Those who say February in Penticton is quiet just haven't looked hard enough to find the fun.
And there was plenty of it Saturday night at the Barley Mill Brew Pub, where they kept the spirit of Valentine's Day alive a little longer with their annual take on the venerable Newlywed Game.
For the uninitiated, the Newlywed Game was a half-hour TV game show that ran from 1966 to 1974. It pitted four couples in a contest to decide which couple best knew one another, and it was successful enough to spawn several reboots since then.
But the format never changed. One member of each couple would be sequestered off stage while the host would ask questions of the remaining members. Questions like, "Which of her friends would your wife say you find most attractive?" and "What is the one thing your husband would say he absolutely forbids you to put on his wiener?"
Needless to say, hilarity - and full-on combat - would often ensue once the couples were reunited.
It was a genuinely funny show, with an upbeat, likeable host in Bob Eubanks and generally likeable contestants. Much of its material was considered extremely risque at the time, and the expression "making whoopee," used in place of "having sex" to appease network censors of the era, took on a life of its own outside the realm of TV.
But Saturday night, the Barley Mill one-upped the TV show when no less than ten couples opted to put pride and their good names on the line for bragging rights.
And complimentary beer and wine.
Local DJ/MC Skye Arnold got the game rolling at 7 p.m., and the laughs came fast and furious for the rest of the evening. Arnold has great command of a room, and the couples didn't seem to hold back.
But they weren't all newlyweds. One couple recently celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary.
Laura and Patrick, both in their sixties, delivered some of the best comedy of the evening. According to Laura, she asked Patrick if he'd like to do it, and he agreed without hesitation.
A wee bit younger, Dave and Katrina were nothing short of a laugh factory. According to Katrina, who also happens to be the executive director of South Okanagan poverty advocacy group Access Centre, they volunteered because, "We love the Barley Mill. There's a little pressure up there, but it's fun to answer the questions and see what he says."
For his part, Dave was all about Katrina and her work in the community. "She's part of the Access Centre, and we're trying to cross-promote things."
"We just had a fundraiser for the Access Centre - a disco party and a silent auction on Valentine's Day, and it was a huge hit. A hundred-plus people at the Barking Parrot, and lots of money raised for the Access Centre. They showed up for us, we'll show up for them."
Fellow contestant Bryce Beckett felt compelled to clarify the responses he and his partner Poe had given to an earlier question. They were asked, "What's the worst date you've ever had?" and Bryce went with "Teaching her to ski." But Poe had answered, "New Year's Eve, when he hung out with his dirty hippy friends."
The audience loved it.
Said a laughing Beckett, "I thought New Year's went really well, actually. There were some hiccups, but I think it was a real moment in our relationship when we felt like we were a team. My friends were being filthy and we both decided to bounce at the same time, and we actually had our New Year's kiss in the smallest park you've ever seen."
Barley Mill events manager Kori Wyborn said the Newlywed Game idea was born in Cranbrook, where her mom manned the local Legion. "They did it there. And my husband and I entered it and I was like, we gotta move this to Penticton. And that's how it began."
Wyborn added that the Barley Mill's next big event is something called a "Stoplight Party," where patrons are asked to wear a piece of coloured clothing corresponding to their dating status.
"It's a single's night basically, and you wear your colour. Green means you're single, red means 'Stop, I'm taken,' yellow means 'It's complicated,' and purple means you're seeking the same sex. We've had three of them already, and it's a lot of fun."
The next Barley Mill Stoplight Party gets going on March 9 at 9 p.m. There's no cover charge.
For more info on what's happening at the Barley Mill Brew Pub, head to their website.
