Parents, when was the last time you went on an actual date?
Not grocery shopping without the kids. ๐
Not sitting next to each other on the couch while both scrolling your phones.
And definitely not eating the kids' leftover chicken nuggets over the kitchen sink.
I'm talking about getting out of the house and doing something FUN together.
October may be one of my favorite months for family fun, but it is also ridiculously good for date nights. We've got live music, comedy, theater, fall festivals, spooky experiences, ghost stories, speakeasies, art, cocktails, magic and plenty of opportunities to remember that before you became Mom and Dad, you were two people who actually liked hanging out together. ๐
So call the babysitter, trade childcare with another family, or put the teenagers in charge for a few hours.
We're going on a date. ๐
๐ Downtown Castle Rock
๐
October 2โ11
๐ฐ Cost varies by restaurant
Participating independent restaurants throughout Downtown Castle Rock are creating special items that aren't normally on their menus.
๐ DATE IDEA: Make a rule that you have to choose somewhere neither of you has eaten before.
Bonus points if neither person says, โI don't care, where do YOU want to go?โ for at least 15 minutes.
๐ Pikes Peak Center, Colorado Springs
โฐ 7:30 PM
๐ต Live music
A night celebrating music associated with Elton John, Paul McCartney, Rod Stewart and Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Dinner downtown + live music = somebody planned a proper date.
๐ Loonees Comedy Corner
1305 N. Academy Blvd., Colorado Springs
โฐ 7 PM & 9:15 PM shows
๐ฐ Previously listed at approximately $20โ$30; check current ticket selection.
Start October laughing together instead of discussing whose turn it was to unload the dishwasher.
๐ Bennett Avenue, Cripple Creek
๐ฐ FREE admission
Live entertainment, fall scenery, vendors, food, beer gardens and those famous Cripple Creek donkeys.
๐ WORTH THE DRIVE DATE: Take the scenic drive, wander Fall Fest, grab dinner and make an entire day of it.
๐ Colorado Springs area
โฐ 10 AMโ6 PM
German-inspired food, local craft beer, fall flowers, pumpkins and mountain scenery.
This is one of those dates that works particularly well when you don't want to wait until nighttime.
๐ Peak Improv Theater, Colorado Springs
โฐ 7โ8:30 PM
Nothing is scripted, which means neither of you knows what's coming next.
Basically parenting, except funny on purpose.
๐ Loonees Comedy Corner, Colorado Springs
๐ฐ Ticket prices vary
Multiple nights of comedy make this an easy option when you finally discover which night the babysitter can actually come.
๐ Rosemount Museum, Pueblo
โฐ ThursdayโSaturday: 6โ9 PM
โฐ Sunday: 4โ7 PM
๐ฐ $25 general admission
๐ Recommended for ages 12+
โญ BUZZY DATE NIGHT PICK
This isn't your typical haunted house.
Small groups travel room-to-room through historic Rosemount Museum after dark, encountering live solo performances and an immersive audio experience inspired by Victorian horror.
Timed entries begin every 15 minutes and the experience lasts approximately one hour.
Spooky + historic + unusual = October date-night gold.
๐ Philip S. Miller Park Amphitheater, Castle Rock
โฐ 7โ9:30 PM
Dance, music, glowing fun and prizes, with proceeds benefiting Castle Rock's Therapeutic Recreation Program.
You could go out for dinner during Restaurant Week and then head over to dance.
That's basically a ready-made date.
๐ Castle Rock
โฐ 7โ8 PM
Explore the darker side of Castle Rock's history through local ghost stories and tragic tales.
Additional October sessions are offered on select dates, including October 17.
Pair this with cocktails downtown afterward and you've got an easy spooky-season date.
๐ Leonardo da Vinci Museum of North America
310 Central Main St., Pueblo
โฐ 6โ9 PM
๐ 21+
๐ฐ $50 general admission | $45 museum members
โญโญโญ BUZZY DATE NIGHT PICK
This might be one of my favorite finds.
Explore the museum AFTER DARK with wine or cocktails, live music and exclusive evening gallery access.
The evening also includes Italian-inspired appetizers and desserts, printmaking and even a Mona Lisa look-alike contest.
This is exactly what I mean when I say date night doesn't have to mean dinner and a movie.
๐ Goat Patch Brewing, Monument
โฐ 8 PM
๐ฐ Previously listed around $25โ$30; verify current ticket selection.
Comedy + brewery + Monument = an easy north-side date without driving downtown.
๐ Colorado College, Colorado Springs
Skip the standard movie theater and spend date night discovering independent films instead.
Perfect for couples who inevitably spend 45 minutes scrolling streaming services before choosing something they've already watched.
๐ Pueblo Heritage Museum
โฐ 6:30โ9 PM
Haunt Me Baby One More Time!
Learn how paranormal-investigation equipment works and then actually use it inside the historic museum after hours.
