By FRANCES REESE
It’s all too easy to become tethered to routines, particularly during the colder months. This Valentine’s Day, why not intentionally step outside your comfort zone? Seek out activities that allow meaningful opportunities for connection. The Triangle is full of fun options for excursions, even during the winter. We’ve curated a list of creative ideas to help you begin your explorations.
Grow Together
While there is always something alluring about a garden, heading to a garden center for a date may seem a little unusual—but it offers a chance to surround yourself with natural beauty in a different way. Atlantic Gardening is a plant lover’s paradise—even during the winter, since they have a greenhouse. Their garden bar lets visitors sip and shop, and enjoying plants can be a special way to create memories. Maybe pick out a plant to give to your date or choose some plants to grow together. Atlantic Gardening hosts events and workshops that can help you learn about niche types of gardening together as well.
Try a Cheesy Touch
Sometimes romance is about bringing elegance into the everyday. Bring a luxurious touch to an otherwise ordinary date by adding a charcuterie board to the experience. Raleigh Cheesy is a charcuterie board shop offering a variety of board options and internationally sourced ingredients. This approach to dining is convenient, yet distinctive, and whether you are enjoying a fun night in or adventuring elsewhere, an elegant charcuterie board can enhance the event. Another exciting option is learning to craft your own charcuterie board together through one of Raleigh Cheesy’s classes. You can bring your board home and enjoy tasting sessions—a surefire, delicious way to try something new.
Get Creative
Inspire each other’s creativity at U.B. Paint’n & Sip’n, a local venue that offers paint and sip classes. Inspired by an early love for art and encouraged by her son to pursue her passions, owner Juanita Cotton has created a space for clients to make some time for creativity. Enjoy Paint Your Spouse/Date Night, for example. Create a special playlist for the occasion, share a bottle of wine and enjoy an evening of creativity!
Educate Your Palates
Discover new wines and beers together at Vitis House Wine School. With a range of classes including Wine 101, Sensory 101 and Romantic Reds, founder Doreen Colondres and her team open a new spectrum of possibilities for your tastebuds in a relaxing atmosphere. Find yourself transported out of Raleigh to France, California and wine locales across the world with their offerings and classes. Decide on your new favorite wines together and discuss ideas for food pairings.
Volunteer Together
Sometimes people can come together by reaching out into their communities. Activate Good is a Raleigh-based organization that helps individuals and groups find volunteer activities that inspire them. Brainstorm together about groups and issues you care about (like animal welfare, food insecurity or clean outdoor spaces, for example) and use that conversation to help guide your search for volunteer opportunities.
Try a New Craft
Explore your artistic side and experimentation with a new craft through classes at Bosetti Art Tile & Pottery. Led by artist and owner Marina Bosetti, enjoy the contemplative practice of the pottery wheel with your date or with friends in private classes for groups of two, three or four. Together, you can create place settings or serving trays. Bosetti supplies the clay and tools, and fires and glazes your creations. Take a step away from the doldrums of winter with this vibrant way to spend time with the people you care for.
Find Your Beat
Why not center a date around finding new music? Hunky Dory, a record store combined with a bar, presents the perfect opportunity for this kind of date, offering new and used vinyl selections and 12 local beers on tap. With locations in Raleigh, Durham and Cary, and a second Raleigh location opening soon at Iron Works, you won’t have to drive too far. Explore your musical interests together and enjoy relaxing to the records you buy afterward—a memento of a fun time spent together.
Climb to New Heights
Take on adventurous new heights through a date night that’s sure to bring thrills: Climb together at Triangle Rock Club. With locations in Morrisville, Raleigh and Durham, and another opening soon in Salvage Yard at Raleigh Iron Works, Triangle Rock Club facilities feature over 20,000 square feet of climbing walls and a variety of bouldering options and rotating routes. They also offer introductory climbing classes, which newbies can take together.
Take a Spin on the Ice
Ice skating is famous in films for its cute-date factor, but it may be one of those activities you never get around to in real life—making it well suited for a winter adventure. Skating is a fun way to get some exercise together, and is sure to bring laughs as you navigate the rink.
Check out more stories from around the Triangle at midtownmag.com.
