Gaze at the stars — or “Fire in the Sky,” a 1993 painting by Peter Halley at the Des Moines Art Center. Photo: Courtesy of the Des Moines Art Center
“So whaddya wanna do tonight?”
If you’re ready for a little date-night inspiration, we’ve got you covered. Here are 52 ideas, one for each week of the year. You can stick the list on the fridge and check things off one by one — or quietly hide them in a drawer and then pretend to come up with each one on your own, on the spur of the moment. Look at you: You’re so spontaneous and romantic!
Mostly Indoors
1. Listen to live music at the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden, inside during winter weekends or outside on summer Thursday nights.
2. Drive up to Polk City for a small-town getaway: dinner at Arcadia or Papa’s Pizzeria, then ice cream at the Creamery.
3. Take a cooking class at the Culinary Annex, Cooking with Alessandra, Kitchen Collage or Moxie Kitchen + Events.
4. Choose a new painting for the living room during a First Friday open house at Mainframe Studios.
5. Play a virtual round at Topgolf.
6. Take a pottery class with Sad Boy Ceramics and re-create that scene from “Ghost.”
7. Play hide-and-seek at Jordan Creek mall. Each person gets 10 minutes to hide, before their partner gets 20 minutes to find them. The person who finds their partner faster gets to choose where to eat dinner.
8. Have dinner at the Walnut before some jazz at Noce.
9. Take a painting class at Bottle & Bottega or Painting with a Twist.
10. Share a pizza at Chuck’s Restaurant on a night they host live music.
11. Go au naturel – that is, sample some natural wine – at the Cave DSM.
12. Visit the Des Moines Art Center on Thursday or Friday, when it stays open late, then head to dinner at Either/Or.
13. Tour the art collections at Salisbury House and Gardens.
14. Bowl a game or two at Val Lanes or Waukee Warrior Lanes.
15. Raise a toast to each other with martinis at the Lift, a hot spot for live music.
16. Book a “play” date at a local theater company, like the Des Moines Playhouse, Iowa Stage Theatre, Pyramid Theatre Company or Tallgrass Theatre Company. For bonus points, take your own turn in the spotlight during Tallgrass Theatre’s monthly Broadway karaoke nights.
17. Take in a Candlelight Concert at the World Food Prize Hall of Laureates.
18. Taste-test a favorite food at several different restaurants and rank them as you go. Need an idea? Try the onion rings at Maxie’s, the pho at Pho 888 or the tiramisu at Tumea & Sons.
19. Paint ceramics at Five Monkeys in Valley Junction.
20. Have a full-on Victorian tea at the Flynn Mansion at Living History Farms. Hats and gloves are optional.
21. See a Broadway show or a symphony concert at the Des Moines Civic Center. Afterward, admire the lights on “Swirl,” the sculpture at Cowles Commons, and then grab a drink at Splash.
22. Buy a book for each other at Beaverdale Books, Reading in Public or Storyhouse Bookpub, then go home to “read” in bed.
23. Share some late-night desserts at Crème.
24. BINGO! Try Brunch Bingo on Sundays at Smash Park or Beer & Bingo on Tuesday nights at Ankeny’s Uptown Garage.
25. Nibble on charcuterie at Purveyor, sip a tiki cocktail or two at Bellhop, then finish the night with a drag show at the Garden.
26. Explore the Iowa State Fairgrounds in the off-season, where you’ll find animal shows, flea markets, dance competitions and plenty more.
27. Enjoy a Mediterranean meal at Hugo’s Wood-Fired Kitchen before a movie at the Varsity Cinema.
Mostly Outdoors
28. Pack a picnic for Ewing Park during lilac season or Water Works Park when the crab apples bloom.
29. Enjoy a classic French meal at Django before a stroll through the Pappajohn Sculpture Park.
30. Ride the Heritage Carousel from June through September at Union Park, then head down the hill for a snack at Captain Roy’s.
31. Grab a bite at the Valley Junction Farmers Market, then stick around for Music in the Junction at Railroad Park.
32 Take your lawn chairs to Music Under the Stars, the free big-band series in June and July outside the state Capitol.
33. Drive down to Wilson’s Orchard & Farm in Cumming. Enjoy a meal and an outdoor concert.
34. Root for the Iowa Cubs at Principal Park and stick around for the postgame fireworks. (Or skip the game and watch the fireworks from the red pedestrian bridge south of Court Avenue.)
35. Split a pizza and a bottle of wine on the patio at Eatery A. For more pizza al fresco, head to Plant Life Designs on Friday nights in Van Meter.
36. Practice your triple salchows at Brenton Skating Plaza.
37. Have a chocolate malt outside Snookie’s Malt Shop.
38. Bike (or drive) to the Cumming Tap for Taco Tuesday.
39. Order takeout from the Angry Goldfish, then take it to nearby MacRae Park. After dinner, admire the downtown skyline from the park’s observation deck.
40. Walk a lap or two around the Des Moines Arts Festival, June 27-29, and see who can find the most unusual piece of art, the least or most expensive, or the one you just can’t live without.
41. Take in the Beaverdale Fall Festival, Sept. 19-20. Watch the parade, listen to live music and poke into popular shops like Back Country and Beaverdale Confections.
42. Bet on the horses at Prairie Meadows – or, once a summer, the zebras and camels.
43. Like marching bands? Go to the Celebration in Brass in July or Valleyfest in October.
44. Ride the local and regional bike trails. Two new options opened recently: the Athene Pedestrian Bridge at Raccoon River Park in West Des Moines, and the Karras-Kaul Connector, which links Easter Lake to Carlisle.
45. Take a nature walk at Jester Park. There are plenty of guided options during the summer, including night walks to see owls and other nocturnal wildlife. If you’d rather stay inside, try the archery range at the nature center.
46. Stretch out of your comfort zone during Yoga in the Park, Saturday mornings from June through September at Gray’s Lake Park. Or try Power Life Yoga on Ingersoll Avenue, then reward yourself with brunch at HomeGrown.
47. Stroll the Des Moines Principal Riverwalk and admire the daredevils at the Lauridsen Skatepark.
48. Visit all the little cuddly-wuddly animals at Blank Park Zoo.
49. Pack a charcuterie picnic and enjoy it during an outdoor concert at Jasper Winery.
50. Gaze at the stars from the Drake Municipal Observatory. For darker skies, try the Ashton Observatory in Mingo, just 20 minutes northeast of Des Moines.
51. Rent kayaks for a full-moon float at Gray’s Lake, Raccoon River Lake or Lake Ahquabi near Indianola.
52. Watch a movie at the Valle Drive-In in Newton.
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