Now that the world is opened back up, and a large number of people are vaccinated I thought it might be a good time to share some of my favourite date ideas and some I’d really like to try. These can be really fun first, second, third or 15th dates. I’ve also tried to focus on indoor dates since it’s becoming winter very quickly here.
I have to pay homage to the classic brewery experience and put it first on the list. Most breweries have a cool atmosphere and quality people watching. You usually have the option of getting a single beer or a flight and it’s fun to compare tasting notes. A number of breweries these days have live music of some kind so that creates a built in conversation starter. It also doesn’t have too many other distractions if the date is going really well and you are completely engrossed in each other. A few places I really like that have a good atmosphere are: R&B Brewing and (not a brewery but beer focused) Alibi Room in Vancouver, Camp Beer Co and Old Yale Brewing in the Fraser Valley, Moody Ales and Patina Brewing in the tri-cities. All of these breweries change their seasonal offerings along with core beers so going a few times, is worth it. As always, if you’re looking for a brewery in the BC, the best place to look is the BC Ale Trail website.
A really fun date idea I had a chance to experience recently was mini golf! It was a lot of fun. I am not a competitive person but I usually got for the competitive type guy, it can be flirty and silly, or you can take it very serious with bets and wagers. It isn’t normally expensive and you can typically do a game in an hour or two. There are two really fun mini golf courses in BC. The first is in Abbotsford at Castle Fun Park, (**due to recent extreme weather events Castle Fun Park is closed indefinitely**) they have three courses and two of them are indoors. The other is a seasonal course in Parksville (just outside of Nanaimo) called Paradise Fun Park.
The mini golf date gave me the idea of going to a driving range. I’ve never been myself and would love to go on this date (any offers?). It just looks fun! And similarly with mini golf, it can be made silly or furthest/worst drive buys drinks. Most driving ranges have covered areas and outdoor heaters.
I’ve had some fun dates lately and another was to an arcade. It was a bit uncomfortable at first with COVID considering you’re touching a lot of things but thankfully this arcade took that into consideration and had antiseptic wipes and sanitizer everywhere. It’s also mandated at the moment to wear masks indoors and everyone obliged. Turns out I am REALLY good at Skee Ball and pretty terrible at giant Connect Four. Would absolutely do an arcade date again.
I would consider myself a foodie person and I love a good meal. I try not to commit to a full dinner for a first date because you’re trapped while waiting for the server, food and the bill. But in Vancouver there is a company that puts together tasting tours. You sign up and get four to seven restaurants to go to and each has a little version of their signature dish. You can bow out whenever you want, eat as much as you want and you get to try a whole host of new restaurants. Last one I went on included a dosa restaurant that I had never tried. They also have themed tours like dumplings, vegan, or burgers.
If you’re feeling fancy and want to have a classy date, I would strongly recommend the local art gallery or an art exhibit. Recently the city hosted an immersive Van Gogh experience and it was incredible, with a Picasso version touring now too. There’s so much to see, read and comment on and it pairs nicely with some wine and perhaps charcuterie.
Piggybacking on the art gallery idea is to visit a museum. There are so many kinds! In Vancouver we have a museum for almost everything like the Museum of Anthropology, the Beatty Biodiversity Museum (my favourite), the HR McMillan Space Centre and the Vancouver Maritime Museum. There’s something for every interest and it is easy to talk about all the things you’re seeing if the conversation is lacking.
Last date idea, and to be honest I haven’t done it but really want to, the shooting range. For me personally, it would require the right person to happen but it’s been on my dating bucket list for a little bit. You couldn’t really talk much while doing it because you’re wearing hearing protection and it’s loud but the drink after would be fun I imagine. There is a range called DVC Ventures in Port Coquitlam in the Vancouver area. Along those lines could also be axe throwing, also in Port Coquitlam at Urban Axe Throwing.
Hopefully those are some cool indoor or weather conscious date ideas to branch out from the usual coffee or walk dates.