The stars have aligned and Siem Reap’s bracing itself for an action-packed weekend as Valentine’s Day and the start of Chinese Lunar New Year fall on the same day this February 14.

The marquee event of the weekend will be tomorrow night at Miss Wong Cocktail Bar, which will usher in the year of the tiger from 6pm with specials on Tsingtao beer and an ang pao tree hung with traditional Chinese red gift envelopes. Lucky partygoers can win more beer, free cocktails and dinners at restaurants around town. There will also be a fortune teller in front of the bar, which will be festooned with red lanterns.

Nest on Sivutha Boulevard is doing a dual celebration with a My Chinese Valentine dinner on February 14. Tunes will be provided by Japanese band Milo and a dinner/drink/gift combo for two will be on special for US$55.

Cambojam will be playing at a purely Valentine-themed night at the Brickhouse Bar in the Angkor Night Market tomorrow night at 9pm.

For those with more ritzy tastes, the Sothea hotel will host a Valentine’s to Remember dinner complete with a violin mini-concerto on February 14, courtesy of a classically trained quartet from Royal University of Phnom Penh’s College of Music and Fine Arts. The live serenade will occur from 7-10pm.

Meanwhile, a family-style night will take place at Victoria Angkor Resort and Spa on February 14. The hotel will serve a barbecue buffet dinner from 7pm, and a Chinese lion dance will be performed by the pool.

For the anti-romantics, dateless and hopeless among us, the Warehouse and Angkor What? bars will hold anti-Valentines Day parties, with Warehouse providing a prize for the best breakup story.