Art City Days- Balloon Festival

(from last year's festival)

If you have never watched a balloon festival, I urge you to find a date, show up early, and enjoy. This year's Springville Art City Days Balloon Festival is this coming weekend, Friday the 13th and Saturday the 14th. The festival starts at 6:30 AM. (Early I know, but SOOO worth it!) It is held at Springville Junior High (165 South 800 East, Springville). And it's free!!

People are encouraged to come up early, bring blankets and chairs, and a picnic breakfast wouldn't hurt either. Besides just watching the colorful balloons heat up and take off, pilots show off their mad skills. They will also be dropping colorful balls from each balloon that can be redeemed for treats and prizes.

If you are interested in checking out the other Art City Days activities (all of which could be used as date ideas!) visit their website here.

Happy Dating!

Rooftop Concert Series 2014

Photography provided by Justin Hackworth

The Rooftop Concert Series runs the first Friday of every month (May through October). The show starts at 7:30, “doors” open at 6:00. People take blankets, low-seated chairs, bean bags, etc and it is usually a packed house so get there early. 

Concerts are held on the third level of the Provo Town Square parking terrace at 100 North & 100 West. There is lots of street parking around this location or walking is always a good option. 

Best part... (wait for iiiiit)... admission is FREE!!

JUNE 6

We Are The Strike 

Van Lady Love

Cory Mon

JULY 4

Summertime Blues: The Songs of Woodstock

Bat Manors

AUGUST 1

Can't Stop Won't Stop

House of Lewis

Mimi Knowles

SEPTEMBER 5

The Moth and the Flame

The Brocks

Coral Bones

OCTOBER 3

Special 5-year Anniversary Rooftop Concert (with a special location)  

including Fictionist and The Blue Aces 

Yard Sale-ing

This date is especially for those who have difficulty scheduling dates for Friday/Saturday nights.

Summer, Saturday mornings are the prime time for yard sales. I know you are probably thinking, “Yard sales?? Really??” but there are a lot of fun things to do and see at yard sales. Just exploring can be an adventure in and of itself! Enjoy yourselves as you search for hidden treasures, humorous things, and old childhood memories. To throw an extra spin on it, each of you can start with a few dollars and see who can score the best buy!

Not only is this date free (or extremely cheap) but it is creative. It will give you a chance to talk and have fun in an open and laid back environment.

There are several places to find out where yard sales are going to be held or you can just drive around until you find some that look promising.


Provo Garage Sales Search

KSL Classifieds (Search yard sales within _____ miles of wherever you live.)

Most larger cities/communities have yard sale Facebook pages or check Craigslist.


Happy Dating!

Let's Go Fly a Kite

I can't say this idea is mine. I stole it from a friend who tried it out and said it was a huge success. The weather is starting to warm up and most days have an ideal spring breeze to fly kites. Find a park with some wide open spaces (best to avoid the trees and power lines) and have some fun!

I am assuming most of you don't have kites stocked in your closets for such occasions. So, I did some research.
        * Dollar Tree (or I am guessing most dollar stores) carry kites for $1.00. Although I think you will
           probably get what you pay for there.

        * Walmart and Target also carry kites ranging from $5.00 to $20.00 depending on what you want
           to spend. They also carry do-it-yourself kite kits if you want to take the date to a whole other
           level.


Happy Dating!

Picnics

Sorry for the long absence, life got a little busier recently. But people have been asking for more posts so I'm back!

I was actually ready to write about this week's date idea last month and kept forgetting, and I figured I better do it now before Summer slips away from us. So today I present you with...

 A PICNIC!

I know, I know. This idea isn't really that original, but the purpose of a date is to get to know someone, so originality wasn't really what I was going for here. 

Any of you are welcome to borrow the picnic basket in the pictures above -- just send me a text or an email. Also, I just want to brag for a moment because I went all Pinteresty (like crafty, but inspired by Pinterest) and learned how to sew that liner for it. Ok, bragging over.

