38 APRIL 4-10, 2024 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC & VENUES | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT | SHOPPING & SERVICES | CONTENTS | ing, providing an endearingly cringey look at the state’s highest elected offi cial. Polis was worth the follow this year, from his lyric-fi lled fan letter to Taylor Swift to his infamous viral performance of “Feliz Navi- dad” to his recent Dune-inspired advertise- ment of Colorado’s Great Sand Dunes with “no giant sandworms, unlike Arrakis!” Best Nostalgic Date Night Skate City Multiple metro locations skatecitycolorado.com Walking into any of Skate City’s four loca- tions is like stepping into a nostalgic portal — only the other side actually lives up to your childhood memories, prices included. For $12, you’ll get a two-hour session with skate or blade rentals, but the ’90s birthday vibes are free. If the easy skating, classic arcade games and brightly colored carpet, dotted with shrapnel from cheese-covered pizza, don’t take you back to a better time, then the hair-flailing music lineup on adults-only nights, held select evenings after 8 or 9 p.m., certainly will. Best Delicious Date Night Little Man Ice Cream Factory 4411 West Colfax Avenue 720-550-6777 littlemanicecreamfactory.com Little Man ice cream has been a Denver fa- vorite since 2008, when the fi rst scoop was served from the company’s iconic, 28-foot- tall milk can at 2620 16th Street. Eleven years later, the Factory, a 6,000-square-foot tasting room and kitchen, opened its doors on West Colfax, and tours of the facility, which are offered to individuals, couples and groups, are absolutely lip-smacking. Don’t expect to learn how to duplicate any of the frozen delights: Little Man’s recipes are a closely guarded secret. But visitors are treated to an inside look at the production process and receive as a reward an abso- lutely crazy amount of ice cream to take home with them. Talk about a love match. Best Pickleball Club 3rd Shot Pickleball 3545 Wadsworth Boulevard, Wheat Ridge 303-731-3008 20 South Bowen Street, Longmont 720-336-3389 3rdshotpickleball.com Pickleball is here to stay, but where? Neigh- bors complain about noise at outdoor facili- ties, which are too limited to meet demand. Adam Kahn and Max Ireland created the concept for Colorado’s largest indoor pick- leball facility in 2023 and opened their fi rst location in Wheat Ridge a few months later. The place was a hit: More than 600 people came to play the very fi rst day. Dale Katechis of Oskar Blues got in the game to help open the Longmont outpost of the club, which has hosted such variations as blacklight pickleball. Score! Best Darts Club Flight Club Denver 1959 16th Street 303-228-6890 fl ightclubdartsusa.com/denver During a recent return visit to Denver, all-world footballer Christian McCaffrey headed to Flight Club Denver — an indi- cation that the venue, which debuted last June, has rapidly become a favorite gather- ing place for the young and cool. And that makes sense, since the nightspot, one of just six U.S. locations opened by its British parent company so far, demonstrates why the social-darts phenomenon has caught on worldwide. Flight Club boasts twelve semi-private playing areas, supplemented by an outdoor patio, an unexpectedly siz- able menu and a large bar specializing in craft cocktails, making it perfect for birth- day celebrations, bachelorette parties and the like. When fun is the point, Flight Club Denver strikes the bull’s-eye. Best Game Meetups The Wizard’s Chest 451 Broadway 303-321-4304 wizardschest.com The Wizard’s Chest has a selection of games that’s unrivaled in the Mile High City. But the store also hosts a wide variety of events that give gamers an opportunity to meet, greet and (if they’re lucky) defeat like-minded contestants with obsessions. Some get-togethers are instructional, in- cluding gatherings that teach newbies the basics of Dungeons & Dragons or Call of Cthulhu. Others are themed to particular pastimes, such as Star Wars Unlimited, X- Wing, and board games of every descrip- tion. And then there are Long Live Legacy tournaments, LG- Shopping and Services continued from page 36 continued on page 40
