By Nadine Moedt (The Cascade) – Email
Print Edition: September 10, 2014
Whether it’s your first date or you are just looking to add some creativity to your routine, here are some student-friendly, local options for a night out with your sweetheart.
Suburban Swing and Rocko’s: $30
If your date is into old-school dancing, put on a pinstripe suit, fedora or high-waisted sailor shorts and head to Suburban Swing. Every Sunday night at the Abbotsford Social Activity Association (ASAA) — yes, that’s a place — on Essendene, East Coast swing instructors start with a beginners lesson and end with a few hours of dimly lit suburban swing. The night is $8 for students. After the dancing, head over to Rocko’s, a 24-hour ‘50s themed diner in Mission, for milkshakes or deep-fried pickles.
Duft and Co. and the Clay Cottage: $20
This date option offers a walking tour of downtown Abbotsford. Start at the newly renovated Duft and Co. for a real butter croissant and an espresso. Take a window shopping tour of lifestyle store Spruce Collective, the farmers market (if it’s a Saturday), Hemingway’s Books, and the FreeWheelin’ record shop. Then make your way up to the Clay Cottage, where you can pick out a piece of pottery, choose a paint, and channel your inner Burgess & Leigh. The Clay Cottage will fire your art, and voila! A new set of coasters or special mug!
Apple picking and Little Farm Products: $15
Agri-tourism: a classic Abbotsford date. This one is bikeable. Start at Willowview farms on McCallum, pick Honeycrisp apples, Italian plums, Bartlett pears, or sweet corn, and sample the delicious apple cider. Next, head over to Little Farm Products, a magical little hobby farm and community garden just down the road from UFV. Collect your own eggs from the chicken coop, meet Rambo the ram, and have some tea in a quaint tearoom.
Brunch and Birchwood Dairies: $20
Bond with your date over the cheapest brunch in town: Townhall’s weekend special is $5, and includes eggs, toast, hash browns, and bacon or sausage. Upgrade for my favourite, an egg and bacon wrap with a fruit bowl, for $6. Next, head over to Birchwood Dairies, where you’ll be greeted by a friendly donkey, a horse, and a couple of goats. The dairy makes their own ice cream on site and have a variety of flavours sold by the cone. A sunny field next to the store is perfect for some volleyball or soccer.
