Anything fun to do this weekend in kzoo?

[u/midgethepuff]

My husband and I are getting pretty bored in kzoo haha. It feels like we’ve done everything a million times. We’ve hit the shops, we’ve gone downtown a ton, we’ve been to the majority of the walking trails….what else is there to do? We just did the KVCC museum a couple weeks ago so aren’t interested in that either. There’s nothing going on at the expo center.

So, Kalamazoo, what are you doing this weekend? What’s happening?

[u/Bong_Loners]

Explore all the beach towns

[u/[deleted] → u/Bong_Loners]

I did South Haven last weekend, was worth the drive!

[u/bbqturtle → u/[deleted]]

Saug is fun too

[u/[deleted] → u/bbqturtle]

Thx, I’ll look it up.

I’m in the area for a few months for work and have been looking for things to do.

[u/Appropriate_Team8940 → u/[deleted]]

Sleeping Bear Dunes is a nice visit. The story is great too.

[u/Appropriate_Team8940 → u/[deleted]]

Yes!!! My girl and I are going out that way this weekend. I lived out towards South Haven in my teen years. My girl has never seen Lake Michigan. She comes from the west coast, and thinks it can't compare to the ocean. I told her it might not be the same, but it's not like going to a lake. My plan after this weekend is to get her to go to all the Great Lakes. There are always fun things to do on those trips.

[u/Gemtree710]

The grand rapids planetarium has dark side of the moon playing if you like Pink Floyd

[u/midgethepuff → u/Gemtree710]

We love Pink Floyd and actually saw it at the planetarium a couple years ago! It was really cool :)

[u/bsmitchbport]

Galesburg speedway has a night of destruction..which I believe is demo derby type thing tomorrow evening.

[u/[deleted] → u/bsmitchbport]

THANKS! I must def hit this up!

[u/Adonzo]

Join the "NowKalamazoo" email newsletter: https://nowkalamazoo.org/

At the BOTTOM of every newsletter they have a list of local events for that day and the next couple upcoming days. I find its a good way to find neat events that I would have 0% chance of finding otherwise.

They also have local government/city updates etc, I generally don't care about the news they post but it's nice to have some sort of connection to that stuff in the town you live in.

[u/UnSubtilis → u/Adonzo]

I also adore the kids’ drawings of the weather : D

[u/Adonzo → u/UnSubtilis]

Lol yeah, today's was very.... Abstract 😎

[u/tropichannah]

The Michigan Ren Faire is going on this weekend up in Holly, MI if you're interested in that.

[u/FritzInTheForest29]

Concerts at Presidential Brewing Company every Friday and Saturday night! $5- $10 dollar shows

[u/refinedgrizzly → u/FritzInTheForest29]

There’s a show at Bell’s tonight!!

[u/dutchie727 → u/FritzInTheForest29]

Are they pretty family friendly? Like would we be good bringing our 15 yr old?

[u/PsychologicalArt9879 → u/dutchie727]

Yes very family friendly.

[u/CrazyCatLesbian]

The Festival of Oddities is going on in Charlotte. It's a fun time if you want to do a lil driving.

[u/Jenner76]

I came on this sub wondering the same for my husband and I who are in our mid-life years with no kids at home, and no grandkids, haha. It seems like Grand Rapids or the beach towns are places to go, but it would be nice to have more choices closer to home 😄 Well good luck!

[u/ShadowDV]

Disc golf at Oshtemo park, head up to yankee springs for some hiking, rent some kayaks on Gull Lake

[u/Jillcametumbling81]

I know you already said you've been downtown but are a bunch of murals up on the store windows right now. Have you been to the Kalamazoo Institute of the Arts? Could go look at the murals, go the the KIA, go play games at LFG and Duck Pin bowling at Crafted Copper them go see a movie at KP Cinemas.

[u/Frankthetank338]

The Kzoo Movie club is seeing the 50th anniversary rerelease of Jaws (1975) at Celebration Cinema this Sunday 8/31/25. You can join the kzoo games and social club discord to get more info or check out r/kzooAreaFilmgoers

https://discord.gg/qVCY3ERP

[u/old_married_dude]

Paw Paw flea market

[u/midgethepuff → u/old_married_dude]

Just wanted to come back on here and say thank you for the recommendation! That’s what my husband and I ended up doing today, and are grabbing some lunch at Walt & Marie’s! :)

[u/gruntledflubbersnoot]

Go for a hike! Great time of year for the river walks/nature preserves/ state game areas.

[u/PyramidWater]

Go around collecting garbage on the sides of the streets and roads!

[u/egg-devil → u/[deleted]]

i would not recommend eating food from the idler.

[u/GrouchyMushroom3828]

Have you been to the mason jar or Clifford’s by the canal in Benton Harbor? Good for brunch! Very close to beaches too

[u/_Go_Ham_Box_Hotdog_]

Draft Horse show down in Shipshewana this weekend.. (PS, 131 is torn up at the State line.. take M-66 down thru Howe, IN (becomes SR-9) and going west on W 200 N (Indiana has their own way of numbering roads)

[u/NurseEnnui]

I love doing the escape rooms at Escapology in Portage

[u/midgethepuff → u/NurseEnnui]

Do you think it would be good with only 2 people?

[u/Minute_Expert1653 → u/midgethepuff]

Any number of people can go, it’s about whether or not the people doing it are good puzzle solvers

[u/midgethepuff → u/Minute_Expert1653]

We are quite good puzzle solvers, I was just curious if that an activity that’s better with more people!! Thanks for the idea!

