Valentine's Day is a couple of weeks away, and one event is seeking to provide a romantic atmosphere that combines an intimate dinner show with a rockin' dance party.
The first Angiepalooza Valentine's Day Show is set for Feb. 14 at Capital Bluffs Event Center, 1616 Oil Well Road. Angiepalooza is better known as the annual street party, typically in September in downtown Jefferson City, that seeks to provide a celebratory atmosphere for all those who have beaten cancer, those who are fighting cancer and those who have been lost to cancer. The annual event began in 2012 after event organizer Tim Tinnin lost his wife, Angie, to cancer.
The evening will begin with hors d'oeuvres and a happy hour, with Shrunken Head Tropical Lounge providing a cash bar throughout the night. Next up will be a dinner provided by Revel Catering with what Tinnin described as an old-school, romantic show featuring some classic crooning style singing the likes of Frank Sinatra and Michael Bublé. After dinner, local band Five Turn Knot will take the stage for the dance party that will finish the night off.
Tinnin noted chef Johnny Graham of Revel Catering is widely known as chef to the stars, having cooked for celebrities from Bruce Willis to Keith Richards, and his food is known for being top quality.
"Typically, Johnny's food, you're going to pay our ticket price just to have his food," Tinnin said, adding Graham has cancer in his family and has been extremely supportive of Angiepalooza's efforts.
But it's the dinner show that Tinnin is most excited about. In describing the type of show he is looking to put on, Tinnin recalled how he took his fiancée to see Michael Bublé perform live, something he wasn't particularly excited about. But when he saw the show, Tinnin said, he was completely blown away and began to think about how he could develop a show in the same style.
"I thought 'What a romantic, iconic show that would be,'" Tinnin said.
In deciding to host a Valentine's event, Tinnin said ideas like this just come to him, referring to himself as only "the boots on the ground." When he realized Valentine's Day was going to be on a Friday this year, he said he thought about the opportunity to do something that no one else in the area really provides.
"It is going to be such an incredible show," Tinnin said. "This one's so different (from other Angiepalooza events)."
The dinner show will include a piano, stand-up bass, drums and possibly an acoustic guitar, though the spotlight, both literally and figuratively, will be on the vocalists. Tinnin said eight singers will participate, singing classic and romantic songs from Etta James to John Legend.
"We want to really make it feel like one of the old lounge shows," Tinnin said. "The music will be phenomenal."
As part of the effort to make it feel more like a vintage show, Tinnin said he got a Shure 55 microphone, a classic model in the style of those used by the crooners of the 1940s and '50s. And, as he is already planning for next year's event, Tinnin said he's hoping to pull in the local symphony orchestra to help provide that big band sound.
This isn't the first time Tinnin has sought to bring Angiepalooza into the winter months. In 2018, he organized what was at the time planned to be an annual Angiepalooza Winter Luau in February at The Millbottom. While that turned out well, Tinnin said he began to realize Valentine's Day might be the better opportunity for a different event.
The Valentine's Day event will also serve as a fundraiser for Tinnin's latest initiative, the Red Slipper Warrior Project, which is an empowerment initiative designed to create that warrior mentality in women and girls fighting cancer while reminding them they're still beautiful. The project, which has not officially launched, provides red slippers and bags to those in treatment as part of that effort.
"If we do what we think we're going to do, we should have the money to buy enough product to take care of 1,000 women and little girls in the area," Tinnin said. "That is just incredibly exciting. I've been working on this for a while and we've been doing this little bits at a time but this is a chance to launch it on a bigger scale."
The event, which also will feature a silent auction with lots of donated items, will take place from 5:30 p.m. to midnight Feb. 14. Tickets are $75 each or $600 for a table of eight, and can be purchased through the event's Facebook page. While attendees are welcome to dress up, formal attire is not necessary.
"When this show is over, I think next year's will sell out the second (tickets go on sale)," Tinnin said. "Come out, see an incredibly high-class show with great food. And it's going to support this great cause, the Red Slipper Warrior Project."