If you’re looking to spice up date night this summer, or find an inspired setting for a first meetup, here are a few romantic ideas:
Explore a museum after hours
12100 Glen Rd., Potomac; 1600 21st St., NW; and 925 13th. St., NW
Spend quality time with your special someone at an artsy after-hours museum party or gallery event. The limited-run Summer Evenings at Potomac art complex Glenstone return this month, allowing guests golden-hour access to the outdoor sculptures, drinks and live music on the patio, and a cool respite indoors to view current exhibitions until 8 PM (every Sat through August 30, free with a timed-entry pass). For live music, craft workshops, gallery talks, and refreshments, you can spend a Thursday evening at Phillips After 5 at the Phillips Collection in Dupont Circle (every first Thurs, $20). Or, play word-themed puzzles and sing karaoke at Planet Word’s Wordplay Wednesday museum parties (every first Wed, $5+).
Jazz up your outdoor plans
Seventh St. and Constitution Ave., NW; 1010 Butternut St., NW; and 2401 Foxhall Rd., NW
Visit the National Gallery of Art’s Sculpture Garden with your boo on select Fridays throughout the summer to listen to jazz, Latin fusion, and zydeco concerts. The outdoor Jazz in the Garden sessions are known to fill up fast so be sure to snag tickets the week before each concert when the lottery opens (every Fri through July 11, no concert July 4, free). Or, share a blanket and a picnic at Jazz in the Parks at the Parks at Walter Reed to listen to local bands such as The Blues Alley Youth Quartet and musician Brandon Woody (June 14, July 12, August 23, September 13, free). At The Kreeger Museum, you can pack a picnic and snap your fingers to live music outdoors in the Sculpture Garden (June 21, July 19, August 16, $40).
Create-your-own Shakespeare romance
201 East Capitol St., SE
Go on a walking rom-com adventure through the historic Folger Shakespeare Library—which completed a mega renovation last summer—this June. DC, I Love You: Ready or Not is a new immersive experience that takes visitors through a series of live storytelling performances along a guided tour of the venue. The short plays are based on real love stories collected from DC neighbors (June 14-22, $30 single ticket, $50 with a date).
Play a game of darts
641 New York Ave., NW
Here’s a competitive way to entertain your date: Flight Club is one of the latest upscale gaming concepts to open in DC. At the Mount Vernon Square social bar you can play a tech-equipped round of darts in between bites of tacos, flatbreads, and cotton candy, and sips from the cocktail bar. For adults-only play, schedule your date night for the weekend (daily, $15+ to play, Downtown).
Catch the sunset on a cruise
3000 K St., NW; and 580 Water St., SW
Capitol River Cruises and City Cruises are great options for sunset boat tours and monument sightseeing around DC. On City Cruises, you can have a three-course meal and dance to a live DJ while overlooking the Potomac; on special occasions there are firework shows, too. Capitol River Cruises ship out around 8 PM for 45-minute journeys past Roosevelt Island, the Jefferson Memorial, the Capitol, and the Lincoln Memorial backed by historical narration (daily, $30 for Capitol River Cruises; daily, $22+ for City Cruises).
Briana A. Thomas is a local journalist, historian, and tour guide who specializes in the research of D.C. history and culture. She is the author of the Black history book, Black Broadway in Washington, D.C., a story that was first published in Washingtonian in 2016.
