigidly enforced.
Second best thing is that if you are going for both movies, you can order a pizza before the first show to be delivered for intermission. Prices are about $6-$8 depending on the type of pizza, for an 8″ personal size pizza.
Finally, the very best thing about the cinema — Doris the proprietor, and her little dog Cupcake. Most evenings, they introduce the shows, make announcements about what’s coming up and recycling your beverage containers, and so on. The introduction is always ended with a joke, just “dirty†enough to confuse the kids, embarrass the teenagers, and make the adults laugh.
Tuesdays are the best night not just for the lower admission, but also because the larger crowd adds a real community feeling. Everyone is friendly.
If you act now, while one of the projectors is out of service, you actually get 3 intermissions for the price of one. A 15 minute regular intermission between the movies, and a 5 minute mini-intermission about half way through each movie, while they change the reels on the single working projector. They are waiting on a part to arrive. Once it does, they’ll be back to the usual single intermission.
Lots of parking in the lot behind the cinema, and there’s a short cut through to 176 St. If you can find a spot, you can park on 176 St, but the side streets only allow 2 hour parking, not long enough for the double feature. Worse, Surrey seems to consider it an easy money grab, and the 2 hour limit is brutally enforced, particularly during the hours movies are shown.
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Show Us Your Wits!
We have been to improv. We have been to burlesque. So it seemed only fitting that when we got an invitation to an im
prov meets burlesque show, we would have to check it out. Show Us Your Wits is a fabulously fun time. The improv comedy company The Fictionals have crafted a really frisky show.   The troupe do some fast and funny (and slightly blue) improv to start and then do a longer form set in the second half. How does burlesque fit in to the mix? Well, there are burlesque stars as guests and they play along in the scenes too and do some of their own routines throughout the show as well. Being on Commercial Drive, you can see that the show has developed a nice following – the audience is very supportive and enjoy playing along. The sh
ow runs the last Tuesday of every month at the vegetarian eatery the Café deux Soleils on Commercial Drive (Yes, they have beer. Yes, it is served in a mason jar).  The house was packed so go early to get a seat. The doors open at 8pm and the show starts at 9pm. The cost to see the show is only $5. -
More Cheap Dates!
We were super excited to open the arts section of the Vancouver Sun today
to see a whole list of cheap date ideas!  The more cheap dates the better! Some of these we have tried and some are on the To Try list. In case you missed the article and want to add it to your cheap date repertoire, here is the link. Enjoy!
Click to view:Â A week of cultural adventure on a shoestring.
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The Improv Musical
Okay….we feel a bit redundant about suggesting the Improv Musical as a date night simply because we already gave you the idea to see the
Ellen Kennedy, Shaun Stewart and Alan Marriott shine in the Improv Musical
Vancouver TheatreSports League in an earlier post. But, the Improv Musical is such a different show within the VTSL schedule, we feel it deserves a post of its own.Â
The Improv Musical is well named – it is a completely improvised musical comedy. Each show is based upon one suggestion that a cast member gets from the audience. After that, everything is made up – the score, the songs, the characters and the story. It is so mind blowing that they are improvising the whole thing but they are! The ensemble cast rotates with each show but the talent within the group is fabulous. Some of the songs will make you tingle; others are so catchy, they will stay in your brain on the ride home!
So, if you like music, musicals, improv and fun times, this is a great show to see on a date night. Currently, it plays at 7:30pm every Wednesday night at the Improv Centre. Its running time is one hour and you can grab a drink at the VTSL bar either before or after the show. Check the VTSL website for further details.Â
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Kitty Nights Burlesque
Like tassels? Well, we have a good date night idea for you – Kitty Nights Burlesque. On Sunday nights at the Biltmore Cabaret, you can see some
The gorgeous hostess of Kitty Nights. Yes, it was their holiday show.