The organizers aren't promising ghosts. They're inviting guests to investigate, observe and decide for themselves what might be going bump in the night.
Proceeds support the Pueblo Heritage Museum.
๐ Pueblo Convention Center
๐ต Live music
Little Joe y La Familia, Darren Cordova y Calor, Mariachi Lobos and additional entertainment make this a full live-music date-night option.
๐ Loonees Comedy Corner, Colorado Springs
โฐ 7:30 PM & 9:45 PM
Another chance to trade your regular Friday-night routine for live comedy.
๐ Loonees Comedy Corner
โฐ 7:30 PM
๐ฐ Previously listed at $25; check current ticket price.
A late-October comedy date before Halloween weekend takes over everything.
October is practically begging you to make date night a little weird.
Historic mansion + Victorian horror + immersive theater.
Castle Rock history with a darker October twist.
Learn to use paranormal equipment and investigate a museum after hours.
If your idea of romance is clinging to each other while somebody with a chainsaw jumps out of the dark, October has you covered.
And yes, screaming counts as communication. ๐
Sometimes the destination itself is the date.
๐ 15 S. Tejon St., Colorado Springs
Hidden downstairs in downtown Colorado Springs, this intimate underground cocktail bar has dim lighting, vintage touches and that โare we supposed to know about this place?โ feeling.
Perfect for a surprise date.
๐ 218 N. Tejon St., Colorado Springs
๐ 21+
A Prohibition-inspired speakeasy-style cocktail bar with an especially strong whiskey focus.
Dinner downtown, then disappear into District Elleven for drinks.
๐ 302 Wilcox St., Castle Rock
Moody lighting, craft cocktails and an upscale speakeasy-inspired atmosphere.
Provision also offers zero-proof cocktails, so the experience doesn't have to revolve around alcohol.
๐ 6371 Promenade Pkwy., Castle Rock
๐ 21+
A more polished, dress-up kind of date.
Think upscale cocktail lounge rather than sports bar.
This one belongs under โWe Put On Real Clothes Tonight.โ
๐ 1110 US-50, Pueblo
๐ 21+
A modern speakeasy-style cocktail bar with craft drinks and a tucked-away feel.
๐ 140 Central Main St., Pueblo
This one wins points purely for setting.
The lounge occupies part of Pueblo's former police/jail complex and retains historic jailhouse character.
Grab a cocktail and then walk the Riverwalk afterward.
๐ 222 N. Main St., Pueblo
Books + records + cocktails.
Analogue Bar is connected with Analogue Books & Records and combines creative cocktails with music, trivia, art nights and other programming.
This one feels tailor-made for couples who would rather browse records than shout over televisions at a sports bar.
๐ 1045 Garden of the Gods Rd., Colorado Springs
An intimate magic theater featuring close-up sleight-of-hand, mentalism and comedy.
This is a GREAT โI planned something and I'm not telling you what it isโ date.
๐ Castle Rock/Sedalia area
Live magic, illusion, comedy and interactive entertainment in an intimate setting.
Check the current performance calendar before planning your night.
Painting with a Twist has Colorado Springs-area options where couples can paint together, with some events incorporating glow painting, paint pours, candle-making and themed experiences.
And here's the important part:
Your painting does not have to be good.
Possibly better if it isn't. ๐
Some of my favorite October dates don't require tickets at all.
Take a drive through Teller County and look at the changing leaves.
Pack cider and take an evening walk.
Pick pumpkins together.
Find a corn maze and see who actually has a sense of direction.
Visit a farmers market and each person gets $10 to buy something for the other.
Take a scenic drive to Cripple Creek.
Grab dinner in downtown Castle Rock and walk Festival Park.
Walk Pueblo's Riverwalk after dinner.
Drive somewhere dark, bring blankets and look at the stars.
Or grab takeout and eat somewhere with a mountain view.
The point isn't spending a fortune. It's doing something together.
Date night doesn't have to cost $150.
Try this:
The $25 Date Challenge
Each person gets $12.50.
Together, you have to create a date.
Coffee + bookstore?
Dessert + walk?
Thrift-store challenge?
Farmers market?
Ice cream + sunset?
Dollar-store pumpkin-carving contest?
The weirder the plan, the better the story afterward.
Restaurant Week dinner โ Ghostly Stories & Tragic Tales โ cocktails at Provision
Easy. Done. Somebody call the babysitter.
Dinner downtown โ Night Terrors at Rosemount Museum โ late drink at The Clink
That's an October date.
Da Vinci After Dark โ Riverwalk stroll โ cocktail at Analogue
No movie theater required.
Tell your person only what time to be ready.
Dinner downtown โ The Archives Underground Libations
Don't reveal the second stop.
Dinner โ Cosmo's Magic Theater
Bonus points if you don't tell your date you're going to a magic show.
