Guide For A LOVE-ly Valentine's Day
Forget flowers, candy and dinner. Okay, not really…but why not change up or add something a little more unique to your V-Day repertoire this year? Whether you're happily married, just starting a new relationship, or single and loving it, here are some of the best events and offerings in the City of (Brotherly) Love this Valentine's Day weekend. – Chelsea Karnash
Til Death Do Us Part
Laurel Hill Cemetery
3822 Ridge Ave.
Philadelphia, Pa.
Feb. 12, 2 p.m.
$20 general admission, $17 members, $15 seniors and students
www.thelaurelhillcemetery.org
At the Laurel Hill Cemetery, "til death do us part" isn't just a wedding refrain, it's literal. Tour the cemetery with your guide, who will tell the love stories of those interred beneath your feet. Whether those stories end happily-ever-after or in tragedy remains to be seen, but it's a given that this slightly creepy cemetery tour will be picturesque, interesting and totally unique.
Somebody Loves Me: The Music of George Gershwin
World Café Live
3025 Walnut St.
Philadelphia, Pa.
Feb. 12, 7 p.m.
See website for prices
www.worldcafelive.com
Enjoy a night of Gershwin classics like "Embraceable You" and "I Got Rhythm" with Demetria Joyce Bailey and her trio, plus dinner and drinks a la carte. If that's not a V-Day excuse to dress up, don red lipstick and mentally transport yourself back to the Roaring Twenties, I don't know what is.
Bad Cupid: An Anti-Valentine's Cabaret
L2 Restaurant
2201 South St.
Philadelphia, Pa.
Feb. 12, 8 p.m.
$15
www.diversionproductions.com
For the cynics among us, there's "Bad Cupid," a "raunchy, sexy cabaret." That cherubic, chubby Cupid we all know and love? No more—in this show, he loves drinking, smoking and porn, and he hates his job. Show up early for a pre-cabaret drink to drown your Valentine's sorrows...or just to gear up for all of the laughs this performance will is sure to induce.
Mural Arts Love Train & Screening of Love Letter
Love Park Welcome Center
1599 JFK Blvd.
Philadelphia, Pa.
Feb.13, Check-in by 2:30 p.m.
$80 per couple
www.muralarts.org
Philadelphia's Love Train is seriously special: it's the only one of its kind in the world. Now in its second year, the train takes couples on a slow ride around the city, while one lucky pair is married en route…by Mayor Nutter. Post-tour, there will be a champagne and chocolate reception, plus a screening of Love Letter, which tells the story of the Love Letter mural project through documentary and narrative.
Romeo & Juliet
The Academy of Music
1420 Locust St.
Philadelphia, Pa.
Feb. 13, 2:30 p.m.
$10-122
www.operaphila.org
If you prefer star-crossed lovers to fairy-tale endings, the Academy of Music's new production of Romeo & Juliet is right up your alley. In this version, the feuding families are portrayed as rival fashion houses, and Juliet is the face of The House of Capulet. Think the same general plotline and classic French music (though with English translations), just updated and paired with vibrant, avant-garde costumes created by students from Drexel University's Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design, Moore College of Art & Design and Philadelphia University.
Wine & Chocolate Pairing
Chaddsford Winery
632 Baltimore Pike
Chadds Ford, Pa.
Feb. 12 & 13; 1 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 4 p.m.
$25
www.chaddsford.com
Go classic with a twist at Chaddsford Winery's wine and chocolate pairings. Nibble three-time "Best of Philly"-winner Éclat's luscious and uniquely flavored chocolates, and sip from a selection of six Chaddsford wines. With three relatively short classes offered on both Saturday and Sunday, you can easily fit another activity or two from this list in as well.
Philadelphia Belle Valentine's Day Cruises
Pier 3 at Penn's Landing
Philadelphia, Pa.
Feb. 12 & 14, 7 – 10:30 p.m.
$74.90 for Sat, $69.90 for Mon
www.philadelphiabelle.com
Hop aboard the Philadelphia Belle for a swanky night on the Delaware with your loved one. You'll enjoy a STARR Events-inspired four-course meal, plus a glass of champagne and the beautiful views from the cabin. Live music and a red rose for your special person completes the picture.
Valentine's Day Ghost Tours
Starting at City Tavern (138 S. 2nd St.) and ending at Powel House (244 S. 3rd St.)
Philadelphia, Pa.
Feb. 12, 13, 14; 8 p.m., with an additional 9:30 p.m. tour on Sat.
$18
www.ghosttour.com
The notion of spirits wandering the city streets is romantic in and of itself, but coupled with stories of love won and lost and the glow of candlelight, it becomes borderline cinematic. Now add yourself and your significant other, bundled up and cuddling close, to this candlelit tour.
Singing Valentines
Sounds of Liberty Barbershop Chorus
Anywhere in the Greater Philadelphia Area
Feb. 12, 13, 14
$60
www.soundsofliberty.org
Leave your loved one speechless with an old-school Singing Valentine--the Sounds of Liberty Chorus will serenade your sweetie anywhere in the Greater Philly area during Valentine's Day weekend. They'll also deliver a rose and personalized card...wearing tuxedos, of course.
Wild at Heart
The Philadelphia Zoo
3400 W. Girard Ave.
Philadelphia, Pa.
Feb. 12 & 13
Packages range from $20-50
(215) 243-5235 for tickets
www.philadelphiazoo.org
There are few things more adorable than the playful, fuzzy, innocence of animals, but animals in love? That might just be too much cuteness to handle. Before I lapse into squee mode, here's a summary of the Philly Zoo's Wild at Heart: a personalized tour by a zoo expert of some famous animal couples, hot chocolate, and the chance to ooh and aww over as many of the zoo's 1300 animals as you can, with your own sweetheart.
Sweetheart Skate
Blue Cross RiverRink
Columbus Blvd. at Market St.
Philadelphia, Pa.
Feb. 14
6 – 9 p.m.
$20 per person (includes skate rental)
215-923-6533 or email riverrink@delawareriverwaterfrontcorp.com for tickets
www.riverrink.com
Brush up your pairs-skating skills and head to the RiverRink's Sweatheart Skate. Ladies get a complimentary red flower, and with a DJ, photo "keepsakes," and prizes handed out by the CW Philly crew and B 101, it's almost like the prom all over again. Without the bad hair and ugly dress. And on ice.
