COVID-safe Valentine’s date: SB café, UCSB Arts & Lectures team up for dinner & virtual show

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The first Valentine's Day during the pandemic presents a new challenge for couples looking for a COVID-safe romantic evening.

UC Santa Barbara Arts & Lectures is partnering with La Paloma Café in downtown Santa Barbara to help solve that problem by creating a "dinner and a show" Valentine's Day evening.

“So much of going out to a performance is grabbing dinner and a show,” said Meghan Bush, UCSB Arts & Lectures Deputy Director. “And obviously the ability to do that has changed dramatically. So we thought, ‘How can we still recreate that experience for our patrons?’”

Arts & Lectures decided to cater one upcoming performance to Valentine's Day weekend, while helping out a local restaurant.

“Go to a local restaurant and get take out share a meal with your loved one, and then if you happen to tune into one of our concerts and enjoy music with us, we would love that too,” Bush said. “But our real objective is really just to lift up our community right now.”

People can buy tickets to a virtual show featuring revered musicians--cellist Alisa Weilerstein and pianist Inon Barnatan--while ordering takeout.

“Alisa Weilerstein is right up there with Yo-Yo Ma as one of the foremost exponents of Bach’s solo cello suite, which is in and of itself some of the most romantic music in the world,” Bush said. “And then her accompanist Inon Barnatan is actually one of the most renowned piano players of the day… They quite literally make beautiful music together.”

The show will be live on Friday night, but ticket-buyers can watch the show any time throughout the weekend as long as they buy before a Friday evening deadline.

The former Paradise Café in downtown Santa Barbara is once again known as La Paloma Café. It has a special Valentine's Day takeout menu catered to the Arts & Lectures virtual concert.

“We wanted to create a menu that you can take home, open up and enjoy with your loved one and feel that love from La Paloma,” said restaurant executive chef Jeremy Tummel. “So the tamale, for example, is just a classic dish of love in my opinion."

The menu also includes Tri-tip and other favorites, as well as to-go cocktails.

The restaurant re-launched in the fall, but was only open for a few weeks before state restrictions shut down dining-in.

La Paloma plans to reopen its patio on Thursday, and this weekend's event could bring a heartwarming business boost.

“Arts and Lectures is a great partner,” Jeremy said. “So it’s a good, it’s a great first stepping stone for us… And I think we’re a great representation of old and new history here in Santa Barbara. So we’re hoping to stamp a new chapter in the book here.”

A link to purchase show tickets and order dinner from La Paloma is available here.