A Fashionable Date

My latest date with my wife took us to one my favorite places in Los Angeles, the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM) Museum & Galleries, for the seventh annual “The Outstanding Art of Television Costume Design” exhibit.

The exhibit features over 120 costumes from 15 TV shows and TV movies, including "Downton Abbey," the Liberace bio-pic “Behind the Candelabra," "Mr Selfridge," "Game of Thrones," and "House of Cards." These are the actual garments used on the show, giving you a chance to see some of the work that goes into your favorites and to see what size the actors actually are (holy moly, Michael Douglas and Matt Damon are small dudes).

Nick Verreos, star of TV’s “Project Runway” and a FIDM spokesman, calls the FIDM museum "one of the hidden treasures for costume design in the entire United States." Verreos said he has traveled the world and nobody offers a more up close look the clothing than FIDM

Kim poses with Project Runway's Nick Verreos.

Now our date was a bit high-fluting since we were there for the reception and media preview (see the Valley Press Showcase section for Aug. 9 for my story on the exhibit). Our date was filled with gourmet mac and cheese, incredible tacos, desserts,and Bombay Sapphire martinis and Grey Goose screwdrivers. We also got to meet some of the designers, see "histo-tainer" Charles Phoenix (a favorite of ours and a FIDM grad,and Sheriff Lee Baca, who was looking rather glum as his wife shopped in the FIDM store.

You, however, can make the exhibit part of a very inexpensive date (did I mention the exhibit is free?). The exhibit runs through Oct. 19. The museum, located at 919 S. Grand Avenue, is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturdays. Parking is available under the FIDM building, entrance on 9th Street, or in surrounding lots. Sorry, I don't know what the parking rates are. If you are relatively hale and hearty, my recommendation is to ditch the car and use the Metro rail system. The museum is about a three block walk from the 7th/ Metro station.

Costumes from Downton Abbey.

There are a couple of cheap places to eat nearby, but my advice is to pack a picnic and eat at Grand Hope Park, which is right outside the museum's doors, or eat at Grand Park. Check the schedule for Grand Park, there is almost always something going on over there, including farmer markets and yoga classes during the week and free movie screenings on Saturdays through the summer. If you're going to an evening event, get there early. That place does fill up.

This and That
 In the mood for some culture on your next date? By all means check out the Independent Shakespeare Co. at the old zoo grounds of Griffith Park. Every Thursday through Friday evening through Sept. 1, the company puts on one of the bard's plays. This August they are doing "Macbeth" and "As You Like it." The shows are free, but they will be soliciting donations. Give as your circumstances allow. We saw this company's production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" last summer and it was fantastic. It pains me that we haven't been able to get over there so far this summer.

Do arrive early and definitely pack a picnic. The show we went to filled much of the meadow. If you want to guarantee yourself a spot, you can reserve tickets from Goldstar for a service charge to sit in their area. Last year the Goldstar sitting was off to the right, as your looking at the stage. My advice, go early, explore the old zoo grounds, and settle in for picnic before the show.

There's another Shakespeare company that you might want to check out, "The Young, Classically Trained (and thoroughly broke) Downtown Repertory Company. They are staging Romeo and Juliet on weekends from Aug. 8 through Aug. 31 at the Pico House right across from Union Station and Olivera Street. Their productions are also free, but I suspect they too will be passing around the hat. I haven't seen this company, but I love that they are using the historic Pico House, built around 1870, for their productions. I also like the fact they are convenient to the Metro Red Line.

One of the sources of entertainment information I forgot to mention last week was libraries. My wife and I recently attended a presentation at the L.A. Central Library on Aggie Underwood, the first woman to become city editor of a major newspaper, and a couple of the more curious crimes she covered. We combined that presentation with a cross-town trip to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art to see the Stanley Kubrick exhibit. Cost of this entertainment: zip. The lecture was free and we’re LACMA members.

One more thing, keep you eyes open for opportunities. Coming out of the Kubrick exhibit we noticed one of the restaurants by the parking lot was having happy hour. We had a pizza and three beers for about $20, tip included. The restaurant also validated our parking.