classy burlesque tease. Pete and I had never been to a burlesque show before and thought it would be cool to see some twirling tassels (how do they do that? Or more importantly, how do those tassles stay on?). The entrance fee is $5 and it is general seating unless you pre-pay for a reserved seat. Reservations can be made for groups of 4 or more at an extra cost of $10 per person. ($40 per table of four). The Biltmore is a cool room. It is hip-dingy and it still retains its vintage charm. Pete and I arrived a bit too late (at 8:40pm for a 9pm show) to find a seat so we grabbed a beer at the bar and just hung around people watching. The crowd is eclectic, hip and young but it was a good vibe. The show started quite late (not sure if that is the norm) so we could only watch a few acts before having to go and meet up with some friends. The girls are gorgeous and the routines are smart classy. It is sexy night out and the only recommendation I would have is to grab a couple of friends and splurge for a reserved table or to go early to grab a seat. You want a good vantage point to relax, to drink beer and to watch the show.Â
More info at:
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The Hollywood Theatre
I rarely go to movies in the big movie-plexes any more. I think the high ticket cost and  the annoying patrons (Come on, People…stop texting already!!)
has taken the joy out of it for me. Pete and I usually watch movies in the comfort of our own home – where I can lie in my sweatpants, drink wine and pause the movie to pee. With our good TV system, we really don’t need to go out…we can stay at home.But the one place that can lure me out to watch a movie is The Hollywood. I love this theatre. I really do. There is something so old school charming about it. The Hollywood theatre just celebrated its 75th year of showing
movies in its Kitsilano neighbourhood. The single screen movie theatre is almost a thing of the past but this one has managed to keep going. It is a pillar of the community and watching movies there is such a fun thing to do. The seats are old, the movies are second run but the popcorn has real butter and the tickets are insanely cheap. (For adults to see a double feature the tickets are $8 Tuesday through Sunday; on Mondays all seats are $6) You don’t mind watching movies with the masses because that is part of the experience.This date night we saw The American with George Clooney (the cost was a grand total of $12 for both of us since it is a Monday. We could have stayed for no additional cost to watch the second feature – Casablanca – but tomorrow is a work day). If you are wanting to extend your evening, there are tons of yummy and inexpensive restaurants and bars in the ‘hood to keep you happy. (if you need some suggestions, just ask)
Go see a movie at The Hollywood on your next date night. There is something very vintage and romantic about it.
Website for The Hollywood Theatre
***** Sadly, the Hollywood Theatre closed on May 29, 2011. Thank you to the owners for all the nights of laughs, tears and joy you brought us with your movies. We wish you much happiness. **************
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Gutenberg! The Musical!
Pete and I  saw Gutenberg!  The Musical! last year at the Fringe and it is
super insane and wacky.  We plan on seeing it again in the next couple of days but thought we should bring it to your attention now before the run ends.  The musical is actually a two-man low-budget pitch session trying to sell you –  the audience –  their historical fiction account of the life of Johannes Gutenberg (the man who invented the movable type press and printed one of the first Bibles.)  There is not a lot of historical accuracy in the play but
there are a lot of hats, references to dead babies and great comic bits. Gutenberg! The Musical!  is playing in North Vancouver at Presentation House from now to October 9.  Tickets are $24 to $28.Â
Information and review contained below:
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Vancouver TheatreSports League
Pete and I love to laugh and find that the most consistent comedy bang for your buck is at the Vancouver TheatreSports League. Having just moved
into their beautiful new home at The Improv Centre on Granville Island, it is a fun place to have a date. Yesterday, we went to the Friday 10pm Vancouver TheatreSports League show and it was hilarious. For those of you who have not been to VTSL (or not been for a while), they do improv comedy, which means the performers have no script. They rely upon suggestions from the audience to give them an idea and they must build a scene around it. We go a lot and always find the shows fun and entertaining. As a warning, the later the show, the looser the players get. If you are more conservative, you may want to stick with the earlier shows.Â
This was another relatively cheap date night as the cost for two tickets totalled $40. We each had one drink and that was about $15….so a super fun night for under $60.Â
If you want to expand your date night, the location gives you tons of options. Now that they are fully licenced, VTSL has a cool bar area where you can sip a drink and look out over the yachts anchored in False Creek either before or after the show. Prior to that you can grab a snack or dinner at any of the great restaurants on Granville Island like Sandbar, Bridges, Cats Social House etc. After the show, you can wander the boardwalk around the outer edge of the Island and look at the incredible views.Â
Get information on shows, ticket prices, cast lists and schedules at:
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