Canoeing Anyone?

Rowboats are classic, but canoes are style! And it's a good team building exercise. There are several places in the Provo area that rent canoes:

CLAS Ropes- 2 hours= $14 (each canoe fits 2 people)

Utah Lake State Park- cost ?, make sure you avoid the bug season

High Adventure all day= $40 (this company has as variety of water sports to choose from)

Deer Creek State Park= cost? Call the state park to get a cost 

To add to this adventure idea:

• Have a picnic after ward, or take the picnic with you and row to a specific location and have a picnic. 
• If there is another couple with you, have a race, or play hide and seek.
• Have one person close their eyes, while the other directs them how and when to paddle. 
• Have petals  or other things to scatter into the water, making wishes as you go. 

Two More Festivals to Add

I wasn't kidding when I called this the weekend of Festivals. I found two more that could make for fun adventures.

Onion Days

Free
I just added the link, in the title, I've never heard of it before, but it looks fun. There are some free activities like watching a hypnotists, and some activities you pay for, like human monster trucks, and wave runners- which are those giant plastic balls you can walk inside. Look it up and  check it out.

Soldier Hollow Classic Sheepdog Championship

$13-$16
This event is a dog lovers dream! There is dog racing, dog demonstrations, and dogs herding sheep. There will be, of course, be vendors booths and food, and they promise that the weather is going to be good, so we'll see how that turns out.

Archery

You know how most all girls love horses? I feel the same goes for archery. We may not be good at it, but we love it anyways. So take your date and your friends archery shooting! There best range to go to  Jake Archery Range. This range costs $10 per person. They rent you the bows and the arrows and any gear you may need, and it's indoors which makes it a good for a date for any season. 

Some games you can play while shooting, cause you can only shoot at the same target for so long without getting bored.

Horse- there are several targets, and areas within the target. You have to match your date's shot if they hit the target, if you don't then you get an H.
First One to Hit Them All- Play the first one to hit all of the targets wins, or first one to get however many bulls eyes wins. You can tailor this to the shooting range
Archer Impersonation - there are a lot of famous archers in movies. Try and shoot like your favorites, for example, Legolas, Robin Hood, Katniss Everdeen, Merida from Brave, Hawk Eye, Green Arrow, Susan from Narnia

Chasing a Ghost Town

Hunt down some Ghost Towns for  your next date. Below is a link for an interactive map of the ghost towns in the Provo Utah Valley area. There are lots of ways to spice this date up, for your convenience I have categorized them into least amount of work into most amount of work. 

Least amount of work: 

• You drive out and look at the ghost towns and walk around, 
•  Play Hide and Go seek in the rustic but ruins

Medium amount of work:

•  Bring a picnic
• Research some of the ghost towns and print out stories to read about the town that                                        use to be there and the ghosts that still do
• You could bring old western costumes to dress up in and take pictures

Lots of Work: 

• Make a scavenger hunt that goes through the ruins and leads your date to a picnic or mine                            shaft or a gold treasure box, or whatever you want.
• Ride horses through the ruins
• Make a mini-movie with your date in the ruins

click for Ghost Towns

Weekend of Festivals

There are several festivals going on this weekend in the Utah Valley. Take a date, take a group, and check them out. (click the festival title to go to their website)

Timpanogos Story Festival

Wednesday 27- Saturday 30
Not all the events are free, and they take place in different locations, But here are some highlight events:

WednesdayAug27

Storytelling Kick Off Event

The Shops at Riverwoods

7:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Free

Friday Aug 29

My Favorite Stories

Serca Shell

8:00 PM

$8.00 per person

Saturday Aug 30  

Laughin' Night at the Scera Shell
Serca Shell
 8:00 PM - 10:00 PM

$12 per person

Friday Aug 30

Shivers in the Nigh
Mt Timpanogos Park 

9:00 PM - 10:30 PM

$8.00 per person

Check out the full events schedule here

 

Swiss Days Festival

Friday 29 -Saturday 30,
This is a FREE admissions festival with entertainment, food, vendors, and all things Swiss.
Here is some highlights of the event list

 FRIDAY, AUGUST 29th:
3:15 PM: STEPHEN REYNOLDS (Concert Pianist and Vocal Performer)
4:00 PM:  SWISS BELLES (Midway”s own hand bell choir)
5:00 PM:  HIGH VALLEY SINGERS (Great Musical Entertainers)
7:00 PM:  MIDWAY SWISS CHORUS (Wonderful Musical Concert)

