ANN ARBOR, Mich. – With festival season underway and temperatures rising, Ann Arbor is full of vacationers, summer festival goers and art fair enthusiasts.
While restaurants may be booked up, try out one of our summer date ideas for a low-key date during the hottest season of the year.
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Sonic Lunch
Grab some take out and take your lunch date to Sonic Lunch’s free concerts at the corner of Liberty and Division streets. Through the end of August, local and Michigan talent will perform every Thursday at 11:30 a.m. to crowds of families, friends, townies and downtown Ann Arbor visitors.
For a lineup for performances and dates, read Here's who's playing Bank of Ann Arbor's 2019 Sonic Lunch concert series
Ice cream adventures
As temperatures rise, cool off with a sweet treat. Ann Arbor’s downtown area is full of ice cream and gelato shops with wacky and wild flavors as well as tame vanillas and standard chocolates. Check out Washtenaw Dairy for a bit of Ann Arbor history, grab an ice cream flight to split at Blank Slate Creamery, be a bit fancy with Iorio's Gelateria, or be ever so slightly overwhelmed with the crazy number of choices from Michigan Creamery.
If ice cream really isn’t your thing, Kilwin’s has all sorts of sweet treats like truffles, fudge, rice crispy treats and more.
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Ann Arbor District Library’s Summer Game
Go on a real-life scavenger hunt for Ann Arbor District Library’s Summer Game. Make an account and start collecting points as you and your date visit AADL’s five branches to find codes. Sit side by side in one of Ann Arbor’s many cafes as you play the online Summer Game and rack up even more points as you solve riddles, win badges and decipher hints. Points can be turned into the game shop for library-themed prizes starting July 12.
People watch at Art Fair
Out of creative or impressive ideas? Just people watch during Art Fair. After browsing through stalls and stalls of different types of art, grab something to eat from one of the food trucks downtown and watch as people wander around the four different but concurrent art fairs. For more leisurely people watching, grab a seat at one of the numerous restaurant patios or sit in the DIAG for picnic-styled people watching.
Rooftop Deck at Circ Bar
After a day of Ann Arbor Summer Festing or Art Fair people watching, grab a drink at Circ Bar’s rooftop deck. Overlooking downtown’s First Street, enjoy watching as festival goers, friends and families flitter in and out of businesses along the street. Check out the Ann Arbor skyline as the sun sets or head inside to sing some karaoke.
Read: Circ Bar to celebrate opening of new roof deck in downtown Ann Arbor
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