The Plaza Theater is an independent theater located in the heart of Kensington. I enjoy that it plays alternative films that aren't usually shown at the bigger chain theaters around town. It supports events like the Calgary International Film Festival and the Underground Film Festival. It's a little old and run down, but it is able to pull it off in a positive, nostalgic kind of way.
The Plaza is also available to be rented out for private events. A friend of ours took advantage of this for his wife's 30th birthday. He arranged to have her favorite film played and somehow managed to keep it a secret that it was a private event that all of her friends & family were invited to. She was quite surprised when she walked into the theater to find it filled with people she knew!!
It was definitely one of the better surprise parties I've been to. In addition to showing her favorite movie, her husband had gotten her family from the east coast to record a "Happy Birthday" message. He edited a bunch of pictures and these videos together to create an intro film that they showed before the movie. After the show, everyone stuck around for brithday cake and socialization in the lobby. It was a lot of fun, and a unique idea for a party.
Review #15 of Yelp's 30 Day Review Challenge 2012