SATURDAY, AUGUST 30th:
11:15 AM:  SLC MAIL CARRIERS BAND (right after parade)
12:00 PM:  CHILDREN’S SWISS CHORUS (musical production)
12:30 PM:  WILLIAM TELL (children’s play)
2:00 PM:  SWISS BELLES (Midway”s own hand bell choir)
4:00  PM:  SWISS MISS (full program)
5:00 PM:  HIGH VALLEY SINGERS (Great Musical Entertainers)
7:00 PM:  MIDWAY SWISS CHORUS (Wonderful Musical Concert)

Entertainment OUTSIDE on the square

FRIDAY, AUGUST 29th:
7:45-8:20am- Jim Walton (native flute)
8:20-8:45- Bentley Murdock  
8:45-9:15- Cary Hobbs & Friends
:20-10:15- Annalee’s Trio
10:20-10:55 James Oneil Miner/Daron Bradford
11:00-11:40 Kerry Christensen (Master Yodeler)
11:45-12:15 Swiss Miss Royalty
12:20-1:00 James Oneil Miner/Daron Bradford
1:05-2:00 Sun, Shade & Rain
2:05-2:40 Kerry Christensen
2:45-3:20 High Valley Singers
3:20-4:15 GT Coop
4:20-5:10 Kerry Christensen
5:15-6:10 Joshua Creek
6:15-8:00 Salzburger Echo

SATURDAY, AUGUST 30th:
7:00-8:00am- Crater Springs Echo
8:00-8:30- Jim Walton
8:30-9:25- BYU Jazz & Variety Band
9:25-10:00 James Oneil Miner/Nyle Steiner
10:00-10:55 Flashback Band
11:00-11:40 Kerry Christensen
11:45-12:25 Beehive Statesmen
12:30-1:00 Swiss Miss Royalty
1:05-1:40 James Oneil Miner/Nyle Steiner
1:45-2:20 Kerry Christensen
2:25-3:10 Doug Pope/ Dolly Loveridge
3:15-3:45 High Valley Singers
3:50-4:20 Kerry Christensen
4:25-5:20 Christian Jones/High Water Band
5:25-6:20 Joshua Creek
6:25-8:00 River Bottom Band

Chocolate Volcanoes

Tired of ice cream dates, or froyo runs. I have a solution. Gelato. Gloria's Little Italy has a back counter full of desserts and gelato and you can order them a la carte. There is even a private sitting area just for the dessert crowd. Gloria's has all types of flavors, from Animal Cracker to Nutella, nutella being my personal favorite. Glorias makes it an expereince by serving you in little glass cups and topping your gelato scoop with yummy wafer crackers. Also in the dessert counter are something I like to call Chocolate VOLCANOES! But for reals, ask the waiter for a chocolate volcano and they'll know what you're talking about. This dessert is definitely to share, because they are massive once they have melted. They start out as a chocolate ball a little bigger than a grape fruit. Once the waiter puts it in the microwave it melts to cover your whole plate in a gooey chocolate, brownie, creme mess. And if you are really nice to your waiter they can top off the volcano with raspberries and raspberry sauce. Just typing about it is making want to go get another one.
But what is a date without a theme right? Turn it into an Italian night.

Start the night off by making an Italian Dinner (again Pinterest it).
Make homemade pasta, then eat it
Make Carnival Masks
Rent some canoes and reenact a gondola
Go to an opera
Listen to Italian music
Ride or pet horses
Play soccer
Watch the bazillion Italian movies out there, for example: Letters to Juliet, The Tourist, Italian Job, Davinci Code, Angels and Demons, When in Rome, Roman Holiday, Under the Tuscan Sun, Eat Pray Love, Life is Beautiful, Thief Lord, Gladiator

Indoor Camping

Blanket forts are not just for kids any more! Go camping indoors with your date. You can make a blanket fort, or actually put together a tent inside your apartment. Before setting up though. Prepare tinfoil dinners together to put in the oven. You can make s'mores on a gas stove or make a s'more type dessert (Pinetrest s'more desserts it you wont be disappointed). Inside your tent you can play card games, make shadow puppets like the ones below,tell stories, go outside and look at the stars, or watch a movie. Then eat your dinners and desserts. The great indoors never felt so good!

Pick a Date and Pick Some Berries

As summer turns to fall, different berries come in season. A creative outdoor date is to go berry picking. There are lots of farms in Utah County that offer this activity. My family would go to U-Pick-Em strawberry farms in California  and we had great fun doing it. One for the bucket two for my tummy. Make sure you wear clothes that can get dirty as that is always possible when gardening. After you pick all the berries your bucket can hold and your tummy can take you could extend the date by making smoothies with your freshly picked berries. Happy Picking!

