When the weather turns cold, people generally head indoors. This doesn’t mean that having fun has to be left out in the cold or sent south for the winter. Here are five ways to have fun while the weather outside is frightful.

#1 Bar hopping

Indoor bar activities are a fun way to get out of the house and interact with other people in a casual environment. Varsity Blues and the Boobie Trap Bar are two local bars that have entertaining activities during the week.

Varsity Blues, located across the street from campus on 17th street, has Extreme Team Trivia on Thursdays at 7 p.m. Admission is free and anyone over 18 can participate. On Fridays at 9:30 p.m. is karaoke for those over 21 willing to pay the $2 cover.

Live bands rock the house on Saturdays. Cover is between $3 and $5. The best thing about this bar is that it is located close to campus, making it easy to get to.

Down the street on 6th and Washburn is the Boobie Trap, where everything is 18 and up. Karaoke is on Wednesday nights and has no cover for those over 21. Under 21 there is a $1 cover. Live music is featured Fridays and Saturdays for a $5 cover.

#2 Bowling

Going to the bowling alley can be an enchanting way to spend a date or a night out with friends. Gage Bowl has cyber bowling on Saturdays from 10:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. It is $12 per person or $60 per lane with up to 6 people on a lane. After 5 p.m. any day of the week, it is $8.50 per bowler for up to two hours. For those with free afternoons, two hours costs $6.50 per bowler before 5 p.m.

Westridge Lanes has its own version of cyber bowling called cosmic bowling on Fridays and Saturdays from 10 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. The cost is the same as Gage Bowl, $12 per person. On Sunday nights it is $7 per person from 8:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.

#3 Movies

Movies are a fun way to spend an evening. Topeka offers movie-goers two options, Westridge 8 and Hollywood 14. Westridge 8 is the inexpensive movie theater, showing older movies for $2. Hollywood 14 has the latest movies in theaters. Showings before 6 p.m. cost $7.50 and the evening shows are $9.25. For movies in 3D there is a $3 charge.

For movie watching at home there are several options. Family Video and Hollywood Video are two of the video stores in town. Family Video has two for $1 movies in the general catalog. New releases are $2.79 a night for the first month they come out and $2.79 for five nights after they have been out for a month or more. Hollywood Video has a larger selection but is more expensive. New releases are $4.29 for five days and the other movies are $2.99 for five days.

Netflix is another option. Picking up movies from a mailbox saves the trouble of a trip to the video store. Monthly plans start at $4.99 a month, a plan that allows two DVDs a month.

Netflix also offers plans that include streaming of movies and TV shows from its Web site. Starting at $8.99 per month for one DVD at a time unlimited rentals, the plan also includes unlimited watching from a computer or any number of Netflix enabled devices. A $16.99 plan ups the number of DVDs out at once to three and continues with the unlimited viewing on netflix.com.

The Internet Movie Database at imdb.com has movies on its Web site that stream for free. Content is limited, but for the price it’s worth a look. Also free is the service Hulu, which offers streaming of its growing collection of movies and TV shows both in a browser and via Hulu apps for Mac OS X, Windows and Linux.

#4 Board games

Board games are a great way to stay home and entertain. Apples to Apples and the Game of Things are good for inciting hilarity with groups. The spontaneity that comes from answering off the cuff allows for interesting responses. Monopoly is a good way to waste an evening while trying to gain as much real estate as possible. Scene It is a great games to play with friends, competing to see who has the most knowledge of pop culture and movies. These games are available at Walmart and Target for $30 or less.

#5 Campus activities

Finally, one of the most convenient and inexpensive ways to find entertainment is to look on MyWashburn and see what events are going on campus.

Basketball season is here, and the Ichabods and Lady Blues play at home in Lee Arena and can always use fan support. The Mulvane Art Museum, located in Garvey, has two exhibits showing, “The Last Silent Picture Show” and “Color in Freedom: Journey Along the Underground Railroad.” The museum is open 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on the weekend, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday thru Friday. The museum is closed on Mondays.

The Resurrection Debate is this Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Memorial Union. Later in the month will be many events for Slavery Awareness Week, including a play, films and a panel discussion. At the end of the month will be a silent film festival the weekend of the Feb. 26 and 27.

 

These are just some of the ways to keep entertained while it’s cold outside. Now armed with this knowledge, have fun and keep away the wintertime blues.