A Funny Valentine(2)

Cupid shot down

Catherine went to the bar with a woman friend to start their night. Neither had a date. Fortunately for them, on the night there were a number of single's events where they could enjoy time away from boyfriends or even thoughts of boyfriends.

She and her friend saw an advertisement that grabbed their attention. The ad featured a dead and bloodied Cupid, shot in the back by an arrow along with the words: "Kill Valentine's Day."

Lea Sansat, who came up with the "Kill Valentine's Day" concept, said that it attracted a lot of attention and she felt the anti-Valentine's Day advertising struck a special chord with people. It certainly resonated with her, as she remembered the times in her past when she did not like this day at all.

"I'm not single, but I used to be and I used to be depressed on that day, like other single people. So I thought it would be funny to kill Valentine's Day. You know, when you are single, you want to forget about this day," said Sansat.

She said that she was happy to bring people together who might otherwise spend the day alone at home. While out, they could meet people and forget their problems. A positive mental state is the key to future happiness, with or without a mate, Sansat said.

While less graphic in their promotions, other Shanghai event planners created parties for single people on the day. Brownstone manager Shane Pan hosted a singles' party at his bar. The party included a "master fortuneteller," who read the guests' palms and could possibly have guided some of the guests towards a new mate.

"The reason we were having a party for singles is that almost everyone else was doing something for couples. We were trying to reach out to single ladies and single guys," Pan said.

Just for fun

The Rabbit Hole was another scene for singles' action. Duilherme Higashi, the Rabbit Hole manager, said that most of the people attending the party were not angry at the love-focused day, but wanted some other way, beyond the typical male-female dinner date, to celebrate it.

"Not everyone has someone. And it's right for single people to have something to do for Valentine's Day. So we had this party for people to have fun," Higashi said.

Jason Yin, Les Suites Orient manager, agreed with Higashi's sentiment. "Valentine's Day is very special and we want everyone to be happy, not just married people or people with boyfriends or girlfriends."

Yin said that Les Suites Orient organized a Valentine's Day party every year and each year had a different theme. This year's theme focused on attracting single women, though Yin said that he was happy to include men or couples as well. Menu items at the party were named after Carrie Bradshaw, Samantha Jones, Charlotte Goldenblatt and Miranda Hobbes, the characters from Sex and the City.

Elsewhere in the city many chose to spend Valentine's Day without a valentine of any shape and without a celebration of any sort. For them, the day was like any other day, and they played pub games or listened to music.

In at least one of these locations, there was a romance-related drama which saw a man standing in an ornamental pond of water across the street from the lively Bee Dees Music Bar on Dagu Road railing loudly against Valentine's Day.

"It's a load of nonsense. People get together and they say they're in love. But it's only for one day and they go out and they make promises to each other that they don't keep," raved Jonathan Solis, who said he was single.

Solis continued his outside rant proclaiming Valentine's "a greeting card company scam." "It's no good being single on Valentine's Day," he said before he was led off home.