{"id":477592,"date":"2026-02-13T15:39:13","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T15:39:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/477592\/"},"modified":"2026-02-13T15:39:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T15:39:13","slug":"singles-to-find-love-at-bars-and-pubs-this-valentines-day-as-it-falls-on-a-saturday-for-first-time-in-11-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/477592\/","title":{"rendered":"Singles to find love at bars and pubs this Valentines Day as it falls on a Saturday for first time in 11 years"},"content":{"rendered":"

Perth<\/a> is officially under Cupid\u2019s spell.<\/p>\n

For the first time in 11 years, Valentine\u2019s Day has landed on a Saturday \u2014 a calendar quirk that has couples planning to paint the town red and singles daring to believe they won\u2019t be flying solo this time next year.<\/p>\n

But a modern shake-up is revealing the love in the air isn\u2019t confined to traditional romance.<\/p>\n

Across the city, restaurants<\/a>, bars<\/a> and pubs are rolling out experiences designed to celebrate connection in all its forms \u2014 from romance to friendship and even family<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And in a rare twist of fate, it may be Perth\u2019s singles who are looking forward to the unofficial holiday the most.<\/p>\n

Single men have taken to social media with a realisation that has sparked unprecedented optimism among the unattached.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you realise Valentine\u2019s Day is on a Saturday night so everyone out must be single,\u201d one TikTok user wrote. The post racked up 1.7 million likes and thousands of comments from people admitting they were, for once, excited to be single on February 14.<\/p>\n

Another viral clip, liked more than 580,000 times, showed a young man dancing beneath the words \u201clife after realising Valentine\u2019s Day is on a Saturday which means everyone out is single\u201d. The caption read: \u201cCheck mate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Single men aren\u2019t the only ones hoping the dating scene takes a turn for the better on Saturday night.<\/p>\n

\u201cStraight away, when me and my friends found out it was on a Saturday, my girlfriend calls me up and she was like, \u2018we\u2019re going to the clubs\u2019,\u201d 24-year-old Lucy Ford told The West Australian.<\/p>\n

Ms Ford and her friends are banking on a surge of confidence among eligible bachelors, given the usual \u201csorry, I\u2019ve got a boyfriend\u201d barrier is, theoretically at least, out of the equation.<\/p>\n

\u201cHopefully there\u2019s a lot more confidence amongst the male population on Saturday night,\u201d Ms Ford said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn previous nights out, which aren\u2019t Valentine\u2019s Day, I don\u2019t really get approached much, unfortunately,<\/p>\n

\"LucyCamera IconLucy Ford pictured in Como. She is one of 800 singles attending a Valentines Day event at the Cottesloe Beach Hotel on Saturday. Credit: Carwyn Monck\/The West Australian<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, hopefully Saturday night gives them a little bit more of an edge and a bit more of an inclination to come up and speak to us, knowing and assuming that we\u2019re all single.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms Ford and her friends plan to attend the Thursday Dating event at Cottesloe Beach Hotel alongside 800 other singles, all hoping to find love.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019m going to find the love of my life dancing in a nightclub at 2am, but maybe he will be at a singles event where everyone\u2019s got the intention to meet people and to make connections in person,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

That said, she isn\u2019t ruling out a late-night venue hop in pursuit of Mr Right.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll see where the night takes us,\u201d she said. \u201cI think there was mention that there\u2019s a few other events in the city as well. So it could be worth checking out a few other functions.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Leederville precinct \u2014 including The Leederville Hotel, The Garden, Servo Restaurant and Daisy\u2019s Red Room \u2014 is bracing for an influx of Perth singles ready to mingle.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s never been a better time for singles to get out of the house,\u201d a spokesperson said. \u201cWe look forward to what promises to be a bumper evening in our late-night spaces. With any luck we\u2019ll be welcoming them back for a romantic anniversary celebration next year.\u201d<\/p>\n

But, not every single woman plans on scanning the room for that special someone.<\/p>\n

Many are opting instead to celebrate their female friendships.<\/p>\n

The rise of \u201cGalentines\u201d \u2014 a playful twist on Valentine\u2019s Day \u2014 may be dismissed by some as clever marketing, but devotees see it as a chance to honour friendships and soften the sting of a day that can amplify the realities of being unwillingly single.<\/p>\n

A growing number of Perth venues are hosting Galentine\u2019s Day events, from bottomless brunches to indulgent five-course dinners.<\/p>\n

The Aviary is throwing a girls-only pyjama party.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think appreciation between friends is a nicer way to show your love,\u201d Isaac Aparelis, venue manager at The Aviary, said.<\/p>\n

\u201cValentines Day being on a Saturday definitely influenced the decision to steer towards Galentines . . . it seemed more fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nicky Dhelbai is among the hundreds celebrating with her closest friends this weekend.<\/p>\n

\u201cGalentines this year was kind of just an unspoken thing with my friends,\u201d the 21-year-old said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were all like, this is the Galentines where the plans actually make it out of the group chat.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Beaufort, The Claremont Hotel and Lil\u2019s Rooftop Bar are also hosting Galentine\u2019s events, alongside countless other venues leaning into the theme.<\/p>\n

\"BartendersCamera IconBartenders Amber Ashton and Nicky Dhelbai at The Avery Perth ahead of the rooftop bar\u2019s Valentine\u2019s Day pyjama party. Credit: Carwyn Monck\/The West Australian<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, a new tradition is quietly gaining momentum, with parents choosing to include their children in date-night celebrations.<\/p>\n

Beach Street Co in Fremantle has coined \u201cFamily Times Day\u201d, hosting a movie night under the stars.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis Year we are celebrating Family Times on Valentine\u2019s Day because love isn\u2019t just for couples, its for families too,\u201d a Beach Street Co spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the first time we are bringing that family spirit to Valentine\u2019s Day . . . the fact that it falls on a Saturday helped us focus more on families.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Manning family are one of many choosing to spend February 14th with their kids.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor us, Valentine\u2019s Day is about celebrating the people we love most and that\u2019s our Children,\u201d Nikaya Manning said.<\/p>\n

Of course, the traditional Valentines fine dining experiences are also going to contribute to Perth\u2019s unprecedented lively atmosphere this Valentine\u2019s Day.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis year feels like the perfect excuse to go all out, no need to rush home on a school night,\u201d a spokesperson from Northbridge\u2019s The Rechabite said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Perth is officially under Cupid\u2019s spell. For the first time in 11 years, Valentine\u2019s Day has landed on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":477593,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[64,63,134,1625,17943,46,45],"class_list":{"0":"post-477592","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-lifestyle","12":"tag-love-relationships","13":"tag-perth","14":"tag-wa-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/477592","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=477592"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/477592\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/477593"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=477592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=477592"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=477592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}