WITH THE GIRLS, WITH YOUR SPECIAL SOMEONE, OR FOR A FAMILY AFFAIR, HERE ARE A DOZEN-PLUS OPTIONS FOR FUN
STORY BY Mary T. Robbins Phelan
12 Things To Do
When we set out to find the top 12 places to get out and have some fun, we realized there are just too many possibilities to squeeze down to a mere dozen. To help, we broke the list into three categories to accommodate the company we keep: Girls’ Night Out, Date Night and Family Fun with four suggestions in each category. Okay, with a few extras…
So, whether you’re looking to entertain a group of girlfriends who make you laugh like crazy, to plan a special date with the one you love or to bond with the kids, there’s something on this list that you’re sure to enjoy. Together.
WITH YOUR GIRLFRIENDS:
Make Something
Most of us love working with our hands – whether it’s making a beaded bracelet or chopping vegetables for a lovely meal. Here are some ways to share creative urges with friends.
1. The Pottery Stop
Ellicott City & Fulton
www.thepotterystop.com
The paint-your-own-pottery studio offers Bottles ‘n Brushes workshops at both locations as a girls’ night out activity. Bring your own wine and munchies to the two-hour workshop, and learn to paint designs on a platter, vase or other piece of pottery. Along with the scheduled workshops you can create a customized session for a group of six or more.
Hanging out with friends while doing something productive has its benefits, points out manager Maeghan Supple,”You can have a conversation – which is not something you can do in a movie.”
2. Bead Soup
Savage
www.bead-soup.com
At Bead Soup, the second Tuesday of each month is Girl’s Night Out. Owner Kathy Fritz offers free lessons on how to make a piece of beaded jewelry. You purchase the supplies and bring along girlfriends, beverages and snacks to help get the creative juices flowing. Arrive between 4 and 6:30 p.m. and stay as late as 9 p.m. to create your bauble.
3. Tin Lizzie Wineworks
Clarksville
www.tinlizziewineworks.com
What’s better than uncorking a bottle of wine? How about opening a bottle that you made yourself? Tin Lizzie Wineworks offers hands-on instruction for you and your friends. Over the course of several months, participants attend four sessions, beginning with the crushing and fermenting of the grapes and concluding with bottling. Best of all, you get to take home your creation.
4. Home Cooking Classes with
Chef Ben Tehranian, Columbia
www.cookwithben.com
Get the girls together to make a meal under the instruction of Ben Tehranian, a professional chef with more than 22 years of experience. “There is something very special about the act of preparing a meal with friends,” says Tehranian. Attendees can pick from a variety of menus in advance, and Tehranian provides the hands-on instruction, ingredients, supplies and the kitchen. Each 3-hour class covers an appetizer, soup, salad, entrée, side dish and dessert. Cost varies depending on the number of people in your group.
Other Suggestions:
The Columbia Association Art Center also offers a girls’ night out, one Friday each month. Instructors lead the group in fun DIY projects, and participants are encouraged to bring snacks and beverages. For information, www.columbiaartcenter.org.
WITH YOUR DATE
If spending time with your partner has recently begun to feel like you’re hanging out with a roommate, you both need to get out – fast. Hire a sitter and put date night prominently on the calendar. Here are some delicious options:
5. The Rumor Mill
Ellicott City
www.therumormillrestaurant.com
Two words: small plates. That means you can share a romantic meal without eating so much that you yearn for your sweatpants. Afterward, take a romantic stroll along Ellicott City’s Main Street.
6. Elkridge Furnace Inn
Elkridge
www.elkridgefurnaceinn.com
There’s more to the Elkridge inn than romantic dining (though that could be enough). If you want to add some fun, treat your partner to a cooking class, a murder mystery dinner or a wine tasting.
7. Let’s Dish!
Columbia
www.letsdish.com
On the third Friday of every month, Let’s Dish, the meal-assembly franchise, suggests that you enjoy each other’s company while making a month’s worth of meals to stock the freezer. Special music selections, treats and free samples – along with adult beverages that you provide – create a festive atmosphere. Along with the meals, you’ll leave with a complementary two-pack of chocolate lava cakes to store in your freezer for a worry-free romantic meal at home.
8. Donna’s
Columbia
www.donnas.com
Restaurant owner Donna Crivello teaches cooking classes on Wednesday nights and loves to host couples. If you’d rather raise a glass than raise a fork, she also offers wine tastings on Thursday evenings.
WITH YOUR FAMILY
9. Family Game Store
Savage
www.familygamestore.net
This family owned and operated store has been hosting Saturday evening game nights since it opened six years ago, says general manager Stewart Sinex. Families arrive to ‘test drive’ any of the 70 to 80 open games in the store or bring their favorite games from home.
“We are social creatures,” Sinex says. “People like to interact with each other.” Whether your clan likes board games, puzzles or memory games, you will find some amusement here. Families can play the games on their own or compete against others, Family Feud-style.
10. Tag Party Recon
Savage
www.tagpartyrecon.com
Billed as the thrill of paintball without the welts and messy paints, Tag Party Recon offers outdoor laser tag played on four acres of woods with natural and man-made barriers near Historic Savage Mill. The company began in 2005 with mobile outdoor laser tag, and last September opened its own permanent location. Laser tag, according to the company, “allows you to bring aspects of your favorite video games to life.” The new field incorporates features of such contemporary video games as Halo, Call of Duty and Day of Defeat. Groups of players form teams or tag parties and find their way through woods and brush to capture flags without being eliminated. Children must be at least 10 years old.
11. Terrapin Adventures
Savage
www.terrapinadventures.com
Zip lines, gigantic swings and other outdoor adventures await thrill-seeking families who want to choose their own adventures. Whether it’s gliding 30 feet above the ground on a 330-foot long zipline or climbing the 43-foot Terrapin Tower, activities are geared toward all skill levels. In the High Ropes Challenge Course, adventurers find themselves maneuvering through 18 traverses with names like “the vine walk”, “the heebie-jeebie,” and the “eagle walk” – all high in the air. And, of course, there’s the Giant Swing, unlike any neighborhood playground, which plunges from 40 feet up. Children must be at least 8 years old to participate in any activity. Some height and weight restrictions also apply.
12. Friends of the Patapsco Valley & Heritage Greenway Inc.
patapscoheritagegreenway.org
Why not volunteer as a family for one of the stream clean-ups hosted by the Friends of Patapsco Valley and Heritage Greenway Inc.? The organization is dedicated to preserving and protecting the environment, history and culture of the valley between Daniels and Elkridge. A few times a year, volunteers meet at various locations along the Patapsco River to help clean up debris and maintain the riverbanks. In the last five years, the nonprofit organized 151 separate clean-ups, removing more than 191 tons of trash.
Adult volunteers and families are also needed for the Stream Watch Program, “adopting” a short stretch of a stream. Cleaners remove trash from their section on a quarterly basis, while walkers collect information on the health of the stream by walking along the bank.
Another option for outdoor activities can be found at The Howard County Conservancy (www.hcconservancy.org), the 300-year-old, 232-acre Mt. Pleasant Farm in Woodstock. Every second Sunday of the month the conversancy offers Wonder Walks, a free nature hike and free evening events are also scheduled throughout the year.
