Archive for the ‘Food and Drink Dates’ Category
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Say Wha?! and Sara Bynoe
If you like smart comedy, literature and something different, we have a great cheap date idea for you. It is not so much one event that you need to find
but a comedienne/ producer in town by the name of Sara Bynoe. Sara runs a few monthly events around town and they all make for great date nights.We recently attended Say Wha?! a monthly reading of BAD writings done by local comics at the Cottage Bistro on Main Street. It is hilarious…and smart….and fun. The show and the intimate setting of the bistro reminded me of something that you would expect to see in the underground clubs of New York or San Francisco, but it’s here!!! WhooHoo! As a date, it is a great chill night of drinking cold beers, eating snacks and watching really talented performers reading (and commenting on) some absolutely horrific writing.  (Note: The next one is May 18th at 8pm) So, put that BA in English Literature to use and go check it out!
If you missed (or enjoyed) Say Wha?!, Sara runs another night as well called the Teen Angst Poetry Night where guests read excerpts from their teenage lives. (You know…. we all have those teen love letters and diaries somewhere…pull them out and let’s hear them!).Â
And, if you need a cheap date idea for the girls, why not go to another fun Sara event, called Dance, Dance, Party, Party. This is a girls only free form dance held every Thursday night at the Mount Pleasant Community Centre. There is no teacher. No judgement. Just great tunes and a “You can do what you want Girlfriend because we will support you†attitude. Drop in is only $7.Â
Here are some contact links for Sara so you can check out her work:
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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. -
Steveston Village
It had been a while since we had been to Steveston. On a beautiful, sunny winter day, Pete and I decided to go for a nice walk to stretch our legs and to work off some excess Christmas calories. Steveston was the perfect choice for our walk.Â
Fishing boats!
We took our dog and walked a nice loop around Garry Point Park. It was quite cold and windy, but it allowed us to watch some brave folks try to paraglide. The scenery in Steveston is just fantastic – fishing boats, the water, the heritage buildings – it is quaint and relaxing.Â
After our stroll around the park, we wandered the short distance to the village itself. We passed the Gulf of Georgia Cannery, which is an interesting museum about what life
The Gulf of Georgia Cannery Museum
was like for the people who lived and worked at the cannery so many years ago. Admission is cheap ($7-ish) and is worth a walk through if you have the time and the interest.Â
We continued along the boardwalk and passed even more fishing boats (they can be a great place to buy fresh fish when it is in season). There are plenty of restaurants in the Village core but this was a walking and not an eating date, so we kept on going. We did stop and grab a coffee at one of the many coffee shops(seriously…there are a lot of coffee shops…the people here must never sleep) and kept on strolling. You can walk or bike forever on the boardwalk.
View of the Village core
The actual path goes for miles along the Fraser River and it is completely flat so it is very easy walking or bike riding. The views are wonderful. We found Steveston Village to be a a great place to spend some time. We will be back soon.
Click here for an information site about Steveston Village
Lovely Fraser River
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YVR (Vancouver Airport)
Okay, going to YVR on a date has probably been one of our stranger date nights thus far but it turned out to be super fun. Pete was reminiscing about the restaurant and bar at LAX called Encounters  and how it is a destination place for drinks, dinner and plane watching. That got us to wondering if there is a neat place to have a date at our beautiful Vancouver airport. Plus, Pete has been dying to ride the new Canada Line to YVR for a while now so our strange date night idea was borne. I had never been to the airport without good reason – you know like flying in or out of the country – so I actually liked the idea of spending time there without worrying about the weight of my luggage or if the plane’s bar had enough booze to ease my intense fear of flying.Â
So to YVR we went. The ride on the Canada Line was like any ride on a skytrain. There was the usual mix of interesting/ funny/ rude/ smelly people and Vancouver scenery. When we got to the airport, it was unusually quiet for a Friday night. We wandered around and were a little disheartened that the only restaurants we could find, at first, were White Spot, Milestones and some assorted food court (Read: greasy) options. But we did find a neat plane observation area located above the food court in the domestic terminal.  Then we remembered that the Fairmont Hotel was attached to the airport (in the International terminal above US departures – it is in the predeparture area) and so we trekked there. Inside, we found the Jetside Bar and the GlobeYVR Restaurant
Both places overlook the runway and have a lovely west coast feel to them – sort of like a lodge at Whistler if you know what I mean. We decided to hang
The elevators that take you up to the Fairmont Hotel at YVR
 in the Jetside Bar because we only wanted to have a drink and some appetizers. We chatted briefly with a fun couple from Texas who had never been to Vancouver before this trip. They had a fabulous time. (Yeah, Vancouver!!). The food and the drinks were great and it was fun to watch the planes take off and land. Naturally we started brainstorming our next vacation – both real and fantasy! As a side note, both the Jetside bar and the GlobeYVR restaurant have an offer which gives you one two zone Canada Line pass for purchases over $25. Check their website for details
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- Say Wha?! and Sara Bynoe
- All Work and No Dates
- Cheap Date Ideas for Valentine’s Day
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- Clova Theatre
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- Show Us Your Wits!
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