5 things — wait, 4 things — to do this weekend in Boise: COVID just nixed one
Coronavirus cases are skyrocketing in Idaho. Ada County schools recently moved to the red, or high-risk, category. And our state feels infinitely stuck in Stage 4 of the Idaho Rebounds plan.
The safest thing to do? Unfortunately, yeah, stay home.
But there’s no mask mandate or strict measures. Gov. Brad Little urges “personal responsibility.”
So for citizens who want to voluntarily mask up, practice social distancing — and are comfortable around others doing the same (or maybe not; this is Idaho) — there’s plenty to do this weekend in Boise.
1. Go to a Dubliners concert? Nope.
The music industry remains devastated by the pandemic. Consequently, it’s hard not to smile at the thought of the Young Dubliners rolling through Garden City for a concert on Saturday. Unfortunately, the Dubs’ cabaret show at the Revolution Concert House just got canceled — for now — after the band’s Ketchum show was postponed because of virus numbers. The RevCenter is working on a rescheduled date.
2. Head to a movie
Edwards Cinemas locations are closed. Reel theaters are closed as of Oct. 16. But there are still a handful of movie options. In Boise, The Flicks and discount theater Overland Park Cinemas remain open. (Overland Park has moved into first-run film territory with Liam Neeson’s “Honest Thief,” even offering a free drink and popcorn with each ticket.) In Meridian, Majestic Cinemas, 2140 E. Cinema Drive, and Village Cinema at The Village at Meridian remain open. Parma Motor-Vu Drive-In is showing movies, too, through Oct. 31.
3. Have a beer
Barbarian Brewing will celebrate its five-year anniversary from 2 to 9 p.m. Saturday “with a five-beer release, pulling out a selection of barrel-aged bottles from our cellar and releasing new merch to honor the occasion.” The party happens in and outside the Garden City taproom at 5270 W. Chinden Blvd. The Hangry Grill will sell food outdoors from 2 to 7 p.m. This shindig if for ages 21 and older only.
4. Watch cowboys
Professional Bull Riders, aka PBR, rolls into the Ford Idaho Center on Saturday and Sunday for the “Unleash the Beast” tour. Doors open at 6:15 p.m., with action beginning at 7:45 p.m. Tickets range from $15 to $350.
5. Enjoy ongoing fall activities
▪ Using a timed entry process to promote physical distancing, Zoo Boise is doing its “Boo at Night” this weekend (and the next couple of weekends).
▪ The Idaho Botanical Garden is hosting its annual Fall Harvest Festival from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays in October, with a scarecrow stroll, one-way straw maze, pumpkin patch, local food trucks, beer and rotating artisan vendors. The Rebecca Scott Band will even perform this Saturday.
▪ In Nampa, the 35-acre Haunted World is terrorizing folks 4 miles north of the sugar factory. (It’s no McKamey Manor, but it’s “the scariest haunted house in Idaho.”)
▪ In Kuna, the Lowe Family Farmstead Corn Maze and Pumpkin Festival features a corn maze, pumpkin patch, hayrides, food, games, pig races and cow train. Not to mention the Field of Screams on Fridays and Saturdays.
▪ And in Meridian, Linder Farms Pumpkin Patch and Corn Maze has its popular Boise State maze, plus pumpkin patch, hayrides, food, petting zoo and a mechanical bull.