With Auburn's football season over, Saturdays will no longer be filled with tailgating. This spring could be the perfect opportunity to add variety to weekend activities. There are many events and locations available for entertainment Auburn students may be unaware of.
In Auburn, students can take a night off from Ramen noodles and Easy Mac for dinner, and head to Ariccia at The Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center. On Feb. 13, Ariccia will have a craft beer dinner, featuring beers from Left Hand Brewing Co. and dinner by chef Fernando Cruz.
"This is actually the first brewery that we haven't done inside of Alabama," said Adam Keeshan, Ariccia's food and beverage director. "We met Left Hand Brewery through our Oktoberfest event this past October, so we thought it would be a neat idea to bring in a little bit larger of a craft beer company."
The dinner will be $49 a person for four courses, with a different beer paired with each course.
The first course will be roasted butternut squash soup, smoked pancetta and beer croutons paired with St. Vrain Triple Ale. The second course will be three house-blackened chard oysters, chives and lemon drops paired with their Sawtooth Ale.
The third course will be coffee crusted steak, glazed carrots, potato puree and nutty jus with their Fade to Black Ale V5. The last course will be a float and dulce de leche lava cake, with a Nitro Milk Stout.
For some daytime entertainment, the Columbus Botanical Gardens offers a relaxing day in nature.
According to Amy McMann, the office manager for the Gardens, the park has 22 acres of green space, a mile-and a-half long walking trail and a house that was built in 1896.
According to McMann, the botanical gardens have areas for picnicking and allow dogs as long as they are on leashes. McMann said the best time to go to the botanical gardens in the spring is mid-afternoon.
"The botanical garden itself is open every day of the year from dawn until dusk," McMann said. Their office is open Monday through Friday, from 9-5 p.m.
Auburn offers different options for thrifters, including Harvest Thrift Super Center, Goodwill and Angel's Antique. For shoppers who want to go thrifting outside of Auburn, Columbus has the Front Porch of the South, an indoor thrift mall with over 130,000 square feet on one floor. They sell antiques, vintage items, jewelry, handmade items and conduct live auctions.
"We sell things from antiques to brand new things that people bring in like phone cases," said Ashley Oschmann, cashier at the Front Porch of the South. "We sell some clothes, books, movies, pretty much anything you can think of."
Despite the absence of football, Auburn still offers plenty of ways to fill a Saturday.
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