Did I mention it comes with these sweet Avenger plates?!?!

Yeah, now you're all going to be begging to borrow my picnic basket. :) 

There are four plates so you could do a double date with this one.

Flag Day and Concerts

Did you know that this Friday, June 14, is National Flag Day?

Take a date to celebrate this holiday at the annual Flag Retirement Ceremony in the Macey's Food and Drug Store parking lot!! 

Starting at 8 PM, the service will include Major General Jefferson S. Burton as a guest speaker, the Girl Scouts of America presenting the evolution of the Flag, and of course the retirement of the flag. 

**Provo City will be providing bleachers (for those who arrive early enough), but you are also welcome to bring chairs or blankets to sit on.**

Also on June 14, Central Utah Gardens is providing a free concert to the public! This week's show is Cherie Call (to learn more about her, click here) The show starts at 7 PM and is located at the Central Utah Gardens, 355 W. University Parkway (by the Krispy Kreme)

Rooftop concerts, Art Strolls, and Utah Lake Festival.

This weekend Provo is full of things to do for everyone!

For the Music Lovers:

The Rooftop Concert Series this month will include Joshua James, Polytype, and Jay William Henderson. It starts at 8 PM on Friday the 7th. located on top of the Provo Town Square parking structure. Take a date go listen to some new music!! 

P.S. this is a free event :)

For more information about the Rooftop Concert Series click here.

For the Artsy Type:

In the market for a new piece of art? Or maybe you just want to pretend you are... Either way, the Downtown Art Stroll is a great place to take a date! you can walk through different art galleries in downtown Provo, starting with the Covey Center. If you can't make it this weekend they do this event the first Friday of every month, from 6-9 PM. It is free, and sometimes they have light refreshments!

For more info about the Art Stroll click here.

For the amateur Ecologists out there:

The Utah Lake Festival is a little bit of a more educational date. This Saturday from 10 AM till 2 PM at the Utah Lake State Park get your "Utah Lake Festival Passport" stamped at different booths where you can learn about the lakes ecosystem, native species, recreational activities you can do at the lake, etc.

For more info bout the Lake Festival, click here.

Stroll through Pioneer Park

Starting this Saturday the weekly Provo Farmer's Market will be held at Pioneer Park (on the corner of 500 West and Center st) From 9 AM- 2 PM. And they will have lots of vendors there to check out! 

It's a great date idea because you can spend as much money as you want or just go to browse and spend no money at all. Plus, afterwards you can play in the new Splash Pad they have there! 

(The Water is on Mon-Sat 10 AM - 8 PM)

Doesn't this look super fun??

 And don't say its only for children, because here is our Mayor enjoying the water....

Shakespeare in the Park

Currently, Utah Shakespeare in the Park is doing a free (although they take donations) production of A Midsummer Night's Dream in the Orem City Center Park (300 E. Center street) (See the cast here)

They have shows at 7 PM on May 20, 23-25, 27, 30-31 and June 1.

So grab a date, grab a blanket, and head over to the park for a great show.

I also recommend getting ice cream or something after and discussing the play, your families, what sports you like to play, or future wedding plans....

Just kidding, don't bring up wedding plans unless you don't want a second date :)

As for the Contest: Ben Osborn has taken the lead for most dates! But just a reminder it is a drawing, so even with one date you could win. So text me or email me at colleen.barry@me.com to enter!

Light Graffiti

This week's date idea was submitted by one of the blog readers. Here are the instructions:

1. You go out with a camera, put it on long exposure.
2. Take out a flash light, glow stick,  or whatever and draw imaginary shapes in the air. 
3. Have fun laughing about the pictures.

It’s super fun and you get to see your date’s creativity and ability to have fun.

He said you need a camera that you can adjust the exposure time on, so fancy cameras will work and some simple digital cameras will have this option. Have a great week!

Competition Update: Tommy is now tied with Spencer for most dates! Remember anyone who is single can participate, just send in your info and I will put your name in the drawing! Good luck!