Scenic drive to Cripple Creek โ Fall Fest โ dinner โ explore downtown
Make it a whole day instead of squeezing date night into two exhausted hours after bedtime.
We spend SO much time making memories for our kids.
We plan the pumpkin patches.
We buy the costumes.
We schedule the activities.
We pack the snacks, remember the water bottles, take the pictures and somehow become the unofficial cruise director for the entire family.
But here's your October reminder:
You are allowed to make memories that aren't centered around your kids, too. ๐
Date night doesn't have to be expensive.
It doesn't have to be fancy.
And it definitely doesn't have to be Instagram-worthy.
Sometimes it's getting dressed up and drinking cocktails in a hidden speakeasy.
Sometimes it's laughing until your stomach hurts at a comedy show.
Sometimes it's holding hands through a haunted mansion.
And sometimes it's grabbing cider, driving somewhere pretty and talking without someone yelling โMOM!โ from another room. ๐
Whatever it looks like for you, make some time for each other this month.
Because keeping the family connected matters.
And so does keeping YOU connected.
Now go text the babysitter. ๐
๐๐ Happy October Date Night from The Buzzy B!
Send it my way! I'm always looking for new restaurants, hidden gems, events, concerts, classes, speakeasies and downright unusual things to do throughout our Colorado communities.
Find Your Family Buzz...even when the kids stay home. ๐
This absolutely deserves its own Buzzy section because date night should not require refinancing the minivan. ๐
๐ฆ Shake + Sunset
Grab dessert or milkshakes and find a scenic sunset spot. $15โ$30
๐ญOxyMorons
Two $15 tickets + inexpensive dessert afterward. About $40โ$50 depending on what you order.
๐ฎ Pueblo Riverwalk Date
Walk the Riverwalk, split an appetizer or casual dinner and grab dessert. $25โ$50
๐ Fall Picnic
Grab sandwiches, drinks and dessert and head to a park with a blanket. $20โ$35
๐ Bookstore Challenge
Give each person $10โ$15 to choose a book for the other. Grab a treat afterward. $30โ$45
๐ฒ Thrift-Store Date Challenge
Each person gets $10 to find the funniest, weirdest or best item for the other. $20 + food
๐ฅพ Hike + Treat
Pick a beautiful local trail, then go somewhere for ice cream afterward. FREEโ$25
๐
Coffee... Except Make It Something Better ๐
Skip the coffee and grab iced tea, smoothies or another favorite drink, then take a scenic drive. $10โ$25
๐จ Dollar-Store Art Challenge
Each person gets $10 to buy supplies, then you have 30 minutes to create a masterpiece. $20โ$30
๐ Pizza + Game Night
Pick up pizza and buy a ridiculous card or board game neither of you has played. $30โ$50
Babysitter unavailable? Bank account giving you the side-eye? Staying home still counts. ๐
๐ Mystery Ingredient Night: Each person chooses one surprise ingredient and you have to create dinner using both.
๐ฌ Bad Movie Night: Find a spectacularly terrible movie, make popcorn and score it on acting, plot, costumes and โWHAT IS EVEN HAPPENING?โ
๐ท At-Home Tasting Night: Cheese, chocolate, sparkling drinks, mocktails or other favorites. Cover the labels and rate everything.
๐จ Paint Each Other: Two inexpensive canvases. Thirty minutes. Paint your partner's portrait. Absolutely no artistic talent allowed.
๐ First-Date Questions 2.0: Write questions on slips of paper ranging from ridiculous to meaningful and take turns drawing.
๐ Make-Your-Own Pizza Competition: Each person gets half. Winner receives bragging rights and control of the remote.
๐ฏ๏ธ No-Electricity Night: Phones away, candles or battery lights on, cards and conversation. Pretend the Wi-Fi doesn't exist.
๐งบ Living-Room Picnic: Blanket, finger foods, music and dessert. No dining table allowed.
๐ธ Memory Lane: Go through old photos and choose your ten favorite memories together.
โ๏ธ $1,000 Fantasy Vacation: Each person gets an imaginary $1,000 budget and 20 minutes to plan a getaway. Compare plans afterward.
ย
Date night doesn't have to mean $150 dinner + babysitter + fancy clothes.
Sometimes it's cocktails behind a hidden door. Sometimes it's laughing at improv. Sometimes it's wandering a fall festival sharing something covered in green chile. And sometimes it's putting the kids to bed, ordering pizza and sitting on the living-room floor playing cards.
The important part is intentionally making a little time for the two of you.
Because before there were permission slips, grocery lists, practices, appointments and someone asking โWhat's for dinner?โ...
there was you two. ๐๐
Iโd turn this into a standing monthly Buzzy Date Night Guide, with a fresh section of that month's concerts, comedy, restaurant specials, seasonal dates and under-$50 picks each month.
