Valentine’s Day activities no longer need to be limited to candle-lit dinners with chocolates and roses: with activities like thrifting and cookie-making, Evanston is rife with opportunities to celebrate romantic, platonic and familial love this Friday.
Many downtown restaurants are offering a special menu on Feb. 14, tailored for a cozy table of two. Sushi restaurant Koi, French-Moroccan eatery LeTour, American-style restaurant Alcove and Evanston Corner Bistro will all be serving a special three-course menu.
Those with a sweet tooth can go to Patisserie Coralie for a special heart-shaped cake. The cafe will offer one made for two, and one big enough to serve six to eight people.
Bennison’s Bakery is also offering a plethora of heart-shaped items, ranging from desserts made out of marzipan to chocolate, cheesecake and cookies. Or, for a simpler touch, customers can buy a pound of chocolate-covered strawberries.
One of the store’s managers, Clover Jeffers, said Bennison’s typically gets busier toward the end of the week, and the cafe is gearing up for additional sales of holiday items Thursday and Friday.
“We have marzipan hearts that have cake and strawberry and then some fruit on top,” Jeffers said. “And then, also we have a bunch of heart-shaped tea cookies right now that people are coming in for.”
Families can also participate in Valentine’s events. Max and Benny’s will have Valentine-themed cookie-making kits for grandparents and their grandkids.
Flower shops are also offering specials. FlowersFlowers on Davis Street has six unique arrangements only available from Feb. 12 to Feb.14.
Amanda Ault, FlowersFlowers’ owner and creative director, said each bouquet is inspired by the kind of messages that are on colorful candy hearts, such as “Call Me” or “XOXO.”
Ault said the store usually makes four times its normal daily sales during Valentine’s Day, selling bouquets that feature spring flowers and motifs.
“We really look at what’s seasonally available,” she said. “We really want to go for really luxurious blooms — beautiful garden roses, ranunculus, anemone. We love that garden feel.”
Weinberg freshman Sam Weinick has been buying flowers leading up to Valentine’s Day and plans to go to Bennison’s for breakfast with his girlfriend.
Weinick isn’t the only one out shopping this week. The Society of American Florists reported in 2022 that Valentine’s Day is the leading holiday for floral purchases, with 30% of annual holiday transactions taking place on Feb. 14.
“I first of all think it’s a scam by the corporate industry to make a lot of money,” Weinick said. “But, at the end of the day, it’s a fun and good opportunity to celebrate love.”
For artsier couples, the Thrift House is hosting its annual Heart Hunt Sale. If a customer finds a heart on any item of clothing, the price will be reduced by 50%.
And, for people who are looking for a less involved activity that doesn’t require intimate conversation, Evanston’s AMC movie theater will be showing newly released romance movies throughout the day Friday, such as “Love Hurts” and “Heart Eyes.”
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