Raspberry Patch

A list of Berry Farms

McBride Briar Patch

Operation: Laser Tag

Okay, this date has a lot of details to make it fun. Use the details you want to make it you own, but here is the basic outline

Make a spy themed date.

Create a clever way to invite your date letting them know what time and what day.
Leave them a TOP SECRET envelope, make them a cake with a message at the bottom, send them on a scavenger hunt, give them a message t decode,  you choose. Make sure they reply back that they decoded your message and are set to go.

Then pick them up for the date, you can keep up the theme by going on a scavenger hunt to your car parked at a specific location. Or you can just drive. Make it fun.

Play laser tag! Get matching bandannas or sunglasses or whatever you can think of.

You could end it with watching a spy movie: Spy Kids, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Mission Impossible, there are lots of spy movies out there

In the comments below leave some ideas on how to theme this date even more. The more theme the better.

Everything Can be Made into Mario

Having a theme to your date makes the date  memorable and shows that you have planned and prepared for the time you are spending together. An easy theme that goes with almost anything is.... MARIO. Just think of it. You find Mario or Peach costumes for your date, overalls and a hat, or a pink dress with a crown. Or tone it down with a red shirt and hat and a pink shirt with a crown. For a group date, everyone can dress as a different Mario character, Luigi and Daisy, Toad and Toadett, Link and Zelda; the list could go on!
The activities you could do as your Mario characters are endless as well, but here are some ideas:

Mario Tennis
Mario Golf
Mario Bowling
Mario Go Carts
Mario Bike Riding
Mario Ice Skating
Mario Walking
Mario Bench sitting
you get the idea.



And as a bonus you can play Mario Race Carts, or Super Mario Smash Brothers to start the night to establish the theme.

Themed Movies in the Park

Movies are a good fallback date, but what if you can theme it up to make it memorable. Utah Valley has several cites that put on Movies in The Park. Where families and couples alike come at sunset to watch a family friendly movie on the big screen while kicking it back on the grass. There are few ways to spice up this already fun activity. The following are lists of the Free movies playing and fun ideas to do before going to see the movie. Click on the City name to go to their website.

Provo, August 25th Wreck it Ralph

• Arcade Games: Take your date to an arcade before hand and play some games, Wreck it Ralph takes place in an arcade, what better way to introduce the movie than experience a classic arcade first hand. 
• Play Laser Tag: Most of the movie is about Ralph trying to get his medal. He ends up finding his in Hero's Duty, so take your date to play laser tag and reward each player with a hero's medal. Wear these medals to the movie. 
•  Go-Cart Riding: Racing cars is a big part of Wreck it Ralph, experience this for yourself by taking your date go cart riding. 
• Make Candy Go-Carts: Like I said, racing cars is a major theme of the movie. Buy graham cracker your peppermints, gum drops, and all sorts of candy and make your own candy go carts before the movie. 

Lindon, September 5th Despicable Me 2

• Make Guacamole and Salsa: Despicable Me 2 has a Mexican flair to it. Why not make home made guacamole and salsa to eat while watching the movie on the grass. You could even get creative and try to make the guacamole sombrero 
• Make Cupcakes: Gru's undercover identity is the owner of a cupcake shop. Look up ways to make creative cupcakes, incorporating the minions or sharks, or whatever you can think of.

Sandy, August 29th Monsters University

• Have a Monster Dinner: (This is probably a good group date idea) Monsters come in all shapes and sizes.  Meet up before hand and make dinner. Then have each couple take on a monster form. One couple might put on a  GIANT t-shirt and cut the neck larger. Fit both people inside, so each only has one arm, and then eat dinner together. Others might have no hands at all, or some might have to use their elbows, or be blindfolded. 
• Play Connect the Dots. One of the OK fraternity's challenges was to sneak past the librarian without getting caught. Play Connect the dots before watching the movie at the park, and don't get caught!
• rules: Preselect 3-5 bases that the players must touch, these can be trees, trash cans, anything. The object is to touch all the bases and return to the counter without getting caught. The counter stands in an open space, will count to 10 fast, or to 5 slow or any number at any speed and will close their eyes while the others run to touch as many bases and hide before the counter opens their eyes. This continues until everyone is out or someone touches all the bases and the counter without being caught. 

Sandy, September 12th Muppet's Most Wanted

• Make Your Own Puppets: The whole movie is about puppets, why not make your own and put on your own little puppet show while you wait for the movie to start.
• International Candy: The Movie takes place across several countries. Go to a candy store like Pop'n Sweets and buy several foreign candy bars. Take off the wrappers and have your date try to guess where the candy is from. This would be a good activity to do on the grass before the movie starts.