BEFORE WE GET STARTED…
We are getting into the end of summer, everyone is gearing up to get back into the swing of college life and it should be a blast.
I can’t wait to see you there!
As always, don’t forget to reply with your favorite date idea this week.
Raid the Library’s Game Shelf
Date idea by Sydney
Games · Free
You can get a free library card from Provo City Library, which lets you check out way more than books. They lend board games with no limit on how many you grab, and video games two at a time, so you can walk out with Mario Kart and a stack of Carcassonne and Twister for the price of nothing. The library itself is the old Academy building on University Avenue, a genuinely cool spot to wander even before you hit the Library of Things, where they also lend out telescopes. Grab a few games, take them back to an apartment, and never spend a nickel. The one who loses returns everything.
How to ask: “The library rents board games for free and I refuse to lose at Mario Kart. Come help me pick.”
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Dye Trying
Creative · ~$18
Grab a tie-dye kit and a two-pack of plain white shirts, which together runs about twenty-five bucks and covers both of you with dye to spare. Set up outside on a table because this gets messy, then follow a few folding patterns so you actually get spirals instead of a muddy blob. Don’t forget to let the shirts sit overnight before you rinse, and then you can have an excuse to see your date again. If you want, you can make each other’s shirt instead of your own.
How to ask: “I bought too much dye and I need a partner in crime. You in? You get to design mine.”
Here is your dare for the week, due before the next issue lands.
The $3 date.
Plan and pull off an actual date for three dollars total, both people, three bucks. Send us what you came up with and we'll run the best one.
Featured Single: Get Your Own Card
We’ll feature you as a single in an upcoming issue, using your photo and a few lines about you, so other readers can reach out and ask you out, all for $5. Think a one-person profile card that goes to the whole list instead of doom scrolling on Mutual.
How it works:
(1) Venmo $5 to me, @hamiltonpr,
(2) Fill out this form.
(3) Get featured in the newsletter!
Chase Down a Dirty Soda
Food · Under $10
This is the low-effort classic for a reason. Hit the Swig on Canyon Road in Provo, order two dirty sodas off the menu, and take the long way home with the windows down. A dirty soda is just a fountain drink loaded with cream and fruit and syrup, and the whole point is making each other order something ridiculous. Total damage is under ten dollars for both drinks, which leaves you plenty of night to drive up the canyon or park somewhere with a view and just talk.
How to ask: “Dirty soda run tonight, my treat, but I’m ordering for you and you’re ordering for me.”
Guest Star in our Next Edition
Send us a selfie and you could be a person in next week’s date pictures. We drop you right into the scene using AI, so you and a friend can go looking for yourselves in the photos.
This is totally free so please check it out!
Strike It Rainbow
Funny · Under $10
Build a bowling alley down your apartment hallway. Line up ten plastic cups as pins, grab a tennis ball or an empty can as your bowling ball, and pour a bag of Skittles into each cup so knocking one over actually spills a reward. Keep a running score on the fridge, play best of ten frames, and make the rule that the loser eats whatever lands on the carpet. It costs almost nothing and turns a boring Tuesday into something you will both bring up later.
How to ask: “Building a bowling alley in my hallway tonight, pins included. Bring your competitive side.”
Stargazing Up the Canyon
Outdoors · Free
Once it cools off, drive up to Vivian Park about twelve miles up Provo Canyon, throw a blanket in the grass, and let your eyes adjust. Away from the valley lights you get the actual Milky Way on a clear night, and it is free every single time. Download a stargazing app so you can name what you are looking at, check the moon phase first because a bright moon washes everything out, and if you want to go all in, remember the library lends telescopes. Bring a jacket, it drops fast up there. This is the one where you actually end up talking.
How to ask: “Clear skies tonight. Drive up the canyon with me and see how many stars we can name?”
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UPCOMING DATE OPPORTUNITIES
BONUS EVENTS
Tuesday, July 22: The String Cheese Incident
Red Butte Garden, Salt Lake City · 7:00 pm · Check website for pricing
How to ask: “Outdoor jam-band show at Red Butte tonight. It’s a drive, but it’s the good kind of night out.”
Wednesday, July 23: Riley Green
Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre, West Valley City · 7:00 pm · Check website for pricing
How to ask: “Riley Green in West Valley Wednesday. Wear boots, it’s that kind of show.”
Saturday, July 25: Provo Farmers Market
Pioneer Park, 500 W Center St, Provo · 9:00 am to 2:00 pm · Free (every Saturday through summer)
How to ask: “Provo Farmers Market Saturday morning. We go at 10, you pick what we eat.”
Wednesday, July 29: Alabama Shakes
Red Butte Garden, Salt Lake City · 7:00 pm · Check website for pricing
How to ask: “Alabama Shakes at Red Butte next Wednesday. Grass seats, sunset, done deal.”
Monday, August 3: Andy Grammer with Walk Off The Earth.
Red Butte Garden, Salt Lake City · 7:30 pm · Check website for pricing
How to ask: “Andy Grammer at Red Butte Monday. It’s the happiest concert you’ll go to all summer.”
Wednesday, August 5: Outdoor Movie, Back to the Future.
SCERA Shell, 600 S 400 E, Orem · at dusk · ~$5
How to ask: “Back to the Future on the big outdoor screen Wednesday. I’ll bring the blanket, you bring the snacks.”
Just reply to this email!
From the Editor
The cheap and unique dates are the ones you remember, not the expensive ones you felt stressed about the whole time. Nobody is keeping score on how much you spent, they are keeping score on whether they had fun with you.
Until next time,
— Two Tacos & a Hike