Take A Hike

Over the past few weeks I have heard a plethora of people say things like "We should get a big group together to hike Timp!" or "lets invite everyone to go on a hike next week!" Well, I have a better idea....

Why don't you grab a date, and go on a hike together? The great thing is you can make this a date for 2, or a double date, or a group date. But make it a date. 

There are hikes for beginners and experts, and you can also make it as long or short as you would like. Hikes like Stewart Falls, and the "Y", are much shorter than a hike up to the top of Timpanogos. 

Also, since I know you are all curious, The Competition is still going on, and currently Spencer Ellis has more dates than anyone else so the odds are in his favor. Way to go Spencer!

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Date

Many local candy companies give free or cheap tours of their factories, and get this-- YOU DON'T EVEN NEED A GOLDEN TICKET! (although it would be really awesome to ask someone on this date by making a "Golden Ticket" for them...Just sayin') Anyway, I've done a little research for you to find out which one's give tours and put all the information right here in this post. So now all you have to do is find a date and schedule the tour. :)

Here's the list:

Mrs Cavanaugh's -

Availability: Tours are Monday - Friday; 10 AM to 3 PM.

Cost: $1.00 per person

Length: 45 minutes

Address : 835 Northpointe Drive, North Salt Lake, UT 84054. (They recommend using this map instead of GPS)

To schedule tour call: 801-677-8888

Sweet's Candy Company -

Availability: Monday - Thursday 8:40 AM - 3:30 PM

Cost: FREE

Length: 40 Minutes

Address: 3780 W. Directors Row (1100 South) in Salt Lake City

To schedule tour: Fill out form here.

Taffy Town Gourmet Taffy -

Availability: Monday - Thursday 10:30 AM - 2:30 PM

Cost: FREE

Address: 55 West 800 South, Salt Lake City, UT 84110

To schedule tour: Call 801-355-4652 (tour must be scheduled at least 2 days in advance)

**This factory is peanut, tree nut, and gluten free**

Utah Truffles - 

Availability: Monday - Thursday 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Cost: FREE

Address: 5060 West Amelia Earhart Drive Set B., Salt Lake City, UT 84116

To Schedule tour: Just go in anytime during the available hours.

All of these tours happen during the week, but I figured with finals ending this week we probably have time to go on a weekday in the near future. Also, most of them require that you wear close-toed shoes, so be sure to tell your date that.

Make Pizza Together

So I have a (probably unhealthy) addiction to WinCo. But its great and you can buy pre-made pizza dough! Which helped inspire this week's date idea.... so here's what you need to do:

Step 1: Ask someone if they would like to come make pizza with you. (This one was a double date so it was cheaper because you can share ingredients)

Step 2: Go to WinCo (with your date or by yourself) and buy the dough (its over by the cheeses, and they offer white or wheat) get a jar of pizza sauce, some Mozzerella cheese, and any toppings you want on your pizza.

Step 3: Make the pizza. There are directions on the bag of dough, essentially you roll out the dough, put on the sauce, cheese, and toppings, and bake it at 400 degrees. Bonus points if you can flip the dough in the air like Addie did!

Step 4: Have something to do while you wait for the pizza to cook. These couples chose to play cards.

Step 5: Enjoy the pizza!

And there you have it! this can be really fun because you can be as creative as you want or as simple as you want. one of the pizzas was made with stuffed crust and a lightning bolt design. the other was plain crust with all the toppings. So remember to just have fun! As for the cost? It ended up being less than $14 for both pizzas ($7 pre couple)!

Pizza Ingredients for 2 pizzas

Dough.................$2.96

Sauce...................$0.98

Mozzarella............$3.40

Pepperoni.............$2.48

Olives...................$0.74

Green Pepper........$0.48
Mushrooms...........$0.57
Red Onion.............$1.64

Tax........................$0.40

TOTAL               $13.65

Super Awesome Date.......Priceless

**Also if you need to borrow a rolling pin, pizza pan, or aprons feel free to text me 801-602-2593 the ones pictured above are mine and I'm willing to share for the sake of dating :)**

Pass of all Passes

Buy Your Pass of all Passes NOW!!!

