It's a Date: Three Fresh Ways to Celebrate Valentine’s Day

Make a day — or night — of it with your galentines, your red-hot lover, or your own special self

By Jillian Manning | Feb. 5, 2022

With Valentine’s Day around the corner, Northern Express set out to find some creative new ways to observe the holiday. Say so long to flowers and dinner — from breaking glass to getting sweaty with your partner to catching the performance of the season, here are our top three recommendations for Valentine’s 2022.

1. Galentine’s Day at Smash Club
Planning to spend the holiday with your besties? Rage rooms have been popping up around the country, offering patrons the opportunity to take out their frustration in a controlled environment … or just laugh and break stuff. Smash Club in Alanson offers everything you could ever want to break, bust, or shatter, from champagne towers to dishware to old office equipment. They even let you bring in your own smash-able goods from home — a great choice if you want to say farewell to a gift from an ex.

According to Smash Club manager Victoria Van Hooser, the experience is both energizing and cathartic. “We can really see the change in people [from] before they go into their session [and] after they come out,” she says. “It really is a great tool … and you don’t have to do the cleanup.” 

The first rule of Smash Club: proper gear, which means long sleeves, pants, and closed-toed shoes. The space includes two smash rooms and a party room for groups of up to six, where customers can bring in snacks and non-alcoholic beverages. A 20-minute BYOB (Bring Your Own Breakables) session starts at $20, and you can even get a recording of your session to watch later with your friends. Or send to your ex, mwah hah hah.

Pro Tip
What does Van Hooser recommend to make the experience extra fun? First: great music. “You can set up your own music,” she says. “If you want to listen to the 10-minute version of “All Too Well” by Taylor Swift, or Metallica, we’ve heard it all.”

Second: a little bit of screaming. “Honestly, I’ve started just yelling things,” she says with a laugh. “Screaming is encouraged.”

Make a Day of It
While alcohol isn’t allowed at Smash Club (for obvious reasons), after your session, head over to Mammoth Brewing in Petoskey for a celebratory cocktail followed by dinner at Pour Kitchen & Bar. (Just don’t break anything while you’re there!)

2. A Red Hot Winter Adventure at MI Sauna
If you’ve driven along Traverse City’s US 31 on East Bay this winter, you’ve probably seen MI Sauna camped out in the Keith J. Charters State Park parking lot on Saturday afternoons. Stop by this weekend, and you and your special someone can take a cozy steam in the 200-degree sauna followed by a dip in East Bay, where a hole in the ice, called an avanto, is precut. (For those not looking for a polar plunge, just step outside for a few minutes to cool down throughout the session.)

“People love it. They’re embracing it,” says owner Daniel Sarya. “You get in touch with your own self and the people around you. It’s a way to step back into nature and focus on the simplest things in life: getting hot, getting cold, and breathing.” 

Bring your bathing suit and a spirit of adventure for this traditional Finnish experience, which is said to have health benefits ranging from improved skin to relaxed muscles and increased immunity. Sarya, himself a Finn, has been back to the motherland twice to ensure he’s keeping his northern Michigan business authentic and in line with Finland’s sauna culture.

While Valentine’s Day weekend slots are filling up fast, the sauna typically has openings on Saturdays from 11am to 5:30pm.

Pro Tip
Sarya has some advice to optimize your visit:

·      Eat a well-balanced meal prior to your reservation.
·      Have water on hand to stay hydrated before, during, and after.
·      Wear your bathing suit under your clothes so you can hop right inside the sauna (a             changing room is available) without wasting time. 

He also says to come ready to turn off your phone and lean into the relaxing, meditative atmosphere of the sauna.

“Everybody just needs time for themselves,” Sarya says, “a time when you can sit back and reset for your week.”

Make a Day (or Night) of It
Snag a great deal on a room at one of the many hotels along Traverse City’s East Grand Traverse Bay to turn your sauna afternoon into a mini stay-cation. Restaurant options abound — complete with takeout and delivery — so you can hole up and enjoy an evening of rest and relaxation before or after your day dip.

3. The Greatest Love Story Ever Told at Interlochen — and GLCFA
Romeo and Juliet are headed to the stage at Interlochen over Valentine’s Day weekend with showtimes available Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The Arts Academy Dance Division will be performing Sergei Prokofiev’s ballet adaptation of Shakespeare’s famous work, and Dance Director Joseph Morrisey says this is one show you can’t miss. 

It’s the largest-scale dance production Interlochen has ever presented, and according to Morrisey, the costumes and set design make it feel “like you’re being transported to Verona, Italy.”

Although the story is a familiar one, Morrisey adds that the tale of the star-crossed lovers remains relevant today. “With its universal messages of love—and overcoming social, cultural, and ideological obstacles —‘Romeo and Juliet’ is a ballet to which everyone can relate.”

Pro Tip
Star-crossed lovers who can’t make the Interlochen dates, do not despair. Interlochen's Academy Dance Division will again present their show for audiences two weekends hence (aka Feb. 25) at Great Lakes Center for the Arts in Bay Harbor.

Make a Day (or Night) of It
What’s a show without dinner? If you elect to take in one of the performances at Interlochen, you’ll find great food and casual atmospheres at nearby favorites like Hofbrau Steak House or Boone’s Long Lake Inn, overlooking nearby Long Lake. For a more romantic vibe, catch a matinee (see the Top 10 for a family friendly free one) and book an evening wine dinner at one of the Leelanau wineries offering Valentine’s Day specials: Brengman Brothers, Shady Lane Cellars, or Black Star Farms.

Doing Bay Harbor Feb. 25? Might we suggest surprising your sweetheart by escorting them from the Friday night performance at GLCFA to The Inn at Bay Harbor for some overnight delights. A short arm-in-arm stroll away, The Inn has a few new surprises of its own to offer this winter: a new ice skating rink, complete with café lights and bonfires; Saturday morning Barre and Yoga fitness classes; a new menu of winter cocktails — plus, free use of snowshoes to tromp around the lakeside grounds.