The firepower you can invoke for this festive holiday involves both fireworks and firing a rifle, all for fun:
— Pop goes the fireworks? Also, pop goes the rockin’ tunes. To that end, the band PopROCKS plays the Smilin’ Moose this Friday night, and they definitely come recommended, since they were prominently listed in the online ranking that is Music Mates musicians megabase. Two the point that among the dozens of bands that got at least one vote, this dance music crew garnered the most among perhaps any group that regularly plays the Hudson area.
And with that said, the rest of this previously existing community calendar department lists V-Day offerings that in most cases go beyond Wednesday itself:
— What says Valentine’s Day more than guns? Such as the AR-15 Oracle ($399) and the Sniper 370 compound crossbow package ($199) on special this week at Gregerson Ace Hardware in Baldwin. Be aware that they only take cash and paper checks, not debit or credit cards. And while you are at it, you can try the gonzo target shooting experience at the Bill’s Gun Shop range up on The Hill in Hudson.
— And if things go really sour, you can check out the following ad in the rest room at Next Stop Bar in Houlton, (yes, I’m in the business of getting you in the door of such businesses, hence the tease). Its for a fireworks display company, and says among the many occasions you might want to use their services, to set some major stuff off, is having a divorce party. And along the lines of teasing, without giving away my secrets, such as they are, you might consider (among the many venues that are offering the ultimate V-Day experience as far as food and more amenities), the completely over the top lovers special at The Postmark Grille. It even includes the possibility of an hour or two having dinner in the old postal vault, complete with chocolates and flowers, courtesy of the staff.
— But V-Day can become V-week and more. The steak and seafood special dinners for the holiday, or holi-week, such as it is, are served weekend to weekend, Feb. 9-18, at the Bungalow Inn in Lakeland. That’s a full ten days of great food.
— So Lent is just around the corner, and since you’ve been waiting for your best seafood dinner for all these months, why not change it up and have something different from that flourish of fish fries on Fridays? (And, if you can’t wait, why not celebrate more creatively the bounty of the sea, while still conforming with the season(s), on Ash Wednesday/Valentine’s Day?)
Enter Paddy Ryan’s, in the town of Hudson, for entrees you’ll have trouble finding elsewhere in western Wisconsin. Namely these: Clarenbridge calamari, breaded with the local touch of house seafood sauce; Belfast seafood chowder in a rich cream stock with fresh herbs and a splash of sherry; and finally, glazed salmon fillet topped with a maple, Dijon and bacon glaze (OK, we can cut you some slack with that last ingredient).
— I normally don’t include Stillwater in my mix, but this is just totally out there, to the point of being tropically oriented. On Wednesday, the Tilted Tiki across the river there has a dozen or more of their own takes on old standards, and the creativity just might impress your significant other. And, a few blocks away, the Gasthaus, with Bavarian style, is offering Valentinstag, (I’m 100 percent German, ouch, and I still don’t know what that means, but it sounds cool as it rolls off the tongue, and there is always their strolling accordian player on the weekends to make it even more authentic). And as for any of these last-minute salvations, make reservations guys. And don’t wait any longer!