(This isn't one of my regular posts but I don't know how long this deal will be on City Deals.)

If you get a pass of all passes it could improve your dating life. Here's how:

• You buy your pass, and a bunch of other people buy theirs. Then when you want to ask someone on a cheap date these passes are your friends! Because if the guy/girl you fancy has a pass like you, the date is free. 
• Likewise if someone thinks you are wicked attractive they will want to ask you out, but being the poor college students that we are they can't pay for a day pass to 7 peaks, or some of the other sweet things on this pass. So they may not ask you out for a long time... 

Moral of the story: Get a pass. 

The greatest thing is if you get it on City Deals you get the pass and a $20 gift certificate to either Costco, Walmart, Amazon, iTunes, Barnes & Nobel, or Target. So it's basically only $12 for the year long pass.

Tulip Festival

The Annual Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point

Thanksgiving Point has an annual tulip festival, this year will be the 9th! The festival starts on April 12 (That's this Friday) and runs until April 27. It will be open 10 AM- 8 PM all days. Admission is $10 Mon-Thurs and $12 Friday-Saturday, they also have Vendors like these who will be there selling food if you want to take advantage of that. And on top of everything they will have different bands and entertainers there!! So go grab a date, and head out to Thanksgiving Point!!

• Pros: You can walk around and talk for as long as the two of you want. When there is an awkward silence you can mention something about the tulips you are looking at. 
• Cons: you have to drive to Thanksgiving Point.

Also if you are having trouble asking someone out you can try using one of these tulip facts to segue into asking them on a date:

1. All of the Tulips at the festival are shipped from Holland and planted six months in advance.
2. Some of the tulips smell like what they are named. Like the "Apricot Beauty"(smells like Apricots)
3. Tulips once crashed an economy. Read about it here.
4. Tulips are edible.

Date Ideas

So, you asked someone on a date and they've agreed to go with you. Everyone is congratulating you (especially if you've liked this person for quite some time) but all you can think is "Oh my gosh!! I have NO idea what to do for our date!!" <Cue the theme music> Colleen Barry here to rescue you! I know, I know, I'm basically a super hero... and I've given a couple of first date ideas to get you started:

Coloring Contest - Get some coloring books and crayons from the dollar store (or google coloring books and print off pictures to color), and each of you take 3-4 pictures from it to color. When you are finished take them to a park, or the children's wing of the hospital, or your nieces/nephews, etc. and have the kids judge them to see who is the better colorer. Then you can sign them and give them to the kids or display them proudly on your own fridge.

• Pros- The date costs under $5, you can talk and get to know each other while coloring, and you can do it in an apartment or at a park.
• Cons- Your date might have wicked coloring skills and blow you out of the water.

Farm Country at Thanksgiving Point - Take a drive up to Thanksgiving Point (3003 N. Thanksgiving Way. Lehi, UT 84043) and pet/feed all the farm animals they have. They are open Monday-Saturday 10 AM- 8 PM. Admission is $6 ($7 on Fridays and Saturdays) and it includes a wagon ride, and if you get there just before 5 PM you can try milking a cow!! Seriously, how often do you get the chance to milk a cow these days?

• Pros: You spend the time walking around so you can talk to your date. You find out if your date is a "germaphobe." It's under $20, so it's relatively inexpensive. And did I mention you can milk a cow?!
• Cons: It's in Lehi so you need a car (but if you do this as a double date you can split gas too).

For more info go here. Also, if you wish to feed the animals you will need quarters for the vending machines.

Keep in mind that if you are looking to not spend very much your dates have to get creative. But creative is awesome! It's way more laid back and you can laugh about things. People tend to get more nervous and awkward the more expensive a date is.