Archive for the ‘Limited Run’ 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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Snowshoeing at Cypress
This has been my favourite date so far. Now that winter is here, it means that we can play in the snow on our local mountains. I must admit – while Pete is super fit, I am not very athletic. I have always been scared of skiing and snowboarding, because I am clumsy. The chances of me requiring snow patrol assistance for such activities is guaranteed 100%…..BUT, snowshoeing is different. If you can walk, you can snowshoe.Â
Today, we went snowshoeing for the first time at Cypress. The conditions were perfect. During the day, you can go unescorted on the trails. The snowshoe paths are well marked. (but you should remember that parts of the trails intersect with the cross country skiers so you need to be careful crossing their routes!). A snowshoe day pass costs $10 or you can rent snowshoes with pass for about $25 We took the easy trail since we hadn’t
Hollyburn Lodge: A great place for hot chocolate!
been on the mountain before and it was very easy. At a certain point, we ventured onto the advanced trail for a challenge.  For most of the time, we were alone walking in a beautiful winter wonderland. It was very peaceful and fun. I guess that is what happens when you showshoe midweek. At about the half way point of our walk, we found Hollyburn Lodge which offered a chance to take a break, grab a snack and have some hot chocolate. (there is also a warming hut further up the mountain). If you want an evening walk in the snow, Cypress also offers guided evening trail tours…and fondue tours as well.Â
Check out their site for further info:
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Ice Skating at Robson Square Ice Rink
It is not winter in Canada without ice skating…..or at least watching ice skating. Another tradition in Vancouver just opened today – free ice skating
Skaters inside the Robson Square Ice Rink
 at Robson Square Ice Rink. Yes, there is a lot of construction going on around the rink (located underneath the Vancouver Art Gallery) but it is worth the hassle of getting there. So, Pete and I decided to have a date night by strolling Robson Street, grabbing a hot chocolate from Café Artigiano on Hornby and watching ice skating at the Robson Square Rink.   Okay, yes it would have been better to have a date night where we actually went ice skating – after all, you can rent skates at the rink for only $3 – but both Pete and I failed skating in school so we felt it was in the interest of public safety that we keep our crash and tumble act to ourselves. Still, it was highly amusing to watch the skaters – some experienced and some not – out on the ice. The rink is open seven days a week until the end of February 2011 between the hours of 9 am to 9pm. On Friday and Saturdays, it is open until 11pm.
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Fright Nights at the PNE
I am not a huge fan of things that go bump in the night but Pete loves them so this past Sunday we found ourselves at Fright Night. Fright Night happens every October when the PNE fairgrounds are converted into a big haunted playhouse. The tickets were a bit pricey – $28/ adult but we bought them online for $25 each. We went late (at around 9pm) and it was busy but still fun. We had a great time people watching in the line up. It is definitely a younger demographic at this event as I am sure we were the only people in line who could legally buy our own beer but the vibe was super fun.Â
There are a variety of theme haunted houses for you to visit. Inside each house the mood is super creepy and you will scream when things/ people/ creatures pop out at you.  I can’t image touring these haunted houses if you are high It could be dangerous for you and the poor student actors who are poorly paid to make you scream!  (although some of our line up friends were up to the challenge – there was enough “skunk” in the air to ensure none of us would pass an Olympic drug test).Â
Before leaving, we grabbed a bag of the requisite mini donuts and headed for home. It was a fun/ scary date night.Â
Fright Night runs until Oct 31st.
Here is some info:
Fright Nights at the Pacific National Exhibition
PS: Oh and yes, you can ride the wooden roller coaster but after seeing the Fright Night promo video don’t say I didn’t warn you!!! 🙂
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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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Summer Night Market
Okay, it’s officially fall but Sunday night Peter and I decided to check out the Summer Night Market in Richmond. I remember going a few years ago when it was the Richmond Night Market and had a vague recollection of it being kind of lame….sort of like going to a massive dollar store that served noodles. But the market has grown up since then.Â
We arrived later in the evening (around 9pm).  Even though it was dark when we arrived, it was still super busy. We paid for parking at the Home Depot lot ($5) and walked there.  You have to walk a few blocks to get to the market – so, gals, wear your comfy shoes.  It feels weird to be trudging around an industrial area late at night but just follow the crowds and you will get there!Â
The market looked beautiful lit up in the dark. Â Admission is free so we just
Latern kiosk
wandered in.  Inside the market are a lot of food and vendor stands. We chose to do some “window shopping†first and began wandering the rows of merchandize stands. There you can buy everything from cell phone covers, to underwear to Korean Karaoke discs. Anything cheap and sparkly seemed to fly off the shelf. Bling is your friend if you are a vender at the Night Market.  Â
During our wanders, we stumbled upon a fantastic busker named Dynamite. We rarely stay and watch a busker’s full
Dynamite the busker was dynamite!!
act but this guy was so good at audience patter we couldn’t help but stay and watch. He juggled and did acrobatics – and by the end he was riding a 10 foot tall unicycle in his underwear – so much fun.Â
Next we wandered off in search of snacks…in the centre of the market, there are stands selling a variety of street food (most are yummy Asian based fare). As a note, I am very picky about eating street food (Pete on the other hand has a caste iron stomach will
Yummy!
eat anything, anywhere) . I was relieved to know that all stalls are inspected for food safety.  We decided to share everything we ordered in order to sample a bigger variety. By the end of the evening we had consumed:
- Chinese dumplings (pork dumplings with a nice sauce inside)
- Hurricane Fries (a single potato swirled on a stick with sauce)
- Pork and chicken skewers
- Dragon Beard candy (a sweet light sugar and flour delicacy)
- Squid (Pete loved it; not for me!)
- Mango bubble tea
Mollie's Mini Delights aka deep fried oreo heaven
- Deep fried Oreos. (Amazing!)
By the end of the night, we were very full. While eating, we wandered around and listened to the live music in the main stage area. The night was a very inexpensive evening. Food cost us about $28. This coupled with the $5 we gave Dynamite the busker as a tip and the $5 parking meant we had a date night for under $40. We stayed for about 2 hours and had a really good time. It is now on our To Do list for next year.Â
Our Thoughts on Summer Night Market:
- A nice informal place to people watch
- Has a neat kitschy vibe
- Inexpensive outing
- Fun to nosh on a wide variety of mostly Asian street food.Â
- Must like walking – not a lot of places to sit
- It can be busy; need to be in a relaxed non-hurried state of mind.Â
The market closes for the summer on September 26th so you have a couple more weekends to check it out. Details are below:
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