Love It or Hate It: A Valentine's Day Event for Everyone

Valentine's Day can be a polarizing holiday. For many, it's a day filled with excitement, love and, of course, the obligatory chocolates and flowers; it's a day to spend with the one you love. For others, it's a day that inspires feelings of woe and inadequacy, a day that reminds them of love lost or love that never was. And for some Scrooges, V-Day is nothing more than a corporate-sponsored holiday whose only purpose is to drum up profits from the sales of over-priced flowers and cheap, chalky and anatomically inaccurate candies with sappy little messages written on them.

However you feel about the holiday, there is an event for you in Denver this weekend. Here are a few suggestions:

For Lonely Souls 
ViewHouse Centennial is holding an event for all you lonelyhearts: a "Lock and Key" singles party with the Rocky Mountain Singles Group. It starts on the rooftop patio at 10 p.m. on February 14, and all guests are encouraged to grab a lock, or a key, for the opportunity to find their perfect match. Those who find five matches can enter a raffle for a gift card for their next date night at ViewHouse. The Rocky Mountain Singles Group will also be hosting a Single’s Prix-Fixe Dinner at 8 p.m. before the party. Call 303-888-0655 to make your reservation. 

For Wining and Dining 
Master Sommelier Bobby Stuckey and Chef Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson of Frasca Food and Wine will be offering a four-course, prix-fixe meal for $110 per person; optional wine pairings will be available as well. For reservations, call 303-442-6966 or visit Frasca’s website.

For Valentine's Misanthropes 
Valentine's Day at Mezcal is all about killing Cupid. You don't need a date for thei Kill Cupid weekend, which comes to a close on Valentine's Day with $5 drink specials, dinner "for 1" specials, a DJ and V-Day games with prizes. For more information, head over to Mezcal's Facebook page. 

For Health Enthusiasts 
They say that backbends open the heart, and what better time to open up your heart than on Valentine's Day Eve? From 6 to 8 p.m. tonight Yoga Mat instructors Rachael Brown and Elizabeth Schubert will be teaching you to Open Your Heart (and Eat Chocolate!). They will warm up the class with a sweat-inducing vinyasa session, and then work their way into yin-yoga perspective, which focuses on longer holds and uses abundant props. And, of course, there will be chocolate. The class is $20 per person or $35 per couple. To register, click here.

For Comedians
For those who prefer laughs over love on Valentine's Day, El Charrito may be the place for you. This month's Saturday Evening Show will feature comedians Christie Buchele, Matt Monroe and headliner Kristin Rand. And in honor of the holiday, the bar will be serving a three-course V-Day dinner for two for only $25. The comedy show starts at 7 p.m. and tickets are $5. For more information, head to elcharritobar.com.

For Stoners  
Ampersand Creations is putting on a romantic five-course meal and cannabis pairing on Valentine's Day made to maximize your cannabinoid reception and aphrodisiacal senses. Tickets are $150 each and include live music and a demonstration of a CBD-oil massage. Dinner starts at 7 p.m. at Green Labs Co-Working Space; VIP and group tickets are also available. For the menu and and more information, click here.


For Beer Lovers 
Post Brewing will be serving up a three-course V-Day meal with beverage pairings — two beers and one wine — for $60 per person from 4 to 9 p.m. The brewery will also be tapping its 2015 release of Lovey Dovey Belgian-ish Style Amber Ale, the self-proclaimed "most romantic beer in the world.”  For more information, click here. 

For Seafood Lovers
Oysters are one of the most notorious aphrodisiacs, so why not get your Valentine's night started right by slurping a few back? Jax Fish House in LoDo will be offering a prix-fixe, five-course tasting menu as well as a full raw bar and special a la carte items. The prix-fixe menu is $65 per person, with a $35 optional wine pairing. Call the restaurant at 303-292-5767 to see if they have any spots left.

For Photogenic Love Birds
Elway's Downtown is offering guests a chance to enjoy favorites from its a la carte dinner menu or a special, four-course dinner priced at $75 per person. And just to make sure you never forget the evening, the restaurant will also have a "kissing booth" so that diners can take home their own photo strip commemorating the night. For reservations — if you can still get one — call 303-312-3107 


For information on dozens of culinary events around town, visit our online Food & Drink listings — and if you have information for a culinary event you'd like included in our online calendar, send it to [email protected].