Tools of the Trade

My wife once called me “Captain Romance” to one of her friends. It’s true. I have a romantic streak a mile wide. I love taking my wife out on dates. Who wouldn’t? She’s adorable and I love her to bits.

My title as Captain Romance is facing some challenges these days. We’re having a bit of a cash flow problem. Some ill-advised IRA withdraws, a hospital bill, and student loans that have come home to roost have choked off much of (all, really) of our entertainment dollars.

Does this mean giving up date nights with my wife? Allow me to go street: Oh, hell no.

I’m becoming a self-taught wiz at finding great dates that are either free (my favorite phrase these days) or deeply discounted (my second favorite phrase). We have gone to plays and concerts, attended fundraisers, and seen exhibitions. We’re still going out and having a ball - and we're barely making a dent in our finances while doing it. I’m still Captain Romance, and my wife’s friends are a tad jealous.

That’s what this blog is about: good dates on the cheap. I’ll recap what we did, how much it cost, whether it was worth it and how you can do it too. There will be an occasional splurge thrown in from time to time, when our fortunes allow, but for the most part these will be great low-cost dates in and around Los Angeles County.

First up, a look at the tools I use in setting up dates.

Information.

You can’t go if you don’t know. One of the great things about living in this county is the incredible number of events going on, you just got to look for them.

Start with your hometown newspaper. Check out its entertainment section and its community calendar. Check out the calendar of your local college. You would be amazed at how much talent there is in your own community.



One of my new favorite venues is downtown L.A's Grand Park, located between City Hall and the Music Center. There are regular free events, including concerts, dance performances, and movie screenings. I keep track of what's going on there through the park's Facebook page. If you do go to one of their evening events, go early or risk being crowded out. Take a picnic and make an evening of it.

Among the publications and websites I bird-dog are the Los Angeles Times Calendar section, Yelp’s events page, and the LA Weekly. LA Weekly has a regular section on things to do for the week. I also like their slideshow section to see what events look cool and that I should make a mental note of to go to in the future.

The Discounters


Goldstar

One service to definitely sign up for is Goldstar, a discount ticket service. You can sign up for free at their website. They send out a weekly email on what shows tickets are available. They also occasionally send out emails on special promotions. They also have comp tickets to several events a week.

My wife and I use Goldstar often. We've seen theater shows like Wicked, War Horse and The 39 Steps; ballet performances; and concerts - all deeply discounted.

Fillaseat

One membership service to consider is Fillaseat. When a venue needs to fill seats for a performance they sometimes turn to Fillaseat, which provides tickets free to its members. I say "consider" because there are drawbacks. First, the service costs $80 for a dual membership. We were able to get ours for $40 through Living Social.

The selection of shows is limited. Most of the offerings I've seen so far are for comedy clubs, small theaters, and concerts from lesser known acts. Bear in mind too that you can find discount tickets for many of the shows they do offer.

We're early in our membership, but it has already penciled out for us. My wife and I attended two performances by the A Noise Within repertory company (an excellent company, by the way) in Pasadena, and one production at the Odyssey Theater in West Los Angeles. Those tickets would have set us back $200 to $250.

You do have to be diligent and check their site often because they don't send out notices of shows. And if you do see something you like, jump on it because tickets often go fast.



Living Social, Groupon, and Blackboard Eats

Living Social and Groupon are deal of the day websites offer discounts on products and services. We've used Groupon on a couple of occasions to get discounted meals at Traxx, one of L.A.'s great restaurants.
Blackboard Eats sends out emails with codes for discounts on restaurants. The drawback is you often have to pull the trigger quickly, sometimes less than 24 hours. We've used it once so far to get a great discount at Drago Central.



Memberships

Memberships, such as to zoos and museums, can be a good way to save money, but you need to make sure they pencil out. Look at how often you would really use the membership - not how often you imagine you would use it. If you go to an attraction once or maybe twice, odds are a membership won't help, but if you go three or four times, odds are pretty good that a membership will work for you.

Memberships often offer discounts at shops and some, like the Los Angeles Zoo, offer discounts for entry at other attractions.

Still uncertain? Ask for the membership as a birthday or Christmas present. That way you can test drive the membership without footing the bill.

If you do get a membership, use it and make sure you get your money's worth.