The Silver Spring Arts and Entertainment District is the perfect location for a date night to celebrate Valentine’s Day. This year, Valentine’s Day falls on Wednesday, Feb. 14, which allows for last-minute planners to celebrate through the weekend with your sweetheart, your kids or your friends.
Designated as an Arts and Entertainment District by the State of Maryland in 2001, the Silver Spring Arts and Entertainment District is a hub of performance venues, restaurants and nightlife, festivals, community celebrations and family friendly fun. An Arts and Entertainment District helps develop and promote community involvement, tourism and business revitalization through tax-related incentives that attract artists, arts organizations and other creative enterprises.
The special events and opportunities centered around Valentine’s Day in Downtown Silver Spring will include:
- If you prefer the traditional dinner and a movie, the Silver Spring Arts and Entertainment District has almost 200 restaurants, including elegant dining, ethnic foods and casual fare with no reservations required. Some of the restaurants have prix-fixe holiday dinners like All Set’s Bella Notte or post Valentine’s dining events like J. Hollinger’s Cupid’s Brunch on Saturday., Feb. 17.
- Romantic movies dominate the offerings at the historic AFI Silver Theater and Cultural Center including classics Sabrina, It Happened One Night, Roman Holiday, His Girl Friday or quirky romances like Scott Pilgrim Versus the World. The Majestic Theater has more family friendly blockbusters like Peppa’s Cinema Party and Dune.
- How about a romantic artwalk? Near the restaurants off of Colesville Road and Silver Plaza, sculptural Sisyphus is based on a Greek legend. The courtyard, bathed in the light of the Bio Wall and DNA sequence, is a great place. The slow kinetic turn of Botero Ballerinas is mesmerizing. Silver Spring has more than 50 pieces of public art.
- Seeking live music? Silver Spring has a great nightlife and bar scene featuring live concerts most nights at the Fillmore Silver Spring.
- The Maryland Youth Ballet is offering a free Friday Night Dance Series originating in African tradition at 7 p.m. from Friday, Feb. 9, through Friday, Feb. 23.
- Art and jazz music make for a very sophisticated date. The Bettie Mae Kramer Gallery is hosting a jazz performance by Darden Purcell and Paul Bratcher at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 14.
- Outdoor Skating at Veterans Plaza is open seven days with daytime and evening hours. With lively music and a colored light canopy at night, the rink is nearby a variety of coffee and ice cream shops, and casual dining for a relaxed outing. Skating sessions are for two hours. The rink has more than 400 pairs of skates available to rent, sized from toddler to adult.
- How about a beer and a game? Silver Branch Brewing is offering Elemental Trivia, at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 14. Third Hill Brewing partners with Capital Trivia for Thursday night games starting at 7 p.m. Third Hill Brewing is also offering a Valentine pop up with local artisans from 2-8 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 10.
- The Montgomery College Cultural Arts Center is hosting an Ethiopian musical performance, Meklit Live, at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 15, and an Italian guitar duo at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 18.
- For comedy lovers, Sprung Comedy Festival is being presented by Improbable Comedy at the Silver Spring Black Box Theater from Feb. 9-11.
- The American Legion Post 41 is hosting six bands and an all-night happy hour beginning at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 10.
- Sign up for a creative art class or workshop at Arts on the Block or Create Arts. They have upcoming offerings of felting, pottery, painting and more.
- Two great friend outings or family entertainment locations with daily offerings during Valentine’s week include puzzle rooms at The Big Escape Room Silver Spring and arcade games at Dave and Busters Silver Spring.
For more information and an events calendar, visit the official Silver Spring website.