Valentine’s Day events and things to do for singles

Slam down those Valentine’s Day blues with Lucha VaVOOM’s Amor Impossible show. The masked wrestlers aren’t the only ones showing some skin at this extravaganza of Mexican lucha libre wrestling-meets-striptease showcase. The “buxoticas” add some serious sexo to the violencia on display. Expect cartoonish costumes, an edgy rock ’n’ roll/rock en español aesthetic, crowd-pleasing hijinks from hula hooping to pole dancing and ladies who bare it all save for pasties and the proverbial fig leaf.

Dart around Venice in your undies to raise money for the Children’s Tumor Foundation during this annual Valentine’s Day-themed 15-minute run and pre- and post-dash dance party.

Who better to love on Valentine’s Day (or any day, really) than yourself? Peruse the Pleasure Chest’s aisles of toys, adult flicks and other titillating treasures and treat yourself to something sexy, then take yourself and your new purchase home to bed. Studies prove that self-lovin’ leads to a longer, healthier life (which means more time for self-lovin’, and on it goes).

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Originated in New York City, the Moth is an open-mic storytelling show that has spread across the country, all the way to Los Angeles, where there’s certainly no dearth of performers. For the post-Valentine’s Day edition, the show’s theme is “Love Hurts,” in which storytellers will retell a five-minute tale of a time that love made them go “ouch”—kinky stuff included.

My Best Friend’s Wedding a little too mushy for you? Show up to the Greek Theatre the next night for Cinespia’s drive-in screening of Gone Girl—because nothing says Valentine’s like a hypnotically perverse David Fincher film.

Feeling bullish on romantic partnerships this Valentine’s Day? Then head over to Severance’s Break Up Bar, an anti-V-Day pop-up inside Palihotel on Melrose Avenue. Each $22 ticket includes indoor or outdoor seating, complimentary sparkling wine and one themed cocktail (like the tequila-based I Dealt With Your Parents For Years). Add your own sticky note to Severance’s wall of broken relationships and watch classic breakup movies on a projection screen as you commiserate among fellow singletons.

Okay, so it’s a little aggressive, but if you’re feeling any misplaced animosity toward your ex, your newlywed friends or just the consumerist-driven, made-up-holiday insanity going on all around you, shooting off a few rounds—in the safe, regulated environment of the L.A. Gun Club—might be the healthiest way to ease your frustrations.

Feel like you have this empty hole where your heart is? Don’t worry, it’s just the hole in your apron—and White Bark Workwear can help you patch it. For Valentine’s, the kitchen apparel company is hosting button reattaching, hole mending and patch sewing for your clothes and aprons at its Koreatown workshop (2922 1/2 West Pico Boulevard). While you wait, snack on a slice of pizza from its pop-up by chef Jack Goode. 

Spend Valentine’s Day at the Academy Museum for a screening of Scarecrow in a Garden of Cucumbers, a nearly-lost musical satire starring Andry Warhol Factory superstar Holly Woodlawn. The Academy Film Archive scooped up the 35mm negative of the 1972 film about a decade ago.

Hey, sad sack—instead of moping around all day feeling lonely, think of all the folks in L.A. who are less worried about getting a date and more worried about getting a meal. Volunteer some time and we guarantee you’ll end the day with a lot more love in your heart than if you’d stayed home with the cat and your Netflix queue.