BY JASMINE MATTSON-WOLFF
We are in Juneau, Alaska. Where should we go? What should we do? Is there a secret underground social nook we aren’t totally aware of? Hopefully this article can maybe give you some ideas on where and what to do on date nights! Here in Juneau there is actually a wide variety of things going on. You can go bowling, ice skating, or out to see a movie. There are even some unique and interesting options that you could try out.
Some of these frequent happenings might not be as well-known, but they could be potentially cool to check out! Mudrooms at the Northern Light United Church, Tlingit Language Learners Group on Monday nights at the Downtown Library, Halau Hula ‘o ‘Olill’ula at the Filipino Community Hall on Wednesdays, A Window Between Worlds – women’s art support group at AWARE on Wednesdays, Community Gaming Night at Udder Culture on Thursdays, the organ concert at the State Office Building every Friday, or maybe even catching Dan Hopson’s Classical Guitar, live at the Baranof on Saturdays! Basically, if you go to KTOO.org/calendar/ you will find oodles of awesome events that occur.
Let’s get down to the basics though, like going to the movies! In general there are three different options here: Glacier Cinemas, 20th Century Theatre, and the Gold Town Nickelodeon. If you are looking for a main stream movie that everyone is talking about and your generic movie theater popcorn, then definitely check out grossalaska.com for more information. But if you are in the mood for an off the radar, low-key, pretty chill independent film or something different that you don’t see every day, go check out what is playing at the Gold Town Nickelodeon! They serve homemade popcorn and have a quaint little set up that is definitely a cool experience. Check out what films they have to offer on their website: goldtownnick.com.
Then there’s ice skating, rock climbing, and bowling! For being a small city, I think Juneau is doing pretty good as far as keeping things lively with options like these available to us. If you are into ice skating, the Treadwell Ice Arena in Douglas, over by Sandy Beach, has some pretty great deals and good times to go skate your hearts out! There are open skates with alternating times every day, and coming up on Feb. 13 from 7:45-9:15 p.m. they have an open disco skate! You can find more info at: juneau.org/parkrec/icerink/.
As far as bowling goes, it’s pretty fun and “cosmic” bowling which happens on Saturday nights is a neat experience. If you go to their website, takulanes.com, you can see their rates and times that they are open. This joint is located downtown right off the bus line, around several places for ice cream and only a short walk from some great restaurants. It puts you in a good place to get everything in at once and, if you are depending on the bus for transportation, an easy place to get to and from. The Rock Dump is another cool idea if you want to go out and just do something different. This place is located at the end of downtown, when you are going out Thane Road. It’s a little tricky locating the building if you’ve never been there, but if you are into rock climbing it’s a pretty rad place to check out! You can find more information about their facility at: rockdump.com.
While I was hunting around for events to share with you all, I found a couple interesting ones. On Friday, there is a Masquerade Dinner Ball at Suite 907 from 6 p.m.-midnight. It sounds like it will be an awesome event with Cajun food, and it is also an AK Elite Fundraiser. Tickets can be purchased at Suite 907 or through their website: suite907.com. Following up this event, Paradise Café is hosting a Moustache Mimosa Brunch on Saturday at 10 a.m.! There will be great food and music to fill your mid-morning with; it sounds like a fun way to start off Valentine’s Day with your loved ones! All ages are welcome, but bring an ID if you’d like to purchase alcohol. Other than that, I’d suggest just kicking back and doing something simple to make your sweetheart swoon. It doesn’t take much to make a night special. Sometimes just a walk on the docks, a fire at Auke Rec, a hike to spend a night out in a cabin, cooking a meal together, or taking time to go have some of your favorite “brew” while enjoying a few hours of genuine company is all it takes. So don’t think that you have to go out of Auke Bay to make any date night special. As Nicholas Sparks says, “Sometimes the most ordinary things could be made extraordinary, simply by doing them with the right people.”
I hope that this article has given you some new ideas of things that you can go out and do for a change of pace in your schedule. One thing I didn’t really hit on is places to go and eat. There is no shame in not knowing places to go for good eats here in Juneau. As a self-proclaimed foodie, I’d be happy to give anyone reviews on restaurants! If you are looking for places to take your special someone for brunch, lunch, or dinner, don’t feel weird just pulling me over in the hall-way and asking for advice. Or you can shoot the Whalesong an e-mail at whalesong@uas.alaska.edu!
Anyway, happy dating! And think about this quote from Jeremy Taylor: “Love is friendship caught on fire.”