Tacoma Date Night Ideas With an Actual Plan

“We should go out” is a start. Compare seventeen restaurant menus and it turns into staying home.

Pick what you’ll do first. Here are three downtown Tacoma evenings: free art on a Thursday, a movie with time to talk afterward, or a show at the Spanish Ballroom.

1. Free art on a Thursday

Tacoma Art Museum is free on Thursdays from 5 to 8pm. Give it about an hour, then decide on dinner.

Each of you picks a favorite piece, then you show each other. It’s an easier start than agreeing on the best thing in the building.

It’s at 1701 Pacific Avenue. The museum closes on Thanksgiving and other listed holidays, so check its hours before a holiday.

Budget: $0 for admission. Allow two to three hours with dinner.

2. A movie, then somewhere to talk

At The Grand Cinema, 606 Fawcett Avenue, pick the film first and plan the rest around it. The theater opens about 20 minutes before the day’s first screening.

Two regular tickets cost $26. Two matinees cost $20; matinees are before 4pm on weekdays and before 2pm on weekends and holidays. On Thrifty Thursdays, two tickets cost $15, except on holidays, special events and advance screenings.

For a drink afterward, The Vault in Elks Temple is 21+ and first come, first served. It’s open Sunday through Thursday 4 to 10pm, and Friday and Saturday 4pm to midnight, so check when the film ends.

Budget: tickets, plus whatever you order.

3. A show at the Spanish Ballroom

The Spanish Ballroom is inside Elks Temple at 565 Broadway. Pick a show from its calendar, then check doors, start time, ages and the ticket total before you plan dinner.

This is the night somebody else handles the entertainment. Keep the whole show free in your schedule; a reservation right after it means watching the clock. Prices and running times vary by show.

If the plan falls apart

Save the museum for another Thursday, or take a daytime walk on Dune Peninsula. For what’s on tonight, check upcoming events.