Figuring out what to do for your sweetheart on Valentine’s Day can be stressful. Should you go to dinner? What about a show? Should you add some gifts? With so much to think about, it can take the romance out of the holiday built on the concept.
The folks at the Bigfork Center for the Performing Arts have a solution. On Feb. 15, they are hosting a romantic guitar concert, featuring country artist Chuck Suchy opening for Brazilian guitar phenom Diego Figueiredo.
And along with getting to see the show, anyone who purchases tickets for the event will also have access to a wide range of deals available in the Bigfork Village before and after the show.
“It’s definitely an effort to launch throughout town,” Mary Jo Naive, vice president of the BCPA and chair of the committee responsible for this concert, said. “We’ve had a lot of response to sign up for specials.”
The idea of “Before and After” deals started last year with the Crown of the Continent Guitar Festival, she said, and it made sense to keep it going for the BCPA’s annual Valentine’s Day concert.
Specials and deals range from walk-in purchase discounts, like 10 percent off the entire store at Donna Shanahan Interior Design or a free quarter-pound of fudge with a $20 purchase at Eva Gates, to dining and beverage deals, such as two pints for the price of one at the Flathead Lake Brewing Company or a free dessert with the purchase of two entrees at Grille 459.
There are also overnight lodging packages, which include luxury accommodations, dinner for two at a local restaurant, a bottle of fine wine upon arrival and two tickets to the Feb. 15 concert. These deals apply to the Bridge Street Cottages ($199 per couple) and the Marina Cay Resort ($229 per couple).
With such incentives, ticketholders are invited to come up for lunch and see the show, which is a 4 p.m., or come to the show and stay for dinner, Naive said. The BCPA wanted to host the show early in the evening out of concern for winter driving conditions, she said.
Ticketholders can also peruse the variety of shops in the village, perhaps finding that perfect gift for their sweetheart, Naive said.
As for the concert itself, Naive said the BCPA worked with the Crown of the Continent Guitar Foundation to secure Suchy and Figueiredo, and the musicians will fit the Valentine’s theme nicely.
“It’s very romantic,” she said.
Figueiredo is considered one of the best guitar players in the world, according to the guitar foundation. He’s won the prestigious Montreux Jazz Festival twice, and critics have written that he performs an unforgettable show, with a fusion of Brazilian music and jazz.
Local jazz favorites Don Caverly and Erica von Kleist will join Figueiredo for part of his performance, with Caverly on the upright bass and von Kleist on the saxophone and flute.
Concert opener Chuck Suchy is a singer and songwriter with a deep, abiding love for making music and the great American plains. As a working North Dakota farmer, Suchy’s music celebrates the land and those connected to it.
Tickets for the event cost $27 per adult, and $15 for children. Naive said that as of Feb. 3, about half of the theater seats had sold already, and she expects tickets to start flying off the shelves as Valentine’s Day approaches.
For a complete list of the Before and After deals, visit www.bigforktheater.org. Tickets are available at that same web address, or by calling the box office at 406-837-4885. Tickets are also available at Electric Avenue Gifts in Bigfork.