Attention, procrastinators: last-minute Valentine’s Day ideas

If you are reading this and have no Valentine’s Day plans, congratulations. You are officially a procrastinator.

It’s not too late to save the evening, though. (Saturday, in case that escaped you.) Here is a list of last-minute Valentine’s Day activity suggestions designed with singles, couples and homebodies in mind.

For couples

1. Make pottery like Swayze: Wichita Pottery at 300 N. Meridian gets points for this creative date idea: On Saturday, the company is offering couples the chance to re-create the iconic pottery wheel scene in the 1990 movie “Ghost,” which features Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore sensually sculpting wet clay. Available time slots are 7 to 8:30 p.m. and 9 to 10:30 p.m. The event also will include a romantic ambiance and a chocolate fountain. Admission is $150, and reservations are required. To make a reservation, call 316-942-7075.

2. Let your love take flight: Your sweetheart may be expecting flowers. But wouldn’t he or she prefer flight? DWTA Helicopters at 6235 W. Kellogg is offering “Sweetheart Flights” that will take passengers over downtown Wichita, the “Keeper of the Plains” and the Arkansas River. The package comes with a commemorative photo and a pre-flight briefing with champagne and chocolate. Flights are from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. through Monday and cost $250 for 15 minutes and $395 for 30 minutes. Call 316-461-8360 for reservations.

3. Bowl with your babe: Northrock Lanes at 3232 N. Rock Road is offering a special Valentine’s Day package for couples that includes a dinner of pasta or pizza and a salad, a comic mind-reading show by Curtis the Mentalist, bowling from 8 to 10 p.m. plus a super-cookie and champagne. The event starts at 6:30 p.m., and admission is $65 a couple, with discounts available for additional couples. For reservations, call 316-636-5444.

Other ideas: Join the masses at “Fifty Shades of Grey.” Go see jazz saxophonist David Sanborn at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Stiefel Theatre in Salina. Sign up for the Valentine’s Day party at Ernie Biggs Dueling Piano Bar, 550 N. Rock Road.

For singles

1. Paint your heart out: Gather a group of friends for an outing to one of Wichita’s BYOP paint-and-sip businesses. The new Pinot’s Palette at 338 N. Mead (316-425-5053), for example, has a 2:30 p.m. class on Saturday that will guide participants through a “heart in the sand” painting. It’s $35 a person. And Paint the Towne at 7011 W. Central (316-425-1941) has several Valentine’s Day-themed sessions on Saturday that are also $35 a painter. Call for reservations.

2. Go to the (very short) movies: Grab a group of friends or venture out alone for an all-day watch-athon of short films nominated for Academy Awards. On Saturday, the nominated animated, live-action and documentary nominees will be screened from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Orpheum Theatre, 200 N. Broadway. Admission is free. Many of the movies cover depressing topics including suicide, disease and poverty. But one of the animated nominees, titled “A Single Life,” is about a mysterious vinyl single that offers a woman the ability to travel around through the years of her life.

3. Hang with the horses: Cowboys were loners, and all they needed for happiness were their horses. Celebrate that spirit on Valentine’s Day by visiting the annual Equifest of Kansas, a celebration of horses that runs Friday through Sunday at the Kansas Pavilions, 1229 E. 85th St. North in Park City. Among the highlights of the show will be performances by the Southern Express Trick Riders, who ride under the necks of their horses and do backflips off of them. On Saturday, admission is $17 for adults and $8 for ages 6-12. For more information, visit www.equifestofks.com.

Other ideas: Snatch up one of the single seats at the Wichita Symphony Orchestra’s “Pops Goes to the Movies: A Valentine’s Day Concert.” Ride the mechanical bulls at “Club Rodeo,” 10001 E. Kellogg. Check out the Valentine’s Day dance at Dancing in Paradise, the club at 2841 S. Hydraulic.

For homebodies

1. Romantic movie on demand: Get cozy on Saturday and stream a classic love story. Watch Lloyd Dobler declare his love via held-high jambox in 1989’s “Say Anything” (Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Vudu, Google Play). See what happened “When Harry Met Sally” (Amazon Instant Video and Vudu). Bring Swayze back into the picture with 1987’s “Dirty Dancing” (Netflix, iTunes, Google Play and Vudu). Or relive the romantic-but-tragic sinking of the “Titanic” (Netflix, Amazon Instant Video).

2. Watch some valentine-themed television: Saturday’s television schedule also is overrun with Valentine’s Day-themed episodes and specials. Start the day at 9 a.m. with the Hallmark Channel movie “Be My Valentine,” about the complicated love between a widowed firefighter and a florist. Then finish the day at 9 p.m. with “An SNL Valentine,” a new Valentine’s Day-themed special by the “Saturday Night Live” cast. In between, catch Valentine’s Day-themed episodes of “SpongeBob SquarePants” (Nickelodeon), “Curious George” (PBS), “Mike and Molly” (FX) and more.

3. Game night: Invite some friends over, then run to the store and pick up a board game. A few suggestions: Loaded Questions, which tests how well people know each other, and Battle of the Sexes, where it’s men vs. women to see who knows more about the opposite sex. And there’s always a themed game of poker.

Other ideas: Buy fancy meat from the butcher shop and cook dinner at home. Binge-watch “Downton Abbey.” Go to bed early.

This story was originally published February 12, 2015 at 12:00 PM with the headline "Attention, procrastinators: last-minute Valentine’s Day ideas."