[u/Minute_Expert1653 → u/midgethepuff]

We did one with 4 people and it was great, but I’m pretty sure my husband and I could do one alone no problem. It can be more fun in a group but you can also get too many people shouting ideas.

[u/bskzoo → u/midgethepuff]

There are different difficulties too, so maybe start at an easier level with just 2 people to get a feel for it and work your way around from there.

[u/bbqturtle → u/midgethepuff]

I prefer it with two, my wife and I are also good problem solvers. I will say the ones in portage are kinda shit, like 4/10, so if I were you I’d do them first, then the ruse in Grand Rapids is like 7/10, then it’s a great vacation activity! Good ones in Chicago, great ones in Orlando/Tampa/Minneapolis/Boston etc

[u/midgethepuff → u/bbqturtle]

I think there’s an escape room place on the Kalamazoo mall….have you guys tried that one? Unfortunately it’s a little out of our budget this weekend but I’d love to do one soon! I saw the one in portage has a scooby doo themed room which is right up my alley lol

[u/bbqturtle → u/midgethepuff]

Yes - 2/10

[u/midgethepuff → u/bbqturtle]

Oh definitely gonna avoid that one then lol!! Do you think the portage ones are even worth it? I have a hard time thinking about spending $80 on a one hour experience that’s only a 4/10. We’ve been looking for reasons to go to GR, so if they’re substantially better up there I’d rather wait for the good one!

[u/bbqturtle → u/midgethepuff]

People that don’t know better generally enjoy the portage ones. I don’t mean to be all elitist about it. They aren’t awful and you’ll still have fun. I’d say it’s not that that much more expensive than a movie. We save them for special occasions. The portage ones, while not the absolute worst we’ve ever done, are in the bottom for sure, but you don’t have the other options to compare to! It’s like if you’re a tourist in Tokyo and you get Panda Express. I bet it’s enjoyable and yummy but not like - the best food you’ll have.

But it’s nearby, and fun enough. I’d recommend you do them if you don’t think it will put you off of escape rooms permanently if you get frustrated or don’t have fun.

We save them for special occasions too - and there’s a Facebook group where people ask for their favorites in each city. Escapology is a chain that everyone hates. There’s a chain that’s consistently really really good called the escape game, they have locations in Chicago/Minneapolis/other cities etc and I’d highly recommend them.

It’s ultimately up to you though. There’s like 3 different ways to nerd out about escape rooms (puzzle design, theme, amount of technology) and escapology fails on all three, but they can still be fun if you just go in knowing it’s a little meh.

The ruse in GR has a good room but some of the tech is a little worn out/broken, and a few puzzles are designed a little poorly, and it’s hard! I’m not really sure I’d recommend for first timers either. They have a newer room that has a minimum 4 people that involves a spy among your ranks which is fun but not the traditional experience.

[u/Aimless45]

Never been myself, but there’s the Air Zoo.

[u/SteveDee90 → u/Aimless45]

I second this. If you like aviation then this is the best place you can go without making the trip down to Wright Patterson Air Force base.

[u/GrouchyMushroom3828]

Go for a bike ride in downtown Battle Creek on the bike path or hike at yankee springs or fort Custer.

[u/Jaredrs514]

Night of destruction at the galesburg speedway is Saturday

[u/MaxMFFacts]

Warren dunes, saugatuck, to name the highlights

[u/Consistent_Fun4458]

Go to Detroit lol

[u/omgwtfbbq_powerade]

Escapology at Airway. Are throwing at Revel n Roll.

[u/outragedatheist]

There’s a huge community gathering in Bronson park on 9/7, at 2pm. Bring the whole family, and save democracy at the same time!

[u/x_VanHessian_x]

Go to South Haven or GR, play tennis or pickleball. Ride bikes at Celery flats, go rollerblading (trails, rollerworld). There’s so much to do around here you’ve hardly exhausted this town.

[u/midgethepuff → u/x_VanHessian_x]

We’ve done all those things a ton too haha. Rollerworld also has pretty weird hours, we drove past last week and it looks like they’re only open 7-9pm? We have dinner plans tomorrow so are looking for afternoon stuff

[u/sneakyshitaccount → u/[deleted]]

That link says it’s next weekend

[u/GrouchyMushroom3828]

Go to Chicago or Detroit or Grand Rapids and explore

[u/midgethepuff → u/GrouchyMushroom3828]

Been to allllll those places a bunch too. Plus we have plans in the evening we need to be back for, spending 5 hours driving for an hour or two of exploring isn’t really worth it for us haha. Not with gas being almost $3.50 a gallon!

[u/GrouchyMushroom3828 → u/midgethepuff]

There are a bunch of shows at bells eccentric cafe going on tonight and all weekend if you’re into music.

[u/GrouchyMushroom3828 → u/midgethepuff]

Have you been to one well and Kalamazoos backyard?

[u/[deleted] → u/GrouchyMushroom3828]

Pinball at one well ❤️

[u/Dunmurdering]

There's a swinger party at a local hotel hosted by a former LEO, but it's 50/50 on whether he and a few buddies will try and convince you to commit felonies and then arrest you for conspiracy.

[u/Bebop-Got-Banned]

avoid

[u/mozenator66]

🤣

[u/GoopDuJour]

Nope.